Stand Firm or Move Ahead?

There are times when faced with a huge decision or a difficult speed bump on life's road I tend to "freeze." I just stand there as if I am waiting for a Divine sign or message. In scripture the disciples said, "Lord show us a sign." His rebuke of them was swift and sharp. Faith that requires sight is really not faith at all. "Faith is believing in that which cannot be seen." Yet, firm I stand......motionless......frozen in time......paralyzed by fear or indecision. One of my favorite stories takes place in the great Exodus where God chose a known felon, a murderer, to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. God was delivering them from slavery. In this case it was slavery by the Egyptians. Slavery is seldom a good thing. We know that from our own American story. But slavery can sometimes seem safe. It is predictable, it is something known and so people choose to remain in bondage. I have seem women remain slaves to the abuse handed them by a spouse or significant other. I always encourage them to leave the abuse and beatings, but more than half the time they don't. Why? Because it is familiar. It is predictable and leaving means moving into the unknown. How will I pay the bills? Where will I live? What if I can't make it? So they stand firm.....trapped between "heaven and hell" if you will. The same is true with an addition. For many years I drank and smoked. I knew I should quit, but I didn't want to. I would have to find new friends, when, in fact, the booze and smokes were my friends. They were there when I wanted them. They never criticized me. They comforted me. And thus, for years I stood firm while I nearly destroyed that which was most important......my family and my own life. I got rid of the old friend "Chevaz Regal" and good ole' "Bud" about 35 years ago. I don't know what happend to them, but I know what happened to me. I moved on and found new friends.....my wife, my kids and lots of people I never had time for before. But you see the old friends, the bottle, the smokes (which by the way I kicked out of the house also) are so comfortable so we stand firm.
In that Exodus story the people of Israel were trudging along in the sand not knowing all the obstacles that would disrupt their lives.....all those things that would make them want to turn back. In fact, God knew so He confused their journey and made them wander around in circles for 40 years. God knew they would turn around if He didn't do that. They would go back into slavery. Why? Because it was comfortable.....it was predictable and known. So when they came to the Red Sea and looked on the ridge behind them as saw the army of Egypt about ready to destroy them they were paralyzed. They asked Moses what to do and Moses said, "Stand firm. Today you will see the Lord fighting for you." Now it is a fact that God fights for us every day and every second of every day. But when Moses went over to speak with God, the Lord said, "Tell the people to move forward." Moses said, "Don't you see the water? They'll drown." (Italics mine). What God was in effect saying is you need to trust and get your feet wet. Guess what? When they stuck a toe in the water, the sea was parted and they walked across of dry land. But when the Egyptian army gave chase, God closed the sea and destroyed the enemy.
As I said, I often tend to stand firm and say, "God you do this." But God says, "Oh you of little faith. Get your feet wet and I'll take care of the water."
What about you? Are you standing firm today, paralyzed by fear, hatred, resentment, an addiction, a broken relationship, a dark secret (which God knows by the way), of some other Red Sea? If you stand firm I'll tell you what happens. I remember basic training in the service of Uncle Sam's army. I saw young men (no women at that time) stand at attention too long with their knees locked. They fell over because the blood circulation was cut off. Standing still is not a positive experience most of the time. When I would do a wedding service, I always told the wedding party to flex their knees every few minutes so they wouldn't faint. I am telling you the same thing. Don't pass out from fear, suffering, doubt, lack of money, a bad relationship, or whatever you may be facing. Move forward and watch God part the waters. Now, the Israelites also faced other minor inconveniences such as deadly snakes, a lack of water, etc. Life's journey is not a "cake walk." Life is tough sometimes. It's the Forrest Gump "box of chocolates," where you never know what your are going to get. But please remember this. The Israelites got through the wilderness and so will you if you allow the God of creation to lead you. I got through my addictions and so will you. At the recent summer olympics I saw a young gymnast fall from the uneven bars. She had two choices......1) walk away in shame or 2) get back on the bars and finish the routine. Thankfully, she chose the later. She didn't receive a medal but she was a winner because she refused to stand firm. She moved forward and in God's eyes she was a winner and so are you.
Scripture say, "I know the plans I have for you," 'says the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for evil. Plans to give you a future and a hope." God has good things planned for you. The going will not be easy.....it seldom is, but God wants to do something awesome in your life. Don't prevent him by standing firm or by going back into slavery. Go ahead....put your toe in the water and see what great things God will do.
God bless you now and always.

Good Fruit

It has been four years since I have been able to have a garden. At our last home there simply wasn't room, so I was excited to get the ground worked and my plants and seeds in the soil. There were a couple things I didn't take into account, however. First, I staked out the spot where I wanted the ground tilled. It looked big enough to plant a large garden on with tomatoes, beans, peppers, onions, squash, etc. But when I purchased all my plants and seeds I soon discovered that I should have made it larger. Isn't that the way it is in our personal lives? We don't leave ourselves enough room to grow, to expand. Jabez prayed that God would increase his territory, his coastland, his opportunities for ministry. Jabez wanted all God could give him and he allowed sufficient space in his life. He tilled, he fertilized with God's Word and God planted seeds enough for a huge harvest. Sometimes we only set aside part of our lives for God and fill the rest with "stuff" so there in not enough room for expansion. We have to learn to get rid of that which is just "stuff" so God can increase our territory for ministry.

The second mistake I made with my garden was that when I planted the trees still had not leafed out. When they did, I found that my garden only had partial sunshine at best. Most garden plants and seeds need lots of light. In the same way you and I need Light in our lives. We spend too much time in the shadows. We try to hide in the dark. But Scripture tells us that God's light sees even in the dark recesses of our lives and no amount of darkness can survive against light. We have to let God's like shine on every part of our life ALL THE TIME if we want to grow and produce the fruit that God wants for us. We need light for spiritual nourishment. We need light for personal and spiritual growth. My tomatoes have finally grown. They are healthy strong plants bearing dozens and dozens of tomatoes. But they are the only part of my garden that receives the afternoon sun. The rest grew into nice bushes and vines, but there is very little or no fruit.

Most of us seek after happiness. We look for peace, the kind that "passes all understanding." When it doesn't come we blame God. But it is not God's fault. God said that the "Light came into the world but people preferred darkness over light." Get out of the shadows my friends and let God's like shine upon you. Then "let your light shine before people," so they will also learn to seek God's light. Sun light can burn and cause some health problems. But Son Light brings health and wholeness and happiness.

God Bless,

Ray

Blessings in Small Packages

It was 6:30 am on February 16, 1987. The place Osmond General Hospital. That was the time and place that my wife and I first became grandparents. I had just been appointed to serve a church in that community when we learned that our single, 16 year old daughter was going to have a baby. Oh my, did I ever go on a pity party. I knew that the church would ask us to leave, that my career would come crashing to an end, that we would be humiliated, etc. You see, I had a vision problem......if was all about "I" and not my daughter, my grandchild, my wife OR GOD. I was only concerned about what it might do to me. That's not the first pity party I have hosted, but it was certainly the most selfish. You see, I believed this was a bad thing.......a sort of curse. Now certainly, nobody wants to see their 16 year old single daughter get pregnant, but it turned out not to be a curse, but the greatest blessing God could ever give my wife and I. Our daughter, was not able to care for the child, so we raised her. When she was about 4 we adopted her. Let me insert here that there has never been an unwanted adoption. With the adoption came a new birth certificate showing my wife and I as the parents. It was NEW! God said, "Behold the old is gone and the new has come." Again He said, "I make all things new." This child has taught me how to love at a deeper level. God has taught me that Satan tries to tell us that something is a curse when all along it is a blessing. Satan is the father of lies and conceals his lies and makes them look like truth.
I could, and perhaps should, write a book about this experience and how our family and my life changed as a result. But what I want to tell you is that God can turn a perceived tragedy into a blessing when we allow Him to do so. Blessings don't just come in big packages, but most often in small ones that grow larger. As I drove around the corner on Highway 92 and approached the Platte River I had to stop for two adult turkeys with their chicks. One adult was in front and the other behind and the chicks were trotting across the road between the two. I was struck by the beauty, the simplicity, and the love lesson I saw. Truly it was a miracle in small packages. I couldn't have traveled more than 400 yards before I saw the most beautiful deer standing about 10 meters off the road. Another miracle, another gift from God. I love to garden and when I pick a ripe tomato off the vine it is a miracle. Only God can produce that fruit. I only plant the seed. But God also asks us to bear good fruit. He says to us that we will do "greater things than these." Let your blessings, large and small guide you into bearing fruit as you plant those seeds in others that are searching to see a blessing. I once did a funeral for a man who died much too early and on the same day as the funeral he became a grandfather. A baby was born and one was given back to God. Blessings abound. If you feel like you have more curses, more tragedy than you can stand, let God turn them into blessings, joy and peace.
God Bless You,
Neskypilot

When Do You Stop Worrying?

I remember as a boy, I would spend much of the summer at my grandparents who lived in the same town. That was because two cousins from another community would come for the summer. On Saturday nights we would go to the movies which was just across the street from our grandparents. When the movie was over I could always look across the street and see grandma looking out through those old blinds. I thought how silly that was. Later, as a young married adult, my parents told me if they were traveling that grandma wanted them to call when they reached their destination. How silly that was. Fast forward now about a dozen years. I realized that it wasn't silly at all. It was an act of extreme love. Grandma wasn't being nosy, she simply loved me, my cousins and my parents with a love that could not be expressed in words.
As a parent myself and a grandparent, I know understand that love. We want to make sure our family is safe. We have an unconditonal love, although my teenage children doubted that. We would easily give up our life for theirs. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. I have worked with many families who have lost a child or grandchild. There are no words that can comfort them. It's out of sync! Parents are supposed to die before their kids. Our kids are not supposed to suffer, to feel pain, to feel alone, lost and empty. But they do. When I have heard someone say to a grieving parent, "You'll get over it," I sometimes chime in by saying, "No. You will never get over it. You are not supposed to." I have heard people say, "God needed them more than we do." Nonsense!! Nobody needed that son or that daughter more that the parent and grandparent. Yes, they are certainly in a better place, but we want them with us. To say that God needed them more depicts a mean God that I could not worship.
But I can tell you this much, when we hurt God hurts. When we weep, God weeps. The shortest verse in the Bible says, "Jesus wept." Two words......Jesus wept. He cried. He felt the inner pain and he felt it for us. Jesus does not take away the pain, because pain is part of life. But he does give us a "peace that passes understanding." And God understands what we go through. He watched as his Son was rejected, as he was spit upon, as he was beaten and as he died. God's heart was broken. But God also watched on that glorious morning as the stone was rolled away and as his Son came back to life. And that's what he promises us. In this world there is pain, there is sorrow and suffering. But as Christ rose from the grave so shall those who believe. The grave is "the valley of the shadow of death," but it is not the final destination. "Yea, though we PASS THROUGH the valley......" Hear that, we pass through. If you are a parent or grandparent you absolutely know what it is to hurt for your child. You know what it is to worry. And sadly, some of you know what it is to get that dreaded call or knock on the door. Words cannot describe that pain, but remember "Jesus wept." He wept for you, but he also rose from the grave for you and for those you love.

A Fish Out of Water and Other Flip Floppers

Like many of us, I have been watching the Presidential campaigns with interest for a number of months. It now appears to me that we have two choices. We can elect someone who is inexperienced and someone who will say or do whatever is necessary to get elected, or we can choose a proven leader who has always said what he believed, even when it was unpopular. I am sure that Obama is a fine man who loves his country. I think to question his patriotism is absurd. Yet, being the fisherman that I am, I have watched many a fish out of water flip flop around in an attempt to get back in the water. That's what Obama is doing. He will start bringing troops home on his first day. Wait a minute, now it could be 16 months. He is against off shore drilling, but suddenly it might be considered as part of a broad program. He will definitely accept public campaign financing, but now he has changed his mind. He wrote his policy on the war in Iraq before he visited that country. He wants to raise taxes. Don't believe me, read his program carefully. He will raise your social security tax, your capitol gains tax and on and on. He is for smaller government, until you really take time to see what he is proposing. It isn't small, but larger government. America cannot afford an Obama Presidency. Voters......make sure you vote but also make sure you take time to become informed voters.