Month: June 2020

I rushed out of my apartment and raced down the stairs to the parking lot. It was time for church, the third time this week! During my medical internship year in Denver, Colorado, I attended a new Christian church, founded a year before I arrived. Like myself, nearly the entire congregation were younger adults, many with families. I was welcomed and embraced as one of their own and I formed many lasting friendships. I even signed a plaque, joining the signatures of the founding members of this nascent church. 

It was the pastor’s preaching and teaching that inspired and motivated me to return several times a week. There was a Wednesday evening service, Sunday school in the morning for adults, Sunday morning service, and a Sunday evening service-all taught by this one Pastor. Even with my busy medical duties, I always was able to attend nearly every service. I fondly remember this period of my life for it created a critical foundation for my young and faltering faith. At the end of the year, I left Denver and moved to Los Angeles to continue my residency. For years, I drifted from one church to another. There were many good preachers, but I was never able to find one that inspired me like my former pastor. I was hypercritical, neglecting the other blessings that God was providing me in these churches. I was unwilling to move on.

I needed to let go.

God’s grace is always praiseworthy, but the memories of His blessings can sometimes become an idol and an obstacle to moving forward. I kept returning to the memory that times were better when God was blessing me with this pastor. This was definitely proof of God’s grace in my life but it had become an idol for me. I focused upon this rather than seek to progress in my relationship with God and others.

“If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Exodus 16:3 (NLT)

Even when they were in captivity in Egypt, God blessed the Israelites with abundant food and took care of their material needs. A short time later, after God delivered them from their captors by a series of miraculous plagues and culminating in their deliverance through the Red Sea, they found themselves wandering in the desert. What should have been an opportunity for all of them to look forward to being led to the Promised land, became a wasted experience to complain and fall back upon their memories of former blessings. Surely God could not be planning anything better for them? It was better when we were captives in Egypt!

Sometimes we need to let go of the memories of some of God’s blessings. God will always give us something new, not necessarily better if we only judge things by the world or our standards. Why? God also seeks to renew and reinforce His promise to never leave us nor forsake us, all we need to do is trust Him and allow Him to extend His grace and mercy. 

We need to let go of our lives to allow God to take hold of our lives. 

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

“Ugh! I am feeling crapulent!”

My daughter and I looked at my wife with a wide-eyed surprise. “What?” We both exclaimed laughing.

My wife looked at both of us bemused. “What…what?”

“Crapulent?!” 

“It means fullness from eating too much.” 

My daughter and I giggled and I asked her, “Seriously, you didn’t just make that up?” We both kept laughing until my daughter produced the definition after looking up the word on her smartphone browser. 

Crapulent is defined as sickness brought on by excessive eating or drinking.

Source Dictionary.com

My wife is not the only person to do this, I have often overindulged in food. When I discover new food, I can literally eat it every day for weeks on end. Recently a friend of ours brought over a Vietnamese pastry known as pate chaud or banh pate so. I devoured it and when I thanked my friend, she kindly brought over enough for a week and I don’t think I shared many, if any, with the family! I was crapulent once again. 

Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!

Proverbs 25:16 (NLT)

This verse of wisdom from Proverbs is God’s practical answer to my overindulgence-don’t do it! Yet the more profound question is why would I do this? Once again, God answers this question a few verses later.

It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself. A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

Proverbs 25:27-28 (NLT)

I can so easily fall prey to overindulging in food because I am still seeking my own glory and sating my own desires. I have no self-control and continually allow sin to break into my life. Why don’t I have the same proclivity to overindulge in God?  If I yielded to God’s authority over my life, He would overindulge me with His blessings!

…You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Psalms 23:5 (NLT)

How desperately I need my Savior, Jesus Christ, to rule over my life. 

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

“All right, Sally. Good talking with you, hope our patient does well.”

My daughter was smiling at me as I completed my phone call with one of my dermatology colleagues. We were discussing a complicated case for which I had just reviewed the biopsy findings and were discussing treatment options. 

“Dad, you did your Doctor’s voice!”

“What do you mean?”

She chuckled. “Whenever you are talking to another doctor, your voice takes on this mellifluous tone and you speak very precisely, no pauses.”

“Wow, do I really?” I lowered my voice on the last word and looked at her with a serious gaze.

“Dad! You’re doing it again!”

My daughter was correct. Whenever I speak to a professional colleague, my brain clicks into high gear and I change the tone of my voice and diction. I heard my father, a dentist, do the same when he was speaking to other professionals. It was such a contrast to his usual banter with his friends and family. Like father, like son. 

It is not only with my professional colleagues. I do the same when I am speaking to Christian brothers and sisters. My speech slows and I pause slightly before my answers, carefully choosing my words. It is not my usual rushed and pressured speech that I display with friends and family. Three different speech patterns for different audiences. Why do I do this? Am I being disingenuous?

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
Colossians 4:6 (NLT)

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Colossians 4:6 (ESV)

It is our intentions and attitude that matters. The Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary of the early Christian Church practiced and preached this, as evidenced by his writings above. His sermons completely differed depending on the audience he was addressing. From listeners who were earnestly seeking to learn, hostile audiences, and the curious-all received a very different sermon as elegantly documented in the Book of Acts. But the common link in all of these sermons was his unwavering message to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was willing to be all things to all people as long as his message was undiluted.

In the world of today, there are many voices that are fighting to be heard. Angry voices demanding justice for racial inequality, anguished voices that are seeking comfort for the loss of loved ones, and anxious voices worried about economic uncertainty. There are many voices but the message and question are the same. Why doesn’t God do something about all of this? Where is God’s voice in all of this?

God speaks to all believers in many voices. He is the wise Father, the obedient Son, and the comforting Spirit. God is speaking to all of us but we have to be willing to listen. All of His voices are good if we allow Him to speak through us to be salt and light to this hurting world. 

Amen!

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

Many years ago, my cousin was confiding in me about a painful episode involving his son who was a freshman in high school. He was despondent over his recent breakup with his girlfriend. “He’s very angry and depressed. He doesn’t want to see anyone and doesn’t want to talk to me.”

I felt a heavy load on my heart as I listened to him recount the painful details. Teenage romances. The popular media uses terms like puppy love, implying the relationships are ephemeral and not serious. Perhaps the relationship was not meant to last but the intensity of the emotions is real, regardless of one’s age or stage of life. I and many others have experienced the devastating failure of an early life relationship. Equally painful is listening to the admonition that parents and well-intentioned adults often impart to younger individuals. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you!” It is meant to encourage but is often viewed as patronizing by the listener.

This reassurance has been spoken to me by my parents. I have also passed this on to my children, confident that my age and experiences have enlightened me, yet how often do I need to hear the same reassurance from my Heavenly Father? While I may have moved on from dating, other prickly relationship issues have taken its place. How do I deal with a friend who feels slighted because I did not invite him to dinner with a group of other friends? What about my business associate who is going through a painful divorce? How do I speak to the young couple who have just lost their child? Doesn’t God, who eternally exists, know what we are going through and has plans to prosper us, plans for peace, and not evil? Doesn’t He know what is in store for our lives? Doesn’t He know how to guide us?

…He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

Psalms 78:5-7 (NLT)

God continually reminds us through many verses in the Bible that our perspective should not be limited to only this lifetime. He wants us to remember the blessings He has showered upon us and tell them to our children and future generations, to remind everyone that He does know how to guide us because He knows what will happen. 

You’ve got your whole life ahead of you!

Only when God, the Father, says this to us, can we trust Him to help us navigate the painful events of this life. When we have confessed and repented of our sins and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have eternal life ahead of us!

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

The auburn highlights of her brown hair flashed in the sunlight as she entered my office. She was immaculate in a tailored business suit and with her burgundy leather briefcase in hand, she commanded everyone’s attention. Sally is one of the most hard-charging, tenacious attorneys I know. Superbly knowledgeable and efficient, she is everything one would desire in an attorney representing your interests. Frankly, I am quite intimidated by her and am thankful she represents me and not my adversaries. 

When Sally is with her husband, I see a completely different side to her. She is light-hearted and doting on her mate, literally hanging on his every word, even flirting with him. At first, I thought it was just an act but as I got to know her, it was clear that her affection and devotion were absolutely genuine. One revealing exchange recently occurred at a mutual friend’s home over a dinner party.

“Honey! You have to try this, they just brought it in!” Sally had brought two portions of a delicacy that one of the dinner guests had just brought to the buffet table. She delicately fed her mate a morsel, anxiously awaiting his reaction. 

“Mmm! That is good! Wow! Thanks, Honey!” Sally beamed as her thoughtfulness was rewarded. 

“You know what, I think I see someone I know, be right back.” As her husband excused himself, Sally turned to me and chuckled, as if she was anticipating what was on my mind. “I know you usually see me in a professional setting, but when I am at home, I am a very different person. I wait on my husband, hand and foot! I literally follow him around the house, seeing if he needs anything! I’m not always perfect but I try to be!”

She was a teenage girl with a crush! What was equally refreshing was her husband’s response to her attentive actions. He soon returned with two colorful cocktails. “Here Sally. I had the bartender make your favorite, with the lychee and mango bits that you love.”

“Oooh!” she cooed. Turning to me, she declared, “Isn’t he the greatest? Sooo thoughtful!”

Sally is not the only spouse who does this. I have witnessed other husbands and wives display a completely different behavior when they are at home or in a casual social situation contrasting with their workplace behavior. Unfortunately, if the workplace demands a certain formality or even harshness, continuing this behavior at home will not endear them to their spouse. If both spouses work in that type of setting and are unable to set this behavior aside, the result can be quite destructive. 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV)

Jesus’ harsh words were directed to the religious leaders of His day who placed an emphasis on external rituals and the appearance of being righteous while living a lifestyle that belied their pious preaching. Yet, Jesus was also capable of extremely tender words. Amidst unspeakable suffering, as He was crucified on the Cross, with the full weight of the sins of all mankind bearing down upon His broken Body, Jesus looked at His human mother, Mary, and asked His disciple,  John, to take care of her as his own, after He was gone from this earth. Jesus’ words were tender and caring. It was one of the most compassionate and selfless acts of love that Jesus did while He was on this earth. 

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John 19:26-27 (ESV)

Are these two personalities of Jesus inconsistent? Did Jesus have one personality for His adversaries and one for His loved ones? No. In both circumstances, His message was delivered with the same intent, to win the individual. Jesus Christ is fully Man and fully God. Unlike Sally and myself, only Jesus is able to perfectly integrate these two personalities into One Being. 

Jesus is not a different person. He is the same and one God!

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

When I was a fellow in dermatopathology, I was reviewing a complicated consult case with my professor and mentor. As we both peered through the microscope, I listened in awe as he rattled off a complicated list of obscure diseases the slide may represent. After a few more minutes, my professor looked up from the microscope and declared, “Let’s send this case to Dr. Smith and see what he thinks!”

I nodded but attempted to hide my astonishment. My professor was considered THE expert in the specialties of both dermatopathology and surgical pathology. He literally wrote the definitive textbooks in both fields. “Sure,” I mumbled. “I’ll get the case ready for send-out.” Within a week, Dr. Smith returned his diagnosis. Not surprisingly, he agreed with my professor’s diagnosis but the experience stuck with me.

Who do the experts turn to when they are stumped? It almost seems like an unanswerable question. I know of other experts who never admitted they did not know the answer and would never seek another’s assistance. It was a tribute to my professor’s humility to seek another expert’s opinion. He knew his limitations. He knew when he didn’t know. 

Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

Proverbs 4:7 (NLT)

My professor was displaying wisdom and good judgment. Most of us have heard the admonition, “There is no such thing as a stupid question.” The corollary to this is, “It is better to ask and appear stupid rather than not ask and be ignorant and make a stupid mistake.” Candidly, some of the most insightful questions I have ever heard were made by people who later confessed, “I didn’t want to ask because I thought it was a stupid question.” 

When I first accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in college, I had many questions but I was often embarrassed to ask them. One of the many that perplexed me was the nature of the Trinity. Apparently, I was in good company. Entire books and doctoral theses have been written on this topic, attempting to explain it. However, at that time, I did not know this. I was a young believer and I felt everyone knew so much more than I did. I concluded that I was simply too ignorant and dull-minded to understand. 

Do I now completely understand the Trinity? While I have a better conception than I did over thirty years ago, I still have questions and ultimately I know the complete explanation will only be revealed when I am in the presence of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Heaven. Until that glorious day, I continue to pray and meditate upon the mystery of the Trinity and so many other aspects of God. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. How can our limited finite minds completely understand an infinite and divine Being? We cannot. However, this does not mean we adopt an agnostic attitude that we can never know God nor does it mean we bury our questions with an academic smugness, giving the impression that we always know the answer. 

I will continue to ask questions and seek advice from others. I will seek wisdom to develop good judgment and the humility to understand that someday God will reveal all of the mysteries of the Bible for all who place their faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen!

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

“This is an ordeal!”

I wiped the copious sweat from my brow as I reached for a bottle of water. “Jake! This is waaay harder than you let on!”

“Sorry Bro! Didn’t know it was going to be so hot!”

I was helping my buddy. Jake, with his new home. To save money, he decided to lay the sprinkler system in his yard himself which meant digging trenches to lay the pipes and place the sprinkler heads. I didn’t know what I was getting into. It was the Southern California high desert and on this July 4th weekend, the temperature was already 100F at 9 AM. 

Another hour passed and I began to get dizzy. I couldn’t continue but didn’t want to let my buddy down but I was ignoring the danger signs of heatstroke. Fortunately, Jake was a fellow physician and he realized what was happening. He immediately stopped and brought me into the house, hydrated me, and placed a cold towel on my head. I wanted to help my friend but my body broke down and I couldn’t continue, no matter how hard I willed it to happen. 

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”

John 19:5 (ESV)

Ecce homo is the Latin translation of Pontius Pilate’s declaration, “Behold the man!”

Was this a cynical statement? Oh yes. Here was the ruler of the people mocking the person who called Himself the King of the Jews. Yet, He could be beaten and tortured like any other man. A King? There was nothing special about Him. He was just a man! He was broken, wasn’t He?

…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

No one will ever know or understand the suffering and pain that Jesus Christ experienced. The entire weight of the sin of all mankind was borne upon His broken body. Most people would have given up or collapsed, but He willed Himself to continue because of His love for everyone who has and ever will live. 

When I attempted to help my friend, I viewed it as a grueling hardship; Jesus Christ embraced it as joy. I tried to help a friend and my broken vessel failed him. The Body of Jesus Christ was broken on the Cross and He saved us.

Ecco homo. Behold the Man!

There is no Man like Him! Jesus Christ is wholly Man and wholly God. 

Praise God!

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

My father was passionate about fishing. Growing up in Hawaii, there were numerous opportunities. Whether it was deep water trolling, casting from the ocean shore, or wading into a shallow river, he was equally adept within each setting, always managing to catch a fish when those around him went home empty-handed. He would have been delighted if I shared his interest but it never captured me. 

“Dad!” I would protest. “It’s so boring!”

My dad would dismissively shake his head and admonish me, “You are not working so you don’t appreciate this time of rest.”

Since I was only seven years old, I would have to take his word for his prediction for my life. Yet, I could never imagine myself embracing his hobby. I did, however, want to make my father proud of me. He spent a great deal of time teaching me to tie a hook and attach a floater. He meticulously described how to find the right location and setting to catch a variety of different fish. I intently listened and tried to emulate my father as he deftly cast into the exact spot he was seeking, but all of this never resonated in my soul. However, I didn’t want to disappoint him. One day, I had an opportunity.

We were fishing off an ocean pier when I felt a tug on my line. I excitedly motioned to my father, “Dad! I got a big one! Look!” My fishing pole bent downward, furiously bobbing as I attempted to reel in my haul. My efforts were rewarded after a few seconds as a large dark mass began to emerge from the murky depths. Finally! It was my chance to prove I was a worthy son! 

Frantically reeling in the line, not wishing to lose this opportunity for redemption, the great Leviathan emerged, a mass of seaweed, coral, and a plastic bag. Laughing uproariously, my father shouted, “You caught Oahu! Set it free!”

Years later, I realize how limited my understanding of fishing was. It was never about catching fish or hooking an island; it was about spending time with my father. It was my father’s way of expressing his love and devotion to me, and I squandered the opportunities to learn from him. Instead of asking him to fish with me and sitting next to him with a fishing pole, I focused on my selfish needs even after I moved out and entered the workforce. 

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12 (ESV)

Jesus Christ understood the need to spend quality time with God, His Heavenly Father. In spite of His very busy ministry and the numerous distractions of the world, His priorities were properly aligned, and He would always seek to spend time alone in communion with His Father. Jesus’ entire life was devoted to learning from Him and delighting in His presence. 

I am working now and I still don’t like fishing. But my father was prophetically correct; I didn’t appreciate the time of rest we spent together. I do wish I could have one more day of fishing with my father…just to hear him laugh and instruct me once again. 

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

All of the lights flashed across the dashboard as I turned the key in my car’s ignition. No sound, nothing. Not good! After several attempts, I knew it was time to call roadside assistance. Within a half-hour, a technician arrived and tested the battery and attempted to start the car, also with no success. After a few more tests, he called me over and gave me his assessment. “I think your anti-theft device has overridden the ignition sequence. You’re going to have to take this to the dealer.”

The explanation was a surprise to me. The battery and alternator were fine but the car’s anti-theft system was so efficient that it was even blocking the entry of its own owner! No surprise, it was emulating its owner.

For many years, my defense mechanisms were on high alert whenever I heard the mention of Jesus and God. I refused to acknowledge this mythical creature, ignorantly lumping Him with fairy tales or attributing anyone’s belief in Him to an appalling lack of self-confidence for themselves. I was in control of my life and destiny, no one else. My defense mechanisms were highly developed; it kept everything out and even attempted to block my owner, my Creator, God Almighty! As I learned in college, nothing can ever block God from knocking on the door to my soul. 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20 (ESV)

My car’s anti-theft system failed because of a faulty electrical fuse. My self-defenses failed because of my sinful nature. I refused to acknowledge that my life was a self-indulgent wreck and I needed a Savior. Jesus continued to gently knock on the door to my heart. Through His grace and mercy, He broke down my self-defenses. I finally understood the depth of my depravity and my desperate need for a Savior. He showed me that I was never in control of my life nor my destiny. He overrode my defenses and brought me into a new relationship, one that He created for me. 

Amen!

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