Month: December 2023

Beatlemania? Katy Kats? Swifties? Forget it!

In the 19th century, a popular musician topped them all, and there was a name for this phenomenon.

Lisztmania!

Who?

Franz Liszt lived from 1811-1886. He was a renowned Hungarian composer, lauded for his brilliant compositions and physical attractiveness. Women were known to have swooned over him, rushing events where he appeared, in other words, no different from the musical idol worship of today. Here is a photograph exhibiting his handsome features.

Source. Wikipedia.

Throughout history, good looks and talent have garnered the attention of the public eye and popularity. We are all excited over certain people, events, or activities. When it becomes excessive or pathologic, it is called a mania and it is a disease state. The term is loosely used to explain the crazed and enthusiastic followers of musical artists of today and yesterday. However, like the careers of these artists, the mania peters out when the artists stop making music or get old and lose their physical attractiveness. 

My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 

Isaiah 53:2-3 (NLT)

No one knows what Jesus Christ looked like although many artists have speculated. Perhaps the most revealing Bible passage is found in the Book of Isaiah, quoted above. If we judge Jesus by the standards of the world, He was not a handsome man. So why did He attract so many followers? The Bible makes a point to include the names of several prominent women who supported Jesus and His disciples. Was there a Jesus mania over two thousand years ago?

…He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples 

Luke 8:1-3 (NLT)

No one alive today remembers Lisztmania, it died when Liszt died. When Jesus Christ died, something miraculous happened, He was resurrected three days later. His followers did not dissipate, instead, they grew in number and strength. Through faith and belief in His Name, the enthusiasm and passionate following of Jesus was not limited to a short-term mania. It became a life-changing relationship, one that continues to this present day.

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

She was in a home hospice for nearly one month. She was continually visited by friends and family she had loved for nearly 80 years. This week, our dear godmother passed into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. My wife flew to her home to spend one last weekend with her. Her body was weakened by her cancer, but her indomitable spirit was energized as she met with the many people who came to pray and have one last conversation with her. 

At the end of the weekend, I picked up my wife from the airport. She was emotionally drained but grateful for the opportunity to see our godmother one last time. As she tearfully reflected on the weekend, she shared with me, “She was still witnessing to people when I left her.”

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. 

Philippians 1:20-24 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul wrote these beautiful words while imprisoned, certain that he would die for the sake of His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He did not fear death and welcomed it as an opportunity to be in the presence of Jesus. However, he knew that it was better to continue to live so that he could witness to others and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

Like the Apostle Paul, our godmother never wavered in her commitment to serve her Lord Jesus Christ. I look forward to being reunited with her in the presence of Jesus Christ in Heaven. She is now being comforted by our Lord, whom she faithfully witnessed about to others with her last breath. What was hope and faith in this life is now reality and fulfillment for eternity.

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

He was celebrated throughout the world as a miracle worker, replacing diseased windpipes with plastic ones soaked in the patient’s stem cells. The confident surgeon once declared to his adoring public. “Medicine has replaced religion.” He is Dr. Paolo Machiarini. Within a few years, his work was discredited and he was convicted of gross assault. It seems that the public has lost their faith in him and has taken out their wrath upon him.

Medicine has discovered amazing cures to improve our quality of life and prolong our lifespans. Throughout history, mankind has exalted its achievements, believing they may eventually replace the need for God. It is the ultimate act of arrogancy and defiance.

Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. 

Psalms 2:1-4 (NLT)

Dr. Machiarini received the scorn of his patients and their families for his arrogance, thinking his skills had replaced God. He has been shamed and may go to prison. However, the scorn he should fear is from God. In this life, we need not fear man’s judgment against us, we should fear God. He is the One who gave us the science of medicine to understand the intricacies of life, all of which He created. God laughs and scoffs at those who seek to replace Him. We take His gifts of knowledge and wisdom and seek to replace Him, thinking we can free ourselves from His control. Instead, we hasten our demise, cloaked under the noble banner of religion or helping others.

How desperately we need our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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

https://youtube.com/shorts/JKvA9bvoJMQ

The driving beat of the familiar Michael Jackson hit, “Billie Jean” filled the room. On the dancefloor were a couple about to begin their dance in front of an eager audience and a panel of judges. It was the “Jack and Jill” West Coast Swing dance competition. Random couples are selected to dance to a song, previously selected with neither contestant’s knowledge. Although some couples have previously danced with each other, neither may choreograph a dance to this song before the competition. It is completely improvised by the two dancers and at times, the result is pure dance magic. Here is a recent championship dance.

Thibault Ramirez & Emeline Rochefeuille – 1st place Strictly Open Finals – Global Grand Prix 2022 (youtube.com)

The competition is a testimony to the creativity of each dancer, testing their ability to communicate with each other and to match the music. In life, we may find ourselves in a work or social activity when paired with a stranger or someone we do not know well. Like the Jack and Jill dance competition, our ability to succeed depends upon each participant’s creativity and willingness to work with the other and align one’s goals with the objective. 

In the Church, the Body of Christ, we may face a similar situation. God is perfect but it is composed of imperfect people. We are sinners, saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Thus, disagreements and conflict may result even amongst committed Christians seeking to serve our Lord. The Bible records a very public disagreement between two believers in the Philippian church.

Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. 

Philippians 4:2-3 (NLT)

Paul recognized the true faith of these two women in the Philippian church. Without going into the details, he urged them to work together to settle their differences for the glory of God and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

Jack and Jill.

Like the dance competition, we must seek to be in harmony with our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ and align ourselves to serve God’s Kingdom in one accord. It is not always easy but when everything is alignment, it is pure spiritual bliss.

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

I removed the glistening steel from its clear plastic wrap and held it in my hand, testing its balance. It was my new throwing axe. As I admired the workmanship, the copy on the packaging caught my eye. “Featuring stainless steel, synthetic sheath, and an integrated bottle opener.”

Wonderful! Throwing axes and drinking alcohol. What could go wrong? Ironically, many public arenas for axe throwing double as bars. It is a potential recipe for disaster. 

In life, we may occasionally and naively enter into activities, unaware that there could be a great deal of danger to ourselves. We may even be reassured by others that nothing could go wrong, only to discover that we have been defrauded or caused harm to ourselves or our loved ones. Guaranteed investments. A weight loss supplement. The list is endless. What could go wrong?

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)

The world attempts to deceive us into believing that nothing can go wrong when we enter into precarious situations. Thanks be to God that He assures all who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have nothing to fear. His promise is sealed with His death and the power of His resurrection.

…for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.

WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” 

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NASB)

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

When I read a medical textbook or journal, I am seeking knowledge. I am seeking information to better the lives of my patients. I would never intentionally violate this information and use it to make a wrong diagnosis. The consequences would be dire for the patient and myself. I have faith that the information I am reading and researching is valid. 

What about when I read the Bible? Do I have the same faith that what I am reading is valid? If I do, shouldn’t my attitude be similar to how I use my medical knowledge to treat my patients? Shouldn’t I never intentionally violate the Bible and use it for my personal gain or sinful purposes? Wouldn’t the consequences be even more dire for me?

The answer is clearly yes, however, why I am more susceptible to disobeying God’s Word than I am to disobey medical information? I don’t bend medical information to fit my selfish needs, I objectively apply it to each patient. Yet, I sometimes bend the Bible’s teaching to justify my sinful desires. Why does this happen?

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. 

Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. 

Romans 10:17 (NLT)

My faith needs to be grounded in the Word of God. The great preacher, James Moody, wrote, “I used to think I should close my Bible and pray for faith, but I came to see that it was in studying the Word that I was to get faith.” I am in a continual battle with Satan who seeks to influence my old sinful nature to disobey my new nature, reborn with the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. I must continue to equip myself with God’s Word which gives me faith to conquer my sinful nature.

Amen.

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

“We are moving for a vote for an impeachment.”

It is a legal move that is reserved for egregious crimes committed by the President against the United States. In 1868, President, Andrew Johnson, was the first President to be impeached. Nearly a hundred years later, in 1974, the House of Representatives was ready to impeach President Richard Nixon, for his role in the Watergate scandal, however, before they could vote to impeach him, Nixon resigned. Since then, two presidents have been impeached, President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump, the latter impeached twice. Each was acquitted. 

Impeachment has become weaponized by the opposing political party to attempt to remove a President. While high crimes and misdemeanors are certainly sufficient reasons to impeach a President, for some, simply disagreeing with the President’s policies is sufficient to call for impeachment. What was once considered an exceptional occurrence, has become routine.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 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. 

Romans 5:6-9 (NLT)

We are all sinners. By our efforts, we are helpless to heal our condition. We willingly chose to sin and reject God’s blessings, eternally condemning ourselves to a life separated from God. We need a supernatural intervention. God made an extraordinary exception. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live and die on this Earth and receive the penalty for our sins, which we deserved. Through the power of the Resurrection, God redeemed mankind, reconciling the relationship that sin had ruptured.

God’s grace and mercy. It is not an exception. It is eternal.

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

My colleague texted me apologizing for not being able to cover that day but she needed to deal with a personal issue. I thanked her for the notification but did not hear from her until she texted me that she would be able to come in on her usual day. Today was the first time I had seen my colleague in two weeks. 

“Hey, how are you doing?”

I was alarmed. She was not her usual cheery self. “Not good. My mother was having difficulty breathing so we immediately took her to the emergency room. The radiological studies showed multiple lesions in her lungs and the differential diagnosis was cancer, cancer, and cancer.”

I was stunned. Although I had never met her mother, my colleague described her as a lively and strong woman who loved life, imparting these same characteristics to her daughter. She shared with me that a follow-up biopsy confirmed that her mother was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer.

“We will be enrolling her in a protocol with a growth inhibitor therapy.”

It would not be an easy road for any of them, whether she took the therapy or not.

“Are you going to tell her about all the risks?”

“No. She has already researched her disease and she knows her prognosis is grim, even with treatment. She wants to fight it. My colleague paused and firmly stated, “She said she will live to be a hundred.”

I understood as we both forced a smile. “That is so encouraging. I hope the treatment works. We just have to stay positive.” I looked at my colleague and sighed. “We know too much.”

She closed her eyes which were brimming with tears and nodded. 

My colleague and I knew of the poor prognosis for her mother given the advanced state of her cancer. Even if her cancer initially responded to the treatment, her chance of surviving five years was unlikely. There were issues of drug resistance and the many side effects that would diminish the quality of her life. Our minds were fretting over these possibilities as our hearts were breaking. We were hoping to find some medical solution, a reasonable course of action, but we both knew too much. 

O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. 

Psalms 40:5 (NLT)

But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. 

Exodus 16:18 (NLT)

God is sovereign. He is all-knowing. Like providing manna in the wilderness as the Israelites wandered for forty years, by His grace and mercy, God gives us exactly what we need. He knows all of the knowledge and wisdom of the world, more than we can ever comprehend or understand. Evangelist Ravi Zacharias wrote, “God has put enough into this world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason alone.”

It is a difficult time for my colleague and her mother. We both knew too much. This is when God asks us to trust Him. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we can accept the information He gives us. We utilize the information, not to find reasons to trust in our intellect but to draw us closer to Him.

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

“Hey Bro, gotta talk to you about something really disturbing.”

My friend Jake was usually jovial so his serious demeanor immediately caught my attention. “What’s up?”

“Listen. Remember when your son was in the hospital? Sally and I were visiting with him and Grandma Karen was there.”

I remembered the time. It was five years ago and my son was hospitalized with a severe bout of pneumonia. Karen was my father’s companion for many years after my parents were divorced. Living in Hawaii, she often visited and stayed with our family in California, to help babysit our two children. Her kind and generous spirit endeared her to our family and we began to affectionately call her Grandma Karen. When my son was hospitalized, we asked Karen if she could fly to California to help us out, since my wife and I were both working. 

Jake continued. “We had never met her before so Sally and I were exchanging pleasantries when she unloaded on us.”

“Unloaded?”

Jake shook his head. “Bro. She told us, ‘I don’t know why they ever had their son. They should have aborted him when they had a chance. Look at all the trouble he’s caused.’ “

My eyes opened wide in horror. This woman, whom we trusted with the lives of our children, was spewing venom at them for over 12 years. This entire exchange was even more tragic since my friends, Jake and Sally, were also parents to a girl with Down Syndrome. We became friends when their daughter was born and a mutual friend put him in contact with me because our son had Down Syndrome. Karen’s statement ripped out our hearts. 

We were betrayed by someone who ingratiated herself into our family. At the time Jake shared this disturbing incident with me, our family had already learned the truth about Karen, which I documented in an earlier blog. However, this revelation was something new and completely unexpected.  “Trust Takes Years To Build…” (Luke 22:61-62) – The Bereans Blog

There are many examples of betrayal in the Bible. Samson was betrayed by Delilah. King David was betrayed by his son Absalom. The supreme example of betrayal was inflicted upon our Lord Jesus Christ. He was betrayed twice, first by Judas and then by Peter. How did He respond to these betrayals that led to His death?

He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 

1 Peter 2:22-23 (NLT)

This incident still sears my soul. I find comfort in the example of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who did not take revenge nor retaliate when He was betrayed. He left the judgment in the hands of God, the Father. I have done the same and will continue to do so whenever I am betrayed by someone whom I have trusted. Thanks be to God that He will always keep His promise to never leave nor forsake me. 

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

Vietnam war

9-11

The Great Recession

These events occurred within the past sixty years, approximately three generations. However, for many who lived through these events, the memories may quickly fade. While I still remember the shocking events unfolding in real-time, the precise details are fading. Memory experts hypothesize that it is a protective defense mechanism of the brain to bury painful memories into our subconscious, so we do not dwell upon them. What about positive memories? Do we forget times of joy and gratitude, allowing them to fade into our subconscious? The Bible records the sad answer from a dark chapter in the history of the early nation of Israel. Fresh from their conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan, God had blessed them with numerous improbable victories over enemies who greatly outnumbered the nascent nation. However, within a generation, Israel forgot the blessings that God had bestowed upon them and turned away from Him to follow the false gods of their conquered enemies. 

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 

Judges 2:10 (NLT)

Am I any different than the Israelites? It doesn’t take me a generation to forget God’s grace and mercy to me. Sometimes, just a few days is all it takes. God is always seeking to bless me but I quickly fail to recognize His blessings or even acknowledge them when they happen. Instead, like the Israelites, I turn to false idols, including myself. I glory in my accomplishments, thinking that my skills and cleverness are responsible for my success. How desperately I need a Savior! Only by confessing and repenting of my sins and acknowledging Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, will I be able to break this selfish cycle of sin and realign my life with God’s sovereign will. 

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