Thoughts on the Savior's Death

Today is the day called Good Friday, the day when Jesus died.  Jesus will be dead within hours.  It seems heartbreaking, at least for those of us who loved Him.  We can blame the Jews of Jesus' day or the Roman soldiers, but actually, it was our sins.

For those who loved Jesus, there was nothing good about the day Jesus died a slow, agonizing death like a convicted criminal.  They felt confused, lost, severe loss & grief, afraid, but nothing positive or even close to "good."  For them, & I hope for some of us who seek to follow Him, that day was and is Black Friday or Death Friday.

In the words of the Lord's Supper, also called communion, we believe Jesus was the Bread of Life, broken for you and me.  The blood of Jesus was shed for us.  We believe the cup of communion represents the water of life welling up into eternal life.

Jesus is dead.  The only "good" thing is the new life that we can receive because of His death.  But if we skip the agony, grief, and darkness of these days when Jesus' body was dead, I don't believe that we fully appreciate that new life on Easter.  In a similar way, denying the grief of losing a loved one is not healthy.

Isaiah 53: 3-7 says: He was looked down on and passed over,

    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

    that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

    Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

                on him, on him.

He was beaten, he was tortured,

    but he didn’t say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

    and like a sheep being sheared,

    he took it all in silence.  (The Message)

May Jesus' suffering motivate us to look at our own sins, our sins that caused His death.  I feel deep regret for my own sins, and my Savior's death makes me long to turn from my sins.  Our Savior's death can lead us to change our ways, to live as the Master desires us to live.

When we truly feel some of His pain & suffering, the sunrise on Easter morning will mean new hope and new strength, and a new stage in our walk with the Master.  I look forward to the Spirit's work in my life and yours.   Peace & grace to you.

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome

If you’ve ever been mistreated or emotionally injured by a church or pastor, this column is for you.

When I was a young teenager, an incident happened in which my family felt mistreated by our pastor & church.  Their criticism & condemnation of our family member lead others to say similar things to us or about us.  Because of that experience, we stopped attending church.  As time went on, God & church seemed irrelevant to me.  I simply focused on other things & other people.  

So when I saw the term “Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome” a few weeks ago, my thoughts immediately returned to that hurtful episode in my growing up years.  While in seminary, I heard a seminary professor say, ”The landscape is littered by countless people who’ve left the church because they were hurt or injured or mistreated.”  At that point, I had no idea of how many such people I’d encounter in the years ahead.  I have talked to many people who left the church because of conflict or mistreatment. At times, it has seemed like an epidemic of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.

Reba Riley is the author who coined the term “Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.”  The symptoms are similar to soldiers who returned from the battlefield with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  Riley grew up in a good evangelical home & a good evangelical church & was studying at a good evangelical college.  After leaving the church & the faith in her 20s, she wrote: 

“When faith is your whole identity, rejecting it is not unlike swan-diving into a bed of nails. It’s spiritual suicide; you’ll be forced attend a thousand little funerals for your shattered self, each worse than the last.

“The pain is so brutal, so intense, that it’s easier to tell yourself lies: Faith isn’t important; I don’t need God; I can partition off my soul with demolition tape and tip-toe around the condemned site forever.

“Except that eventually, I couldn’t play pretend.”

Not everyone with Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome decides to stop believing in God.  Some are able to distinguish God from an unhealthy, dysfunctional church, and thus continue to believe in a good God without the support of a church.  Some are later drawn to attend a different church.  A few eventually go back to the church that caused their pain.  Most wonder through life without finding healing or hope.  Some, thank the Lord, are able to find help & healing.

If you have Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, here are a few suggestions:

-Spend time with safe people you trust & respect.  Post-Traumatic Church folks need caring comrades to heal their hearts & hurts.

-Consider seeking extra help from a counselor or life-coach.  Life-coaches & counselors are now available online or via skype.  See it as like going to a medical doctor for an illness.

-Don’t give up on God because his rebellious people caused your pain or injury.  God’s people often don’t represent Him well.  Let God’s Spirit show you a God you didn’t see in “God’s people.”  Read Lamentations 3:4-6, 22-26.  After Jerusalem was destroyed, Jeremiah grieved and then proclaimed, ”Great is Thy Faithfulness… It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

-Nurture your own faith by reading the Bible for yourself.  If you don’t enjoy reading, get an audio version on cd or ipod.  There are also Bible versions for your smartphone, Kindle, or tablet.  If you struggle to find words for your prayers, try reading some of the Psalms, many of which were prayers or songs that were sung to the Lord.  

-Nurture your faith by also listening to Christian music.  Music can soothe your emotional pain or heal your soul.  It may also lead you to worship the Lord.

I’m sorry that you suffered Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.  I hope & pray that God’s Spirit will lead you to find help, healing, & new hope.

Tom Brady's Secret Weapon in the Super Bowl

By Thomas George on Feb 3, 2015

 

 

PHOENIX - "I didn't even think about it," Tom Brady said as he walked toward an elevator after his Super Bowl news conference on Monday morning. He held in both hands a shiny trunk that stored his silver, football-shaped MVP trophy. He was surrounded by security, yet comfortable, at peace. He looked tired. He looked relieved. He looked patient.

And that was the question: just how much patience it took in this Super Bowl 49 victory over the Seattle Seahawks for him to be content with a night of dinks and dunks and darts. The New England Patriots correctly discerned they could not block the Seahawks for long; that quick, timing passes were the formula. Brady kept picking, plucking. None of his Super Bowl record-setting 37 completions was for more than 23 yards.

This requires extreme patience for any quarterback. Their instincts are often to chuck it long. It demanded an extra dose of patience for Brady, whose long completions in each of his last six seasons were for yardage gains of 69, 81, 83, 99, 79 and 81. Each of those was for touchdowns, too.

So, I'm not buying that Brady "didn't even think about it" when considering a Patriots Super Bowl offensive design that took a dump-truck approach rather than a race-car one. Somewhere in the game plan creation, installation, practices and through four quarters of championship play, Brady had to keep pinching himself, reminding himself of the art of patience. To staying the course and sticking with the plan.

Consider that Brady averaged 6.6 yards gained per pass attempt in the Super Bowl. And that Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson averaged 11.8.

Brady's patience won. Seattle's lack of it, especially in the end, lost.

Now Brady is a four-time Super Bowl winner and three-time Super Bowl MVP and resides in rarified football air. But there is a DeflateGate investigation ongoing.  Was Brady involved in the AFC Championship deflated football controversy?

Brady must patiently wait for that answer to be revealed in the investigation's results. Some people think he already knows. That his fingerprints are all over it.

Brady found a way to navigate through this ruckus, patiently, while preparing for and then rising in the Super Bowl. This is an odd NFL moment. A player just received two of the richest honors the game offers -- a Super Bowl championship and the game's MVP. Yet, the threat looms that soon he could be punished and his team fined for cheating.

This is like hopping on a roller-coaster ride at the end and riding backward.

This trashes that popular notion of "it's not the destination, it's the journey." Heck no, Tom Brady just won it all. This, for now, is all about the destination. Mission accomplished. He will live fully in this moment. For now, it is the safest place.

With patience, he will deal with any potential later fallout, with another trophy by his side and with another ring on his finger.

Ahead by 10 points in the fourth quarter, the Seattle offense kept giving the ball back to Brady, unable to convert third downs and maintain possession and keep him off the field. It is always a dangerous track for a team when Brady has the ball in the fourth quarter with something to prove.

Brady reminded everyone of that once again. So did Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. He said he has never coached a fiercer competitor than Brady.

"It's a game of emotion," said Brady, referring to cornerback Malcolm Butler's game-clinching interception. "It happened so quickly. It was, obviously, as emotional a game can be at that point."

It's a game of patience.

There is no hurry-up-and-wait now in Tom Brady. He will just patiently wait. He will savor the arrival at this latest destination. Then dink, dunk and dart his way through.

Coped from http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/2/3/7969325/new-england-patriots-super-bowl-champs-tom-brady-mvp-deflategate 

Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Those who actively trust in God and his Spirit will have patience.   God, in his wisdom, has shown so much patience with his people, in waiting for his people to turn from our sins, to Christ and his Spirit.  If you want patience, turn to Christ and trust in His Spirit to flow to you and through you to others!

Celebrate the Holy Spirit!

Sunday, June 7 is the 50^th day after Easter, which is the day the Holy Spirit came on the followers of Jesus in Acts 2.  Some call it Pentecost Sunday.  The Greek word for pentecost means fifty.  Acts 2 tells us that Jesus’ disciples were gathered in the upper room when they were filled with the Holy Spirit; they heard a great wind and spoke in different languages as tongues of fire settled upon them.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, which is essential for salvation.  The Spirit counsels and comforts us (John 14:16, 26).  The Spirit guides us.  In John 6:63, Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life.”  The Spirit renews us.

In the languages of the original Bible, Hebrew and Greek, the word for “Spirit” is the same as the word for “breath.”  Genesis 2:7 speaks of creation as God breathing the breath of life into Adam and Eve’s nostrils.  Sometimes we say that the Spirit is like the wind.  We can’t see it, but we can see what it does.

The Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”  Do we truly believe that the Spirit is working in us and through us?

When we pray and read the Bible, do we expect the Spirit to speak God’s Word to us?  Do you let the Spirit guide you and lead your conversations with others?  Are your relationships marked by the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?  When we meet together in a small group, class, committee or in worship, do we really expect the Spirit to work in us or through us?

I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open.  It’s too easy to miss what the Spirit is doing.  The Spirit is working in our midst, but if we’re not alert, we miss the special things that God’s Spirit is doing.  God’s Spirit is alive and moving and making old things new!  Let us give thanks to the Lord and praise Him for the work of His Spirit!

To God be the Glory!

This is the “Come holy Spirit” prayer from Cursillio:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,

and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,

Did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

Grant that by the same Holy Spirit,

We may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.aler

Jesus Left But is Still Present

Thursday, May 29, is the 40^th day after Easter – the day when Jesus ascended into heaven.  Read Matt. 28:16-20 and Acts 1: 1-11 for the story.  In John 16: 7, J prepared his disciples for his leaving by saying, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

How is Christ’s leaving an advantage for us?  Most p would say the opposite –that Christ’s presence would be our advantage.  Wouldn’t faith be easier if the Lord was still among us in the flesh?  Imagine if Jesus had an office where we could go to see Him?  Or an 800 number so people could call him for advice and counseling?  If we could actually speak with Jesus, wouldn’t that be to our advantage?  No.  Jesus says, It’s for your good that I’m going away.

One advantage is that all people in all places can know Him.  Jesus in the flesh was limited by space & time. He could not be in 2 places at the same time.  But now He can do that.  Through the Holy Spirit, He’s there with you, and He’s with people across town and across the globe.

Thomas a’Kempis once wrote about how the Lord’s Supper would be treasured if it was offered only once a year in one place.  Think of the lines!  That easy access to the Lord’s Supper blinds us to its enormous value and importance.  That’s true about our access to Christ too.  If Jesus had an office somewhere, people would wait in line for weeks and months to come into his presence.  And yet, we’re never far from Jesus now.  We can visit Him anytime, anywhere, in faith.

Now we’ve got to grow and mature on our own.  There’s a responsibility and maturity that comes with that.  A father told me that his 2^nd son Jeff had matured so much after his older brother (the first son) had moved away.  I wonder if the Lord sensed that He had to leave for the disciples to mature.  They had Him to settle their differences, answer their questions, and make all their decisions.  If Jesus did have an office next door, would we ever grow and mature as his followers?  Or would we be like little children who never learn to walk by themselves because their parents carry them everywhere?

Thank God that we don’t have to learn to walk without help.  We have a lot of freedom, but we’re guided by the Holy Spirit.  We have the advantage of Christ’s presence through the Spirit.  And maybe that’s the best advantage of all – now that Jesus has left us, we know that He’ll never leave us!  We don’t see his body anymore, but His Spirit is with us always!

Become Part of Spring's Renewal

Spring began officially on March 20.  Birds are singing in our yard every morning.  A few flowers are blossoming, and trees are budding.  The grass is turning green.  After surviving a cold winter that began with a huge ice-storm, folks in our area are getting outside more on the warm, spring days when the sun is oozing light and warmth.   Spring is happening!  

Every spring, my spirit feels rejuvenated and renewed.  It was in spring that I first submitted to Jesus as my Savior and Master as a teenager.  Later, our pastor told me that people in general are more open to the Holy Spirit’s work in the spring, and that still makes sense to me, over 30 years later.  If God could take a valley of dry, dead bones (Ezekiel 37) and make them into living, breathing people again, God can renew our hearts and souls in the springtime.

During the cold winter months, we stay inside more - kind of like hibernating to some extent, and avoid going out in the frosty weather.  My heart and soul sometimes seem more closed to outside influence from God during the colder months, perhaps because my chronic pain level increases during the cold winter months.  And believe me, I seek the Ultimate Healer through Scripture and prayer when my body aches continually.  

But spring is happening now!  My soul seems like budding and blossoming to God’s nurturing Spirit.  I hope that spring will bring new buds and blossoms from your heart and soul, too.  God is actively renewing his earth and his people, if we are open and sensitive to God’s promptings in our midst.  May God renew you this spring!  “Those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles.  They will run and not get tired.  They will walk and not grow weak.”  (Isaiah 40:31, NIRV)  Pray for God to give you new life, hope, friendship, and peace.  Become part of the spring renewal.

Managing the MOOD for FOOD

Gluttony (overeating) is the 3^rd deadly sin.

A few years ago, I heard of an ancient Old Testament manuscript.  Some believed that it’d been lost for many yrs.   It could be part of Gen. 1.  You know, Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning, G created the heavens & the earth.  Then it goes on to tell u what G did Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.  G created trees, vegetation, seed-bearing plants, & it’s possible the next part was lost: 

God populated the earth w/ broccoli, cauliflours, spinach, & vegetables of all kinds,

                                                      so that man & woman might live long & healthy lives. 

& Satan created McDonalds.  & McDonalds brought forth the 99-cent cheeseburger,  & Satan said to the man, you want fries w/ that?  & the man: Supersize them.  & the man gained pounds. 

God created health-food yogurt, so that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. 

Satan froze the yogurt & brought forth chocolate, nuts, & bright candies to put on yogurt. 

& woman gained pounds.

God said: Try my crispy, fresh salad. 

& Satan brought creamy dressing, bacon bits, & shredded cheese.

                                             There was ice cream for dessert, & woman gained more pounds.

God said: I’ve sent u heart-healthy vegetables & olive oil in which to cook them.

Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big that it needed its own platter.

                                                         & man gained pounds, & his cholesterol went sky-high.

God brought forth running shoes, & man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

Satan brought forth remote-control cable TV,

   so man would not have to toil to change channel bet ESPN & ESPN2.  & man gained pounds.

God said: Devil, you’re running up the score.

God brought forth potato, a vegetable naturally w/ low-fat & high nutrition.

& Satan sliced the starchy center, & deep-fat-fried them & created potato chips,

                                                                                                            & created sour dips,

Man clutched his remote-control & ate the potato chips loaded w/ cholesterol.

& Satan saw & said, It is GOOD.

Man went into cardiac arrest.  God saw, & created triple bypass surgery.

That’s how the missing text ends.  Wow, there may be more truth in there than we realize. 

Managing the Mood for Food.   -7 Deadly Sins – gluttony. 

Message overview:             MANAGING THE MOOD FOR FOOD                           7-7-13

-dieting - Have you ever gone on a diet of any kind?

               When your diet ended, did you gain the weight back, & maybe some more?

So how much are we supposed to care about our bodies?

God wants us to RESPECT & PROTECT our body…

 

The New Testament Greeks associated one’s emotions & heart w/ the stomach, or gut.

Old KJV: bowels of passion

-idea: The stomach is the seat of your emotions; it controls a lot in your life.

           If your stomach feels good, the rest of your life feels good.

Philippians 3: 18-19

               For, as I have often told you before & now tell you again even with tears,

              many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

              Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach,

              & their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

For some people, their PHYSICAL APPETITES -food, drink, lust, drugs - are so strong that they live to fulfill their passions; their physical appetite becomes their primary drive or motivation in life.  Thus they make a FALSE GOD out of their STOMACH, out of that feel-good in one's stomach.  So they live by the philosophy - if it feels good, do it.

So we need to learn to bring our appetites, mainly food, under God's control.

6 KEYS TO CONTROL YOUR APPETITE, instead of letting your appetite control you.

Key 1:  COMMIT YOURSELF TO GLORIFYING GOD WITH YOUR BODY.

My body & your body matter to God.  The freedom from letting our appetites control us is found in YIELDING OURSELVES to the Lord Jesus.  When you surrender to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes INSIDE your body, and at that point, there's a transfer of ownership of your body.

Corinthians 6: 19-20  Do u not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,

         whom you have received from God?

         You are not your own; you were bought at a price.   Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Some say, I can do whatever I want with MY body.  But if you're trusting Christ for salvation, God says, No, your body belongs to me, because my Son paid for your body with his life on the cross.

Key 2: IDENTIFY HOLES IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU MAY BE TRYING TO FILL WITH FOOD.   & ask GOD to reveal that to You.

 We've been created w/ 2 empty, needing-to-be-filled holes - the stomach & the heart.

The holes in our heart include hidden hurts, resentments, anxieties, fears, etc.  

When we go through a tough time, we tend to eat whatever makes us feel better.  That's using food as a Feel-Better-Drug.  Others may use alcohol, tobacco, lust, or drugs, but the result is the same - trying to dull the pain or fill the hole in our heart.

-An acronym called S.A.L.T. to help identify hidden issues of the heart:

Overeating can be a response to STRESS in your life.  When we're feeling stressed out, it'd be better to  talk to God about our stress, and plan a strategy for dealing with it.  But we usually to the fridge or cupboard & find something that tastes good to eat instead.  We use food as a drug for our stress.

Matthew 11:28  Jesus said,

       Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened, & I will give you rest for your soul.

Overeating can also be a response to ANGER.   -A in SALT acronym.  We may be mad at people around us, ourselves, or even God.  Ephesians 4:31  Get rid of all bitterness & rage & anger, brawling & slander, along with every form of malice.  Ask yourself if you're using food to deal with anger or hostility in your life.

Overeating can be a response to LONELINESS.  I Peter 5:7  Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.  It doesn't say: Cast food on your plate.  Cast your cares upon Him.

Overeating can be a response to TIREDNESS.  We all get tired.  I know I eat sometimes because I'm tired.  It's easy to turn to food whether we're physically tired or emotionally tired.  A better response would be to take a break, take a nap, talk to God, read, or depending on the time  of day, go to bed.

S.A.L.T .. =  stress, anger, loneliness, tiredness.

These are not ALL the responses to holes in our hearts. There are more. 

We need to identify the holes in our hearts, that we’re trying to fill with food.

-Ask:  How much of our eating occurs because of legitimate stomach hunger?

        & how much eating occurs because of heart hunger & food being a drug for it?

Key 3: ASK G TO HELP U IDENTIFY THE DIFF HUNGER ISSUES & NOT CONFUSE THEM.  A simple secret: Eat ONLY when our stomach is hungry.

Am I eating out of hunger?  Or am I eating for another reason?

If a restaurant brings too much food to eat, take some home.  No one is forcing you to eat everything.  Like many, I was taught to clean my plate when I was growing up.  But there's NO rule that you must clean your plate.  But there is a rule that says: you'll be healthier if you stop eating when your stomach is satisfied.  Ask yourself: Am I eating out of hunger?  Or am I eating for another reason?  Can I stop eating when my stomach says it's full?

We're not talking about giving up your favorite foods, & you don't have to eat seaweed.  :)
But we do need to bring our eating under the Holy Spirit's control.

Key 4: FOCUS ON LETTING GOD CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR, NOT ON LOSING WEIGHT.  Diets work only in the short term, because being on a diet is just making the food behave. 

We change the food behavior, but not how we behave.  Very few diets deal with WHY we eat.

Changing our behavior takes God’s power to bring our stomach into line with His will & His control.  Only God can set us free to enjoy food as we're designed, without destroying our bodies in the process, or drugging the issues.

Key 5: CONSIDER THE PRACTICE OF FASTING IN UR LIFESTYLE.

If you have diabetes, hypoglycemia, pregnant, etc, check with your dr. or nurse.

Fasting can release amazing spiritual power in your life.  When you use fasting to seek God’s will on any issues or big decisions you’re facing, it’s a powerful tool.  Fasting is a way to bring all your appetites under G’s control. 

One way to start fasting, would be to fast for 1 meal/week.  Instead of eating, use that time to drink water & pray & seek God for a closer relationship.  Ask God to reveal anything about any appetites in my life that are not under His control, & what needs to be done about it.  Just drink water & juice when you fast.  Fasting is a powerful way to let God help bring one’s appetites under control. 

Key 6: CONTEND FOR G’s PROMISE OF HEALTH. 

Here’s a great prayer to pray for your health:

3 John 1:2:  Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health

                   & that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Pray this for yourself and give a copy of it to someone you care about.

Much of this is adapted from a message by Pastor Cal Rychener.