The end of summer and the beginning of fall herald the beginning of the new English soccer season and the NFL season. All teams are gearing up and it is the time when we start being a little unrealistic in hopes of playoff births and trophies. Pretty soon the seasons will start and some teams will win while others lose. The losers will pick themselves up and say, "It's a long season" in hopes of a better tomorrow. Some will have a good season while others will have to endure a long and fruitless season. At some point the optimism is replaced by realism and we start to think about the changes we need to make for next year when we start the cycle all over again.
With sports, there comes a point where things are impossible. The season has a limited number of games, and there is a time when there are just too few games left to make a difference. For a Christian, however, we believe in a God who has the power to give us victory in the most hopeless of situations. There is no limit except that which we create, there are no boundaries except those we allow, therefore we live in hope through faith, and must be people of optimism.
Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened." Right now we have a situation that could cause us to stop in our tracks. It could cause us to go from a position of great hope and momentum to derailment...the difference is in how we react to it. So we will continue to ask of God, to seek His guidance and to walk through the doors we encounter. And...go Green Bay.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Same story, different result
Having just returned from vacation, I wanted to catch up with a young lady we know who is going through all kinds of trials. The details I will give of her situation will be vague, except that her world has crashed around her and one problem seems to domino into another. Despite terrific pressure and disappointment, I have marvelled at her incredible resolve and her ability to cope. In all of it, as she has testified to me, she has learned to trust in God because there is nowhere else to go. Her faith has sustained her, and her hope lies in the things that are impossible to man. Her daily prayer is for strength to go on and her prayers continue to be answered.
Yesterday I also spoke with another woman whose world is crashing around her. Although the details are different the pressures are comparable. She wept deeply as I counselled her and my heart broke as she told me that she prays, every night, that she will die in the night and not wake up.
As I thought about these women - and I care about them both - I realized one significant difference is how they approach God. One has a personal relationship with God and recognizes Him as the sustainer of all life and gives us a reason to live. The second is a woman who believes in God, but doesn't truly know Him and sees Him as an outsider looking in.
There is a wonderful prayer chorus that says,
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face...
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace".
Let's look at Jesus' face in all of our trials, because being in His presence brings a great level of perspective. Jesus is so personal that He came to be like us, to die for us and then He ascended into Heaven to represent us. His desire is not to be an outsider looking in, but to be personal, living inside of us so that we can cope with what's going in the world.
Please pray for these two lovely women.
Yesterday I also spoke with another woman whose world is crashing around her. Although the details are different the pressures are comparable. She wept deeply as I counselled her and my heart broke as she told me that she prays, every night, that she will die in the night and not wake up.
As I thought about these women - and I care about them both - I realized one significant difference is how they approach God. One has a personal relationship with God and recognizes Him as the sustainer of all life and gives us a reason to live. The second is a woman who believes in God, but doesn't truly know Him and sees Him as an outsider looking in.
There is a wonderful prayer chorus that says,
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face...
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace".
Let's look at Jesus' face in all of our trials, because being in His presence brings a great level of perspective. Jesus is so personal that He came to be like us, to die for us and then He ascended into Heaven to represent us. His desire is not to be an outsider looking in, but to be personal, living inside of us so that we can cope with what's going in the world.
Please pray for these two lovely women.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Full House
This is VBS week for us, and it is two nights down with three to go. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy VBS but it is a very tiring week. We are teaching the children about the Lord's Prayer and my class, the adult class, seems to be enjoying it.
The days are very long as, by the time we have cleaned up, we are leaving the Church at about 9PM, but last night my wife invited 4 girls aged 9 - 14 for a sleepover with my daughter Hope. The problem was, my two boys aged 9 & 5 were equally excited at having 4 pretty girls at the house and soon the attention was taken from my daughter and she became very jealous. She wouldn't let the boys in her room so her 4 guests stayed out of her room as well...leaving Hope alone and feeling very sorry for herself.
At about 11PM I went into Hope's room to talk to her. She was very angry at her brothers, and mad at her friends because they didn't come into her room. As I talked to her she became more upset until she just broke down and began to sob uncontrollably - I had never seen her cry like that before.
I like to discuss problems, so I tried to discuss the situation with Hope but her emotions made her unreasonable, however, reading between the lines, it was now a matter of pride that was keeping her away from having a fun time. I talked to her for another 45 minutes, trying to convince her to go down and bury her pride...and then Taylor walked in. Taylor is a 12 year old girl who Hope loves to play with. Hope had been particularly unkind to Taylor, but Taylor has the ability to get over such silliness. Taylor talked to Hope for 10 minutes, after which Hope went downstairs and ended up having a fantastic time.
Pride is an awful thing. It causes us to blame, it causes us to hate, it causes us to be unreasonable, it causes people to leave Churches, it causes people to leave their families. Pride keeps issues burning, pride keeps people hating, pride keeps people divided. So why is it so hard to admit to being wrong, why is it so hard to say sorry. Am I perfect, is anybody perfect? Of course the answer is no, therefore sorry should be one of the most natural words for us...but for pride.
I'm so glad that Taylor stepped towards Hope yesterday allowing Hope to have a great time, I just wish we had the ability to recognize our own faults allowing us to say sorry and accept our God given right to be forgiven.
The days are very long as, by the time we have cleaned up, we are leaving the Church at about 9PM, but last night my wife invited 4 girls aged 9 - 14 for a sleepover with my daughter Hope. The problem was, my two boys aged 9 & 5 were equally excited at having 4 pretty girls at the house and soon the attention was taken from my daughter and she became very jealous. She wouldn't let the boys in her room so her 4 guests stayed out of her room as well...leaving Hope alone and feeling very sorry for herself.
At about 11PM I went into Hope's room to talk to her. She was very angry at her brothers, and mad at her friends because they didn't come into her room. As I talked to her she became more upset until she just broke down and began to sob uncontrollably - I had never seen her cry like that before.
I like to discuss problems, so I tried to discuss the situation with Hope but her emotions made her unreasonable, however, reading between the lines, it was now a matter of pride that was keeping her away from having a fun time. I talked to her for another 45 minutes, trying to convince her to go down and bury her pride...and then Taylor walked in. Taylor is a 12 year old girl who Hope loves to play with. Hope had been particularly unkind to Taylor, but Taylor has the ability to get over such silliness. Taylor talked to Hope for 10 minutes, after which Hope went downstairs and ended up having a fantastic time.
Pride is an awful thing. It causes us to blame, it causes us to hate, it causes us to be unreasonable, it causes people to leave Churches, it causes people to leave their families. Pride keeps issues burning, pride keeps people hating, pride keeps people divided. So why is it so hard to admit to being wrong, why is it so hard to say sorry. Am I perfect, is anybody perfect? Of course the answer is no, therefore sorry should be one of the most natural words for us...but for pride.
I'm so glad that Taylor stepped towards Hope yesterday allowing Hope to have a great time, I just wish we had the ability to recognize our own faults allowing us to say sorry and accept our God given right to be forgiven.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Weekend Over
What a long weekend this has been. First there was the funeral of our Sister-in-Christ, Nellie Rowley. I felt the service went well as we enjoyed remembering this Spiritual giant who has, as we say in The Salvation Army, been "Promoted to Glory."
On Saturday I was delighted to fellowship with Paul Whitmore, a young man from my home of Coventry was happened to be visiting the area. Paul was a teenager when I left the Corps in 1991 and it was great to see his maturity in Christ, and to meet his wife and two boys. I delight in opportunities such as these.
Then there was Sunday - a good Church Service, a Church lunch, a, meeting of the Church leaders, the setting up of the building in preparation for Vacation Bible School and then transporting three young men to Northern Virginia so they could enjoy a week at The Salvation Army camp in Florida. I am very excited to be sending delegates to the event in Florida as they are the first people I have been prepared to send in the five years I have been here. Their way was paid by generous donors from our area, and I can guarantee that they will come back refreshed and inspired. God is blessing our Church.
On Saturday I was delighted to fellowship with Paul Whitmore, a young man from my home of Coventry was happened to be visiting the area. Paul was a teenager when I left the Corps in 1991 and it was great to see his maturity in Christ, and to meet his wife and two boys. I delight in opportunities such as these.
Then there was Sunday - a good Church Service, a Church lunch, a, meeting of the Church leaders, the setting up of the building in preparation for Vacation Bible School and then transporting three young men to Northern Virginia so they could enjoy a week at The Salvation Army camp in Florida. I am very excited to be sending delegates to the event in Florida as they are the first people I have been prepared to send in the five years I have been here. Their way was paid by generous donors from our area, and I can guarantee that they will come back refreshed and inspired. God is blessing our Church.
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