Month: October 2020

“He has an unusual condition, he can only see things in 2D.”

My daughter was telling me about a condition that her friend had. As a physician, I was chagrined that I had never heard of this disease. “So what are you saying, everything looks flat?”

“It’s hard to explain.” My daughter began. “He has no depth perception. The only way he knows something is behind another object is if the image is cut off by the closer object.”

I was fascinated by what my daughter told me and I immediately researched it and discovered this condition is known as stereoblindness. It is caused by a misalignment of the eyes, preventing the brain from fusing both images as one. I soon learned this condition afflicts some well-known actors like Johnny Depp and Judith Dench. Perhaps even more surprising, the great artist Rembrandt was suspected of having this condition. In a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004, a group of Harvard researchers examined 36 self-portraits by Rembrandt and showed that his right eye was deviated in all but one. Follow up studies have confirmed that stereovision may be more common in artists. As one artist, turned neuroscientist, attempted to explain his own experience. “But I always found it easy to draw not because of dexterity, but because when I looked at a scene the relative size and spatial relationships of objects seemed obvious and related immediately to their representation on a flat sheet of paper.” (Source NY Times)  Not all artists have stereoblindness and if one acquires stereoblindness later in life, it does not necessarily mean they will gain an aptitude to be an artist. 

This condition may be acquired after birth, secondary to an injury or disease, and in these cases, the afflicted understands what is different and lacking. However, If someone is born with this condition, they will never know that what they are seeing is not what everyone else sees. They learn to adapt and compensate for their condition in a manner that would be completely foreign to someone with normal vision. Stereoblindness does not necessarily impair one’s vision, it allows one to see with a different perspective. 

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) 

Regardless of whether we see in two or three dimensions, we all see and interpret things with an incomplete understanding of how this world works and how we should view it. God will someday bestow upon all believers in Jesus Christ an even greater ability to see things with a new perspective, one that no one can begin to imagine or describe. We may gaze at a beautiful sunset, marvel at the delicate beauty of a flower, or be enraptured by the complexity of a living cell. How could any of these spectacles be even more visually astounding? How indeed! This is only the beginning! God has so much more to show us because He desires for us to delight in Him and His Creation. 

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

It’s the age old question amongst sports enthusiasts that always generates a lively debate. 

Who would you choose to make the last minute buzzer beater shot in a championship basketball game? Who would you choose to bat in the bottom of the ninth with a tie score and two outs to win the World Series? Who would you choose to make the twenty foot putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters golf tournament? Who is the ultimate clutch player who will deliver when all of the pressure to win is on the line?

The answers could fill an entire day of heated discussion and generate at least a year’s worth of blogs. We all have our favorites and reasons for choosing our favorite athlete and arguably any one of a number of superstars could be successful. What if the outcome was not limited to winning a game or sporting event? What if the outcome was to decide the eternal destiny of your soul? Winning means eternal life and salvation. Losing means torment and suffering. Is there a great religious leader that would be qualified? Who would you choose?

I would choose someone who is alive. 

Every major religion has a prophet or central figure. Abraham for Judaism. Mohammad for Islam. Buddha for Buddhism. Bahaullah for Bahai. Each were great teachers and leaders, yet all of them died and were buried. Only Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead.

Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.

Luke 22:42 (NLT)

If there was ever a moment when I thought Jesus Christ would not go through with His sacrifice to die on the Cross for our sins, it was here, in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus, in agonizing prayer, literally sweating drops of blood, remained faithful to God, His Father. He prayed to God asking Him to take away the possibility of experiencing the unimaginable torture of the entire sins of the world, past, present, and future, laid upon His Holy Body. He lived a perfect life, never sinning, and in continual communication and reliance upon God. When He considered the full weight of all the sins of the world would soon be placed on Him, He expressed His anxiety but triumphantly declared that He would follow the will of His Father God. He endured the humiliating and painful death on the Cross for our sake. In so doing, God, the Father, honored His obedience by resurrecting Him from the dead. Jesus’ faithfulness in the face of unimaginable suffering proved that only He is worthy to save us from our sins and secure our salvation and eternal life by accepting Him as Lord and Savior. 

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)

Who would I choose?

I choose the living God, Jesus Christ, who proved to all of Creation that He conquered death by being obedient to death on the Cross. 

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

“I think I cracked my tooth!”

I told my wife, who is a dentist, that I needed to have her examine my upper molars where I could feel a jagged edge with my tongue. Last weekend, she saw me in her office and was surprised by what she found. 

“You have very bad cracks on both of your upper molars. Looks like it is from grinding your teeth. Are you still wearing your mouth guard?”

I was confused. “Yes, you made me the mouth guard, you know I wear it every night when I sleep.”

“Yes, but what about during the day?”

“I can’t wear a mouthguard during the day.”

“No, I meant you are probably clenching your teeth during the day and you are unaware that you are doing it.”

“Me? Stressed?” No WAY!” Of course I knew she was probably correct. Even if I was not consciously aware of the clenching, regardless of what I told myself or her, the evidence was there. She cleaned my teeth and did two fillings. The damage was repaired but the behavior that caused it was still there. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any  hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalms 139:23-24 (NASB)

There are so many behaviors that I fail to acknowledge to myself and to God. Some are simply anxious thoughts. Others may degenerate into self-destructive behavior that, like my teeth clenching, can hurt me. Only by coming before God, through faith and belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, and asking Him to reveal these harmful habits, will I be able to allow God to extinguish these behaviors and triumphantly lead me to an everlasting abundant and fulfilled life.

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

E.G.O.T.

Emmy

Grammy 

Oscar

Tony

There are only sixteen artists who have achieved this rare quartet of awards in entertainment. This list includes such luminaries as John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Weber, and Audrey Hepburn. Their formidable artistic skills allowed many of them to lend their fame to other worthy causes. For example, Audrey Hepburn was chosen as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her service.

If there is one Biblical character who was similarly blessed with artistic skills and leadership abilities, it was King David. He was a poet who composed many of the Psalms. He was a musician who was skilled in the harp. He was a great military leader and the greatest King of Israel. Yet, his humble beginnings were as a shepherd, the youngest of seven sons of Jesse. How did David achieve his fame?

King Saul suffered from attacks of mental anguish and sought someone who could soothe these episodes. His advisors recommended a person who was skillful in the harp who could play it whenever he had an attack in an attempt to soothe his soul and relieve his anxiety. One of them knew of David and recommended him.

Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him.”

1 Samuel 16:18 (NASB)

God used David’s artistic skills and brought him into the household of the King of Israel. Why did He do this? As the Bible clearly states, the Lord is with him. Once David was in the King’s inner circle, God moved behind the scenes and brought David to prominence by defeating Goliath and later becoming the commander of the King Saul’s armies. 

The world has many talented artists and we honor them with awards like the E.G.O.T. In God’s Kingdom, when God is with us, He takes our talents and uses them in the most unexpected ways to bring glory and honor to His Name and to bless all believers through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. While we may never earn the public accolades like other celebrities, we receive God’s blessing and His approval. 

And that reward is eternal!

Amen!

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

It happened so suddenly. 

I received a phone call from my aunt on a Sunday afternoon who was frantically attempting to explain what had just happened. She and my uncle had just finished brunch at a restaurant and as he was getting up to pay the bill, he slipped and hit his head on the floor, bleeding and unconscious. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and underwent emergency neurosurgery to stop the bleeding and relieve the pressure on his brain. Unfortunately, there had been too much damage and he slipped into a coma. Within a few days, the doctors all agreed there was nothing more that could be done for him and he was discharged to home hospice. My uncle clung to life for about ten more days before quietly passing. I was present with my aunt, her son, and her two close friends. 

In the days following this tragic event, my aunt understandably withdrew from all of us. The dizzying pace of the events was overwhelming. My aunt had been with my uncle for over fifty years; he was the only man she ever dated. In less than two weeks, he was gone. I could not even begin to imagine the pain and the flood of emotions that she was experiencing as she was suddenly alone. Over the next few days, I attempted to reach out to her many times but to no avail. I respected her privacy and gave her the space she needed. 

Many of us have been in situations when we have experienced the sudden loss of a family member. We all deal with it in our own way. Jesus Christ had brothers and sisters and relatives. The Bible does not mention much about his specific interactions with them but we do know that they did not believe that He was the Messiah and the Son of God when He was alive and living with Him. In fact, besides his earthly mother and father, the only relative who believed that He was God was His cousin, John, the Baptist. They shared a special relationship, meeting one another when both were in the wombs of their mothers. Undoubtedly, they interacted when they were growing up. Decades later, Jesus would begin His ministry by being baptized by John, praising him as one of the greatest amongst men. John was later imprisoned by King Herod and executed. The following verses record the events immediately following the execution. 

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:13-14 (NASB)

What would any of us do in such a situation? If this happened to me, I would undoubtedly do the same as my aunt and withdraw to be alone with my thoughts, or perhaps I would return to my family and share my grief with them. Yet, Jesus could have none of these comforts. People, who were unaware of His loss, followed and surrounded Him, begging Him to be healed of their sicknesses. If I was Jesus, my response would have probably been to lash out and push the people away. Jesus responded with compassion. 

There are so many reasons why I love my Lord, Jesus Christ, and this is one of them. This beautiful story profoundly demonstrates how Jesus was able to put aside the pain of the sudden loss of his cousin to tend to our needs. Like the pain that my aunt experienced with the sudden passing of her husband, I cannot begin to understand the depth of emotional suffering and loss that Jesus experienced when His cousin was executed. Yet, He responded by serving God, His Father, by serving us, even when we did not understand His loss.

A short time later, Jesus would again demonstrate His love for us, by forsaking His own life and allowing Himself to be willingly led to the Cross to suffer a humiliating and excruciating execution on the Cross. In this supreme example, God demonstrates to us how He understands our pain when we lose a family member. He sacrificed His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Amen!

Thank you, Lord Jesus. 

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

Many people have taken the Myers-Briggs personality test. I took it nearly twenty years ago when my former pathology group hired an industrial psychologist to help each of the partners better understand one another and ourselves. Our workplace relationships were dysfunctional and our group president was hopeful this would mitigate or even eliminate some of the conflicts. After answering a series of questions, a personality profile was generated for each of us. The eight categories and its characteristics are presented in this table. 

E	Extraversion (energized by the outer world, live it then understand it)	I	Introversion (energized by inner world, understand it before live it)
S	Sensing (reality based, work with known facts, detail)	N	Intuition (associations, look for possibilities and relationships, theoretical)
T	Thinking (decisions based upon impersonal analysis, logic, reason)	F	Feeling (decisions based upon personal values, sympathy, subjective)
J	Judging (prefer planned organized way of life, decisive, set goals, systematic)	P	Perceiving (prefer flexible and spontaneous way of life, open to change)

Adapted from Wikipedia 

I am an E.N.T.J. 

E-extrovert

N-intuition

T-thinking

J-judging

What I and the rest of my partners found so fascinating was how accurate the test was in characterizing our personality traits. One of my partners initially dissented after receiving his profile, claiming the test was wrong, however, a few days later, he sheepishly confessed to all of us that the profile was completely spot on and many of the traits that he thought did not apply to him were accurate. He often tried to project a different image to all of us, one that was opposite to many of the traits that he possessed. 

What did I and my partners do with this information? For a few weeks, we all made a concerted effort to utilize our newly gained knowledge to foster a more cooperative and productive environment. There were some initial successes and comments like, “Oh you are an E.N.T.J. so I need to remind myself to give you extra space in this area…. “ were common. With time, the enthusiasm waned and we all returned to our dysfunctional relationships. 

When one is given the truth, what does one do with it? It needs to be inculcated, otherwise, it becomes another set of data points, filed away in the recesses of our mind as interesting information but never acted upon, or we may bury it, refusing to acknowledge the truth. 

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Romans 5:8-11 (NLT)

The Bible gives all of us the Truth about why we exist, why we are in the state we are in, and what we can do about it. We can choose to file this information away, deny it, or act upon it. Unlike the information about my personality, acting upon it is more than just helping one to correct a dysfunctional relationship. When we accept the Truth about Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior, we receive the forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life. 

And whatever your personality type, we all have the ability to respond to God’s invitation. 

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

“Wait! Wait!”

My college roommate startled me with his shout. It was Saturday morning and I had just awakened and was about to put on my socks. “Walk across the room again,” he instructed me.

“What?” I stopped in the middle of the floor.

“No, no! Keep walking!”

I was utterly confused but obliged my roommate’s request. 

“Good…good! Very nice.”

“What is?”

My roommate stood up from his chair and kneeled close to the ground, next to my feet. “You have nice feet!”

“Excuse me?” I thought he was setting me up. 

“You have a nice arch,” he said, pointing to my sole. “Here, look at this!” He took off the sock on one of his feet. “I happen to think I have very nice feet! See!” He traced the arch of his foot with his finger. He looked up smugly and said, “The woman I marry must have perfect feet!”

I don’t know what happened to my roommate, whether he ever found his perfect mate with perfect feet. I am confident that he was quite adamant about finding such a woman. If only life could be so simple!

There is nothing wrong with being attracted to physical attributes in a spouse. Some of the most beautiful and poetic verses in the Bible extol the physical beauty in a spouse.

How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.

Song of Solomon 4:1 (CSB)

There are many interpretations of the entire Song of Solomon. Some Bible scholars state that it honors the physical love between a man and wife. Others state it is a metaphor and symbolizes the love that Jesus Christ has for His Church. All would agree that beauty is a gift from God and we should not be reticent to celebrate it in our spouse. However, it should never be the overriding reason why we choose our spouse.

Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart —the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (CSB)

In this Bible verse, the Apostle Peter gives us practical godly advice for the qualities we should be seeking in our spouse. While we celebrate outward beauty, this will eventually fade. The imperishable qualities of a gentle and quiet spirit are what we should be desiring and when we do, God honors our relationship. 

Perhaps someday I will be reunited with my former college roommate and I will learn if he married a woman with perfect feet. Meanwhile, I am thankful that God blessed me with a wife whose inner beauty far surpasses her outer beauty.  

And by the way, my wife does have very nice feet!

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

When I was a teenager, I was invited to my friend’s home for brunch. After we finished our meal, he brushed his teeth as he walked around his house. His mother chuckled and said, “He is just like my late husband. He did the same thing! It is amazing since he died when Jake was only three years old, and for most of those years, he was deployed in Vietnam. So, he really never saw his father do this.”

My friend had inherited his late father’s same behavior. I have noticed that I, too, have inherited many of my father’s behaviors and I see this in my own children, much to their annoyance. Like migratory birds and hibernating bears, some scientists aver that many of our behaviors are programmed within us and we are beholden to these genetic programs that are hard-wired in our brains. In turn, we pass along these behaviors through our genes. While this may be true for simple behaviors like my friend’s penchant to walk while brushing his teeth, some scientists take it to much higher levels. 

What about alcoholism? Researchers have now identified several genes that are linked to this condition. If this is true, how can we call alcoholism a sin if some of us are genetically programmed to be an alcoholic? What is next? Will we someday discover a gene for murder, for lying, for defrauding others? Will we be able to explain all of our sins by attributing it to our genetic makeup, excusing us from taking responsibility for our behaviors?

While it is true that some behaviors are inherited, there is a critical difference between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. We can choose to change our behaviors. We can undergo counseling and even take medications. However, while these therapies may help, oftentimes, these only mask or sublimate the desires, ready to re-emerge during times of stress in the future. What we all truly need is a complete reworking of our soul. What we need is a supernatural intervention by God.

…Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6 (NASB)

Only by confessing and repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will we be able to break the bonds of sins in our lives. The instant we do so, God sends His Holy Spirit to indwell within us. Regardless of whether we have inherited a genetic tendency that increases our susceptibility to behave in a certain manner, God’s Holy Spirit can override and eliminate any desire we have toward sinning. God can do this because He created us and wants us to live a fulfilled and abundant life, following His will rather than giving in to our fickle desires. 

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

Over twenty years ago, my former pathology group took over the contract for the pathology services at a prestigious hospital in Southern California. The previously contracted group was retiring and included some of the top pathologists in California. When I arrived at the hospital, I was assigned a spacious office with walls lined by shelves containing hundreds of medical journals. My new secretary smiled as she escorted me in. “Hope you like this office. This was occupied by Dr. Smith.”

I was delighted. In an era before the internet and online medical journals, it was a privilege to have such an extensive library in my office. Dr. Smith’s prodigious appetite for learning was on full display, and I was inspired and humbled to sit in his office. 

About a week later, I received a book I purchased, written by one of the premier surgical pathologists in the world, chronicling the birth and history of surgical pathology in America. I was fortunate to have trained at one of the hospitals that was profiled, and as I read the account, I discovered this astounding quotation.

“The class of surgical pathology fellows from 1951 was considered the most intellectually gifted of any class that trained at the hospital. Jack Smith, in particular, was considered a wunderkind!”

Jack Smith! It was the same pathologist whose office I now occupied. I rushed to my secretary’s office and showed her the passage in the book. “I can’t believe it!” I gushed. “I am so honored to be at the same desk!” She smiled and nodded her head. She had worked with Dr. Smith for twenty years and dearly loved him. As I was doing this, the phone rang, and serendipitously, it was Dr. Smith calling to say hello. My secretary laughed and said, “Dr. Smith! The new doctor in your old office was just reading about you in a book. The book stated you were a wunderkind! He says he is honored to sit in your office!”

Without missing a beat, the reply came over the speakerphone.

“Tell him he should be!”

We all laughed. Dr. Smith’s rhetorical wit was equally renowned for his intellectual prowess and leadership. I was even more intimidated to sit in the office. These were very big shoes to fill, and I was very unsure if I would ever be successful.  It was not the first time I had stepped into a situation where I followed in the footsteps of a great person. In most of these situations, I did my best to honor the memory of my predecessor, but always, in the back of my mind, fearful that I would not be able to live up to the expectations of those who knew the shoes I was filling. 

The Bible gives us many wonderful examples of people following in the footsteps of great people. When Solomon became King of Israel, he followed his father, King David, who had led Israel to become one of the most powerful kingdoms in the ancient world. These were big shoes to fill. When faced with this daunting task, what did Solomon do?

“Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

1 Kings 3:7-9 (NLT)

When our paths follow in the footsteps of a great person, there are always big shoes to fill. The Bible provides direction on how we should act. We should thank God for the opportunity and humbly ask Him to give us wisdom to successfully chart our course and walk in the shoes of our predecessors. 

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

“If you look at this graph, you will see the dramatic difference our treatment intervention resulted for this cohort of patients. We achieved an 80% response rate with complete clearance of the disease after three months in the patients that responded.”

I was participating in an online video conference for my dermatology department. The guest speaker was screen-sharing his laptop computer so we could view his presentation. On the side of my computer screen were live images of several of the audience participants. As I scanned the images, recognizing my residents and fellow faculty members, my eyes were drawn to an unfamiliar young man. He was a medical student who was doing a dermatology elective with our department. At first I thought he was simply nodding in agreement with the points the speaker was making but after a few minutes, the nodding seemed out of sync. No wonder! His eyes kept closing with each nod until his entire head hung forward. Asleep! Toward the middle of the lecture, the student shook himself awake and sheepishly smiled, knowing his slumber was on full display for all the participants.

The problem with conference calls that require video participation, particularly with a smaller group, is everyone is on full display. Unlike a lecture hall where one can hide behind your laptop or a larger person sitting in front of you, there is no hiding. 

As obvious as this may seem, there is no hiding from God. Yet, our ancestors thought they could successfully hide their sins from one another and from God. Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God when they first sinned. King David orchestrated the murder of his trusted warrior, Uriah, to cover his sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. The Bible records many sordid sinful events and the resulting feeble attempts to hide or cover up the event. Like an online video conference, there is no hiding. God is always watching.

The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! 

He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

Psalms 10:11 (NLT)

Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you…

Psalms 10:13-14 (NLT)

In spite of these admonitions in the Bible, thousands of years later, all of Adam and Eve’s descendants have continued to challenge God, myself included. Why would I think that God is not watching me? My sins are not that bad, after all, I didn’t hurt anyone. What about my friend who has been slandering his boss behind his back? Surely God would be more concerned about those sins than mine?

Regardless of how I feel about my sins, God holds me solely accountable for all of my sins. 

I cannot hide from God. Like the online video conference, all of my faults are on complete display for Him to see. I have sinned against Him alone and I need to always confess my sins and seek true repentance through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. 

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