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Blessings

March 18, 2012 by areliablefaith

The Doxology is running through my head today.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below,

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

My family is in the middle of one of the richest seasons of blessing that we have ever walked in.  Some of them are truly huge like restoration with a child you have loved for years, but not quite had the relationship that you wanted.  Others are a bit more subtle like the change in me where the feeling of being “put upon” and overwhelmed by so many chores has been displaced by an attitude of peace and even joy at being able to serve.  Being a bit analytical I really want to understand why this has happened so it can become the norm if possible.  I would also like to share this with others because it appears that most people experience more cloudy days than sunshine and I would like to help them enjoy the sunshine.

First off, we are not people without trials.  We have a broken leg in the house and a Momma who is limited in what she can do.  She is steadily improving, but there are plenty of ways that she could be discouraged.  But she is not.  In fact a number of the blessings flow directly out of Lisa’s attitude and approach to her broken leg.  Even though she has been in a lot of pain, she has not shown it.  The past several days she has pushed herself to do as much normal life as possible.  The result is a growing sense of normalcy for the family, but what they don’t see is the leg swelling and pain at night.  Instead of letting this get her down Lisa is relying upon the Lord more than ever before.  Her words of encouragement from out of her affliction are uplifting.  God is honoring that growing faith in tangible ways.

The prophet Jeremiah was God’s spokesman to the nation of Israel at one of their darkest times – the captivity in Babylon.  In the midst of that captivity God had Jeremiah send a letter to the exiles in Babylon.  This is found in Jeremiah 29.  God dictated this letter not only for the Jewish people of that day, but for all of us who find ourselves is difficult and seemingly impossible situations.  Verses 11 – 13 are God speaking to every single person.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you.”

We are experiencing this in our life right now.

So the reasons we are in the season of blessing are summed up in this scripture.  1) Call upon God, 2) Come to God, 3) Pray to God, 4) Seek God, 5) Seek God with all your heart.

As I look at this list I realize for the first time how the progression is exactly what happened to me at my conversion.  It is also the path I have followed since that time when I have begun to stray from the life God has called me to.  And it is what has happened to us through what we are calling “Momma’s broken leg season”.

Call upon God.  The beginning is to realize that there is a Someone greater than all others.  It can be in recognizing that all of creation with it’s infinite complexity and interconnectedness had to begin with an intelligent design.  It was not a cosmic accident.  To believe in no design is to ignore the obvious and takes infinitely more faith than to believe there is a design behind it all.  If there is an intelligent design then there must be a designer.  Call out to that designer.  He is God and He is patiently waiting for each one of His children to turn to Him.  Calling out to God can be an act of desperation since it often begins when we have run out of other options.  How much better if we do not wait until we are desperate.  A broken leg got us ALL calling out to God.

Come to God.  Coming to God must be by faith and it must be based upon truth.  When we are totally honest we realize that we cannot in our own righteousness approach a holy God.  Now there are a lot of “religious” approaches that we can try in approaching God, but from everything I have observed and experienced, God is not impressed with religion.  In fact religion is often an expression of man trying to fit God into a box.  We do this so we can control God or so we don’t have to deal with the thing that prevents us from approaching God, our sin.  God is a spiritual being who wants to relate to us directly.  He made that possible by becoming a man – Jesus, and living among us.  And through Jesus, God dealt with the problem of sin that keeps us separate from a Holy God.  Through faith in Jesus, we can enter into a living, vital relationship with God.  When we recognise our sin and turn away from it and toward God we can be immediately brought close to Him.  For several of us walking through “momma’s broken leg season” we have been given pause to look at our lives and realize that we needed to come to God through repentance.

Pray to God.  Once we have established that relationship by coming to God through faith in His Son, Jesus, we begin the work of growing in that relationship.  Now no one can expect a relationship to grow without ongoing interaction.  This interaction is found in our conversation with God called prayer.  Fortunately for us, He has given us an absolutely trustworthy account of His will in the written word – the Bible.  Even though God already knows every detail of our life, He enjoys speaking with us about it.  As I have shared before I have experienced God speaking directly to my heart on a number of occasions.  Most of these were when I was speaking to Him and He chose to impress something upon my heart in a way that I knew it was Him.  On a few occasions it was more spontaneous, yet it was still coming from a prayerful life.  Never have I heard anything that contradicted scripture.  I have had some of my religious beliefs blown up, but the scripture has never been violated.  And in most cases what the Lord spoke was directly tied to His written Word.  For Lisa and I we have been reading a wonderful devotional titled “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young.  The Lord has used this devotional and the accompanying scriptures numerous times over the past two months to speak directly to our hearts.

Seek God.  If prayer is talking to God, then seeking God is diving into a deep conversation with Him.  Where prayer is telling God about your day and asking for His help with a few things, then seeking God is laying aside the more trivial aspects of living and beginning to search out God’s purpose for you in this life.  It will encompass a diligent and more personal search of the scripture.  Many people have studied scripture to learn what it says and gather information.  The Pharisees were accomplished at this.  But God wants us to study scripture to meet Him and get to know Him more and more intimately.  We must strive to KNOW Jesus, not know ABOUT Jesus.  One of the saddest things in life is to know the bible and miss the Word.

In this season we have seen our prayer blossom into times of earnestly seeking God.

Seek God with all your heart.  Finally there is the total immersion in loving God and being exactly who He has created us to be.  The best illustration of the difference in Seeking God and Seeking God with all your heart is the difference between courtship and marriage.  While Lisa and I were dating I was convinced she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.  We believed that we knew each other well enough to make that kind of commitment but we also knew we didn’t know everything.  In the courtship there was still the option to chose to go another direction.  When we said “I do” we sealed our commitment to each other, and to God, that our hearts were melded together from that point on.  There are no other options.  Lisa has my heart, it is hers.  And I have her heart.  The bible says the two become one flesh.  If we can set aside what man has done in his brokeness to minimize the beautiful covenant of marriage and get the picture of what God was doing when He established marriage, we can see it wonderfully reflects what God wants for us with Him… the melding of our heart with His in a forever relationship.

Back to why we are experiencing such a season of blessing, I believe that God is prompting us in this way so that we will truly seek Him with all our heart.  I believe that together we are closer than we have ever been.  We are not there yet.  We still have areas to be transformed.  And like in the courtship stage where we don’t know what we don’t know, I am sure there are still areas in each of our lives that the Father will bring to light that must be dealt with.  However He is gently, consistently leading us on to that point.  And right now I am just so thankful that He is lovingly at work in my family and me that the doxology keeps running through my head.

By the way Lisa wants me to know that there only needs to be one “Momma’s broken leg season”.  She is encouraged by all that has transpired and the blessings that have flowed forth.  But she said the next time we need this type of spiritual shake up she said it is my turn… Praise God from whom all blessings flow…

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When Prodigals Return

March 17, 2012 by areliablefaith

There is rejoicing in heaven when a prodigal child returns home.  The joy of the parents here on earth is pretty intense too.  Today I am experiencing that joy.  I mentioned in an earlier post that my wife’s broken leg has been the catalyst for so much positive in our lives.  Last night one of our children said to me, “Dad, I hate that Mom broke her leg, but I have to tell you it changed my life.”  And I have been watching that transformation for weeks now in silent thanksgiving, but last night as she said that I could no longer be silent in my thanksgiving… Alleluia, Thank You Heavenly Father!!!

Our child has been going through a very difficult time at work.  She has some very legitimate issues with promises that were made to her by leadership but broken by the next round of leaders to step in.  The flesh side of our nature is so volatile.  When we feel wronged it is natural to become angry, frustrated, upset – all normal responses.  But also not responses that should rule over us.  Another comment she made was that when she prayed to God she asked what she had done wrong she was immediately reminded of the verse – Love your neighbor as yourself.  Her response was repentance and forgiveness.  And God has taken away the depth and pain of the emotions as she did so.  As we talked I could clearly see a woman who has been through a mighty battle emerging victorious.  She is a bit battered and bruised, but victorious none-the-less.  God is working in her life and for the first time in a long time they are working diligently together.

One side note, shortly after Lisa broke her leg our daughter shared some of her work turmoil with me.  Obviously it became a prayer concern of mine.  I run a good bit so I was praying for her as I ran.  I distinctly remember as I got to the cul-de-sac at the end of our neighborhood the Lord speaking to my heart.  He said, “When R gets to the end of herself, she will find Me”.  When I got home I mentioned it to my wife.  Last night’s conversation was the fulfillment of that word.  (I just noticed the symbolism in that the Lord spoke when I hit the cul-de-sac and had to turn around…Wow)

That reminds me of another thing she said, “You know we are all Prodigals to one extent or another.” From my experience I believe so.  I know I rebelled against God and His moral law.  Several of those persons who I look to as examples of godly virtue have shared that they were once rebels against God.  And this agrees with the scripture in Romans 3:23  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  I am so thankful that God made a way to reconcile us to Himself and to others.  Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf has made a way for us to be put in right standing with God.  And He gives us His Holy Spirit to live within us as He transforms us from the rebels we once were to the saints He has destined us to be.  What glory and wonder we get to experience!

Today I am so thankful to God.  He promises that if we train up a child in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it.  I have believed that for 20+ years.  Today that believing is seeing.  He promises that if we pray believing, then we shall have that which we pray for.  Today we have one of the most precious things we have been praying for.  He describes the love He has for the prodigal child and the loving response when they return.  Today our daughter is embraced by her Heavenly Father (and as soon as I can get my arms around her by me too!).  There is a robe with her name on it and a fattened calf that is mooing its last moo somewhere as well.

Alleluia, Praise the Name of the Living Lord – Who was and is and is to come.  Honor, Glory, Power, and Praise be unto Him forever and ever. AMEN!

 

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Prayer, Power to Transform

March 16, 2012 by areliablefaith

Why do we pray?  The first time we pray is usually based upon our need and our inability to fulfill that need.  It is a cry for help not unlike an infant who can do nothing for themself and must have someone else tend to all their needs.  However just like that infant that grows and matures, so to our prayer, or more correctly our life, should grow and mature as we continue to live connected to God our heavenly Father.  I believe the most important purpose of prayer is not the fulfillment of our specific prayer needs, but transformation.  The consistent, progressive development of the mind of Christ.  2Corinthian 3:18 says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Prayer is our on-going communication with God who is our Father.  For me the imagery of God as Father is full and rich as I was blessed with a wonderful dad who loved, taught, corrected, coached, and poured life into us all the while looking toward the day when I would be a man and father in my own right.  While not everyone is fortunate enough to have an earthly father who modeled traits that forshadowed our heavenly Father, that does not limit God.  The bible also says He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother and He is a wonderful counselor.  The point is that God is able to meet us wherever we are and relate to us in a manner that begins the transformation process inside us.  That process begins as we begin that conversation with Him called prayer.

Before going further I want to point out that I am not making light of the many other purposes of prayer such as intercession for the needs of others, prayer for guidance, prayers of praise and adoration, etc.  In fact I believe that all of these carry within them the ability to transform us and others.  There was a time when I was engaged in a focused period of prayer with 2 – 3 others for an hour early every morning.  One day after leaving the Prayer Tower and going to work I was flushed with the joy that comes from spending quality time with the Father and other believers.  A little later that morning one of the admin assistants, Chris, asked me if I knew a young man who had worked at the mill.  It turns out the young man, Tim, had felt called to missions and was in Singapore with his new wife and they had just found out he had lukemia with no money and few good options.  I immediately said I didn’t know Tim, but I knew Tim’s Father and that we should go to Him and ask for Him to heal Tim.  We prayed right there and I was totally confident that God heard.  A few weeks later Chris stopped me and told me Tim had gotten to the Philipines and they were planning a procedure which among other things meant he would never be able to have children.  Well we prayed again including asking that the Lord would not make Tim unable to father children.  God answered those prayers over time.  Tim was healed, he was not sterile, he is a father now, and he continues to minister.  I never met Tim personally and I know my prayer was joined with many others in interceding for this young man and his wife.  However I know this on-going prayer with the Father helped build faith for me, for Chris, and for Tim and his family.

I have heard people say that God answers prayer with a “Yes”, a “No”, or “Wait”.  I know for a while I suscribed to this simplified explanation and on a rudimentary level that can be applied.  However this simplification of prayer tends to reinforce a picture of God as Santa Claus… “Yes, here is your present”, “No, this is not your present”, or “Wait it’s not your turn for a present”.  In our early days of walking with Him God may seem more like Santa – a distant, benevolent giver of gifts, but in reality He is so much more.  And He wants us to become so much more than consumers of gifts.  His goal is that we become obediant loving children who are being changed into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.

While yes, no, and wait may apply it is always accompanied with a conversation – if we are still and take time to listen.  I’ve just had a major decision come up.  I have been praying for guidance and asking a few close friends to join with me in seeking God’s will.  Well the answer came, but it was wrapped in a conversation with the One who loves me more than I can even imagine.  While I am happy to have a clear answer, my joy is even greater that I am a child of God Who is intimately involved in my life.  And even better He is continuously working in my life to transform me.  I know I am still far from where God is taking me.  Those who know me well can still see plenty of work for God to do, but He is making progress.  And so it is with all of us.  God wants to work in us, He wants to converse with us.  He wants to love us in tangible ways that we can see, feel, and hear.

I encourage you to take time to just tell God what’s on your heart today.  He already knows but He likes to hear it from you.  As you pour this out read His word and listen for His voice.  He will speak life into you.  He will transform your places of pain into places of victory because He loves you!

Be blessed and be a blessing.

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Laughter the Lubricant of Life, Prov 17:22

March 15, 2012 by areliablefaith

I’m convinced that laughter is the lubricant of life.  Being a Maintenance and Reliability Engineer I know a bit about lubricants.  Rotating equipment will only run a little while without the proper lubricant before friction will begin to generate heat, wear, and damage.  In a similar way disagreements and conflict will bring about heat, wear, and damage in our relationships.  Laughter, like a good lubricant, minimizes the friction caused when two persons come into close contact.

There are four primary considerations for a lubricant that ensure success.  The first is that the correct lubricant be selected.  The final three all relate to quality of the lube – clean, cool, and dry.  For simplicity sake I am going to talk about oil when referring to lubricant even though there are different types of lubricants other than oil.  Most people know that they need to have oil in their car’s engine so that imagery will work well in our illustration.

Let’s look at the first key trait.  The proper oil must be used to achieve the maximum life for your vehicle.  Viscosity is the term for the resistance to flow.  Think of honey and water.  Honey is much slower at flowing because it has a much higher viscosity than water.  If you live in northern climates you must use a lower viscosity oil because the oil must be able to continue to flow even when the temperatures are very low.  The same oil would not give the desired results in the tropics because it would be “too thin”.  With laughter there are different types as well.  The laughter of children happy and content, the good-natured ribbing between friends, the giggle of a young lady as she talks to a boy she likes, the deep belly laugh as we relive an embarrassing but humorous incident we encountered, the mature laughter of spouses as they recount the perils and pleasures of marriage… the list could go on.

While there are less desirable forms of laughter such as laughing at another person’s expense, there are so many positive benefits of appropriate laughter that is pays to cultivate a healthy sense of humor.  This brings me to the first of the quality traits – clean.  Since the purpose of a lubricant is to keep metal parts that are very close together from touching and creating friction it is important that there not be contaminants that bridge the gap between the parts.  Dirt consists of very small, but very hard particles.  Dirt in oil can easily fill the gap between parts and cause localized friction and damage in parts.  In this way the oil can actually carry damaging material into the places where it is not supposed to be which will actually perpetuate the damage.  This is why we have filters on our lube to remove the contaminants from the oil before it returns into the tight spaces between the metal parts.  In a similar manner I have seen and benefited from laughter that carries away pain, suffering, and stress bit by bit.  If laughter is the oil that sweeps in and carries away pain, suffering, and stress then a filter has to be present to actually capture this “contaminant”.  I have found God more than happy to help in this regard.  His filter is called forgiveness.  I have learned that when the laughter removes some of my pain and carries it through forgiveness it comes back without the sting.

The next trait of oil is that it be cool.  Friction generates heat.  Heat while a natural result of equipment performing its intended function is generally an enemy when it gets too high.  Almost all materials expand as they become hotter.  With very small spaces between parts, high heat can actually cause this small space to close up and friction and damage result.  Oil flowing in the small space actually picks up heat and carries it away.  In our relationships we often work in close quarters with others.  This can be in the office, on the shop floor, or in our marriage and family.  We will not always see everything eye-to-eye.  Stress and heat within relationships is a natural result.  Appropriate humor and laughter is crucial in carrying away this heat and enabling productive relationships to thrive.

The final quality trait of oil is that it be dry.  Now those who know me will immediately think of my attempts at humor that come up rather dry… that is not my point here.  We have already mentioned that oil’s primary function is to prevent metal to metal contact between moving parts.  The viscosity of oil gives it characteristics where it does not flow or get squeezed out of the small space between parts even if there is a good deal of pressure.  However water does not have this capability due to its extremely low viscosity.  It will immediately be displaced or squeezed out as it goes through the very tight space between moving parts.  This allows metal to metal contact and all the negative impacts that come from this.  The metaphor for water in relationships are the unkind, hurtful, or cutting things that are sometimes present.  These can wound quickly and if untended these wounds can fester into something much worse.  Laughter can reduce the pain at the point of impact and it can lessen the amount of injury sustained.  This is similar to an oil’s ability to hold moisture that might be present in solution so that it doesn’t form actual water droplets which can be devastating to an engine.  Laughter can help carry us through some of life’s hardest and most challenging of times without our being crushed.

Although I have seen many try to rely on laughter and a well-developed sense of humor alone to carry them through, this is not enough.  Honesty, courage, patience, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23) are all essential elements in a well-rounded and fruitful life.  Laughter plays a vital role though.  Jesus Himself used humor that is captured in the scriptures more than once.  (I personally love the pun He used in giving Simon the name Peter, which means little rock or pebble and then Upon this Rock, meaning Himself, He would found the church.)  Living with 12 disciples… on-the-road…with minimal showers…with a Judas in the group…with the constant threat from the religious leaders and Roman rulers… Yes a little laughter was probably necessary and I suspect it was rather common.

Have a good chortle, chuckle, guffaw, or giggle today and remember, laughter is the lubricant of life.

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Ebenezer

March 11, 2012 by areliablefaith

We all need a few Ebenezer’s.

Samuel was the last of the old testament Judges. During Samuel’s day the Israelites and the Philistines were constant enemies. In 1 Samuel 7 we read a story about one of the clashes between these two groups. The Israelites had come to a point of contrition and through the leadership of Samuel they were engaged in a time of corporate repentance and rededication to the Lord at a place called Mizpah. The Philistines took note and decided this was a golden opportunity to attack hoping to wipeout their enemy while they were distracted with their religious activity.  The Israelites were not ready for battle and fear seized them as they realized the Philistines were soon to be upon them.  The Israelites cried out to God and He responded.  God thundered from the heavens throwing the Philistines into confusion.  Then the Israelites attacked and the ensuing battle was a rout with the Israelites defeating the Philistines all along the way back to their land.  After the victory Samuel instructed the people to set up a large stone in that place which he named Ebenezer which means “the stone of help”.

As I look back over my life I see several Ebenezers, several memorials of when God showed up in marvelous, miraculous, mighty ways.  These show up in the God-stories our family tells when we get together.  They are the touchstones I go back to when facing difficulties.  They are the faith strengthening memories that I rely on when the present is either dark and challenging or bland and boring.  (I don’t do bland and boring well.)

Take a few moments to ask God to remind you of the times when He showed up with the help you needed.  The bible says God is “an ever-present help in times of trouble.”  If you have walked with God then you have received His help, possibly more than you even realize.  After you have thought of a few times God showed up ask Him to help you create an Ebenezer to commemorate them.  It doesn’t have to be a rock on the side of the road, but I suggest it be something tangible.  For me it is family stories.  For you it might be a poem, a song, a verse, a picture… something that captures for you a reminder of God’s help when you really needed it.  Next I suggest that you put this in a place where you can periodically take it out and remember what God has done for you.  Let this remind you how much He loves you.

God truly is an ever-present help.  He desires to be involved in our lives, but He is also a gentleman.  He does not force Himself upon us.  Look to Him and ask Him to get involved with you right now in whatever you are dealing with.  Don’t wait for the big problems like when the Philistines (or their modern-day equivalent) are breathing down your neck.  Call upon Him for guidance and help on the daily issues of living more fully for Him today.  Then follow His lead.

Have a blessed day my friend.

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Hope Lifts

March 10, 2012 by areliablefaith

Hope is one of the most precious of virtues.  Hope is the warm, gentle breeze in late winter that let’s us know spring is coming.  Hope is the bridge across fiery trials that gets us safely home.  Hope is an anchor when all around is chaos and tumult so that we are not blown away and crushed in despair.  Hope lifts us when anything, perhaps everything, tries to weigh us down.  Like several of the most crucial virtues of life, Hope is a gift from God and it is an attribute that is built and solidified as we walk with God.

The scriptures are full of hope.  Job is one of the oldest, if not the oldest recorded book in the bible.  Job’s story is one of great abundance lost.  In his misery Job has the dubious pleasure of three friends coming to comfort him.  They sit with Job for a week before their patience gets the best of them and they begin to explain to Job why all these bad things happened to him.  So in addition to his loss Job is now dealing with people he has considered friends giving rebukes and advice rather than comfort and hope.  Job does demonstrate a degree of pride and even anger, but he also expresses that virtue which helps carry him through, “Though He (God) slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” (Job 13:15)  No matter what happens Job is going to stake his future on God and His character.  And that is a very safe thing to do.

Pastor P has been preaching about the three Hebrew slaves in Babylon who refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold idol and were thrown into a blazing furnace.  The king gave them one final chance to renounce their rebellion against his command and save themselves but this was their reply.  “O Nebuchadnezzar we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Dan 3:16-18)  Theirs was a faith in God and a settled hope that God would deliver them either from the fire or through it.  And He did.

Hebrews 11 is often called the hall of faith as the writer catalogs a virtual hall of fame of faith.  The chapter begins with these words, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1) Faith in God and the Hope that I am describing today are inextricably linked.  In many cases faith is the action we take and hope is the foundation from which that faith springs and the product that faith delivers.  But it is able to deliver because it is real, God really does show up.

In Romans 5:1-5 Paul places hope and faith into perspective.  “Therefore since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

One of the greatest stories of hope in my life began in January of 2007.  After working in a paper mill for 17 years in various maintenance leadership roles I had taken a position as a corporate staff person.  I had been working in my new role for about 6 months when rumors began circulating that the group I was attached to was going to be either downsized or eliminated.  (Note: Rumors are torpedos purposed with scuttling faith and sinking hope!)  Just before Christmas I was shipped back to my old mill to give them help through a major outage.  While I did this willingly, this tended to reinforce the idea that my corporate staff job was disappearing.  If they could live without me for 2 months why was I necessary.  While I was away on assignment the rumors grew even stronger.

At the mill I was offered a position and part of the sales pitch the manager gave was “because it appears your job is going away”.  I was fairly satisfied with the new corporate role I was in and I definitely resist being bullied into things.  I put off the manager and completed the outage support without addressing his offer.  The day after the outage was over the announcement came that our company was merging with our biggest competitor.  Even at the time most of us considered this troubling news at best.  I then called the manager to discuss his job offer.  His reply was, “Things have changed and that offer is no longer on the table.”  My first thought after I hung up was “Oh boy, I might have screwed up”.  But I gave this up to God and put my trust in Him.  I don’t know about everyone else, but for me crisis, particularly ones that I know have the potential of negatively impacting the persons I love tend to force me to my knees in prayer.  And that is where I went.

In the few days I had before I reported back to my corporate job I had plenty of time to consider walking in to a pink slip and what would I do.  It’s funny because usually I am a big planner.  I try to anticipate difficulties and avoid them or at least prepare for them.  When I go camping or I travel I usually take too much stuff just for this reason.  Yet in this instance I remember specifically just going to the Lord in prayer.  I was walking into this knowing that I was trusting in God to somehow see me through.  It was a walk of faith… I am not saying it was an amazingly strong faith, just an acceptance that I could not control what was going to happen, but the God who I served was big enough to see us through no matter what happened.

On Monday morning I got up early and had a good quiet time with the Lord.  As I finished my devotion I fixed my bowl of cereal and then bowed my head to say the blessing.  As soon as I bowed my head God spoke to my heart, “Dan, I love you.”  I picked my head up and I said, “Thank you Lord.”  I bowed my head a second time and the Holy Spirit spoke a second time and said, “Dan, I am with you.” I picked my head up again and repeated, “Thank you Lord.”  It was very encouraging to know that on this day that I was expecting to go in and be told my job was eliminated that God was affirming me.  I bowed my head a third time and the Lord spoke, “Isaiah 41:10”.  At that time I did not know that scripture although today I hold it as one of my life verses.  I slid the bible I had been reading over to me and I looked up Isaiah 41:10… “So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

As I sit here a little over 5 years later I am almost overwhelmed with the goodness of God.  I did not know what was ahead, but God did.  And He knew that I would need to KNOW He was there as the tumult of the ensuing years came.  And He provided an anchor that morning that I could look back to as the coming weeks, months, and years unfolded and KNOW that God was walking it with me.

My job did not end that day, but changes began within a couple of weeks.  Surprisingly I got a promotion about 2 weeks later although not in the best of ways.  About 8 months after this I, and most of my coworkers were told our jobs had been eliminated.  However they needed us to stick around through the transition.  On many occasions during this time thoughts of the uncertainty I was walking through would try to discourage me, but I always went back to Isaiah 41:10.  It was SO COOL.  I had job offers to go to different locations within the company during this time, but praying through them I did not have a peace about taking them so I turned them down.  Finally about 5 months before my job was to officially end the new VP I was reporting to flew down to make me a job offer.  He said I could continue to do what I was doing, the only thing I had to do was relocate to another part of the state.  He also said this was absolutely the last chance for me to continue with the company, there would be no other offers coming.  And to sweeten the offer he said they would implement the home relocation for me.  Although I hadn’t mentioned it before, we were living in a small rental house and trying to sell our home back in Tennessee… had been for over a year.  So the offer seemed like a good one and logic said to take it.  But I asked for time to pray about the decision.

It seems kind of counter-intuitive, but one of the surest signs for me that I am doing the right thing is when logic is so clear to take one path, but an overwhelming peace descends when I consider an alternate path.  The decision was prayer soaked and the peace was in telling the VP “No” to the job offer.  In fact as I awoke the morning after he gave me the offer, in those first moments of wakefulness I thought about accepting the job and finally getting settled after about 2 years of family disruption.  The feeling I had was just blah!  I could not picture it and be happy.  So I turned my thoughts toward saying No to the job offer and losing my last hope for staying with the company I had been with for almost 20 years.  And that I would have to find a job somewhere.  And peace absolutely flooded my soul.  It was amazing and even a little bit funny.  I remember chuckling more than once about God’s way of breaking me from needing to be in control so much.  (Yes I admit this has been a challenge for me, but I am better than I used to be, and through God’s grace I am going to be better than I am today.)

Needless to say I turned down the offer.  At the time I knew at least a few persons were encouraged by my walk of faith.  I could see God’s hand in that.  But I still didn’t have a job or prospects.  The walk of faith had to continue.

About a month later the old VP that I had been working for, Larry, mentioned that he knew an opening existed in a corporate group for a Reliability Manager.  This actually fit my skill set better than the CMMS Manager role I was currently in.  I interviewed with 4 or 5 persons about the position.  The gentleman that was to be my manager seemed very positive so I left with a fairly high degree of confidence that I might still get to stay with the company.  About a month after this another management reorganization took place and that manager was no longer in mix.  I waited but I heard nothing about the job I hoped for.  Meanwhile the clock was ticking toward my end date.  I realized that logic was saying, “Dan, you better find a job”.  Yet I was not motivated to do so.  I cannot say whether this was laziness on my part or simply an assurance that God was directing my steps, but I did not have anything lined up for when my job ended.  Five days before my job was to end, I received a phone call from one of the other VP’s I had interviewed with for the corporate Reliability Manager position.  He asked if I was still interested in the position to which I replied that I had not found another job yet.  He said very good and then he hung up.  I have to chuckle because he didn’t tell me I had the job, but I had seen God move so much in my work life in the previous days, months, and years that I knew this was working out just as God had planned.  An HR person called the next day and we worked out the details.  And the job has been a great job… a great fit with my skill set and an exciting way to provide a real benefit to my company.

I do not know how I would have made it through that time though if God had not given me the specific word at the beginning of this chaotic time.  I went back to that time and again for encouragement.  There were many times during that process (and since as well) when God would provide just the right amount of encouragement to continue and the hope to lift me closer to Him.

While this is a rather long post, I believe that my story is meant to help others to know that God loves them and He is with them.  God’s love for me and the hope He has given me is real and tangible.  But it is not limited to me or to any group.  It is freely offered to anyone and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.  If you are not a believer I encourage you to call out to God and ask Him to make Himself known to you.  God is and He will reveal Himself if you ask and seek Him.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  And you will find as I have that God is the giver of Hope, a Hope that grows, a Hope that fills, a Hope that lifts.

If you are a believer then you already know that Jesus loves you and He wants the very best for you.  I encourage you to ask God to expand your faith and grow a deep hope within you.  This won’t be without trials, but I am learning that trials are the surest means of gowing and the greatest source of blessings there is.

Father this morning I ask that You lift my brother and my sister with Your Hope.  That You would bouy them above the challenges of the day and that You would affirm in them Your love, Your peace, and Your great goodness towards them.  Lord make yourself real in a tangible way like You did for me when I was facing the most severe and prolonged trial of my life thus far.  You are awesome and I ask that You meet them at the point of their need.  Thank You Lord that You hear our prayers and that You respond in Your perfect way.  To You be the glory, honor, power, and praise for ever and ever. Amen.

God bless you all today!

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Noblesse Oblige

March 9, 2012 by areliablefaith

The phrase Noblesse Oblige has been running through my mind for quite some time now. It struck me as I listened to a commentary yesterday about a study coming out of UC Berkley that purported that rich persons are more unethical than poor people.  While there were some obvious flaws and a degree of bias in the study, it does effectively raise the question of the personal responsibility we each have.

I looked up the term Noblesse Oblige in Wikipedia and I found that it is of French origin and it simply means that with nobility comes responsibility. I was raised to believe that we have an obligation to do for others less fortunate than ourselves. In the home where I was raised this did not manifest itself as a political ideology but rather a personal responsibility. It was to be carried out at least partly in thankful response to God’s provision for us.

In Hebrews the people of God are called a royal priesthood and a holy nation.  As a child of God we are adopted into God’s family.  Children of kings are princes and princesses.  Since God is the King of kings we His children are princes and princesses of the most high king.  We are royalty.  But this is not an honor to be crowed about, but rather a responsibility to be lived out.  Rather than a status to become puffed up and proud about this should provoke a response of humility and gratitude.  All the resources of heaven are at the disposal of God’s children, but they are not there solely for our benefit and consumption, but so that we can further God’s kingdom.  We are blessed to be a blessing.

I think a lot about the legacy I am leaving my children.  My parents were able to provide more for my siblings and me than their parents provided for them.  There is no condemnation of my grandparents in this but the simple recognition that coming out of the depression my grandparents had little, so their opportunity to provide was diminished.  My parents trained us that we in turn were to provide appropriately for our children when our time came.  But that provision carried within it the clear mandate of responsibility to others beyond our children.

While I am fortunate that I can look to the pattern my parents set not everyone has the good fortune to have the role models in the home that I had.  However we all do have Jesus, the penultimate role model that we can look to.  Jesus was the Son of God and yet He condescended to live among us as one of us.  His time here on earth was a model of obedience to His father and His Father.  And the expression of that obedience was to always do the Father’s will in serving, helping, teaching, and ministering to others.  A quick scan through the gospels reveals that Jesus helped rich and poor alike.  All social classes were drawn to Him.

Even though I would postulate that the religious and political elite of the day were generally antagonistic toward Him, Jesus still reached out and ministered to those who would listen.  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were members of the Sanhedrin who could easily have gone with their religious leaders, but they followed Jesus instead.  And even in His final hours Jesus was not hostile to the leaders who were condemning Him.  He spoke the truth and then offered up His life as a sacrifice for them as well as for the admiring followers.

The practical application of Noblesse Oblige falls to us today.  As children of the King we are to further God’s work of redemption in this fallen world.  Kindness, courtesy, and treating others with respect are the basic fundamentals we must exhibit.  Noblesse Oblige is as simple as listening to God’s voice and responding when He gives us a task or reveals a need that we can address.  Serving others like Jesus did is a wonderful privilege and holy obligation that is ours as believers.

Be blessed in your service to our Father and unto those He puts in your path today.

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Payback

February 29, 2012 by areliablefaith

When faced with a trick question from His detractors Jesus gave a most insightful answer – “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:21). When I read that I marvel at the cleverness of Jesus’ answer in trapping the Pharisees.  However the real punch in this statement are two powerful truths that His answer illustrates.

Jesus acknowledges that there is a role for human government in our lives. He also endorses the collection of taxes by that government. The Pharisees seemed to think that Jesus would somehow implicate himself as “anti-government” in His answer, but He did no such a thing. Instead He affirmed that government had a right to some portion of payback because it was theirs. In Jesus day the government in Rome had established roads throughout the empire, it provided stability and security in many areas that were once lawless, it brought a level of opportunity in trade and education that many areas had never known before, it brought a common currency. In short the Roman government provided benefits to the communities where they held sway and it was appropriate for those who benefited to pony up and pay taxes. That does not endorse everything they did nor all the methods they used in bringing about those benefits but it does provide a legitimate basis for the collection of revenue for services rendered.

Jesus’ statement does not address the issues of how much tax, what level of benefits, etc. It only touches on that fact that the government was due payback. As I study Jesus’ life He comes across as the least political, high profile person ever. In fact in one sense it can be argued that His lack of political manuevering resulted in His untimely death (from a human perspective).  A little wheeling and dealing probably could have saved His life from the political machine at work in his day… but then we all would still be lost in our sins.

This brings us to the second half of Jesus’ statement which I hold up is far and away the more important point of the exchange – “give to God what belongs to God”. If the government provides a few roads and some military protection for the entire population then a combined group offering to pay for these benefits is due.  But Jesus’ action is ultimately a personal act.  Jesus action is intensely personal.  He saved MY Life.  He radically altered it for the good while I am living here on earth and He has promised an eternity in heaven with Him. This is way more than roads and a tenuous security, it is life that rich and full. In a very real sense Jesus bought me with His love and sacrificial death on my behalf. I belong to Him so my only appropriate response is to give Him all of me.

What does it mean to give Him all of me? Well I have figured out a few things that seem to fit into the definition of all.

First off all my finances less what He said I owed to the government is rightfully His. But if we take scriptures as a whole we see that God gave a guideline of a tithe, 10%. While He rightfully can ask for it all, He allows us to begin at 10%. I recognize that the rest is also His so when He asks for more I seek to be in a position to give more. I won’t go there today, but this speaks to being financially responsible with the remaining 90%.

Next there is my time. Since I belong to Jesus then all my time is His.  Obviously my quiet time with God is a blessed shared time with Him.  He speaks through His Word and by His Holy Spirit He breathes life into me during these times of sweet communion.  But when the quiet time ends, my time is still His.  Some persons have postulated that we give God 10% of our time.  Setting aside 2.4 hours each day for dedicated alone time with God CAN be achieved by a few and I don’t doubt that it can have benefits, but I honestly believe that God’s expectation for our time is not the tithe but the total.  Brother Lawrence, a monk in the middle ages, penned a devotional called “Practicing the Presence of God”.  In it this humble man identified that He was able to commune with God while peeling potatoes and performing the most mundane of tasks.  I believe the same concept is captured in 1 Thessalonians where we are admonished to “pray without ceasing”.  We are to live with a constant awareness of God and respond immediately to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. These promptings can be to pray, to perform a kind act, to give a word of encouragement, to provide an appropriate word of correction, to speak or sing or shout or wait – any number of God-directed acts that fit within the plan that only He sees in its entirety.  I would like to say I have achieved this… or that I have made significant progress, but the truth is while I have matured and I do better than I once did, I still have a long way to go.  However I believe this to be God’s call to me, to live fully in Him and give Him all my time in this manner.

Lastly I want to speak to those relationships and possessions that we call ours.  It naturally follows that if I belong to God, then everything that I call mine belongs to God as well.  Holding back anything falls short of the total surrender that Jesus calls us to.  He gave us the perfect example in His obedience to the Father. In leaving heaven to become a human, born in the most humble of circumstances, raised in relative obscurity and meager provision, Jesus surrendered more than any of us can imagine. But He did not stop there. He willingly submitted to a mock trial, accused of false charges He did not even defend Himself, but He accepted a punishment that He did not deserve. He truly gave everything to God… and He did it on our behalf. With Jesus as our model and inspiration we can offer every relationship and every thing in our lives for His use. For things I have learned this means not to hold on too tightly. For relationships I have learned this means to love with all the intensity that we have and hold them up to God for Him to do what He knows needs to be done.

While I would love to continue, my time is again about up. Remember to give to God what belongs to God. You were bought with a price. The precious blood of Jesus covered your sins and made you part of God’s family. You are His. Live fully for Him today and always.

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In Search of Truth

February 27, 2012 by areliablefaith

When Lisa came home from the hospital one of the challenges was getting sleep. I was reminded of the days when we had little ones in the house because every night was a series of short naps broken by tending to various needs Lisa had. When she spoke with the doctor he said the mind protects itself after a major trauma by not allowing you to get into the deepest sleep where you might dream and relive the trauma. He recommended that we get some “white noise” in the room to help calm Lisa’s mind. So I bought a white noise machine.

The machine I brought home simulates many different sounds – an ocean crashing against the shore, a waterfall, a summer night with crickets chirping, a rain forest with birds calling, a steady rain, etc. Lisa latched onto the steady rain and she (and I) have gone to sleep with a steady rain falling every night for the past 4 weeks.

I have to admit the sound is rather calming when I just relax and accept the sound as the reality. But sometimes I can’t do that. One of my tasks is to make sure the dog is put up. When I step inside from a glorious winter night with no clouds in the sky and then climb into bed with a steady rain falling, my mind will sometimes begin an analysis of the obvious deception we are playing on ourselves. Perhaps even worse is the morning when I am trying to get up. Rising early has never been a big chore for me. Somehow when it is raining or at least when my mind perceives it is raining the waking is much more difficult. And in the first moments of morning consciousness I struggle to distinguish that the rain I hear is not the truth, but only a manmade “reality”.

Listening to our noise machine is not the only time that I am faced with deciding what is truth. Every day we are bombarded with hundreds, perhaps thousands of messages proclaiming things as truth. Advertising is predicated upon convincing us that a particular product is right for us so we buy it. We are in a political campaign and the candidates are seeking to convince us that they are persons who understand what is true and will fight for that truth. Okay in the political campaigns they may spend more time trying to convince us the other guy doesn’t have a clue about the truth, but the point is we have so many messages out there that it is hard to distinguish what is the ultimate truth.

There is also a mindset that all truth is relative, that there is not ultimate truth.  Perhaps it is because of my background as an engineer but I have never had much of a difficulty with the relativistic mindset.  I know that 2 + 2 = 4 and will not = 5.  There are things that are ultimate truth.  Admittedly that makes me stubborn at times about things that I have accepted as truth and I am wrong about, but I am convinced that my occasional inaccuracies about the truth does not change the veracity that ultimate truth exists.

The questions then is how do we know truth and how do we avoid all the deceptions that exist?  There are a few things that I have found helpful in this regards that I can share.  I am also interested in what others have to say so please sound off in the comments.

First as I mentioned above I am convinced that there is ultimate truth.  It begins with God and it is revealed through His Word – the Bible.  Now God chose to reveal himself through a book written over more than 1000 years by approximately 40 different authors so it does provide some interesting challenges to interpretation.  The Bible was written to be taken within the context of the whole and interpreted with Holy Spirit guided understanding.  John 16:13 says: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes He will guide you into all truth.”  I have found guidance and comfort in the Word of God countless times.  It has never failed to provide reassurance for me in trials I have faced and questions that I have had.  This reliance upon the Word has been a trait that has been cultivated since I accepted Jesus as my Lord in 1983, so it is not necessarily a flip-the-switch action that automatically makes truth so much more clear.

Another help I have found is to hold onto times when Life Truths were clearly communicated to me.  In many cases these have become family stories that we frequently share.  As I sit and ponder this point I can easily picture a dozen times when God has showed up in our lives in real and tangible ways.  These Life Truths reinforce that 1) God is, 2) that God cares for us, 3) that God’s timing is perfect, 4) that God is more than enough to meet our needs, 5) that God has a sense of humor, 6) that God has a plan for every one of us… I could go on and on with truths that God has reinforced through direct interventions in our life.  I expect I will get to share a few of these stories over the coming weeks.  The point is if we ask God to get involved in our lives He will.  And each of those interventions becomes a touchpoint where we can say God taught me this truth… He is faithful, He is Love, He is Great beyond measure, He is!

The last help that I rely upon is the counsel of those I know to be persons of humility, integrity, and truth.  There are authors that I put in this category such as CS Lewis and Chuck Swindoll.  I put our pastor in that category.  My father is another that I look to with a high degree of regard.  I meet with my brothers and we often discuss different topics.  I have come to value their input in helping me to clearly see the big picture.  And being the father of adult children, I have learned that they have wisdom to share that often illuminates the truth better than if left to my own devices.  And finally the greatest human help in identifying truth is my wife.  Lisa knows me better than anyone now.  She understands how I think (and she loves me anyway), she understands my moods (and loves me anyway), and she knows my blind spots.  Because of this she is in a unique position to help me see situations and questions outside my normal paradigm.  Yes it takes tact and humility, but when we walk in love this becomes more the norm than the exception.  And the benefits in terms of seeing situations more clearly are amazing.

My time is up this morning, but I hope I have shared a few things that can help you in your search for truth.  As a parting thought, I encourage you to ask God to show you truth.  He loves it when we ask for this and then diligently seek to know truth, because the first thing we find is Him.  He is the ultimate truth.  When all else fades away, and all else will one day fade away, God remains.  If you do not know God it does not really matter because He knows you and if you want truth you will meet Him.  Just keep looking for truth and you will find it and you will find Him.  God bless you.

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Sin – Deal With It NOW!

February 24, 2012 by areliablefaith

I had a bit of a strange dream last night. I was with the soldiers that captured the mansion where Saddam Hussein resided. But instead of his escaping to hideout for several months as happened in real life, he was there and we captured him. He was a broken man, defeated and powerless in the face of the strength of the righteous army that had swept in and broken his tyrannical dictatorship. We left him and quickly moved through the house providing humanitarian aid and help to the wounded, broken, and naked people throughout the house. Although I am not sure why it seems important at this time, one of my main tasks was to find weapons and destroy them and find clothes for people to put on. It seemed that more than half the people were either without clothes or dressed in rags.

I do not remember fighting perse, but I do remember being dressed and equipped as a fighter. My main mission, and I was the leader, was to help people. After removing all the weapons we could find and getting people stabilized and dressed we began talking with them. Many were cautiously appreciative, others told stories of terrible abuse and mistreatment, but a few appeared to be as in a trance. I remembered that we had left Saddam in a room upstairs so I went to get him and bring him down and take him away. As I slipped in the room from one direction I caught sight of him leaving the room from a door on the other side. Somehow while we were gone he had cleaned up, dressed in a fresh uniform, and amazingly appeared 20 years younger – a vital, strong, proud man. I watched with horror as he marched down the stairs and began to interact with the people we had recently liberated. Various reactions from terror to disbelief to adulation were recorded. The young Saddam for his part did not seem to have a recollection of being recently captured or deposed, but he knew clearly that HE was in charge. I realized at that point what a huge mistake we had made in treating him kindly and underestimating his power.

As this thought came to me my alarm went off. As I awoke my first thought was, “That is how we often deal with sin in our lives. We push it aside saying it is defeated and get busy with other things only to have it rear its ugly head strengthened and more entrenched the next time.”

The scripture for this morning is from Ephesians 6:10 – 12.  “Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

In my dream I made a huge tactical mistake.  As a fighting unit we correctly pinpointed and subdued the leader of the opposition.  But we did not deal with him in a way that totally eliminated the threat, we did not take away his ability to come at us again.  I mentioned above that I my main mission was to help people.  I was eager to get to the part of giving aid but that was compromised by my failure to address the most pressing threat to their long-term safety.

Many who call themselves Christians struggle with achieving the abundant life that Jesus offers.  One of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, is because they fail to deal with sin in their life.  I know that the early days of my walk were full of identifying and casting off habits and attitudes that the Holy Spirit showed me were sinful.  But even today closing in on 29 years later, I still have to be attentive to the Holy Spirit as He points out areas where my heart can be lured away to sin.  Two situations last night came up that could very easily be traps for me.  Yet this morning I know that I must decisively deal with the potential sin in my heart so I can wisely deal with the situations at hand.

For those reading this who may not be of the faith or perhaps you are a new Christian, let me take just a moment to put things into perspective.  God dealt with the ultimate consequence of sin – separation from God, through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.  God who is holy could not allow sin to reside with Him.  God who is just said the penalty for sin was death and separation from God.  God who is love said He would pay the penalty in our place.  He sent His son Jesus to stand in our place when the judgement for sin was carried out.  Jesus was the only person who has ever lived who was without sin.  For this reason His sacrifice is able to cleanse us all from all unrighteousness.  God’s only requirement is that we come to Him in faith accepting Jesus sacrifice on our behalf and making Him Lord of our life.

These two steps capture the essence of what it is to be a believer.  And following these two steps will result in abundant life.  Not a pain-free or challenge free life, but an abundant life.  Let me say that making Jesus Lord of your life is all encompassing.  One of the primary tasks we must undertake is to identify and deal with sin in us whenever and wherever we find it.  Sin left unchecked will prevent access to the abundant life Jesus offers.  It will ruin our witness for Christ.  It will hurt us and those around us.  And Jesus wants to help us deal with it, but we must respond to Him with faith in action.  When He points out sin in our life, or we come to a situation where the potential for sin exists, we must act decisively by saying NO to sin and yes to grace, truth, and love.  Temptations will come, but God who conquered death, hell and the grave is more than able to help us say No to every temptation if we put our trust in Him.

Have a blessed day!

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