Sheep (us) Among the Wolves (the world)

Matthew 10: 16: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

“There once was a dog who had been left to die in the forest. His only hope was to howl with the wolves – he had to howl if he wanted to survive. Well, he howled so horribly that wolves turned tail and fled. The consequence was, he not only survived but had the forest to himself.” ~ A Prussian Parable

“He who howls with the pack, saves his neck.” ~ A Masurian Proverb

Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among the wolves.”

America is fascinated with wolves. Minnesota is enthralled with them.  They are majestic animals, loyal to the pack. Yet, they are a well organized, efficient killing machine. To watch a wolf pack hunt down a moose and kill it is a work of intelligence and cunning.

Sheep on the other hand are dumb and pretty much defenseless. They need a shepherd, one who leads and cares for the sheep; one who is willing to sacrifice for the sheep. (Sound familiar? Sounds like Jesus to me.) Wolves get all the press. Sheep are hardly even mentioned.

Jesus must be crazy sending (us) defenseless sheep out among wolves. Stop that kind of talk!! Jesus has not left us defenseless. Jesus said, “I will never forsake you or leave you.” Jesus tells us “don’t be afraid.” Well, that’s easier said than done.

In Ephesians 6, the Holy Spirit issues us a complete set of armor. The intended use of armor is protection in battle. God’s word tells us as Christians, to hang together; it’s called the church, and then He tells us to go. Go like sheep among the wolves—not as defenseless sacrifices to become a dining delight for the wolves, but as a witness to them.

As the church, we are “well armored sheep pack” asked by the Lord to go to battle. He will not leave us or forsake us. His plans are never thwarted. (Isaiah 55:11).  Yes, we are to go into the world, howl in the forest until the wolves leave, or better yet, they become a God powered transformed member of the sheep pack. We may lose a chunk of meat out of our hind end once in awhile, but go to battle.

Remember, we win in the end. Rise up you fluffy untested soldiers of mutton.

The world needs a Savior and Jesus has put the keys to the kingdom in our fumbling hands. Even so, bring it on!

…I want to see Jesus, or stepping on toes

Each funeral is different; they should be. Yet, today we seem to lift up the person more than Christ. We don’t remember the dead, we worship them.

A common theme in the eulogy has been developing over the years. The deceased has stated they want to go to Heaven to see their loved ones that have gone before. No doubt this is a touching thought and honest desire, but what about seeing our Savior, Jesus? Jesus is relegated to an afterthought. Oh, I know I am stepping on toes here, but we have become so self-absorbed that even in death, it is all about us.  We love Christ more for what He has done for us rather than loving Him just for Himself.

Our prayer and desire should be to see Jesus; then our family; not the other way around. If you are offended by this, maybe you need to re-examine your relationship with Jesus…

Pontificating from my self-sovereign perch

We had plans recently to attend the 125th Anniversary of Lake Jennie Covenant Church south of Dassel. We were anxious to hear Peter Lee preach at the first service of the weekend on Friday night, July 1st.

God had other plans. I was driving from the Twin Cities toward Hutchinson to meet Judi there for supper. Judi was coming from the farm.  The sky to the west looked ominous. The radio said that there was a tornado north of Danube. It was true—rather than go to Lake Jennie, we headed home to find some trees down and no power but outside of that, we came out unscathed.

How often do we become irritated when God doesn’t cooperate with our plans and time table? Yes, we sit on our self-sovereign perch and act like He (God) is a sideman in our band. LISTEN – He is not PART of our life—we are a minuscule part of His sovereign plan of love and redemption. God is life.

Who do we think we are? Acting as if we were god then getting in a tiff when things don’t happen on our time table.

God gives us life, breathe, and everything else (Acts 17). It’s high time we acknowledge that He is sovereign—we are not. He is not part of our life; He is life and we are bit players. We are but players saved by grace alone. We need to climb down from our self-sovereign perches and put our puny faces in the dirt and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Forgive us Lord, for making you part of our life rather than acknowledging your power over us, Your right to our life and time. We praise you and acknowledge You are our very life. By your power, may we never forget that. Thank you Sovereign One. Amen.

The New Barbarians

Jeremiah 10:23 - "Lord, I know that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for him to direct his steps."

1 Corinthians 16:13 - "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; act like a man; be courageous; be strong."

I have wondered about all the bizarre incidents happening in restaurants, namely, vicious fights erupting between groups of people. Why is this happening? Why are groups of young people “flash mobbing” stores and people? Flash mobbing is when a group of people target a store or a person. They come in as a large group, intimidate, steal, threaten, and beat the store owner or people they have targeted. Then they melt quietly back into society.

The sociologists of our day (and politicians) site the usual excuses for these barbarians. Lack of a good education (we spend more money on education per pupil than ever before), lack of government job funding (also known as “make work” projects) and lack of equal opportunity are sighted as the causes. I disagree.

I feel the problem is the lack of fathers in our families; a lack of real men. Marriage rates have dropped significantly (people cannot make a commitment or keep one). The illegitimate birth rate has skyrocketed. It has been quoted to be 74% in the black community. In the white community, the illegitimate birth rate is lower, but the illegitimate birth rate is growing faster in the white community than any other group. The problem may be in the large cities for now but eventually it comes to the country.

I ask a question, “Christian men, what are we doing?” I have been in 35+ different churches over the last 11 years; I only find three with ongoing men’s programs. Most churches have had women program but now they are disappearing also. When I say programs, I should say Bible studies. Programs imply committee meetings, organization headaches, etc., Bible studies are faster, quicker and easier to do.

I have found that in Bible studies I have been involved in Western Minnesota that people lack commitment. We are too busy to find time for Bible studies and time to participate in our family’s lives. Yet we find time to make illegitimate babies, drink, raise hell, and not make serious commitment to our families and communities, much less a Bible study.

The Russian writer Dostoyevsky said, “When there is no God, then all things are permissible.” The truth being said, we are living in times when all things are permissible. Moral restraint is a thing of the past; now all is permissible. We have few, if any, men on fire for God; therefore, no fear or accountability to our God.

When God is no longer welcome in our churches, homes, or in our priorities, we all suffer. Our families suffer; our community and nation suffers. Oh, it is easy to point our finger at other people but what am I doing?

What should we as Christian men do? We need to stand up and live out our calling to be a man; be the man God called us to be—servant leaders, watchmen and defenders of the faith.

Let’s start with ourselves because on Judgment Day God will come and ask us “What have you done?"

Praying without being afraid…

Genesis 3 records the fall of man, namely Adam and Eve eating bad apples. Yes, they were “bad apples” weren’t they?

The God of the Universe comes looking for them in the cool of the day. (Genesis 3:8— “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”) It implies the God of the Universe had an intimate, “walking side-by-side” relationship with man in the garden.

Adam and Eve disobeyed. They get into the fig-leaf bikini making business; they hid and God comes looking for them. They have disobeyed the Lord’s command. They are in deep trouble and God says “where are you?” They suffered consequences for their disobedience but it amazes me how gentle God was with them in spite of their sin.

Where are you? Many of us have prayer lives that are distant and erratic. I believe we don’t pray because of two reasons (there may be more). Number one, we are afraid of God; and Number two, we don’t think it makes any difference.

Genesis 3:21 says: “the Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”  They didn’t ask for clothes; God saw there need and supplied it without their asking. What a God!

How many times has God provided for us—clothes, food, water, life and breathe without our asking or appreciation? How many times have we come safely to the end of a day and we didn’t find time to thank Him and we sleep safely through the night without a thought. Where are you?

Yes, we may be afraid of God but He provides for us even when we are ungrateful and inattentive brats. When we approach God, we need to come in awe-some reverence but not crawling in the dirt with fear. Since the beginning of time, God has desired relationship (personal and close) with us.  Where are you?

God thought so much of restoring that relationship that God provided the way for us to come completely, totally back to Him. That way was and is His Son Jesus.

Because of Jesus Christ, His death, sacrifice, suffering, and His resurrection victory over sin and death, we can come before God the Father without crawling in the dirt.

Don’t be afraid. Pray because prayer is the process of how we develop a close personal relationship with the God of the Universe. Don’t be afraid of Him. He forgives our sin and forgets it…; He provides for us even when we don’t ask and yes, He answers our prayers. He fulfills His promise of Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Oh, we are the blessed sons and daughters of the One and only God, the Most High. What a blessing and privilege.

Thank you, Father; thank you, Jesus…come Holy Spirit.

Skulls of Stone

In the height of the good times, a young couple bought a house for $265,000. The good times rolled on and the house rose in value to over one-half a million dollars. Then…the bottom fell out.

The real estate market bottomed out; the house value crashed down to $200,000 and they were or are “underwater” on the house. Underwater means you owe more on your house than it is worth. As the economy struggles, and continues to struggle, their business was generating less and less money.

People encouraged them not to make their $2100 a month house payment; the logic being if you stop making the payments, pocket that money yourself, in two years you would have $48,000 in your pocket to put down as a down payment on a new house. You see, the banks and government are so far behind in processing paperwork that if one is foreclosed upon, it will take almost two years to get evicted from your “underwater” house. It’s like a “in tough times, you can have your cake and eat it too” syndrome.

But, this couple could not do this. They felt they made a deal and no matter how hard it was to continue to pay the mortgage, they did. God some way made sure they had enough money each month to make the payment. In good conscience, they made all the payments; much to the chagrin and ridicule of co-workers, family, and friends…

Then one day a letter arrived from the bank; the envelope was marked “Important”. Reluctantly, the wife opened the letter which said “Interest Rate Adjustment”. Her heart sank; upon closer examination, the interest rate dropped from the high 6% range to the high 2% range. Yes, the interest rate dropped and as a result, the monthly house payment dropped by one half.

How did this happen? Because they have a business (self-employed), they did not qualify for a traditional loan. They had a loan with the capability to have the rate adjusted (usually up). Their variable interest rate was tied to an index of T-bill rates which are some of the lowest in history that is why their interest rate and payment dropped.

I asked the wife, “What did you do when you read the letter?” She said, “I cried—God is so good.” She told me she should have known better than to be so surprised; God has and continues to move in their lives. God blesses obedience; He has in this case. We live by grace, God’s undeserved merit. We all know that but why are we such slow learners? I guess we have skulls of stone.

Thank you, Lord, again.

Living Like Scarecrows in the Melon Patch

Jeremiah 10:5: “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good."

When I was young, we built a scarecrow for the garden. It didn’t work; about two hours after we built it, we noticed a crow sitting on the scarecrow’s head. Upon closer examination, the crow pooped on the head of the scarecrow. I’m sure he did it with disdain.

I believe we as Christians have become scarecrows in the melon patch in many ways. If we attempt to talk about spiritual things with other Christians in a public setting, more often than not, people prefer not to be bothered by such talk. Yes, we stand stoically while the world poops on our heads.

Has our faith become so totally personal that it is not socially acceptable to discuss it under any circumstances, much less live it out? When someone dies, we seldom comfort; we send cards. When a child graduates, rather than advice we send money. When couples intend to divorce, we hold back and uncomfortably say nothing because it is not our business. Yes, we’ve become scarecrows in the melon patch and yes, the crows to poop on our head.

Does the world take us seriously? I think not. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 10:5: “Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” “Do no harm”?— we cannot even sin with gusto.

With the Lord’s help, we must wake up from our slumber. Honor and lift up the Lord with our life. Yes, not just words but action.

Jeremiah 10:6-7 says: “No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.”

Yes Lord, there is no one like you. You have been kind and gracious to us in spite of our spiritual indifference. Be patient with your stoic and wandering sons and daughters.

The Lord Sees

To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, to deny people their rights before the Most High, to deprive them of justice— would not the Lord see such things? Lamentations 3:34-36

Does the Lord notice the underdog’s plight? God loves the poor and down-and-out. Jesus seemed more comfortable with them rather than the power elite of the day.

Jesus noticed the people no one else cared about. In the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14), Jesus invites the down-and-out because the power brokers of the day were too busy buying land and oxen. What and who the world ignores, God notices. The hurting ones, the world does not see, God sees and He cares.

He would not have us crush the less fortunate under our feet; He would not have us deny the rights of anyone. We are not to deprive any man of justice. Why? Because the Lord says so and He see the injustices we ignore or allow. Yes, the Lord sees.

This Memorial Day, remember men and women have fought to defend the rights of everyone no matter if they are powerful elite or the down-and-out. Remember, America stands for freedom and justice. Fight for what is right and remember, the Lord sees these things.

For God’s Own Glory—God’s Unique Military Strategy

Joshua 6:2-5: "Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

Joshua was about to enter his first military battle as commander of the children of Israel. I bet he had butterflies in his stomach!

At the end of Chapter 5 of Joshua, we find Joshua in the presence of the angelic commander of the Lord’s army. We find Joshua face down in the dirt.

God then reveals His plan for taking the city of Jericho. This plan has never been and never will be taught in our military academy’s “Military Strategy” classes. It seems preposterous.

Joshua obeys and God delivered the city of Jericho to them. Joshua 6:20-21 says: “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.”

God means business, but why such a plan? Why? So man could not take glory for God’s clear and present intervention. God’s strategy was so unique, so different, no man could conceive it much less carry it out; the only logical reason for it is God’s divine intervention.

Are there things happening in our lives that are hard to understand? Do we ask “why all these persistent problems?” Could it be we are taking God’s glory for our own? I hope not.

Let’s find ourselves face down in the dirt before the Lord himself. Whatever happens, give God alone the glory; for He alone is worthy of receiving it. God puts us in situations where we are desperate for His power; He responds in marvelous ways, hard to understand, but He alone deserves the glory.

Pure Praise from the Heart

Click on the blog title for a YouTube video. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF-TFIqYiJw&feature=fvwrel


"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

For many years, my wife was involved with a ministry which included a choir. One of the highlights of this group was a yearly concert. It was with much dedication that they met and practiced for this large choir gathering at Crystal Free Church in Crystal, Minnesota.

On the night of the concert, the large metro church was full for a praise service with choirs from many communities. The Cokato group (Judi’s group) was first to sing. Family and friends waited with anticipation.
The choir came forward to sing (Did I mention this group was made up approximately 40 developmentally disabled adults?), the lights lowered and the spotlight focused on all the smiling faces on the stage. They began to sing “I Love You Lord”; the words were not always distinguishable but they sang with vigor and passion. There were tears in their eyes and of all of us in the audience.

If the music critic from the Star Tribune had come, he would have to say the quality of the music was very low but the passion was off the charts. Yes, they sang the best they could; no one else could have had purer motives. They just loved to sing praises to their Lord no matter how discordant or disjointed. Man may not have been impressed because man looks at the surface things. But God was impressed; He looks at the heart and it was a sweet, sweet sound in His ear.

Many times I have visited churches and heard special music that is of excellent quality. It is amazing how God has gifted so many people. Yet I wonder if our “high standards of quality” have left us somewhat barren. We have not embraced the full spectrum of man’s praise to our Savior. But for one night I sat transfixed and blessed; quality--no; passion--unlimited. Praise to our Lord never sounded so good and it was truly a sweet, sweet sound in His ears.

If I’m comfortable, do I need the Comforter?

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.  And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

Last week, after almost 40 years in this business, I saw things happen that I have never seen before. People comment on my age and say, “I bet you’ve seen everything.” I thought I had but I haven’t.

One incident I saw this week is a case where a tenant locked his keys in his suite and rather than wait for someone else (fellow employee or even call us) he kicked in his solid core door. The cost of repair will exceed $700. Why couldn’t he wait or call us? I asked him that question. He put his hands in the air and just shook his head in disgust.

What is happening to us? Why the impatience? Why the despair?

The world may lose its head, racked with guilt, despair and impatience; I guess the last refuge of relief is to kick in your own door.

I talked to the man at length; however, for the sake of privacy I do not reveal any more about the incident. But, when the world sees only randomness, no purpose and no plan greater and bigger than themselves, I understand when they say “To hell with it all”.

Jesus said we must obey and live out the incarnated God upon earth in the Name of Jesus. Who is called to have compassion upon these lonely, hurting people – we are! As believing Christians we should be the sweet fragrance of Christ. If we obey and demonstrate the love of Christ it will cost us--inconvenience, time and even our own personal peace.

To live radically for Christ means our lives, schedules, our favorite relationships will be thrown in disarray. Easily we can slip into the mind boggling despair, gloom and impatience. People inside and outside the church will encourage us to “leave them alone.” If we will, our life and schedule will not be in disarray, our heavy hearts will not be burdened.

Our life will be much more comfortable if we ignore the hurting and needy world around us. “Don’t get so radical - leave them be”, people will say. “I don’t feel sorry for you if you are stupid enough to get involved in their fractured life.”

Yes, I really understand the temptation to look the other way; I have convinced myself I didn’t need to do anything. I do all the second guessing, I do all the running away from the obvious--because I want a comfortable, undisturbed life.

Then I asked myself, if my sole desire is to have a comfortable life - why is the Holy Spirit called the comforter?

Only people who live uncomfortable lives need “The Comforter.”

Hiding out in my comfortable life is not what I was called to do. I’m called to be salt and light and demonstrate the love of Christ on the streets of Minneapolis and small towns of Western Minnesota. If I obey, I may be uncomfortable. But God has provided the Holy Spirit - the Comforter and I need not lose my head in despair. Why? Because I have “The Comforter”.

“You made your nest, now sleep in it!” - A lesson from the prairie in Christian compassion

I grew up on the prairie of Western Minnesota with other first and second generation Americans of German, Dutch, Czechoslovakian, and Scandinavian descent. The rules were simple: believe in the Lord, work hard, obey God and things will work out for you--most of the time.

Once in awhile someone would not play by the rules. Someone would marry outside their own church or ethnic group for example. It was said of them, and sometimes to them, “Well, you made your own nest, now sleep in it.”
We thought of ourselves as “good” people although hard headed. We felt like we believed in all the right stuff. One lesson of the prairie was this, you screw up, and you pay the price. The price paid was usually being isolated from the “good” people who hadn’t screwed up. People talked, sometimes ridiculed them behind their backs and sometimes ridiculed them to their face. Growing up and seeing this type of attitude kept us in line, for awhile, and we lived in fear of the day when we would “make our own nest.”

What if God would have “left us” in the nest we made? I mean we are all born sinners, right? God gave Adam a chance; he blew it. As a result of that, we blow it also. We were screwed before we started. But tough for us—God has His standards; we fall short and we honestly know that. We do suffer the consequences of our own sin. We made our nest now we must sleep in it.

Not so with God. He came and gave us a gift. He gave us the gift of forgiveness of our sins. He restores our relationship with Him through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. We did nothing but earn His wrath but the Lord sent His own Son to the cross to die for our sins. This is the good news for us.

I ask you a question: What right do we have as Christians to look down our noses at people “who made their own nest” and pass judgment on them?

I heard about a Christian who ended up in a wheel chair for life because of an accident. Yes, in some ways a stupid accident. He spends a lot of his life alone. He senses peoples unspoken “you made your own nest attitude.” This may be true but God has not left him alone. This is good news. In Psalm 103:13-18 it says: "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

We as fathers are to have compassion on our children. Yes, we are to have compassion on our children. Then it says the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (those who have an awesome respect for who He is.) In verse 14 it says: “for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are but dust. We are fragile “crumbling dust” sinners in need of a Savior.

The Lord has compassion on us even when we show little, if any, to other people. We “good” people are good at justifying our lack of true Christian compassion because we have not fully realized the depth of our sin, the darkness of our own heart, and yes, we even squirm away from the calling of our God given conscience. If we would only stop and consider those “who have made their own nest.” If it were not for God’s grace, we could be in the same position. In a wheel chair for life…by the grace of God go I.

In Psalm 103 compassion is mentioned three times. It is mentioned in the same sentence with love and grace. We would do well to remember that. When we judge a brother or sister in trouble, we would do well to remember grace and love.

God help us. Amen

Easter Art--The Cleaned up Cross

Isaiah 52:13-15: “See, my servant will act wisely, he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness, so will he sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths because of him…(NIV).

When I was little, I remember the crucifix on the wall in the dining room at my Uncle Ben & Aunt Lillian’s. It always got my attention. One day when I was there, I got up on a chair and looked at it really close to realize it was the cross with the crucified Jesus upon it. At five or six years of age I didn’t understand what it all meant.

Fifty plus years later at Easter I’m reminded of Christ’s sacrifice for my sins, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His victory. Hallelujah!!

But this week I saw a church bulletin with a picture of Jesus dead upon the cross. This type of picture concerns me. Even in the church we’ve slicked up and cleaned up the cross. Jesus was beaten beyond human recognition for your sin and mine (Isaiah 52:13-15) yet our crucifixes and church bulletins are all cleaned up showing a perfect face with a drop of blood on the cheek just for the proper effect.

We, the church, have cleaned up Christ on the cross, minimized His suffering and pain and surely never show His disfigured face and head. Jesus took the full and complete punishment for my sin. God forgive me when I tolerate this cleaned up, sanitized version of the cross. It minimizes my sin, my sin just doesn’t seem quite as bad as it should when I see it portrayed that way.

Isaiah 52:13-15 (Message version) says in part: “at first everyone was appalled. He didn’t even look human—a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.”

Thank you Father, thank you Lord Jesus for Easter morning…Isaiah continues: “nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback, kings shocked into silence when they see Him. For what was unheard of they’ll see with their own eyes, what was unthinkable they’ll have right before them.” Amen.

Remember the cross is empty and “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Never forget, never give up, and always hope. Jesus paid the full and complete price for us. What a thought to comprehend. We dare not minimize what he has done for us.

In Revelations 19:11-16 Jesus rides a white horse into battle, the armies of heaven (the angels and some think us) will follow the warrior King Jesus into battle and in the case the kings of the earth don’t know who He is…only have to look on His robe and thigh for written there is this name KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

May you have a Blessed Easter. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it. (I Thessalonians 5:23-24).

We are all beggars

The following is a quote from Frederick S. Leahy’s book The Cross He Bore. I feel it says it better than anything I could have prepared for Easter.

“As in thought and experience we stand before the cross, we tremble as we consider the wrath of God which flames forth against his Son. We tremble, too, when we think of the sin which incurred such fearful judgment—our sin. Here the awakened soul can only cry out, ‘God be merciful to me the sinner.’ That is all we dare ask for. Here and nowhere else abundant mercy is found. Christina Rossetti had it right—

'None other Lamb, none other Name,

None other Hope in heaven or earth or sea,

None other Hiding-place from guilt and shame,

None beside Thee.”

“The proud, self-sufficient, modern humanist despises the whole idea of forgiveness. Like the blustering W.E. Henley, he sees himself as master of his fate and captain of his soul. ‘Forgiveness’, said George Bernard Shaw, ‘is a beggar’s refuge. We must pay our debts.’ About the time of Luther’s death, a piece of paper was found in his pocket on which he had written in Latin and German, ‘This is true. We are all beggars.’ There is the contrast between the stony heart of unbelief and the heart of flesh that weeps for sin and looks in faith to the crucified and risen Savior for mercy.”

“The forgiven, restored sinner willingly takes up his cross and follows the Lord Jesus Christ. That cross is whatever the Christian suffers for the sake of Christ and his truth. In bearing that cross there is peace and blessedness as the Christian experiences the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Not that we can share in the redemptive suffering of Christ, but rather that we seek by God’s grace to deny self, accept the anguish of the struggle against sin and bear meekly the scorn of a world that rejects Christ. ‘There are some’, said Samuel Rutherford, ‘who would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the cross. But the price will not come down.’”

“The hand that reaches out for salvation must be empty. Everything of self must be disowned. We are debtors to mercy alone. We are all beggars.”

Suffering

One Sunday I spoke in a church about three concerns people have when they have cancer. “A strange topic” you may say but when I preach, I pray about the topic I’m going to preach on and God’s hand was in this topic.

After the service I had the opportunity to visit with many people and learned this topic revealed deep loneliness, anguish, and isolation experienced by some believers who encounter cancer.

The second of my three concerns presented was this: most Christians are not afraid to die but none of us want to suffer. Suffering in and of itself means nothing. Suffering only has meaning when it has relationship. I will borrow a story from Joni Eareckson Tada in her book When God Weeps.

“You are walking down a street, minding your own business, when you are accosted and forced to carry a huge and heavy basket on your back. You’re ordered to walk three blocks, turn left, go two blocks, turn right, then proceed straight on. Staggering under the weight, you stumble on, bewildered and angry. The weight of the basket is crushing. Your back is breaking. The whole thing is meaningless and haphazard. You resent how the heavy burden consumes you, becoming the focal point of your entire existence.

“When you are halfway down the third block, reeling under the burden, you finally bellow, “What gives!”

“The truth is then revealed. The burden you are carrying is your child, injured and unconscious. “What?” On top of that, you discover you are not trudging through a meaningless rat-maze but the most direct route to a hospital emergency room.

“Immediately you straighten. You inhale new vigor. Your knees quit buckling. Adrenaline and fresh energy quicken your pace, and you move forward with a new attitude. Why the change? The suffering you’re going through involves a relationship. Not just any relationship, but one with your child. It is the love you have for your child that quickens your step and buoys up your heart. Your relationship gives your burden meaning. Even your twisted path makes sense. You know where you are going. Your journey has a positive end—the hospital—and this instills hope.

“Suffering has no meaning in itself. Left to its own, it is a frustrating and bewildering burden. But given the context of relationship, suffering suddenly has meaning.”

As Christians, we must share in each others suffering; it binds us together. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 1, Paul writes in part in verse 4, we have troubles so we can minister to those in any trouble and in verse 9 “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” It gets rid of our self reliance.

You will notice we have trials and tribulations so we can minister or comfort one another. What I heard from people after the service is this: some of us have been blessed by our Christian brothers and sisters (I have). Others are lonely and afraid, slowly being crushed under the weight of their trials.

Shared suffering helps those suffering and it helps us. It tenders our hearts towards one another, it binds us together.

I believe times for Christians will become harder. We think we don’t need one another now but we do, and the way to get to know one another is to share each other joys and yes, even each others sufferings.

Like Jesus, We Gotta Walk That Lonesome Valley

Hebrews 11:5-6: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

I remember a song called “That Lonesome Valley” by Mississippi blues singer John Hurt.  I was 12 years old when I first heard that song; it was popular in the late 50’s. The song relayed the fact we all walk alone. The last verse says in part “Jesus had to walk that lonesome valley”…and yes, He did walk that lonesome valley. I thought this walk referred to our last days as we approached death. It does, I guess, we are always approaching death so that “lonesome valley walkin’” is life itself.

I thought about Bible characters and most, at some time, walked alone. But Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22-24). It then says, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him away.” That must have been something; God himself walking with you through life and not have to experience death.

God still walks with us. His Holy Spirit is with us. Yes, Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. Good news; but sometimes I really feel alone.

Christian author and pastor the late A. W. Tozer said somewhere that if we are a professing Christian and our life if full of back slapping buddies, does not necessarily mean we are not walking with God; it may mean we just have a lot of good friends.

God in His kindness allows us to be lonely, only then can we fully appreciate a deep personal relationship with God himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Yes, water tastes good when we are really thirsty.

The valley you are “a walkin’” may be long, dark and lonely. God promised He would be with us (Psalm 23). As we walk through life, remember one day the Son will return. He will come in radiant light; our dark lonely valley will no longer be lonesome or dark. There won’t even be shadows. In Romans 13:12 Paul says: “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Let’s armor up; shout praises from the well-lit valley floor. Look up to the Light. Walk on brother and sister; God Himself is with you.

Don’t Get Angry At God

Mark Loughridge, Pastor in Letterkenny County, Donegal, Ireland has a blog called three17. The blog was named after his favorite verse Zephaniah 3:17. 
The following is quoted from his blog of March 5, 2006 based on 2 Kings 6:24-33.

"Then we come to King Jehoram. We read something interesting about him in v 30:  "When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body."

"Surprising! Sackcloth was the sign of humbling yourself before God. And Jehoram seems to be going about it in a right way – he doesn’t display his sackcloth or all to see. Indeed no-one would have known about it except he is so distressed at the awfulness of the situation that he tears the royal robes which were covering the sackcloth."

"The Bible condemns outward show of religion, and the king certainly wasn’t putting on an outward show. But sadly his words in the next verses demonstrate that this wasn’t a humbling that led to repentance. We see him take an oath that his own life would be forfeit if Elisha wasn’t executed that day. And in v33 you can hear his impatience, “Why should I wait for the Lord an longer?”

"It would seem as if Elisha has already told him to wait on God, to humble himself and to turn back to God. And Jehoram has come along with that. But its only skin deep. Its not repentance, its bargaining with God. Its almost as if he’s saying, “You told me that if I put on this sackcloth stuff, that God would sort it all out in his time. Well I’ve done all that, and it hasn’t worked.”

"He’s like someone who says, “my wife was ill and I prayed and prayed, but God didn’t answer my prayers, so therefore he doesn’t exist. I’ve tried religion and it doesn’t work.”

"But God isn’t impressed with bargaining. If I do this, will you be happy with me. Look at what I’ve done. I’ll pray to you, but you give me what I want. Why should God give you what you want? You haven’t given him what he wants – he wants a broken and contrite heart, he wants you to repent and trust him."

And what is missing from it all is genuine biblical repentance. 

And amidst the judgment Jehoram gets angry at God. And we see a man more concerned about starving people, than about sinful people. And we see a man shake his fist at God and blame God. And things haven’t changed. In our world God has promised that if we ignore him he will pull back his hand, and then when he does exactly what he said he would do, and there is a disaster, an explosion, people start shouting and blaming God. When if they would humble themselves, and repent of their sin God would return. In Zec 1:3 we read:  "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, `and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty."

Have you been angry at God over something? Anger at God is never right. You may need to humble yourself and repent, and seek God’s forgiveness. Perhaps some of you think you can bargain with God. God hates to be bargained with. Bargaining only works when you have something the other person needs. God does not need you. You on the other hand need God. And you must come on his terms."

When the earth shakes, tsunami’s roll, and reactors melt…God's word...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,"

Daniel 4:34-35   "At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

Acts 17:24-28   "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

Lamentations 3:37-38   "Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?"

Isaiah 45:7   "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things."
 
Psalm 31:15   "My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me."

Exodus 4:11   "The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?"

Matthew 10:29-31   "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

John 9:1-3   "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Hebrews 12:5-6   "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Amos 8:11-12   "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it."

Romans 8:26-28   "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 11:33  "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!"

Watson the computer—not made in the image of God

Recently a super-computer named “Watson” beat the two veteran “Jeopardy” champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

The computer is impressive. Remember, it is just a machine that is programmed with a ton of “useless” information. The computer has the ability to retrieve the stored information when needed but can it do anything else?

Man is made in the image of God but man is not God. Man has the ability to remember but not everything. God has the ability to remember everything. He controls everything (Isaiah 44:24-26 "This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,'

Watson better watch out, the man made machine better not smart off. God could fry it in an instant. Watson exists by God given intellect, given to man. It exists because of God’s sovereign choice. Ah, so do we!

What does this all mean? Probably nothing; before computers there were books that held information we didn’t know or couldn’t remember, but in the process, the world seems to want to “tarnish” man’s made in God’s image reality. Yes, they want to be God for a day, and make something superior to man’s intellect, next they will try to make something superior to God’s intellect. If you are a man or woman pursuing this conquest I would advise you to be careful. Isaiah 42:8-9 says, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

1 Corinthians 1:20-21: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”

The computer Watson is very adept at retrieving useless information. Useless information—it’s cheap entertainment for people. Watson can retrieve information in an impressive manner but can it wipe away a tear from a child’s eye?

Yes, we as humans are limited in some area’s (example, remember some useless information) but we are made in God’s image. We care for the needy, encourage one another, and we suffer with one another. Watson will not be found at that party.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Psalm 139:14 – “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Watson is impressive but it is a man-made machine. It is dead with no soul, life or breathe. It just babbles… It is just a product of man’s God given intellect, nothing more.

Joy of Answered Prayer—Healing on the Jesus Premium Plan

James 5:13-16 (ESV): “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Note: Names and places changed since I do not have permission to use the people’s names.

Last fall I spoke at a church in Central Minnesota. After the service, two elders asked me to go with them to lay hands on a dear brother who had liver cancer.

I will call the man Dan; not his real name. I knew him from the past. About six years ago he needed a liver transplant; God provided Dan a liver in answer to many prayers on his behalf. Some five plus years later, the “new” liver had cancer. We confessed our sin, laid hands on the man and prayed in faith with expectation that the man would be healed. Immediately the man said, “My head feels better.” That was good but how do you know if your liver feels better? He felt good and we visited. Later I drove home into the full moon night singing praises to God.

I called one of the elders two weeks later; Dan’s health was improving. This last week, I received a call from one of the elders—Dan has no cancer what so ever!

Dan was in desperate shape when we laid hands on him and God healed him completely. Praise God from who all blessings flow. Thank you, Jesus. Halleluiah!

One point is this, I wish you could hear the phone call I received; over and over the man repeated “No more cancer; no more cancer! Isn’t God good? The Lord is amazing!” The caller repeated this over and over. I stood listening to the message with a tear filled face.

James 5:14 (ESV) says in part…“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray…”

Why aren’t we calling the elders more? Why aren’t we laying on hands more, anointing with oil and confessing sin, believing God can and will heal. God has healed and He will continue to heal!

The Gentle Healer has come; His Spirit is and will be with us. Come to Jesus and live. Isn’t God great! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Do not fret over health care. Jesus is the only true healer and His premium plan is simple. Humble yourselves before Him confess your sin and pray. We all can and should do that… To God alone is the glory.

The Lure of the Mountaintop

(Click the title of the blog to hear Amy Grant singing about the mountaintop)

Some days I get sick of people. I mean, when I have too much of people and I want to go to the mountaintop. Yes, I want to be a monk in a mountain top monastery with thick outside stone walls (you know, protection against the Viking a.k.a. the Barbarians). I then would be safe and I wouldn’t have to deal with that many people. I’d raise carrots, tomatoes, and strawberries and none of them would speak back to me. Being more or less alone I’d clean up my act, not really but I think I would.

We think isolating ourselves from a sinful world would make us better and happier. I think the opposite happens. We could think we are safe from the influence of sin (the influence of others). Yes, on the outside we would look good unless we honestly deal with our sin, inside our heart. Escape from reality has been the sanctuary of many in the church over the years. We hide out until the perceived danger is past. At best, this is naïve and for many Christians this is all they know. Isolation from a hurting world, smiling and slapping each others back in the Christian ghetto is all we know, and we love it.

Peter, James, and John went with Jesus to a mountain top but for other reasons. The purpose was for the transfiguration of Jesus. The purpose of the transfiguration was to reveal the full glory of the Son of God. It was to be an encouragement to the disciples in future, sealing in their mind the truth that Jesus and God the Father are one.

Peter likes the idea of being on the mountain top and He wants to stay there; sound familiar? As it were, he told Christ, “Let’s camp out here.” Christ never answers his question; Christ goes down the mountain and it says in Luke 9:37: “The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.”

Jesus and His disciples did not campout on the mountain top, they went down and ministered among the people. We are to minister among the people not hold each others hand and sing “Kum Ba Yah” around the campfire. We need to get off our mountaintops and get our hands dirty.

A story is told of a priest in a small village who wanted to be closer to God so he climbed up to the top of the church steeple. He looked to the sky and cried out, “Where art thou God?” And God replied, “Down here among my people.”

God bless us, keep us, and use us in these days. Break camp; dare greatly and go to work.

The World is Watching – Every day life as a Christian

The world watches our Christian witness; they watch first and listen later. Many times my walk fails to live up to my talk.

I manage properties and some of our clients and tenants are Christian organizations. I become sensitive to the implication of my witness or walk (I should be), and the witness of Christian organizations, realizing I deal with Christian and non-Christians alike on a daily basis. I am starting to see a disturbing trend in our dealing with Christian organizations. This point has also been brought to my attention by the non-Christian participants in our encounters with our Christian tenants.

Some examples: This week we had a scheduled meeting with the head of a Christian organization; it was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Four people were present at 11:30, agenda in place and the leader of the Christian organization was 30 minutes late. He waltzed in with no apology, conducted himself arrogantly. He is demeaning to most that come into his presence. After the meeting, one of the non-Christian participants said to me, “Jerry, I know that you are a Christian, but this guy is a pure dink.” It’s so easy to see the flaws of others yet he was right in his observation.

This week the cleaning supervisor of a property came to us to show us boxes of note pads that had been thrown in the trash, In good conscience, this Christian cleaning supervisor could not throw them in the trash but brought boxes of them to us. We wondered why they were being thrown away. We investigated and realized they were bonded wrong. The front of the note pads had the organization logo on each page but the bonding was upside down thus the pads were “wrong side up”. These note pads could have been used just by pulling off the piece of paper and turning it over or simply removing the cardboard, but they saw fit to throw them all away. What a waste of material and dollars.

As a Christian dealing with Christian organizations, guess what, I’m not impressed. How sad; we are sending the wrong message. We come off as arrogant and wasteful and according to some of my employees, the Christians are demanding and demeaning (this according to my immigrant cleaning crew and office support staff).

The good news is this—God is cleaning house. One Christian organization went broke at the end of the year; they could not generate additional funding. This organization had $750 chairs around their conference room table. Thirteen of these at $750 a piece, $10,750 worth of chairs used at best five times a week. They are out of business and in my opinion, it is good. God himself will rise up people to do their work. He already has and they will not drive $40,000 SUV’s or sit in $750 chairs.

I wonder if we as American Christians realize the joyride is over. Our character flaws or our sin, is becoming very obvious to the world, mine included. God has begun His refining process. The church may be struggling, stumbling over itself, but remember God’s plans are never thwarted.

God has issued us armor (Ephesians 6). God tells us to “put it on” which implies a battle is coming; as a matter of fact, the battle is here now and we are sitting in our $750 chairs showing up late for meetings with no apology, riding in our $40,000 SUV’s while a nation goes to hell in our very presence. What is the trend I see? We are isolated, self-righteous with a distant witness of our faith. God has and will rise up faithful people; His true church will prevail and assault the gates of hell.

American church, we will answer for our snitty, demanding, demeaning attitude. As God judges the American church, we cannot see ourselves naked and hungry. We may if God doesn’t withhold His wrath.

Forgive me Heavenly Father, for I have sinned. O Lord, help us witness this day. Amen.

Don’t be afraid to live

Genesis 46:1-4 (NIV): "So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he replied. "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."

My great nephew, AJ is the strapping, hard working teenage son of Western Wisconsin dairy farmers. He wants to play football and basketball. AJ has a heart defect; his problem was discovered in his early teens. Doctors, concerned about his heart valve, have recommended a “wait and see” attitude at this time. Recommendations have been made that he cool it as it were. You can work, but not too hard; you can play, but not too hard. Doctors and parents are cautious and AJ is getting frustrated.

We live in an age where we work very hard to minimize risks in our lives. I understand the common sense business portion of this but what has it gotten us--frustrated and sometimes timid people. In AJ’s case, you are only a teenager once and life is passing by. AJ’s Mom and Dad struggle with the everyday choices presented to them. How does one live a life under these conditions?

AJ has a problem, the blood that runs through his veins has come from a long line of hard working Austrian-German-Bohemian risk takers. Farmers, businessmen, soldiers, teachers, fighters all. How do you tell him to cool it? You don’t.

Life is a risk. AJ must live it; he lives his life with a smile. The “Big Hitter,” known as AJ, works the fields and barns of Western Wisconsin with a confidence and vibrancy beyond his years. A young man with a helping spirit, he must live life; we only go around once. He is an American, he lives with his boots on, and if it’s God’s will, he could die with his boots on, enjoying his young life to the fullest.

Oh, the world may criticize his and his parents’ decision on how to live his life. Don’t second guess them, it is not our life or our duty. It’s great to see some of this American generation take risks and live life with a vigor and zest seldom seen today.

Like Jacob, AJ may be afraid; don’t be--God is with you. One of the greatest lessons in life to be learned is this, you can only really live when you are not afraid to die. AJ, go to your Egypt--don’t be afraid because your God said He would be with us and He is. Go!

President Theodore Roosevelt said this, "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

To God be the glory. Dare greatly and don’t look back.

The Hen and the Hawk

Jeremiah 49:31 “Arise and attack a nation at ease, which lives in confidence,” declares the LORD, “a nation that has neither gates nor bars; its people live alone.”

Even though we are involved in two distant wars, very few of us have had our lives disrupted. Yes, our armies are all volunteer; we let “others” or so called “hired guns” fight our wars for us. We feel no threat of the draft, no fear of our sons or grandsons being drafted. Many profess the attitude, if they are dumb enough to volunteer, let them fight. How sad. We may not agree on the purpose, if any, of these wars; rightly so, but most of us could care less. How much is Pepsi on sale for this week?

We have lived at ease, our borders are porous, and we are supposedly a strong nation. Yet, we can’t mount the political will to secure them (no bars or gates). In the midst of all of this we have been wealthy “survivors,” even though lonely, while the barbarians storm the gate.

In “A Lifting Up for the Downcast” by Puritan William Bridge, he tells the story of the hen and the hawk on page 239-240.

“The poor hen, you know, so long as she lives, is upon the dunghill, and there she is scraping, and picking up her living; but when she is dead, she is brought unto the master’s table. The hawk on the contrary, while he is living, is carried upon the fist, and upon the arm, and has good flesh and provision made for him, and a house to sit in; but when the hawk dies, then he is thrown out unto the dunghill. So it is in this case. So long as a poor, godly man is living here, it may be he is upon the dunghill and picking up his living, a little and a little; but when he dies, then he is brought into his Master’s presence. But the rich, ungodly man, when he dies, though while he lived he had great provision, yet then he is thrown out unto the dunghill, and comes no more into his Master’s presence. Oh, you that are godly, though in a low condition, would you then change your condition with the wicked? The lower your condition is, the higher is your obedience.”

We as a nation have lived as a hawk, when we as Christians should have been living as hens. Times are a changing—are you a hawk or a hen?

Let’s get off our hawkish perches, live with humility and sacrificial service. When we die, we will be brought into the presence of our Master, and at His feet we will “lay our trophies down.”

In the days ahead, endued with the power of the risen Lord, we will be hope and light on the dunghill of life. Beside us, the hawk lays dead.

Don’t sit down in the dark—fight

The white wolf called winter has dealt Western Minnesota a hard blow. For example, since winter season set in, I don’t believe our schools have had a full week of school; late starts, early dismissal or they have cancelled the entire day.  All of this, the relentless pounding snow, wind and cold has caused some of us to sit down in the dark. We have become despondent.

As Christians, as human beings, we will struggle with depression or despondency. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” This is a clear call that the soul of a saint needs to be “revived”. If it needs to be revived, it also means the soul was “dead”. A familiar verse is Psalm 23:2-3 “He leads me beside quiet waters” “He restores my soul.”

The intent of this blog is not to point to our collective misery but we need to be encouraged that we are not alone in this. Rather than sit in the dark, we need to mount a personal and collective fight against spiritual depression. How do we fight?

Jesus is again our example. The God-Man Jesus was facing the reality of going to the cross, the devil tempting him not to do it. Thus Jesus was “troubled” (John 12:17: "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.’ "No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.; John 13:21: After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.") But in the same gospel, Jesus tells us, his disciples, in John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
When we are tempted to give up or tempted to give in to despondency, it is not sin. We must fight. How did Jesus fight the devil’s temptation to give up on the purpose Jesus was sent to do? Jesus purpose was to redeem fallen man by going to the Cross of Calvary.

Matthew 26:36-39 says:  "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

We can learn how to fight the temptation of despondency from Jesus. Note:

1. He chose some close friends to be with Him (v.37)
2. He opened His soul to them (v.38). He told them He was grieved to the point of death.
3. He asked for intercession and partnership in battle (v. 39) “Remain here & keep watch”
4. He poured out His heart to God the Father in prayer (v.39)
5. He rested His soul in the sovereign wisdom of God (v.39) “Yet not as I will, but as Thou will.”
6. He fixed His eyes on things beyond the cross (Hebrews 12:2 – “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We must not dwell just in the present; we must look beyond our moment of despair like Christ did. The white wolf of winter may buffet our soul but we must not sit alone in the dark. We must fight the temptation to give in; Jesus shows us how. Let’s follow Him. That is why we call Him “Savior”; that is why we call Him “friend”.

Seeing the tears in each others eyes

We have a group of “old friends,” yes, they are “old” like us but we have known them since we were just married. We have moved away from each other yet we have maintained contact. Each winter we, as a group, have a winter outing. We go to plays concerts or just go out to eat and visit. We all look forward to it.

This year we received an email from one of the group suggesting a certain outing. It was a blanket email sent to the other five couples. People have responded by email.

I am not an anti-technology guy but we hear much about the increase in loneliness, depression, and isolation, yet at the same time we have the highest level of so called connectivity with one another. Phones, cell phones, letters (do they still exist?), Facebook, email, texting—have I missed any??

Just in our group of 60-ish geezers, we started with the phone (land phones—yes, we are that antiquated). In the past, in order to organize a proposed winter outing, five phone calls needed to be made initially. The proposed outing was discussed, plus much more. More joys, concerns, more laughter, more tears and sometimes pure jubilation. Yes, we talked about more than the outing. Our response to the email was “Yes, we are interested, count us in”; quick, efficient but cold.

In this age of “high connectivity,” we’re quick, efficient, and cold. We have less and less opportunities to look across the table and see the tears in our friends’ eyes; they can be tears of sadness or tears of joy. The result is this—we are the loser for it all. We have lost compassion for one another (it can’t really be this bad). We have become impatient with each other (I don’t have time for this). We have withered away losing true concern and love our brother and sister. In our increasing isolation and superficial relationships, we pass ourselves off as having in “all together”. We live a lie and we know it.

Let’s slow up and look into each others eyes. Visit, share a cup of coffee and for once in a long time, and see someone else’s tears, happy or sad. We will be the better for it.

To attest to this, the women of this group gathered for coffee recently. We shared laughter, joys, and happenings in our lives, we talked about the outing as well. In fact, it was so intense and enjoyable that we did not notice that we were in the midst of still another snow storm! We all made it slowly but safely home. We vowed to get together again soon. (We used to do it every week when our kids were young.)

Five Years Later

It has been five years since I wrote the following on our CaringBridge site.  It was the day before I went in for prostate surgery.  God is good!  Five years later I am still cancer free.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  ~ Jerry

Sunday, January 8, 2006 2:28 PM, CST


This week someone asked me “why did you have to get cancer?” My unspoken response was, “Why not me?” Is the God who is sovereign worthy of praise and thanksgiving only when He does what we judge to be good or what we want to have happen? God is not our cosmic “butler” on call to do only what we please or desire when we want it and how we want it. We need to be reminded He answers to no man. Does God bring cancer into our lives? In John 9:1-12, Jesus heals a man blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples ask him “who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus responds in verse 3: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Why did I get cancer? So God’s glory can be displayed. If I come through the surgery, “to God be the glory.” If I die, may I die well “to God be the glory.”

In John Flavel’s book "The Mystery of Providence" on p. 182, Flavel asks a question: “Does God perform all things for His people? Do not distrust Him then when new difficulties arise. Why should you think He that has done so many things for you will now do no more?” Isaiah 59:1 reads “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” God will hear. Why would He not listen now? I am ready for whatever He has in store but I know for sure this cancer didn’t slip by when He was not looking or happen when He was asleep (He never sleeps). No, it happened for whatever reason God has in mind, even though I don’t know exactly what it is. I don’t need all the answers. I just need to OBEY and go forward in trust.

What questions should we be asking? I borrow from Jerry Bridges book "The Joy of Fearing God", p. 152. “Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I wholeheartedly acknowledge God’s authority, both in His precepts and His providences, in my life? Do I resent or question any of His providential circumstances in my life?
2. Do I seek to live all of life under the authority of God’s Word, believing what it says and seeking to apply its teachings to every area of my life?
3. Am I chafing—either openly or secretly in my heart—under any God-ordained human authorities? Are there any relationships here in which I need to change my attitude or actions?” (Jerry’s definition: internal friction: God exercising control in our lives.)

We need these trials to do some (in my case, much needed) soul searching. 
Thank all of you for your concern and prayers and the love shown to our family. I will close with a benediction I sometimes use in country churches when I preach:

“May the roads rise up to meet you, may the prairie winds be always at your back . May the sun shine warmly upon your face and may the rain and snow fall gently upon your fields, til we meet again, May the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand, and may He keep your hand steady till the setting of the golden sun and His glorious return. In Jesus name. And all God’s people said Amen."

Note: The kids and Judi hope to update from the hospital to keep people in touch. Again, thank you all. ~ Jerry

Scriptures for reading and pondering: Acts 17:24-31; Deut. 8: 1-18; Job 2:9; John 9:1-12; Isaiah 59:1; Job 42:1-6.

Who will tell us the truth in these days?

A doctor in England admitted this week that he fabricated the results of a study linking autism to childhood vaccinations. The original study was published in The British Medical Journal. If we cannot trust them, who can we trust?

This week the new Congress came to power. The power in the House of Representatives has swung from the Democrats to the Republicans. Much has been talked about; a vision staked out, promises made but—I don’t believe any of it.

Yes, I’ve become a cynical doubting old man. Who will tell us the truth and how will we know what is the truth in these days? I mean, do you really believe the unemployment rate is 9.4%? I don’t. Do you really believe inflation is “rising slightly” as I heard on the news today? I don’t. Just look at your grocery cart and you’ll realize someone is lying to us.

In John 8:42-47, Jesus was talking to the Jews, who claimed they were children of Abraham. It says: 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

These verses teach us some important things appropriate for days such as these.

1. If God is our Father, we must love Jesus (verse 42)
2. Verse 44 is loaded.

a.  The devil is the father of lies. NOTE: The battle of the ages is good versus evil. Jesus versus the devil. It is being played out daily in battles of what is truth and what are lies.

b. There is no truth in the devil and there is no truth in his children. When considering something, consider the source. Whose child is this person? A child of God or a child of the devil.

3. Regarding Verse 47 – As believers, when we listen, we must listen to what God says.

a. Read His Word. Listen to His Word. Ask God to open your ears. Ask God to give you a discerning heart. Believers will hear what God says.

b. 1 Kings 3:7-14: "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child1 and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."

c. This should be our prayer.

God has and will always tell us the truth. Are we willing to humble ourselves and believe him? Trust Him in these days. In John 8:32 Jesus says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Yes, He has set us free from being slaves to sin. We have experienced the ultimate freedom. Listen to Him in these days. Remember, He promised He would never leave us or forsake us. God has kept all His promises and He always will. Good, good news…in these last days. Lies may abound but Jesus is the Truth and the Light. Listen to Him alone.

A blot on the name of Olivia, Minnesota

I live ten miles from Olivia, Minnesota. During the last week, Olivia has been in the news due to the death of a little 19 month old girl, beaten to death by her Mom’s 19 year old boyfriend. As one person said, “This incident is a blot upon our town’s name.” I say, “It should be.”

In Luke 18:9-14 it says: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

This part of scripture has much to teach us. One point which has convicted me was the Pharisee (“a member of a Jewish sect of the intertestamental period noted for strict observance of rites and ceremonies of the written law and for insistence on the validity of their own oral traditions concerning the law”) was quick to condemn the actions of the publican (“a Jewish tax collector for the ancient Romans”) and showed no concern for the publican’s salvation. The Pharisee’s prayer was pretty much a blow-hard exposition on his self-righteous deeds.

I visited with some people in the community about the death of the little baby; no one seemed to know who the baby was. Someone said, “It was Hispanic.” Then another replied, “Oh, one of those.” No more was said. Yes, we barely flinch when it’s “one of them” that dies. I guess the Hispanics (or anyone else who is different from us for that matter) are the modern day publicans. We, as believers, become uncomfortably quiet (myself included) when a Hispanic baby dies a violent death.

Do we honestly show any love and concern for our Hispanic brothers or sisters? Are we truly concerned about their salvation? Or are we modern day Pharisees, regarding them in some way less than us? Are we self-centered like the Pharisee whose prayer is only about him blowing smoke about himself?

I believe we are guilty. How sad.

Lord Jesus, help us, wake us up, convict us of our sin of indifference towards all our brothers and sisters Hispanic or others. If the violent death of a 19 month old baby won’t wake us up, what will?

Living In-Between 1st and 2nd

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”  Hebrews 9:27-28

In baseball, it is not a good thing to be caught between 1st and 2nd. A quick decision must be made; do I go to second base or scoot back to first base and hopefully be ruled “safe”. I am not really concerned about baseball but it could make for an interesting analogy.

Today we live between the first and second advent of Christ. Advent is described as “the arrival of an event that has long been awaited with expectation.” We live between His birth (First Advent) and His 2nd coming (Second Advent).

As Christians, do we spend too much time on the baby Jesus and not enough time on our reigning champion Jesus who has completed His work and is coming again? He is coming not to suffer but to gather His own unto Himself. How are you waiting for His return; in childish fear or in joyful expectation of the returning Christ?

This Christmas let us rise in the power of the risen Savior and wait with courage for His expected return. Let’s wait with purpose and urgency to reach as many as we can with His message of hope, being made right with the eternal God.

How are you going to live the rest of your life—in fear or joyful expectation? The choice is yours; accept His gift, the gift of being His chosen one.

May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bless you this Christmas Season. May His army (us) wait in peace, ready for battle to do His work.

Let us arise from kneeling by the empty manger, seeing the empty cross, believing in the power of God’s resurrection, the empty tomb, and wait for the Father’s command to His Son Jesus to “go and gather my own.” Yes, then we will be safe on second. Right with God through eternity, all brought about by the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of God’s one and only Son Jesus. This is what we should celebrate this Christmas Season.

Come quickly Lord Jesus, come. Come and take your children home and we will be with You for eternity.

Praising God for what we have

My brother is in Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis fighting a very tough brain cancer. The intensity of the battle has taken another step higher—Jim now has an unknown form of pneumonia.  He is in the fight of his life.

Someone told me this week that “Jim is too young to die;” he is 70. I suppose he could be considered too young; none of us want to die but the Lord determines our day to be born and our day to die.

As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1-14:

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,  a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,  a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,  a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,  a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,  a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  What does the worker gain from his toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him."

Carol, Jim’s wife of almost 50 years, was returning to the hotel late one night. Tired, lonely and battling to keep her spirits up for Jim and the kids, she encountered a couple at the hotel. The couple has a 13 year old daughter in Abbot with an inoperable brain tumor.

Carol said, “How sad, she is only 13, hasn’t even lived her life.” It was at that point that Carol was reminded that Jim has had 70 years of life and a good life at that. Carol said to me the next morning, “We must always be thankful for what we have rather than complain about what we do not have.”

We want Jim to live; we entrust his life and care to God’s hands. We thank you Lord for 70 years. May the young girl with the brain tumor experience the same.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen

Gold Cannot Save or One Too Many Gold Commercials

The TV commercials to buy gold pound on us; I should do a survey to see what percentage of advertisements are for the purpose to encourage us to buy gold and silver. Precious metals have seen a spectacular rise over the last ten years. It has been an excellent investment but it cannot save. No, it cannot save. We are to be wise stewards of God’s blessing upon us but God will save us, through His Son. Our gold and silver will not save us.

Ezekiel 7:19 says: “They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin.” Our gold cannot save us from the wrath of the Lord.

Without Christ we will stand in the street full of terror; our knees will be like water. (Ezekiel 7:17: “Every hand will go limp”), in shame and horror. Our gold and silver will lie at our feet as detestable.

Our love for gold and silver will be the stumbling block, concerning our sin. We want to grab a hold of all we can get in this life, hoping in gold, not in Christ.

In these last days, let’s be good stewards of God’s blessing. We must come to Christ; He alone is our hope. The love of this world, the love of stuff, can be the stumbling block concerning our coming to Christ for forgiveness. Without Christ, the picture is very sobering.

Trust God, not gold. Trust the one who holds the future. His name is Jesus Christ.

Read Ezekiel 7:14-27 from The Message:

14 'The trumpet signals the call to battle: "Present arms!" But no one marches into battle. My wrath has them paralyzed! 15 On the open roads you're killed, or else you go home and die of hunger and disease. Either get murdered out in the country or die of sickness or hunger in town. 16 Survivors run for the hills. They moan like doves in the valleys, Each one moaning for his own sins. 17 "'Every hand hangs limp, every knee turns to rubber. 18 They dress in rough burlap - sorry scarecrows, Shifty and shamefaced, with their heads shaved bald. 19 "'They throw their money into the gutters. Their hard-earned cash stinks like garbage. They find that it won't buy a thing they either want or need on Judgment Day. They tripped on money and fell into sin. 20 Proud and pretentious with their jewels, they deck out their vile and vulgar no-gods in finery. I'll make those god-obscenities a stench in their nostrils. 21 I'll give away their religious junk - strangers will pick it up for free, the godless spit on it and make jokes. 22 I'll turn my face so I won't have to look as my treasured place and people are violated, As violent strangers walk in and desecrate place and people - 23 A bloody massacre, as crime and violence fill the city. 24 I'll bring in the dregs of humanity to move into their houses. I'll put a stop to the boasting and strutting of the high-and-mighty, And see to it that there'll be nothing holy left in their holy places. 25 Catastrophe descends. They look for peace, but there's no peace to be found - 26 Disaster on the heels of disaster, one rumor after another. They clamor for the prophet to tell them what's up, but nobody knows anything. Priests don't have a clue; the elders don't know what to say. 27 The king holds his head in despair; the prince is devastated. The common people are paralyzed. Gripped by fear, they can't move. I'll deal with them where they are, judge them on their terms. They'll know that I am God.'"

Shopping in Willmar or Poor in the Midst of Great Possessions

On an early Thursday afternoon, Judi and I had business in Willmar. Judi had some shoes that needed to be returned to the store so I sat and waited while she transacted business.

A woman, I estimated to be in her late 70’s, sat down beside me with a sigh of relief. “I sure can’t shop like I used to” she said. “Yes, there was a day when I could shop from morning to night; now I must stop and rest.” She turned out to be an agitated woman and somewhat bitter about life. I watched all the shoppers; most had a furrowed brow; most did not look happy. Am I, as a Christian, happy? Do I understand how God has blessed me?

My mind came back to a devotional entitled, “Poor in the Midst of Great Possessions.” This is my rough translation of the work of German theologian Dr. Heinrich Muller. He was a local pastor who understood the plight of his people. It is from his book, “The Hour of Refreshing.”  I quote with a rough translation:

“This is said of the miserly, and it is true. Poverty and riches are in the mind. He who wishes for nothing more is rich; and he who is always wanting something is poor. I have what I do not desire; and that which I am always longing for is lacking to me. The miser never says he has enough. He is poor in the midst of wealth, because he has what he has as though he had it not. The only benefit he derives from “his stuff” is looking at it, and anyone can do that, even the poorest. It is not forbidden for me to look at the possessions of others, but I cannot take any of them, for they are not mine. The miser will not touch his own because gold is his god. Thus the miser gets no more out of his own than I do of others’ possessions. He is so poor that he has not even himself. He may be compared to a spider who spins her own web out of her own bowels; so the miser consumes and kills himself in caring for his life. What good does wealth do to a man if he be not allowed to partake of it?”

“It suits the Christian better to be poor in the midst of great possessions. He does not consider it right to pamper his body, but uses what he has in moderation. Therefore, he may be looked upon as poor, although he may be rich. And where is the poor man whose daily necessities are not supplied? God always gives a bit of bread, often in a wonderful manner, and in a way man would never dream of. Do not ascribe your riches to your own cleverness or industry, but look upon them as a gift from the bountiful hand of thy God, which has been given in answer to your unceasing prayers; so you are in reality as poor as the beggar who daily goes from door to door to collect alms. We need to look upon our means as a loan, over which God has not appointed us lord, but only steward, so that we may give to the poor—therefore we are poor in the midst of great wealth, for who can be poorer than he who has nothing of his own? We have not set our heart on what we have, but are ready, when God wills it, to deliver it up. If we meet with losses, we do not lose courage, but are content, saying with Job, in true humility and resignation, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). So we are poor, although possessed of great riches. Temporal possessions are injurious to no man’s soul, unless the heart hangs unto them.”

I would like to summarize a statement by A.W. Tozer; “We can have everything, but we must possess nothing. For the thing we possess, we will love more than God.”

It is all a matter of our heart; yes it is but so hard to do.