My Memories of David Wilkerson

When I heard that David Wilkerson was killed in a car accident yesterday, my heart sank.  The world truly lost a great man of God.  Perhaps some people aren’t familiar with David Wilkerson.  He worked in New York amongst dangerous gang members to try and help them and get them out of that terrible lifestyle.  He brought many hardened hearts to the saving Truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  He wrote a book called The Cross and the Switchblade.  I read this book as a teenager, and I’ll never forget the courage and fortitude of David Wilkerson, as gang members continued to threaten his life to try and get him out of their turf and move away.  But he stood firm and never waivered and continued his ministry there.  He did other things too.  He began an organization called Teen Challenge, a place to help young men who struggle with drug addictions.   

But mostly what I remember about David Wilkerson is his incredible strong convictions about the Truth of God’s Word.  He never preached a “feel good” message to try and entertain people or please them.  He taught straight out of the Word of God as the Holy Spirit had convicted him.  I think that today we’ve lost that word “conviction,” because it sounds too harsh.  But when David Wilkerson spoke, people listened.  He had a gift of prophecy and predicted the 9-11 disaster in New York.  I’m not sure of the details as to how much he knew, but he had been warning people that something big was coming, and then it came.  His church in New York City, Times Square Church, ministered to many people after that tragic event. 

I had the privilege of being able to hear David Wilkerson speak in person.  He had been invited to a denominational anniversary wind-up in a large downtown hall in the city.  It was sometime in the early 80s.  I remember that he got up and said something to the effect, “I had a sermon all prepared, but while I was sitting here, the Lord gave me a different sermon.”  We all sat up and he had our full attention.  He gave a powerful message that day, and one that I’ll never forget.  This particular time, in the early 80s, we had a Liberal government and the interest rates were very high.  Yet we were somehow prospering because jobs were plentiful and paid well at that time.  I had a really good job and I had just went out and bought a brand new beautiful car (silver and maroon).  It was plush on the inside and very comfortable.  The roof came off, so I could cruise around with the sun shining in and listen to my favorite music of the 80s. 

So here I was sitting there with my beautiful car parked outside and he gave a stinging sermon on materialism.  This was his passage of Scripture: 

Jas 5:1  Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Jas 5:2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

Jas 5:3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Jas 5:4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

Jas 5:5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Jas 5:6  Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.  

Wow!  What a powerful sermon.  Everyone listened. You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet.  I know when I heard him preach, I repented of the pride I had taken in my possessions, especially that brand new car that was parked outside.  I knew it was an extravagance I didn’t really need.  I had a good job and I could make monthly payments, but the realization that my heart had been affected became crystal clear to me.  I’ll always be grateful to David Wilkerson for that sermon, and I’ll never forget the timeliness of it.

If you get a chance, listen to some of David Wilkerson’s sermons.  They are truly life-changing and insightful, timely for this hour.  And in memory of David Wilkerson and to keep his ministry alive, I would like to challenge all of us who know the Lord in a personal way, to live by our convictions and never be afraid to stand up and share what the Lord has laid on our heart.  David Wilkerson built his whole life on it and many people are saved today because of it.  But most important, we need to stand up and be counted for our Lord and not keep silent, for who knows when our time will come?

Financial Stress

Have you ever felt that there’s not enough pay-cheque at the end of the month to cover all the menacing bills that keep showing up in your mailbox?  Although money should never play a role in determining whether we will be happy or not, or stressed or not, it seems to invade our lives more often than not.  For years, I wondered what God’s plan was when He invented money and created the need for it in order for us to eat.  So far, I’ve learned that He uses it to test our faith, to test our heart, and to cause us to learn to be unselfish by giving whether we have much or little.  

By way of illustration, I’d like to share something that happened to me that had to do with the testing of my faith and my heart.  It was probably the greatest lesson I ever learned about money so far.  I was employed, but had taken almost a year’s sick leave from my job due to problems with stress.  At that time, the term “anxiety disorder” was new and not even my doctor or a trained psychologist understood its nature or consequences, so I was unable to extend my sick leave payments.  When my sick leave pay from work ran out, I was forced to go on social assistance.  Soon, this also ran out.  I was left with no money, not even enough to pay for my rent or buy groceries.  One day I was walking down a familiar street in the city with only a couple of dollars in my pocket.  I couldn’t even afford a bus ride.  Every thought imaginable ran through my mind.  Would I have to sell everything just to eat?  Where would I go?  Would I ever be able to work and support myself again?  What kind of future did I have?  My rent was coming due in about a week or so.  

Yet, in spite of these nagging fears, I knew I had to hand everything over to the Lord and trust Him whether I was to remain in this financially strapped condition or not.  And so I handed the situation over to God at that time and basically prayed this way, No matter what happens, if I lose it all, I will still love you and serve you.  I felt an immediate sense of release that now the situation was in His capable hands.  Still, people who are desperate do desperate things.  I just couldn’t sit still and wait because I had to pay my rent, so I did something very unusual for me and very difficult, not to mention humbling:  I began calling various evangelical churches I knew of to see if they could help me. I was surprised when I was turned out cold from one of them.  I had already felt humiliated just by going to ask for assistance, and the person who “interviewed” me asked so many questions I felt as if I was in an inquest and had done something terribly wrong.  As I walked away heavy-hearted, I felt the Lord’s presence in a powerful and reassuring way.  This is what He spoke to my heart – Whenever we turn away someone in need, the Lord takes it personally and treats it as if we have turned Him away.  I learned first-hand about the following Scripture: 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. KJV 

Another church offered me used clothing – since it was winter, they offered me a coat and boots.  This at least was something; but still not what I needed.  Another church did come through, gladly and willingly, and I had only expressed my need over the phone.  The pastor didn’t even know who I was, but he was filled with compassion and said that whatever they collected (for such situations) on Sunday he would give to me.  Finally, I went to the pastor of the church in which I attended: I told him my situation and he immediately responded, and within a couple of days came up with the rent money that I needed.  But, in the meantime my employer called to see how I was doing.  I told her my situation and that I couldn’t even pay my rent and I wondered how I’d be able to buy groceries to eat.  All she said was that she was going to see what she could do about that!  A few days later (and just in time to pay my rent), much to my surprise and relief, my regular pay-cheque from my employer arrived in the mail, and the same size cheque arrived every two weeks (no strings attached), until I was able to return to work full time.  This does not normally happen, that you get paid your regular pay-cheque when you have run out of sick pay and you can’t return to work.  So as it turned out, I didn’t need the money from my own church family (although I’ll never forget how generous they were to offer to help.)  And I’ll never forget the pastor that I talked to on the phone who didn’t even know me and offered to help!  Overall, it was one of the most humbling experiences I can remember and also the most enlightening.  Our true character shows through when it comes to money and how willing we are to part with it.  

The other lesson I learned is that when we accept our circumstances and trust God no matter what happens, He honors that and comes through.  He tests our hearts to see how true we are towards Him.  I take no credit for how God came through for me, except that I believed He loved me no matter what because He had already proved this many times before.  For one thing, He had always provided me with good jobs even though I had to wait for them.  And secondly, I know that God never lies.  If He says in His Word that He will provide, He will do just that.  

Another truth that came to me out of this situation was that once I was removed from my regular job, I began to see how my dependence on my job had changed me.  Before I even had the job, I was working various part-time jobs and applying for full-time jobs.  I had to trust God then too because if I lost one of the part-time jobs, I’d be struggling financially again.  But God came through and I was hired to work full-time and also received full benefits.  During this time where I had no more income coming in, I had to go downtown for something and I went for coffee to a favorite restaurant in a mall close to my workplace.  As I sat there, I couldn’t help but overhear some of the conversations going on around me.  People were talking about such trivial things, like what they were planning for the weekend and the party they had been to the night before.  They talked about shopping and fun sorts of things.  I suddenly realized that I used to be like that when I was working and not worrying about paying my rent – I had, in some ways, become superficial!  I realized that I had become too comfortable and trusting in the steady pay-cheque more than in the Lord’s provision.  Because my needs were being met through my job, I had stopped depending on God and I didn’t even know it, but it had affected my heart attitude towards God.  The following verse began to make sense to me:    

Mat 6:24  "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. NIV 

I realized that God is the source of my provision and not my workplace.  This was a profound revelation to me since now my livelihood was at stake.  And added to this was the stress of being unable to work due to illness.  Have you ever been in such a situation where you had to completely and totally trust God to meet your needs?  I am sure those who have would agree that this is where you grow leaps and bounds in your faith.  Many times in my life, I have had to trust God to provide for a need, and I can’t think of one time He didn’t provide.  I may have had to wait, but that didn’t change God’s perfect timing.  Through these tests of having to trust God to provide, I have learned that life isn’t all about how much money you make and all the things you can buy.  It is all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Jehovah Jireh (my provider).  Life with Him is an exciting adventure that stretches me and tuning in to what interests Him most brings great reward. 

Mat 6:33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. NIV 

So whatever situation you may be in today, please feel encouraged.  There is no magic formula for getting money.  If you are God’s child and know Him in a personal way, you are special to Him and He will provide according to the many promises in His Word.  Thank you for reading and may you enjoy all the blessings in your day.

Words Hold Weight

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Pro. 25:11   

Some people may not know this, but the words that we speak hold life to them.  In fact they produce fruit, either good or bad. As a writer, I know that words are very important and that just one word can create the most beautiful image, or create an image of darkness and foreboding.  I might use the word “meadow” for a beautiful image, and “gutter” for a dark image.  If I had a dime for every word I’ve changed, I’d probably be rich today.  In my blog, What am I Holding Onto? I talked about confession, and confessing our sins.  I shared how powerful this is especially when it comes to our salvation and the transformation that needs to take place in our lives – it is the difference between heaven and hell.  Just think of it, when we confess our sins we have just escaped the fires of hell itself!  Now that’s powerful.  And when we confess our sins to a person we have wronged or who has wronged us (forgiven them), we restore fellowship with them and God, and possibly divert an entire future generation from the destructiveness of bitterness, or a bitter root of unforgiveness.  We may have diverted a serious illness that could have developed.  And if we want to be well and not contribute to more stress in our life, we need to do more honest confessing from our hearts.  Let’s look at the following:

James 5:16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. NIV

Words can create strife or they can create peace.  I’m sure almost everyone has been in a heated argument.  Arguments are really battles that go on in our flesh, or our soul.  We feel attacked, just the same or worse as if we have been hit by a hand grenade, and what’s worse, we attack back, thinking that we’ll feel better.  But of course we just add fuel to the fire and things progressively get worse.  Nobody wins in an argument, ever. Words can destroy.  And what is the cause?  It’s the tongue.  Look at what James has to say about it:

Jas 3:2  We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Jas 3:3  When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

Jas 3:4  Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

Jas 3:5  Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

Jas 3:6  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

 

Jas 3:7  All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

Jas 3:8  but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Jas 3:9  With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.

Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

Jas 3:11  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

Jas 3:12  My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Jas 3:13  Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Jas 3:14  But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Jas 3:15  Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

Jas 3:16  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Jas 3:18  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. NIV

Look at verse 6: The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Wow!  That’s quite an image.  When we let our tongue loose in our anger, we are inadvertently calling up the fire from the pit of hell and doing our most destructive work!  Satan is having a heyday with us and he didn’t even have to do anything.  We give him an easy victory.  And we already know that anger contributes to heart disease, ulcers and other medical problems.  And the words we speak and the way we say them can cost us a marriage, a job, a relationship and so on.  Without the “wisdom from above” that James talks about, we are walking on very shaky ground if we’re not careful.

One time I was working as a temp office worker at a warehouse.  My boss yelled at me for something I did in front of the entire staff.  Everyone stopped working and you could hear a pin drop.  Then all eyes fell on me.  I had never in my life felt so publicly humiliated.  I stewed and stewed about it all day and all night, and decided to talk to him, so I could regain some sense of self-worth.  So the next day I went into his office and told him that what he had done had really embarrassed me.  He apologized, but at the end of my temporary term, I was not asked to stay on.  I believe that my honesty (I was being assertive and not aggressive) cost me possible future employment there.  Was I wise in asserting how I was feeling?  Probably not, especially if I had wanted to stay on and/or come away with good references.  Maybe if I had gone into that office and humbly apologized for making the mistake in the first place (even if it really was no big deal!), I would have stayed on and he would have promoted me.

But this brings up an interesting question that I have battled with from time to time.  Have you ever known someone, or perhaps you even have to live with someone, that is prone to anger?  They just seem really difficult to get along with no matter how hard you try!  You feel that nothing you do is good enough and you just can’t seem to please them, so you walk around on eggshells for fear they will strike again.  This might be a member of your family or an in-law, a boss, a supervisor, a co-worker, a church member, or another parent in your kid’s hockey team.  They’re the ones who seem to be always right and often they like to run the show.  Your ideas are often shelved or not even heard.  And if you dare say anything to challenge them, pardon the expression, but there will be hell to pay!  I’ve often wondered what to do in such a case.  In my blog, What am I Holding Onto? I talked about identifying and confessing my own sin.  Yes, people may have hurt me, but I am not responsible for their actions, I am only responsible for my reaction.  Is it gracious and will God be pleased with me, or I am lashing out in anger to try and get even, or perhaps keeping quiet and silently stewing?

The Bible offers us much wisdom on how to deal with people in such challenging situations:

Prov. 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Prov. 15:2  The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. KJV 

Have you ever known someone who is soft-spoken and you rarely, if ever, hear them say a bad word about anybody?  Although these people may be hard to find, they are out there.  I had a very sweet uncle like that. And I have a very wonderful mother who is like that.  Some people are gifted to be peacemakers, and my mother is one of them.  When she sees that people are at odds with each other, she doesn’t say anything, but she prays hard that the situation be resolved and peace be restored.  She encourages people to be friends.  I love that about her.  She stretches me to soften my heart and humble myself to restore fellowship when needed.  We hear so much about conflict-resolution where each injured party shares their story and then a moderator or counsellor tries to find a way to resolve it.  Sometimes we resist resolving conflict because we are more concerned about “being right” and getting our own “rights” fulfilled than we are about keeping the peace with someone.

And there are other words we say that may or may not have to do with relationships, and these are called “idle” words: 

Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

There may be many different interpretations of the word “idle,” but I believe this means anything that is not profitable and has no value whatsoever.  We must remember, God sees everything we do and He hears everything we say!  So if we can imagine that He is with us everywhere we go, and He is a Righteous, Holy and sinless God, won’t we be more careful what we say?  And in the verse that follows, we see the impact that our words have.

Throughout this blog series Cures for Stress, I have talked about thoughts and the source of our thoughts.  What we think determines our level of stress.  And what we think of others and how we treat them will determine how successful we will be in all of our relationships, including the one we have with God.  In today’s Scripture from James, we have a great insight into the wisdom that comes from God:

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. NIV

Words from God are pure.  There are no mixed motives.  Satan will try and whisper things in our ear to create strife with someone and he’ll try and get us stirred up.  And have you ever noticed that he’ll attack when you least expect it, like early in the morning just when you’re coming out of sleep?  He wants to ruin our day, that’s for sure!  These thoughts aren’t from God.  God’s words to us build us up and build others up, they encourage us to love better and love more.  If anything, His words restore relationships, not tear them down.  His words bring us peace, and with peace comes well-being. 

Heb. 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Praise will transform our heart, and then what comes out of our mouth will change to glorify God.  And then the most wonderful gift of peace will be ours no matter what is going on all around us. 

Thank you for reading and may your day be blessed with hearing and saying life-giving words.

The Stress of Grief

Yesterday we discussed burden bearing and caring for others who need help.  Today I’d like to talk about grief.  Sometimes when we are caring for a loved one, God chooses not to heal them.  We pray for them and we believe, but still they pass away.  This leaves us in shock and disbelief and we hardly know how to handle it.  And sometimes a loved one is suddenly taken away through an accident or some other sudden way.  It is at these times that our faith is tested to the very core.  We wonder how we’re ever going to get through it. 

Someone I know had an aged father-in-law who passed away and his memorial service was a week later.  But unexpectedly, her young son died in an accident just a few days after her father-in-law had passed away.  So her son’s memorial service was just a couple of days after her father-in-laws, and she had to plan for that one as well.  This is unbelievable!  Who would have thought?  No one is ever prepared for these things, and yet they happen. 

I am no expert in this area, and few are because we’re all susceptible to death (whether our own or a loved one’s).  But Jesus is the one who is.  Grief is a time when we need to nestle in with Jesus and allow Him to comfort us as only He can.  No one understands like Jesus.  When He was on this earth, He experienced grief.  In fact, it was all a part of the divine plan: 

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. KJV 

I am sure in many Easter services this weekend, the above passage of Scripture will be read or at least referred to.  Not only did Jesus experience grief, He bore our grief.  What does this mean?  First, we know that Jesus experienced grief when his friend Lazarus, whom He loved, had died.  Read the story in John 11:1-44.  In verse 35 it says Jesus wept.  I think it’s the shortest verse in the entire Bible, but a profound one.  We might wonder why Jesus wept, especially since He knew He would be raising Lazarus from the dead.  But remember He was God in human form, so He was subject to all of our temptations and trials, griefs, joys, sorrows and all that we go through in this life (and yet He was without sin!). 

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Secondly, and here is a big bouquet of hope, Jesus bore our grief and our sorrows!  Nothing can burden our hearts heavier than grief and sorrow can.  Some people actually grieve so much, that they have a heart attack and die shortly after they lose a loved one.  They just can’t bear the grief in their heart, and they can’t imagine life without their loved one.  Some people are never the same again after they lose a loved one, especially if they have lost a child.  And some things we just can’t understand, but God has infinite wisdom and I believe, that according to His Word, there is a reason for everything that happens.  Some day we will understand.  Today if you are grieving from losing a loved one, Jesus wants to take your sorrow and your grief.  He’s done it for me.  Many years ago, long before I was married or had even met my husband, I got involved in a relationship that was wrong from the start since he wasn’t even a Christian.  But somehow I got so emotionally attached to him that when it ended, I couldn’t get over the grief.  I was just weighed down by it and could hardly function.  Well I knew there was something terribly wrong because this had not happened in such a way before, and so I prayed.  I asked God to remove the grief from me.  So one day I was driving down a busy city street, and I remember that all of a sudden the grief left me and I was free from it!  It never returned and I was able to go on in my life, unhindered by the weight of this grief.   

I think that there are some people who believe that if you don’t feel the pain and grief of losing a loved one, that it shows you didn’t really care about them.  And yet, the Lord knows we can only take so much grief and no more!  And I believe that our loved ones would want us to go on with our life and be joyful and live fruitful lives with the time we have left.  And if our loved one is saved, they’re with Jesus, so they’ve never been happier!  But this is not to make light the grieving process.  Everyone grieves a little differently, and for some it takes longer than others. 

I’m sure everyone’s heard of Job.  Here is a man who suffered at the hands of Satan, and with God’s permission!  It’s a most incredible account of a wealthy and successful man with a large prospering family who lost everything including his health.  We can’t even imagine the grief he suffered, and yet he said: 

Job 13:15  Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 

In spite of everything that was happening to him, he still trusted in God.  Job is one of the most insightful books in the Bible when it comes to human suffering.  Also, when God speaks to Job near the end of the Book of Job, around chapter 38 right through to chapter 42, we have some of the most descriptive language about the wonders of God to be found anywhere in the Bible.  So when Job is going through all of this, he is learning so much about God, probably more than he ever would have known if he wasn’t suffering so much.  Even though he trusts God, he is still looking for answers like anyone else would in such a situation!  Perhaps God used the trials of Job in order to get his attention.  He wanted Job to grow leaps and bounds in his walk with God.  And at the end of his time of testing, this is what Job concludes: 

Job 42:1  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

Job 42:2  I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

Job 42:3  Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Job 42:4  Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

Job 42:5  I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Job 42:6  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. KJV 

In addition to learning so much more about God, Job has learned something about himself.  Even though he has undergone this testing, he realizes, that in light of the splendour and majesty and deep knowledge of God, he is small indeed, and he repents in dust and ashes. 

How easy it is to blame God and lash out when we are grieving and in pain over losing a loved one.  Yet this time can be used to draw ever nearer to the One who gave His life for us, and it can be a time of the greatest growth in our lives.  And grief is not something we need to hold onto especially when God is willing to take it from us.  I love the following verse that is filled with such hope: 

Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  

Thank you for reading and may God Bless You and be with you.

   

Burden Bearing

Today many people are caring for other people and getting very stressed out, and perhaps even ill because of it.  You may be caring for a very sick child, or you may be caring for your spouse who needs constant care.  You may be caring for an aging parent who needs daily visits.  Or perhaps you are there for a sick friend who is suffering with cancer.  There’s no doubt about it, caring for others can take all your time and energy.  And if you are a Bible-believing Christian, and you are starting to get sick or burned out because of caring for another, this can present a problem for you. I know it has been a problem for me.

Yesterday I shared that my life was miraculously changed while I was attending Bible School.  After Bible School, I was filled with such a love of God for people that I wanted to love everyone.  And I wanted to help them in any way that I could to know the loving God of the Bible.  And so I did that, loving and helping people, until one day it all fell apart.  I literally became undone, burned out and stressed out.  People were coming to me with their problems and I’d try to counsel them out of the Bible, pray with them and try to be there for them in their times of need.  I was also working full time and trying to deal with the adjustments of living in the fast-paced city life, a far cry from the slower country life I had been accustomed to.  I had my own issues to deal with as I struggled to understand the big picture and what exactly I was supposed to be doing as far as my desire to write went.

So God was going to take me on a long journey of discovery about ministering to and helping people in need (I am still learning about this!).  I’d like to talk about this very important issue in today’s blog because I think it’s crucial to know what God’s Word says about the subject.  The fact that we are to help people is written all over the Bible.  I’ll just list a few verses here:

Gal 6:2  Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. NIV

Jas 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. NIV

1Jn 3:16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? KJV

Basically, if we say that we love God, we have to love people too and we do this in very practical ways, meaning that usually it involves an action on our part.  But, there is something I want to make very clear from the start – these good works do not constitute salvation.  We are only saved through the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross for us when He died and forgave us for all of our sins (see Titus 3:5).  Loving and helping people does not make us any more righteous or necessarily a better Christian than someone else.  It is just something that we are supposed to do (and in the case of love, we are commanded to), and should want to do considering all that God has done and does for us!  So you can imagine my despair when I discovered that I just couldn’t do it all anymore and keep up the pace of trying to do it all on my own.  The first thing I had to learn to do was pray about it!  I had to ask God how I could continue to love and help these people that were turning to me for support and answers.  I discovered the first powerful truth and it had to do with the following verses:

John 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

So I learned that I had been acting independently of the Holy Spirit!  No wonder why I was burning out!  This came as quite a shock to me, not to mention a blow to my human pride.  I needed to be abiding in the vine to get my strength; otherwise I could bear no fruit for Him.  I was doing things in my own strength and so I quickly ran out of strength.  I’m no horticulturist, but I do know that the branches of the tree have to be attached to the trunk in order to survive!  We are not meant to go it alone.

Another important lesson I learned from the above Scripture is that Jesus longs for us to spend time with Him.  He enjoys fellowship with us and He loves teaching us about Himself and showing us wonderful things about Kingdom life.  I can’t tell you all the precious times I’ve spent with Him and the many wonderful things He has taught me and shown me.  If you think of it, the heaven we are going to is all about sweet and uninterrupted fellowship with Him.  He’s invited us, His children, to His home.  Of course we want to be busy down here in the brief span of our lifetime to win lost souls for Him, but we can never neglect the time we spend with Him.  He is our source of strength, joy, wisdom, love and everything that is good that He mentions in His Word is good.    

Sometimes I think that we take on way too many projects or projects (I mean people projects) that are too much for us.  And we probably never even prayed about it to begin with.  So we start out with very good intentions, only to find that we can’t continue with it after awhile because it’s just too much!  Take a look at the following Scripture:

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. KJV

We have to find out what it is that the Lord wants us to do in the first place.  Usually you will feel energized by the calling or the task He’s called you to do.  For me, primarily it’s always been writing.  I get great strength when I’m writing.  I rarely burn out.  I enjoy it and I could write for many hours at a time when I feel inspired.  But I know others who have a direct one-on-one ministry to people (practically my whole family), and they do not share my same passion for writing as something they would do.  They get their energy from helping people.  But there have been many times I have been involved in direct one-on-one ministry, and I’m thinking of when I was teaching in the public schools and in the university to foreign students.  I tried to minister to them every day in some way and this was exhilarating to me.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  There are times I would love to go back to teaching and I keep praying about it, but God has not opened that door for me again.  He has opened the door for me to write instead and so this is what I do.  Yet, still there are times I will get sidetracked away from writing (everything in life is a challenge, have you noticed?), and I will be asked to do things that I know will get me involved in such a way that my writing will suffer.  And if I say yes to every request, I might as well pack up the computers and put them away because I will likely not return to my writing.  So I have to really pray about my involvements because I want to do what the Lord has initiated and keep on with it until He says it’s time to stop and move on to something else.

Now getting back to what we started out talking about, when someone really needs you to look after them or help them because they are not well or for some other reason.  If you are the only person available to look after them and there is no other resource or person to do the job, then I believe that God will give you the strength to be able to do that.  I’ve seen it happen and I see it happening all the time.  God knows how much a person can take and how much we can endure.  And we must remember He has promised to make a way of escape when things get to be too much for us, if He has called us into a particularly difficult and challenging situation (see I Cor. 10:13). 

Finally, let’s look at the following Scripture:

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

According to this, there are some who are stronger than others.  What immediately comes to mind are husbands and wives.  I don’t want to pick on husbands, but most husbands are much stronger than their wives because God made them that way.  Now what I am going to say I am sure does not apply to every husband out there, but please stay with me here … Don’t make your wife have to ask you for help when you can see that she’s overwhelmed by her many duties.  Just pitch in and help, or once awhile, let her rest while you do the cooking and cleaning, or even better, take her out for dinner!  She’ll love you even more than she does now and you’ll have a much happier home because of it!  And wives, fall all over him in gratitude when he does this for you and maybe he’ll offer to help more often!  That’s just my two cents worth of advice!  Now it’s time to close since I’ve moved into another blog – the marriage blog.  And speaking of that, please check out Craig’s blog – The Journey of Oneness.  He is gifted with some incredible insights into the marriage relationship.

Thank you for reading and may you be doubly blessed as you reach out to help someone in need today. 

What am I Holding Onto?

Have you ever watched a trained athlete running in the Olympics?  I love watching the Olympics.  Last year I was glued to the TV watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  These athletes work so hard to perfect their particular skill that I have the utmost admiration for them.  Watching their performance is true poetry in motion.  Think of all the preparation and training that they do before they ever consider performing at the Olympics.  But imagine, if you can, that a runner runs out onto the field carrying a heavy backpack and perhaps weights tied to his ankles.  Do you think he could win the race if he was carrying that extra weight if no one else was also carrying that weight?  Of course not. That’s ludicrous.  It’s just not something we would ever expect to see.  And yet, many of us today are trying to run a race through life, to excel, to succeed, and to win at whatever it is we are doing, and we are carrying a heavy backpack and may not even realize it!  And so we struggle to get through life. 

One of the heaviest things we can carry in our backpack might be things that have happened in our past.  We may have had a really difficult upbringing and we just can’t seem to get over what others did or didn’t do to us or for us.  And so we carry around anger, self-pity, regret, unforgiveness, and perhaps guilt.  Do these things have weight to them?  Yes. I believe they do.  So consider that each day also we may be carrying around the more “fluid” worries of the day-to-day, like getting to work on time, doing a good job, getting along with people, fighting traffic and making it to appointments on time.  And then we might be also be worried about the future – will I get that promotion to pay for the rising cost of living? Or will my children succeed in school, in their job, in their marriages, and so on.  Or we might be caring for a loved one who is ill.  So this will always add stress to our life.  The things of today we can manage to handle.  Tomorrow we can’t manage because we don’t know yet what will happen and we have to learn to trust God for that (as well as today’s concerns).  But carrying around baggage of the past I think is the heaviest load we can possibly carry and one that we must seek to be rid of as soon as possible.   

We’ve all seen what happens when people don’t get rid of the bitterness and unforgiveness towards others in their past.  For one thing, it causes illness and this can be medically proven.  People that are hot-headed and angry all the time are really abusing their body and they become much more susceptible to disease like heart attacks, strokes and even cancer.  And perhaps one of the most devastating effects of unforgiveness and bitterness is that it bears fruit and it gets carried on to the next generation and they too are cursed with it.  So how do we get rid of the things in our past that currently weigh us down and ultimately contribute to the stress and stress-related illnesses in our life?  

I’d like to share two experiences I had in getting rid of the weight of my past.  The first experience happened to me several years after I had been involved in a serious car accident, the one I mentioned in the first blog A Secret Source of Stress.  My parents sent me to a very wonderful Bible School and at the time I was suffering from a break down from all the drugs and my involvement in the occult.  I really didn’t even want to be there because even though I felt that my life was hopeless (I couldn’t climb out of the deep depression I was in), I still resisted change.  Boy did I ever learn a lot since then about strongholds and addictions and my complete inability to free myself from anything!  People talk about self-help, self-control, or that they can overcome by sheer willpower.  Some may glibly say, “God helps those who help themselves.”  To me this is hogwash – sorry, but I become very impassioned about this!  Changes made by self-effort will often  be superficial and usually won’t last.  The long and the short of it is this – I had to read my Bible in order to pass my courses, which were not easy.  I really had to search the Scriptures, understand them and memorize them, not to mention know the order of every book in the Bible.  But you can go to Bible School and that won’t change you.  Reading the Bible won’t even change you.  Why?  Because it’s our hearts that have to change!  My heart was darkened by the evil things I had allowed in.  I didn’t even realize the extent of it until one day all that changed.  

I didn’t change until I began to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and in my heart, I know that I cannot ever change (be transformed) without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus knows us inside and out.  He knows things about us that we don’t know ourselves (no one really ever knows themselves).  So during this time at Bible School, I was getting to know Jesus by His initiation and not mine.  He sought me out, literally, and began speaking to me (in my spirit) when I went for long walks.  And He would explain things to me about my past that I didn’t know about and things I had buried deep down inside.  And with this new understanding about myself, I began to get healed and then I began to trust Jesus.  After a few months of this one-on-one with Jesus, the day came that I had to make a decision.  And I was scared; I was so scared that I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  One night at church they gave an altar call to come up and make your heart right with Jesus.  My heart was pounding and I was resisting like crazy, but I knew I should go up.  I thought, I’ll wait until other people go up so I won’t feel embarrassed standing there all alone.  But nobody went up and my heart kept pounding, so I stepped out and down the aisle I went, like a bride going to meet her groom.  I don’t remember anyone being there, no one that is, except Jesus.  His presence was so strong everything and everyone else seemed to melt away.  It was just me and Jesus. 

What happened from there is so incredible it’s hard to even describe it.  This is where my past rose up to the present and I was shown the darkness that was in my heart.  I got a glimpse of my sinful deeds as they flashed before me.  But it does not end there, and here is the incredible part – Jesus was wiping my sins away, one by one, forever removing the sins of my past, forgiving me and loving me all at the same time!  Never ever make light of sin.  When I saw my own sin while in the presence of this Holy and Sinless and Righteous and LOVING God, I started shaking.  I wanted to run and hide like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.  But there was no escaping it – He knows everything, but He loves us in spite of it. For the first time, I realized that He removed my sin because of the depth of love He had for me, and I certainly didn't deserve it.  Did I feel any different?  I can honestly and sincerely tell you before God, that my heart instantly changed in a moment of time!  I felt this heavy weight that I didn’t even know was there, removed and lifted from me forever.  When He took away my sin, He also took away my guilt, my punishment, my sorrow and declared me righteous forever in His eyes because of what Jesus did for me on the cross.  Now that my heart was changed and Jesus was dwelling there, the deep depression left me.  Everything that Satan had touched and tried to destroy was now gone.  I had been cleaned from the inside out.  Rather than darkness and depression, I was filled with extreme joy, God’s love and the peace of Jesus – something I had never known before!  But I had to do some house-cleaning after that.  I got rid of everything that even hinted of my old life (clothing, drug paraphernalia, rock music tapes and records, posters, etc.).  I was given a brand new start and never missed any of the old life ever again.     

I love telling this because I am proof positive that a life can change by the love and power of God!  Parents, never give up on your wayward children.  Keep praying for them and don’t give up.  Don’t let what you see them doing on the outside ever discourage you.   

After this experience many things changed, and I was free according to the following Scripture: 

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. KJV 

I was free, but I was also immediately tested in my new-found faith.  And Satan came after me with a vengeance.  I’ve already shared what he used to try and destroy my faith with and that is fear.  Fear is the opposite of love.  Nothing is more powerful than love – the love of God and the truth and knowledge of my sinful state is what changed me.  You have to confess (own up to) your own sin in order to be free of it.   

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It isn’t enough just to be loved by God (this is a remarkable fact of who He is), we also have to make things right with Him!  This truth came home to me again several years after I was initially set free at Bible School.  You know things in life happen, and you get hurt, and you start collecting the wrong things, like anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and so on.  I started really battling with depression again (not severe like before), and I just couldn’t pinpoint the cause of it.  So my counsellor sent me to a therapy session for people who were struggling with emotional issues that they wanted to overcome. Remarkably, in the very first session, I found out the cause of my depression, and it was anger!  Did you know that there is a direct correlation between anger and depression?  I didn’t.  But I found out there was a whole list of things I was carrying around and not just anger either.  I discovered there were people in my past and in my present I had never forgiven for hurting me in one way or another.  I had hidden a very bad attitude! 

You know I couldn’t do anything about what I felt they had done to me, but I could do something about the way I had reacted to them.  They didn’t need to be set free, I did.  I couldn’t expect them to change; I was the one who had to change.  So I made a list (prayerfully) of all the hurts of the past that came to my mind.  Then I wrote down my reaction to each of those situations.  Someone may have hurt me with cruel words, or they may have ignored me, or preferred another person over me, for example.  I discovered that I had not only not forgiven them, but I saw my own bitterness in holding onto unforgiveness towards them.  Now here is where God’s love and forgiveness comes in and the pathway to freedom yet again.  It wasn’t until I made a confession of my own sin to God for my attitude towards these people that my heart changed, the depression lifted and I was free once again from the hold of my own sin. But something else happened this time around, too.  I realized that I could never love any of these people as long I was bitter towards them.  So I was not only in error in my attitude towards them, I was also breaking the most important commandment: 

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. KJV  

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. KJV 

We may talk about love and loving people, but I no longer believe that this is possible as long as we have any kind of ill feelings, unforgiveness, anger and bitterness towards them.  You can be at odds with just one person and this can throw off your entire relationship with God until you deal with it!  I know this very well because God has had to show me and I’ve had to willingly soften my heart towards others who I felt had really hurt me!  And God has been very faithful to immediately reward me with joy unspeakable and a restored relationship with Him and the other person.  It’s exciting and wonderful when this happens.  It’s not worth it to hang onto negative attitudes towards people. 

One of the greatest prayers of repentance is found in Psalm 51, after David realized the terrible sins he had committed against others and God in particular (adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah murdered): 

Psa 51:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Psa 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psa 51:8  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Psa 51:9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Psa 51:13  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psa 51:14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Psa 51:15  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Psa 51:16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psa 51:18  Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Psa 51:19  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. KJV

In this one prayer of repentance we are given tremendous insight into what it means to truly repent with our whole heart and soul.  Freedom from our own sin is not possible without such heartfelt repentance.  Our hearts have to change.  And when our hearts change, our lives change as well, and we no longer have to carry such a heavy load. 

Thank you for reading and may God Bless You and help you today as you seek to lighten your own load and be free from whatever weighs you down.