Month: August 2014

Categories
Christian Living

Avoiding the Fear of Death

We all have fears…
            …heights, confined spaces, flying, spiders, alien abductions!

Or maybe one of your big fears is that ugly, old Grim Reaper.
Are you afraid of death?
photo of a scythe symbolizing fear of death
I have spent time with people who are extremely brave in the face of danger, yet who are afraid to die. I’ve been asked the question: “How do you get to a place where you have no fear of death?”

My belief is that our way out of every fear (even fear of death) is increased trust in God. He tells me that He has this thing called “my life” in His hands and under control. The question is whether I trust that to be true. Because the more I trust Him and believe His Word, the less fear I have – even of that moment when I’ll take my last breath.

In fact, Jesus calls us into a weird paradox – to embrace death when we choose life with Him – death to self. “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” He tells us: To live is Christ; & to die is gain. Simply meaning that for every Christian, when we leave this earth, we will get to be with Him – and that is going to be better than anything we’ve ever experienced on this life…
           …Better than the moment of saying “I do” and kissing your spouse on your wedding day; better than the moment of holding your tiny newborn baby in your arms for the first time. Death will still be better because the next moment after death I’ll be with Jesus. I think a lot of us still have doubts about the truth of this idea, but until we trust it to be true, we will be afraid of death.

“Fleeing from death is the shortest path to a wasted life.”

We are all called to die to self, such that even if our very lives are taken due to our belief in Christ, it does not matter to us. But we wonder, if I truly have to die for Christ, then how does that benefit anyone? How does that make God look great to others?

“If being a Christian costs you your life, how will that help you make much of Christ? Many have made God look great through their death. When the hour comes for everything to be taken from us but Christ, we magnify Him by saying: “In Him I have everything and more. To die is gain.” If we learn to die like that, we will be ready to live. And if we don’t learn this, we waste our lives.”

What are you afraid of?
And how have you gotten past the fear of death? (even if you are still afraid of snakes!)


— brian rushing
(quotes by Jon Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life)

Categories
Christian Living

The Beauty of God In The Midst of Danger, Tragedy, and Pain

Here in America, we are relatively safe.
We are fairly comfortable.
Life is often pretty easy.
We find ourselves free from many dangers.
And we thank God for this safe, comfortable, easy life.hammock on the beach signifying a life of comfort and no danger

And yet, Jesus didn’t come to this earth to make our lives comfortable and safe. It is extremely hard for us to remove from our minds this notion that God came to make life easy. Here in America – this land of plenty – we have so much. We know that God has blessed us. But why has He blessed us? Is it so we can gather up more and more of His blessings so that we feel more safe and more comfortable? Is it to keep us free from danger, tragedy, and pain?

Hmmmm…. That does not seem to be the way that the disciples lived. Instead, they lived radical lives for the gospel, not focused on their own safety and blessing, but rather on sharing the message of Jesus in the midst of danger and at the cost of their very lives. It was a dangerous calling that caused beatings, pain, suffering – and they rejoiced in the midst ofthis dangerous calling.

They had discovered that Jesus’ “beauty shines most brightly when He is treasured above wealth, above health, and above life itself.”

They realized that “if we can learn to enjoy Christ and magnify Him even in the midst of pain and suffering, we show the world where our true love lies.”

Some of us might say, “But I am ready to die for Christ if it came down to that.” That may be true, but though we might be willing to die for Christ, the question is whether we will choose to live dangerously for Him?

“Some of us would be willing to die for Christ, the question is: are we willing to live for Him, suffer for Him, and magnify Him with our lives…. What we are willing to die for shows our belief, but what we are willing to live for and suffer for shows our radical commitment to our beliefs.”

We must love Christ above His blessings. We must love Him above our comfort. We must love Him above our safety and life of ease. We must value Him above the American Dream that we often find ourselves chasing.

To help understand this even more fully, click on this link to watch an excellent 2.5 minute video on the difference between the prosperity gospel and loving Christ in the midst of suffering.
            youtube.com video – the prosperity gospel

“What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for others to applaud you, you will feel shame when they don’t, but if you love for men to make much of Christ you will feel shame when His name is belittled on your account.”

(quotes by Jon Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life)

Categories
Christian Living

Our Nation Still Needs Prayer

The American Flag - symbolizing our need to spend more time in prayer for our nation
Today, I share with you a call to prayer for our nation, the United States of America. Can you guess how long ago it was written? The language will give away the age a bit, but you will have to admit that the message sounds like it could have been written yesterday:

“The truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history is that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

What was your guess?
The answer: One hundred and fifty years ago.
By President Abraham Lincoln.

He signed this proclamation to appoint April 30th, 1863 (a Thursday) as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. The proclamation also stated:
“I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord…. All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope…that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.”photo of president Abraham Lincoln who reminded us that we needed to have prayer for our nation

It is amazing to read this proclamation 150 years after it was written and realize that we find ourselves in a similar place now. We have not been faithful to repent as a nation. We, the Christians in the nation, have failed to be prayerful for our nation. Our greatest act of service for our country is to fast and pray for it with humble hearts seeking that God would turn our nation’s hearts back to Him. One of our early presidents realized the important need for us to do so. I pray that we will realize our need to join together 151 years later and answer this clear call to serve our nation through prayer.

(These words are from Proclamation 97 – Appointing a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer – March 30, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln)

Categories
Relationships

Parenting Expectations And A Helpful Idea

picture of a dad, mom, and a baby - reminding us that the role of parents is to be disciplemakers for their childrenA few posts back, I mentioned that expectations in parenthood sometimes are not met the way we had hoped.
(Anyone care to share some examples? I’m sure you have plenty!)

Though they are more precious than you thought possible, and though they allow you to love in ways you didn’t know you had within you, it does not take long to realize that your children are not perfect angels. But then again, once you do some self-examination, you also quickly realize that you aren’t a perfect parent. Parents need help and guidance and direction to help be the best disciplemakers possible for the precious ones in their care. Let me share something I read not too long ago that might be helpful as you continue down this road of disciple-making parenthood:

“Children must be impressed with the awesomeness of Christ, with His nature and character. They must see in their parents a sense of awe for the beauty and attractiveness of Christ. They must see what it means to treasure Christ more than anything else. Children are perceptive, and if they see parents and leaders talk with boredom and apathy about faith yet become overtly passionate about sports teams or shopping malls, they will think the sport or the mall is more attractive than Jesus.

The gospel is impressed on children by what they see in parents and leaders; thus, those who lovingly live a godly life in front of children are heroes. If children see husbands who love their wives and treat them with respect, they learn that Christ, the Bridegroom, pursues and loves His bride unconditionally. If they see leaders and parents hungrily devouring the Scripture, they learn that adults need Jesus for strength each day. If they see leaders forgive someone else, they will learn that their heavenly Father is eager to forgive.”

What lessons about Christ and the Christian life have you tried (or are trying) to show to your children using your own life as the example?

(Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’ by Matt Chandler)

Categories
Christian Living

In Light of the ISIS Genocide and Unmet Expectations

gold letter Nun in support of the Christians facing persecution by ISIS and who may be dealing with shaken faith thru unmet expectations
The tragic ISIS genocide we are reading about brings up additional questions regarding unmet expectations. When we see what our brothers and sisters are experiencing due to their faith in Jesus Christ – whether it be killing at the hands of Islamic terrorists or imprisonment such as what has happened with pastor Saeed Abedini – then it can make us wonder about the character and love of God. How can God be called good in the face of such evil atrocities taking place on this earth He created?

We aren’t the first ones to ask these questions. We find the same questions in Jesus’ day. Even John the Baptist had a season (or moment) of questioning. John had baptized Jesus. He had called Him “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He said about Jesus – He must become greater and I must become less. He had great expectations regarding his cousin who He had baptized as the Christ, as the Expected One, as the Lamb of God. He had seen the Holy Spirit descend onto Jesus. He knew who Jesus was and was expecting great things from Jesus. But where did he find himself? He was sitting in a jail cell awaiting possible execution. This was not what he expected!

How could the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world be Jesus if he (John) was sitting in a jail cell? Why is this happening? God, where are You?

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever questioned God about what life has thrown at you and wondered if God was still sitting on His throne? Wondered if God was still in control? Wondered if God even cared about you? John had these same concerns.

I’m so glad that Jesus didn’t chastise him for his questions. Instead, Jesus knew just what to say to John to comfort him and to help him realize that he had done exactly what God wanted him to do. “John, I am the Messiah. My works and the scriptures prove it. You were right in calling me the Lamb of God. You can be at peace that you lived out your calling to God just as He desired for you to do.”

That brings us back to us. When we are questioning our life circumstances, many of us get discouraged about the life we have versus the one we expected. I’m sure that some of the people in the midst of these on-going persecutions are experiencing the same thoughts, concerns, and doubts.

Jesus spoke words of comfort to John. But what can He say to us who are weary and discouraged by our circumstances? He doesn’t chastise us either – rather He simply says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

God knew we would become weary, distressed, disappointed, frustrated, and unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel. He knew that many of our expectations for our lives would not be met and that these unmet expectations would put us into a tailspin. He never said this life would be easy – it is full of evil that we have invited into His perfect world. But instead of leaving us to deal with it on our own, He brings us into a relationship with Him so that He will walk with us in the midst of the messes we have made.

Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” He never said there wouldn’t be a yoke or burden. But He did leave us with the great news that if we will choose to have a relationship with Him, then even when life may not be as we expected, we can still learn peace and contentment with Him – no matter the circumstances.

And pray for those in the midst of real persecution to feel the comfort of His love as He walks with them through the evils of this world.