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Archive for the ‘Endurance’ Category

God’s Revenge

Posted in Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Endurance, Faith, Forgiveness, Healing, Long-suffering, Persecution, Servanthood on February 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The man was not home when they came to assassinate him for his faith in Jesus Christ, but his family was. Why they did not kill his wife is uncertain. Perhaps they thought it a far crueler “punishment” to kill his sons and force their mother to watch as they were shot to death by bullets which were far less steely than their own hearts. And so they did just that.

“When will you flee this place?” the woman was asked after this life-shattering tragedy.

“Not until I see God’s revenge on these men,” she answered. “These were my children; I changed their diapers I fed them and nurtured them. I loved them, and I had hopes that they would grow to be pastors or doctors; men who would help our people. And now, their lives have been cut off –they will never grow to be men.”

Concerned, her fellow Christian asked, “What do you mean by God’s revenge? What revenge?”

“I need God’s revenge!” she reiterated. “Please ask the churches to pray God’s revenge on these men that killed my sons — I need to see these men go to Heaven. I want the churches to pray for their salvation!”

Her statements seemed odd to me at first. Then I realized what she meant: our Lord said, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” (Romans 12:19 NAS). This mother knew that God would avenge her sons’ blood and was therefore seeking mercy on their behalf. She had forgiven those men and prayed that God would as well. Like Jesus upon His cross of crucifixion, she was pleading, ‘Father, forgive them; they know not what they do!’ As I listened to this account of the persecuted church, the Lord spoke to my heart. “Would you – could you –forgive even this?”

I wanted to say, without hesitation, “Yes Lord!” But the truth is, I am not certain whether I could or not. One never knows what they will do in certain situations until faced with it. My childhood and adolescence was excruciatingly painful, yet I learned to completely forgive my tormenters. However, my own experiences pale in comparison to those of the persecuted church in other lands. How would I handle this kind of agony – the cold-blooded murder of my precious children? Could I truly forgive and ask that God’s revenge for them be salvation and eternal life in Heaven for their murderers? I pray so.

Then, I listened intently to the speaker’s own powerful testimony. He was born and raised in the same hate-riddled part of the world as this woman was. In fact, it was he who encouraged her to flee. He managed to do so himself, but not until he was imprisoned five times and inflicted with such inhumane tortures as being hung upside down, beaten with metal cable, and having boiling oil poured on his feet.

Yet he more than forgave –he learned to see them through God’s eyes and love them as He does! For the past thirty-plus years of his life, this man has been involved with an evangelistic ministry and continues to minister to the people in and around his homeland – even those barbaric non-believers who torture and kill Christians.

As he recounted his own sufferings, I couldn’t help but smile every time he said, “We must continue to have the faith of Jesus!” You see, with his still-thick accent, he pronounced the word faith as ‘face.’

Yes, my brother, we desperately need the face of Jesus! I was reminded, as he spoke, of Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

It is only by the grace of God, by His countenance upon us, that we can ever find healing for a heart that has been shattered. It is only by forgiveness that we can find true peace. And it is only by loving our enemies that we can pray with utmost sincerity, ‘Forgive them Father; they know what they do.’

May we, the body of Christ, never forget to pray daily for the persecuted church AND for those who persecute us!

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Cloudy With a Chance of Meteors

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness on December 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Photo Credit: Getty Image via CNN

This year’s Geminid meteor shower was hailed as the best of 2010 and I missed it. I was more than willing to bundle up like an Eskimo and head to the observatory to watch the show, but it was just too cloudy. What a shame! Sky gazers in other parts of the country reported seeing as many as one-hundred-twenty meteors an hour during this peak time; it must have been spectacular.

Even so, I can certainly understand why most people have little interest in staying up half the night to watch a bunch of meteors streak through the cold December sky. Truth be known, now that I am older I find it harder to stay awake for these things myself. Still, it would’ve been cool to watch the shower because I have always been fascinated with every aspect of creation from the microscopic to the cosmic.

I was one of those nerdy kids who could sit for hours and marvel at plain, ordinary rocks or admire the uniqueness of a single tree. In that respect I haven’t changed much. The difference is that when I look at the various things in the world around me now, I marvel more at the Creator than His creation.

God is awesome and all of nature declares His glory, especially in the heavens. Psalm 19:1 states: The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies proclaim his craftsmanship.

I believe that God created the universe in such a way that we would see these meteor showers as a reminder of how awesome His creation really is. The Geminid shower lasts for days and lights up the sky with fireballs which can be seen from almost anywhere on Earth. And, according to Nasa astronomer Bill Cooke, the Geminid showers “defy explanation.”

God does lots of things on a grand scale that defies explanation. It is His desire that, when we see these things, we turn our thoughts to Him.

The morning after I missed the meteor showers’ peak I was somewhat disappointed that I missed the ‘shower’ and there would only be a trickle of meteors over the next few days. For some reason, probably because of the term shower, I found myself thinking about a passage in the book of Ezekiel that describes a time when the Lord will bless His people with abundant peace and provision. He promises that there shall be showers of blessing (Ezekiel 34:26).

I couldn’t help but think about the many blessings that God is pouring upon the earth even now. Sadly, though, too many people fail to recognize some of them because their ‘vision’ is clouded by the storms of life. We may not be living in the fullness (showers) of God’s blessing just yet, but his blessings continue to rain down on upon us whether we see them or not; and His mercies are new every morning.

I know that the world is very dark now and people are hurting, but like the Puritans, let us pray, “…let me find Thy light in my darkness.” Your circumstances might not change immediately, but God is more than capable of moving those clouds so that you can see His glory rip through your darkness with more ferocity than those fiery meteors which pierce the night sky.

It may be too late to look up and see the meteor shower, but it is never too late to look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:28b).

Credit: Wally Pacholka / AstroPics.com / TWAN.

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Snipe Hype

Posted in Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Endurance, God's Provision on November 5, 2010| 5 Comments »


Being the new kid, I was thrilled with the invitation to go snipe hunting. My parents never let me do anything so it was out of the question, but I was chomping at the bit to go. For once in my life someone wanted to include me in the fun and frankly, I was miffed that I didn’t get to indulge in the adventure.

Just in case you happen to be wondering what in the world a snipe is I will explain, although I am probably breaking some sort of backwoods code of silence. There are two species of snipe. The first is a small, long-billed bird that lives in the marshes. The second type of snipe is a small nocturnal creature that lives only in deeply wooded areas; they are extremely elusive and nearly impossible to catch.

Now let me tell you what the latter type of snipe is not. A backwoods snipe is not real. This fictitious creature is a decoy meant to lure an unsuspecting dupe into humiliation and ridicule.

For high-schoolers, snipe hunting works something like this: The really “cool” kids seek out the “nerdiest” or loneliest introvert in the school and pretend to take an interest. A short time later, they ask this “reject” to go snipe hunting; banking on the fact that he or she will jump at the chance to be included. Then on a cold, dark night, the whole snipe-hunting party drives to a remote location and walks deep into the woods.

Once there, the naïve chump is given a gunnysack or pillowcase and a stick to aid in the capture. “By the way, you are far more likely to catch a snipe if you give them a snipe call,” you are told. “It sounds something like this….” Of course their victim will sound like an idiot making that call, but it’s all part of the humiliation.

The group breaks up at this point because it is “easier to catch a snipe like that.” I probably don’t have to tell you what happens next- the poor dupe is left alone in the woods and the others drive off. How long he or she is left in the woods is entirely up to the coolest of the cool.

In retrospect, I am certainly grateful that I didn’t go along on that snipe hunt; I had already endured enough arrows of humiliation back then as it was. I only wish others could escape the beguilement but sadly, innocent recruits are still being gulled into snipe hunting to this very day.

If this were just some harmless prank it would probably be more copacetic but in reality, the demoralizing outcome is not harmless at all. The culprits, motivated by malice, are intent on victimizing those who are already weak and insecure. This really angers me.

What angers me more is that all of humanity has a very real enemy out there with a similar, but infinitely more destructive agenda. Scripture says that your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8)

The devil, otherwise known as Satan, often employs tactics similar to those of a snipe hunt. He too seeks out those individuals who are completely ignorant of his schemes or their consequences. And more often than not, he chooses fragile souls who are weak and insecure or those who are emotionally wounded already.

He then lures them into his web of deceit- usually through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (also spoken of in Scripture). Unaware that they have just become the devil’s pawn, these eager victims initially enjoy the thrills of pleasure-hunting. If only they can nab that evasive creature called happiness, the end result, they reason, will be self-fulfillment and acceptance.

Satan knows, however, that mankind can only find true happiness through communion with God, his Creator. So, he carefully maneuvers his pawns into a cold dark place far away from God until the reality sets in that the pleasures of this world were only decoys. By then, the fragile souls are demoralized and buy into the lie that they have made an insurmountable mistake and are quite alone in it.

The enemy has worked this same plan of deception from the dawn of time; the wisest man who ever lived, according to the biblical account, fell victim to this same pleasure-hunting deception. He wrote:

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

Perhaps you, dear reader have felt like you have been on a hunt for happiness and still feel like your gunnysack is empty. Moreover, you might feel like you have been standing alone in an emotional darkness, calling out to no avail. Notice, Scripture says the devil seeks those who he [may] devour; if you are in God’s hands, he is unable to.

Furthermore, Jesus spoke in Scripture saying Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28, 29 KJV)

In addition to rest, God wants to give you every good thing; not the temporal things of this world that are fleeting and do not really satisfy, but those things which bring true fulfillment and true happiness.

Whether you are in relationship with your heavenly Father or not, please watch this video and take its words to heart. It is my sincere prayer that you do not leave this blog site empty-handed. If nothing else, take with you the knowledge that Jesus loves you too much to leave you alone.


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Skookum

Posted in Devotional, Endurance, Guidance, Inspirational, tagged on September 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In the winter of 1982, my life was saved by a pony. But Skookum wasn’t an ordinary pony; he was a Belgium with a personality as large as the mountain he rescued me from.

I hadn’t told anyone I was hiking up the mountain unaccompanied, not that anyone would have cared anyway. In those days I was quite alone, except for Skookum, who was quite determined to be my constant companion. The feeling was mutual; I loved my playful, four-legged friend.

I eagerly started most mornings with Skookum’s slobbery kisses, and his huge nose rooting deeply into my coat pocket to retrieve his daily snack (Snickers® bars were his absolute favorite). The two of us would then go about our day together; he rarely left my side when I was outdoors.

On that particular day, though, I was feeling as bleak and cold as the weather and longed for complete solitude, which was my most cherished endowment next to Skookum’s companionship. Life, at that time, had given me cause to agree with the German philosopher Schopenhauer: “A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.”¹  Since entering into relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I no longer agree with that statement, nor read philosophy, but on that dreary winter afternoon so long ago, the statement captured my inner thoughts well.

It was with that mindset that I headed up the mountain to briefly escape the hostile world. I knew that it wasn’t wise to go off alone, especially at that late hour, but I really didn’t care; the mountain was normally a peaceful sanctum and I longed to retreat to its isolation. Skookum knew the mountain well, but even he would have interfered with the silent seclusion I desired to immerse myself in. Thus, I slipped by his ever watchful eye and began my ascent.

Though I was deep in thought, I hadn’t been careless. Making sure to stay on the really old, well-worn paths, I deliberately marked the landscape as I went. Unfortunately, the possibility of snow had not occurred to me until it was too late. The mountain was quickly blanketed until nothing looked familiar and I could no longer find the paths.

As I searched frantically for some recognizable landmark, the chilling yelps of coyotes began to close in on me. More alarmingly, fresh tracks indicated their close proximity. Normally, coyotes eat smaller prey, but they had gone after the horses several times so I certainly had reason to fear. It wasn’t that I was afraid to die – I just didn’t want to die as the main course for a coyote pack.

By this time I was completely lost and unsure of what to do. Dusk had already begun to obscure what little sunlight there had been and soon I would be stranded alone on the mountain, in the dark, surrounded by coyotes. If ever there was a time to regret my reclusiveness, it was certainly then.

Just when I felt that all hope was lost, Skookum showed up. I was certain that his snorting and stamping was as much a scornful rebuke as it was a warning of the encroaching danger, which was getting closer by the minute. He turned to my left and headed off with a slower than normal gait, turning ever so often to make sure I was following. My faithful companion led me to the base of the mountain before dark without harm. I was actually thankful to be back among civilization and Skookum was thankful for his reward of two Snickers® bars the next day.

 After all these years, I still think about that precious pony. I sometimes think about that mountain too.  In that part of the state, the mountains were mostly rocky terrain with very few trees or streams- not pretty at all.  This meant that even those well-worn paths were very difficult to traverse; even a short trek up the mountain was somewhat dangerous and exhausting.

In some ways, my experience on that mountain reminds me of some of the more difficult spiritual journeys that I have faced throughout the years. I don’t know about you, but there have been times when I have found myself in a very bleak and desolate place, feeling very downcast and alone. Like my buddy Skookum, the Lord was right there wanting to shower His love on me and guide me through the difficult terrain, but I hadn’t yet allowed Him too.

Consequently, in trying to conquer my ‘mountain’ alone, it wasn’t long until it seemed my problems were closing-in on me, ready to devour. But just when I felt all hope was gone, the Lord (who was there all along) reminded me that He is our refuge and strength a very present help in the time of trouble, therefore we will not fear (Psalms 46:1, 2). He also reminded me that He longs to walk every step of life’s journey with us- especially the difficult ones, if only we will let Him.  

Dear reader, you and I will undoubtedly have many difficult mountains to traverse in this life, and the terrain may be difficult and exhausting, but we never have to go them alone! Beyond that, the Lord has made the paths very easy to find. The prophet Jeremiah wrote: Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls (6:16).   And remember, the Lord leads us on those paths (Psalm 23).

No offense to Mr. Schopenhauer, but it is not when a man is alone that he is really free; it is only when a man walks with God that he is truly free!

¹ Schopenhauer, Arthur R. Essays and  Aphorisms. Penguin Books, Penguin Group. New York, USA. Translation, 1970

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Feeble Weeble

Posted in Devotional, Endurance on August 30, 2010| 8 Comments »

Like many of my tenacious, long-suffering friends, I’m a Weeble. If you are young enough that you’ve never listened to an eight-track tape or watched ABC’s After School Specials on television, you probably don’t have a clue what I’m talking about- in which case I will explain.

Weebles™, created by the Hasbro Company in the 1970’s, started out as small egg-shaped toys that were made to look like people. Because they were weighted on the bottom, you could push them over but they popped right back up. Just about every child growing up in that era knew that “Weebles™ wobble but they don’t fall down.”

I keep that little motto tucked somewhere in my repository of coping techniques for those times when I am unexpectedly knocked down by life. I occasionally face problems with bulldog tenacity and say, “It’s going to take a lot more than that to keep me down- I’m a Weeble!”

I’m not always that unbending though; sometimes I am a more of a feeble Weeble; I still manage to get back up, just not as quickly or as easily. During those times I have to consciously remind myself that although my burdens may have weighed me down, I can choose to let that work for me, not against me.   In the same way that the heavily weighted portion of a Weeble toy  allows it to spring back up, the same principle can apply to us human Weebles.

How so? Our suffering usually causes us to rely upon God even more; I have even seen self-proclaimed atheists cry out to God when the burden was too heavy. It is human nature to allow our exceedingly heavy afflictions, and our heavy hearts, to knock us down. In this condition, it is never easy to get back up. Nevertheless, when we put our trust in God and His promises, we begin to see things in a whole new light. We begin to realize that: …this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17 NAS©1995).

Notice that it is eternal glory that is weighty (in a good way), not the affliction. The burden may knock us down for a short while, but understanding God’s incredible promises, like the one above, lightens our hearts. It is the contrast of this lightness in the midst of heaviness that gives all “feeble Weebles” the ability to  spring back up.

Paul is in no way trying to minimize the crushing blows that we all face in our lives from time-to- time. Rather, he is reminding us that our afflictions are really not as devastating as we first perceive them to be when compared to the glory of eternity. In fact, our afflictions serve ultimately for our benefit.

Peter explains this well:

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold–though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (I Peter 1:7 NLT©2007)

Having said that, next time you are knocked-down by life’s blows, why not face that problem doggedly and say, “You can’t keep me down; I’m a Weeble.”

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