Month: May 2024

“And how do you know if you are abiding in Christ?”

I recalled the Words of Jesus when He spoke to His disciples. “When I bear fruit?”

“Exactly. And are you?”

I listened to my friend, who kindly gave me spiritual counseling, and looked downward, averting my eyes from his concerned stare. “No.” I didn’t want to admit it but it was the truth. For months, I was backsliding. One sad testimony was my discontinuation of writing my daily blogs, of which this is an example. I wrote a daily weekday blog for nearly seven years, never missing a day unless I was on vacation. I told others that the day I stopped writing these blogs was when God stopped speaking to me. Although I knew it was not true, I stated this with some conviction. These blogs would easily come to mind as God showed me how I could see Him in the seemingly everyday occurrences of my life. If I stopped writing the blogs, it may mean I was no longer listening to Him. A more accurate description would be that God was speaking, I simply wasn’t listening.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

John 15:5 (ESV)

The example Jesus gave is simple and straightforward. So why didn’t I follow it? I substituted my foolish standards for God’s absolute. I was sinning by putting God to the test. Instead of abiding, I was challenging God. Instead of bearing fruit, I shriveled and grew in resentment and disinterest. As Jesus emphatically stated, I was not serving Him. I was doing nothing. Through God’s grace and mercy, I have found my way back to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a painful and much-needed lesson. 

What a loving God we serve!

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

Physically, I am a blend of my mother and father. Emotionally, I am much more of my mother’s son. My mother was a worrier and I inherited this quality. Is this bad? If I didn’t worry, would I plan to ensure my family’s safety? If I didn’t worry, would I be as proactive in ordering the appropriate tests when I review a biopsy for skin cancer as a dermatopathologist? There are many ways I justify my behavior, but am I correct? What does God say?

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Worry results from uncertainty over the future. I seek to control it but in attempting to do so, it controls me. Instead, I should turn my worries and anxiety over to God and let Him control it and me. I may convince myself that I am taking care of myself by worrying but I am pushing myself away from the solution and relying upon my flawed efforts to find an answer. Why would I be so foolish? My faith is too small because I allow my sinful pride to blind me to the fact that God cares for me with perfect and merciful love. 

Praise God!

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

Sonny Stitt.

For many, this musician’s name is probably unfamiliar. However, in the jazz world, everyone knows him as one of the founders of the genre known as bebop. Along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt may be mentioned, but there is always a qualification. Some jazz pundits aver that Still merely copied Parker’s style and claimed it as his own. Other pundits declare that Stitt was a musical genius, equal to Parker, and developed the complex harmonies and rhythms of bebop on his own. This latter group states it is a rare example of artistic convergence, with two artists creating the same style simultaneously. There are subtle differences between their two styles, but the differences are insufficient to convince the naysayers. 

Artistic convergence may be a rare occurrence. What about other types of convergence? Some critics of Christianity state that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a retelling of other religious myths. Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion, Ganesha in Hindu religion, and Odin in ancient Norse religion are just a few examples. Is Jesus Christ another example of spiritual convergence or an example where religious ideas are recycled and applied to a new setting and religion? What is the difference?

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

John 20:27-29 (ESV)

Unlike other gods who died and were resurrected, the Bible records eyewitness accounts of over five hundred people who saw and spent time with the risen Christ. Thomas’ dramatic declaration resulted from touching the actual wounds that were inflicted upon Jesus during His Crucifixion. All of the disciples witnessed His death and a Roman soldier even pierced His side with a spear to confirm that He died. 

Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt are no longer with us and the jazz world may never know the truth. Jesus Christ is alive and is in Heaven, sitting at the right hand of God, the Father. This is not spiritual convergence or a retelling of a myth. This is a spiritual reality and the Truth. Jesus Christ is God and offers salvation and eternal life to all who confess and repent of their sins and accept Him as Lord and Savior. 

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

It was nearly three months. Depending on one’s perspective, this may be short or long. For a residential escrow, it is very long. This is what I recently experienced. We entered escrow with the seller and agreed on a thirty-day escrow. For the first week, everything proceeded smoothly, then, the hiccups began. The reasons are complex, but all were not of our doing. There were missed inspections, and mistakes made by the bank providing the loan. Fortunately, the seller was highly motivated and willing to work with us and our agent and escrow finally closed. 

During this fiasco, my patience was sorely tested. It led to multiple changes to our moving date and increased frustration with all parties involved. Meanwhile, my wife and I still had to attend to our day jobs placing added pressure on us and our relationship. It was an unpleasant experience and we made it worse. During this ordeal, we rarely prayed, distracted by the numerous decisions. By the end of each day, we were physically and emotionally spent. At a time when we should have been relying the most on God’s strength, we pushed Him aside and went it alone. We were out of God’s will. 

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 

Hebrews 10:36 (NLT)

Faith and patience.

No matter the circumstance, God is faithful and patient with us even when we are not. If we obeyed God and obeyed Him, He would give us the peace that surpasses all understanding. Instead, we floundered in the chaos of our own making. We desperately need the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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

“Thanks Mom! See you in a half-hour.”

During my teen years, every Saturday morning, my mother drove me to Harry’s Music, the local music store, for my guitar lessons. Harry’s Music has been a beloved fixture amongst local musicians since opening in 1946 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is a photo of the original store. It relocated a short distance away in 2012.

Musical instruments. Records. Sheet music. Music lessons by local professional musicians. It had everything. But what made it most special were the owners’ connections with the local school music programs. Even when I did not have my lessons, I would frequently catch the bus and spend hours in the shop looking at different record albums or perusing music instruction books. The background was filled with the sounds of customers trying out new instruments. Local musicians frequently dropped in for a bonus.

Decades later, music stores like Harry’s are a rarity, replaced by big box dealers or internet sites dedicated to purchasing and selling everything related to music. Despite these obstacles, I sometimes long to own a music store like this. Although one always begins a business to be profitable, it is the camaraderie I seek. I want to meet local musicians and discuss the latest musical trends, debate the merits of different teaching approaches, and help them connect with the instrument of their dreams. Like Harry’s music, I want to create a family. Isn’t this what God does with His family, the Church?

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

When we confess and repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become a part of His Church, the Body of Jesus Christ. We are no longer wandering souls, searching the world to satisfy our selfish needs. All our desires and needs are now fulfilled through faith in Jesus Christ. All the answers to our questions about life are found in the Bible. 

Harry’s music provided a source for all things musical by creating a family. God provides the source for salvation and eternal life by granting us an heirship through His Son, Jesus Christ.

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

In my left hand, I held a vase of orchids, gifted to me by my real estate agent. In my right hand, I held the key to the front door she handed me. I inserted the key, turned it, and entered our new house. For twenty-five years, we lived in the same home. It was the home that my wife and I purchased together. We raised two children to adulthood. It was time to downsize and we bought a new home and made plans to sell our current home.

When does a house become a home?

I pondered this question as I reflected upon the day we made an offer on our first house. It was a brand new house, built in a planned community and thus we had no agent representing us. The seller’s agent informed us that we needed to come in on Sunday morning by 10 AM if we wanted to secure the deal. There was another family that was also eager to purchase the home. My wife and I did not hesitate when we answered, “We’re sorry, we are Christians and we need to attend our church service. If we lose the deal, it was not meant to be.” The agent hesitated for a second, seemingly flustered. “Oh my. I should be going to church as well. Tell you what, I will hold this deal for you if you can come in by noon on Sunday.” We agreed and we signed the contract after attending church. We honored God and He blessed us. 

With this new house, God once again intervened. The seller’s agent met with us and we immediately bonded. We enlisted the services of an agent and made an offer. At the same time as our offer, another family made an identical offer but the seller and his agent chose our offer and we entered escrow. Although escrow did not go as smoothly as we hoped, we finally closed. After the day of closing, I went to our new house and the seller’s agent was there. I profusely thanked him for navigating a very challenging escrow. He admitted it was the most difficult he had experienced in his over thirty years as a real estate agent. With the skill of a seasoned diplomat, he convinced the seller to work with us and our agent to close the deal. As I shook his hand, he beamed, “We’re both Christians. We need to support one another.” I smiled and nodded. I knew that he was a Christian. I later learned the seller is a Christian, the escrow officer he chose is a Christian and our loan officer is a Christian. God’s presence embraced this entire transaction. God blessed us once again. 

For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. 

Hebrews 3:4 (NLT)

With both houses, God’s providence was at work. He immediately confirmed that our former house would become a home. I am certain that our new house will also become a home. 

When does a house become a home?

When God blesses it and builds it!

Amen!

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