I failed the test!

Since last week, my physical frame has been plagued with severe pain. First it was a shoulder, now a hip. I'm not talking mild discomfort. I'm talking 'take your breath away, make you yell' stabbing pain. The shoulder's pain escalated over two days to the point of becoming immobile, then subsided about as quickly. The hip's pain seems to be on the wane. My response to this week of pain was not one of grace or simple faith! I became short-tempered and had a heart full of complaint. Yes, I failed the test of suffering in patient quietness! As I talked over my responses with the Lord, confessing my failure to accept His grace for this trial, He gently reminded me that many people suffer much worse pain and for extended periods of time. I could sense the Spirit saying, "Are you gentle with them? Do you empathize, encourage, and help them carry the burden? Do you offer them grace and faith, or do you just 'instruct' them?" Being human, I quickly told the Lord I would do better.... and that I didn't need a retest!

Suffering should help us to understand our frailty and make us dependent on our God so that His glory and strengthen can shine through our weakness. But, does it? Too often, no. Many are like me, assuming a right to feeling well, to having a pill at hand to take away pain, to finding a solution now for the things that are difficult. But sometimes the Lord has a purpose for leading us into temptation! (Read that word 'temptation' not as a time of seduction to sin, but rather as a time of testing for the purpose revealing weakness and strengthening faith.)

In the 14th chapter of the Exodus, we learn that shortly after the Israeli people left their Egyptian slavery, delivered by the mighty hand of God, something that defied all logic, happened. Take a look. "Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: "Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon." (Exodus 14:1-2, NLT) God turned them around, led them back toward Egypt and to a place where their ability to get away was blocked by a body of water! Why? Because the Lord wanted to draw the Pharaoh and his armies into one more decisive conflict. He wanted Pharaoh to think that they were confused and ready to be retaken! "I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!" So the Israelites camped there as they were told." (Exodus 14:4, NLT)

Pharaoh took the bait and soon the Israelis saw the approaching army. Did they remember that God was with them? Did they quietly wait for the next instructions? No. They failed the test! "They panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’ " (Exodus 14:10-12, NLT)

Moses' did not fail the test! "Moses spoke to the people: "Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again. God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!" (Exodus 14:13-14, The Message) And we know the rest of that story, the great crossing of the sea when God parted the waters.

A pastor from Kenya and I were talking about faith and prayer. "Jerry, I find that American Christians don't depend enough on the Lord," Patrick said. He went on to explain that in Africa, because they are not so wealthy, because they do not have so many medical resources, the Christians are much more prone to trust God, to fast and to seek Him in times of trial! How unlike us. Usually pain doesn't make us reflective and faithful - it tends to make us loud in complaint and angry with God! Dear friend, let's renew our commitment to Him, trusting Him with the pain as quickly as we praise Him for the blessings. Let's rediscover the God-honoring life that emerges when we dethrone Self and enthrone Christ as Lord of all, and let Him lead us even where we would not naturally choose to go.

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today. Paul wrote it as he reflected on his own prayer for relief from something that caused him distress.
"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:8-10, NIV)

Thanks for praying for the Lord to heal my body.
But I'd appreciate your prayers even more that my faith would be made strong so that I won't flunk the test next time!
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Paradise

Last night 'round 9:30, I sat quietly alone prayerfully thinking about the day that was now ending; and I longed for Paradise. As I prayed, God was near. The experience of His Presence is wonderful, but I still have to deal with the multiple evidences of sin in myself and my world - as I had done throughout yesterday. I am not complaining about my life! I enjoy rich blessings - the love of God, many friendships, a comfortable home, a loving wife, great kids. I even took my Miata out in the Spring sunshine for a spin with the top down yesterday. What I am trying to say is that even with a good life, there is a longing for that promised place where sin cannot enter, where suffering is unknown, and where intimacy with God is unbroken. The Psalmist expresses my desire: "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4, NIV)

Heaven is written into us by our Creator. He made us to love and serve Him and, as we invite His Spirit to be at work in us, we will more intensely desire His Presence, which will be perfectly known when we reach Paradise! One of my favorite authors, Dallas Willard, points Believers forward to eternity. Without a firm grasp on the promise of Paradise, we risk becoming disillusioned, even embittered, with the passing of time. He writes, "I meet many faithful Christians who, in spite of their faith, are deeply disappointed in how their lives have turned out. Sometimes it is a matter of how they experience aging, which they take to mean they no longer have a future. But often, due to circumstances or wrongful decisions and actions by others, what they had hoped to accomplish in life they did not .... Much of the distress of these people comes from a failure to realize that their life lies before them.. the life that lies endlessly before us in the kingdom of God." (The Divine Conspiracy) We must look beyond what we cannot understand now and take hold of what we are certainly promised throughout the Scriptures. We must not allow ourselves to make the error of thinking that eternal life only begins when we die, that the joy of Heaven is only available to us after our bodies are in the grave! I am a citizen of Heaven, now by the grace of Jesus Christ. I can and I do commune with the Lord of Glory now. I am called to bring Heaven to earth, to live in earnest expectation of glories to come, while confronting the darkness of sin with the Light of Heaven, right now!

We need to imitate the life of the father of the faithful, Abraham. He heard God's call, grasped the reality of Paradise, and lived the rest of days here on earth on pilgrimage. Was he perfect? No! He took some detours from the straight and narrow path, but he never lost sight of where he was going. "By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God." (Hebrews 11:8-10, The Message)

I am concerned that we do not anticipate Paradise with greater desire because we have adopted a faulty vision of that place. Hollywood has given us the wrong picture of Heaven. The images of the misty fog enveloping transparent spirits floating in a ghostly realm, the fat little cherubs strumming harps as their feet dangle over the edge of clouds, is nonsense! Heaven is a place; yes, a real substantial place, created by the same God that thought up the refraction of sunlight by water moisture which produces the beauty of a rainbow. He did that for a thing of beauty that lasts for a few moments. The One who designed this temporal world, which is destined for destruction, has built a place where we will live eternally. If He would make a temporary world of such splendor, I can only begin to imagine what Heaven, His eternal home looks like. John tried to describe it for us, but could only speak of gates of pearl and streets of gold!

The best conversation, the deepest intimacy with another, the most wonderful worship, the most blissful day of rest - are just glimpses of Glory! So, by faith, reach out and hold onto Heaven. Never lose sight of that place. When life is overwhelming, when sin threatens to engulf you, when all seems futile, when disappointment breaks your heart - look up and thank God that He has written Heaven into your heart. It is precisely the longing for Paradise that makes us unwilling to settle down and desire our best life now. We are headed home!
"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16, NIV)
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Smoke and Mirrors

I spent the morning with a young woman whose life has been turned inside out by a deceiver! To all appearances, the man was a Christian, concerned about serving others, generous, and ready to make a difference in the world. He befriended her, gave her gifts, and played up his meager accomplishments so he appeared to be a person headed for greatness. After he had gained access to her trust, he manipulated her into a significant financial deal. Then, he took off with the goods. He stole more than her money. He took away her ability to trust others, destroyed her self-confidence, and left a great deal of sorrow in the lives of several people.

Have you ever been deceived? It is a fairly common experience. We all encounter people that try to appear to be someone or something other than who they really are. Some are just harmless posers, wanna-be's who are playing a role. That is a stage that most of go through on our way to adulthood. We dress like a favorite actor or musician, adopt the mannerisms of a celebrity, or take on the persona of the coolest person we know. Almost all of us grow out of that stage as we leave our teens years behind and discover our own identity. But there are those who are incapable of being truthful with themselves, who refuse to do the hard work of making a real life for themselves, that become instruments of evil as they live a lie. Their lives are like a movie set; illusions made only of fabrications, boasts, and superficial appearance. They contribute nothing to others and drain away resources - financial, emotional, and relational- from all those with whom they have interactions.

Jesus describes such people as being just like their father! "For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. . . . He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44, NLT) What does the Evil One do? He destroys. He takes. He consumes. The words associated with him are darkness and death! Contrast that with what we find in the One who is Truth Personified! Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life!" What does He do? He builds up. He gives. He enriches those who love Him and His words. In Him there is Light and Life!

That, dear Believer, is why I love the Truth and despise even the smallest falsehood, the most 'harmless' pretense. The truth, even when it leads to disclosure of what is ugly, is always to be preferred to a lie! When we love the Truth and tell the truth- to ourselves and to others - God is able to change our hearts and minds. As we confess (say the same thing about them as He says) our sins to Him, we not only find forgiveness. We find cleansing and power to live a new life.

Are you an immature poser, a wanna-be who is trying to be somebody you're not? Grow up in Christ. Stop playing silly religious games and do the work of spiritual disciplines that allow you to become a mature Believer, full of the Spirit, who builds the Kingdom of God in the world.

Are you a deceiver, lying and living in a world of deception? I fear for you! It is oh so easy to get lost in the maze of mirrors that a life of lies creates. Fall on your knees and tell the Lord you need to be led to freedom. Tell him that you can't trust your own heart. Ask Him to send His Truth. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13, NIV)

Here's a word of Truth. Meditate on it today.
"Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." (James 1:22-25, NLT)

Plan "D"

We all have a preferred life path, plan "A." We have a back-up alternative, plan "B." There is that which we think is possible but unlikely, plan "C." But what often happens is, plan "D," that which we never even imagined in our wildest dreams or worst nightmares! Plan "D" is not always bad, though often frightening. It is the circumstance that develops unforeseen in our lives, that changes everything, and it shakes us to the core. Plan "D" events include situations like divorce, disease, career loss, a friend that turns against us becoming a foe, disaster, and spiritual crisis. They also can be serendiptious - a sudden promotion, birth of twins, the discovery of love, or spiritual awakening!

Many of us work very hard to keep surprises out of our lives. We plan carefully, build limits and walls into our lives, reduce expectations, and guard our emotions. Though we don't consciously think it, our guiding motto is "Better safe than sorry!" But surprises - both wonderful and not so great - manage to break through anyway. Having experienced some of those plan "D" moments in my lifetime, I can tell you that trusting God and staying faithful through them is the path to joy. If we resist Him, we will become embittered, miserable people. If we walk with Him, letting Him guide and lead, from our tears will water seeds from which grows the beauty of His character in us. In 1988, I found myself pastoring a small country church in New England, after serving on the staff of a suburban growing exciting church for eight years. Initially, I felt like the Lord had sidelined me. I wondered how long I would be 'in exile.' I experienced depression. But, I prayed for faith and embraced the place. That season of my life, which extended for over 12 years, was filled with rich experiences of ministry, loving people, and was of great benefit to my family. Looking back, I see so clearly that what I thought was a Plan "D" was actually God's gift where amazing blessings were bestowed on me for which I am thankful to this day!

In the book of James, the Spirit urges us to faithful acceptance of the lives that God gives to us. "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. Those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:9-12, NLT) No, the Word does not teach us to be resigned to fate! We must not confuse acceptance of God's reign with resignation to 'life as it is!' James also teaches us, "Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. . . . The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (James 5:13, 16, NLT) Those 'wonderful results' are often not at all what we expected! They are what God, in His infinite wisdom, brings into our lives.

Believer, go deep with your faith. Let the Holy Spirit of God do His work in you, through you, and to you. He is not always 'fair' in the way that we would determine fairness. His ways are not always pleasant as we would desire. But He is always good, always present, and as the Word promises, "always working for the good of those who love Him and who are called to His eternal purposes." Yes, even on plan "D" days!

Here's a word from the Word. Join Job in this declaration of faith today. "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside." (Job 23:10-11, NKJV)
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Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best;
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He sure would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure,
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation,
So to trust Your promises, O Lord;
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,
Offered me within Your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a Father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Day By Day -
Berg, Carolina Sandell / Ahnfelt, Oscar / Skoog, Andrew© Public Domain