The Last Ride – The Life and Times of Jim Seehusen

The October day was gloomy after a long run of above normal temperatures and clear autumn days. Monday was blustery with light rain. It was a day where you hunched your shoulders from the cold and pulled your coat tighter around your neck. I guess it was a good day for a funeral in Olivia, Minnesota. Blustery, growing colder with a sense of sadness in the air, it was my brother Jim’s funeral.

As we pulled away from the church for the one mile ride to the cemetery west of town, people watched along the street. The big shiny Cadillac hearse led the way; it was Jim’s last ride. The route passed in front of his house. Behind the hearse was a horse and buggy. The horse was “Pops”, Jim’s horse and the buggy was one of many my brother made. In the buggy was Jim’s slicker, cowboy hat and boots along with a wreath adorned with, among other things, feathers and a horse shoe—all representing Jim’s life.

The horse and buggy were driven by Doug and Steve, my brother’s “horse and buggy buddies”. It looked like they came from cowboy central casting. They rode stoically on the buggy. Doug wore his cowboy hat, boots and an oil soaked slicker to ward off the cold October rain, Steve in his cowboy hat, boots, Levies and wind breaker. It was hard to tell if it was rain or tears on their faces.

Pops the horse walked slowly with his head down facing the wind and rain. Pops knew something was up; the day before Jim died, Pops separated himself from the herd. He is boarded at Doug and Mary’s farm. They noticed Pops was standing alone, not usual for him; they knew something was up. Twenty-four hours later, Jim passed away.

As my older brother, we didn’t always get along as children. Seven years older than me, he, like my late older sister Mary Ann, took glee in bossing me around. I wasn’t really angry with them I just did my best to make their “supervisory role” miserable.

Jim and I visited a lot over the last year. It was never sad. Brain cancer can be a cruel master; he would have moments, yet he went gently and that was our only prayer. We never ordered God around; we asked for Jim to go gently.  He did.

What did I learn from him? What was his greatest accomplishment? I’m sure those close to him would differ if asked the question. Here is what I think.

Jim and I grew up in a physically and verbally abusive home. As young boys, we pledged to one another to never do that to our wife and family. We never physically abused but fought dishing out our cutting verbal remarks for much of our life. As we have gotten older, we prayed more earnestly for that to go completely away. Jim had a great wife, Carol, of 50 years; they had 5 children and 10 grandchildren--all an accomplishment in and of itself. Jim never cheated on his wife. Why? Because he made a promise before God and he loved his wife. He was good looking and successful; I am sure he had opportunities but he said no. I told him if he ever cheated on his wife “I would beat the hell out of him”. I know some people might think this is unimportant or inappropriate to mention; Jim thought it was important.

Jim was an overachiever. He was a lumberyard worker turned trucker then a salesman. Jim was an accomplished business man. He hated sales training; we both hated sales training and were terrible at it. At one sales training session, Jim was presented with the booby prize, a flashlight to find his way out of the dark; a stinging insult. The joke was on the sales trainer as Jim was the number one salesman three years running and he didn’t learn very much from the snooty sales trainer. Sales were simple to Jim; it wasn’t magic words and techniques as the sales trainer taught, it was problem solving. We all like to help people; Jim helped people by solving their problems. His customers made money and so did Jim and the whole process flowed naturally. If you are a business person or sales person reading this, stop selling, start solving problems and enjoy the ride.

There is much to be said and Jim knew the Lord. He is with Christ—can’t be anything better than that--a God ordained and Jesus driven accomplishment.

Yes, his last ride was slow and sad. I am sure all of us will remember it. Over seventy years earlier on the east side of Olivia Jim was born in his Great Grandmother Schanil’s house; he was brought home to the farm in a 1936 Ford. Jim owned a 1936 Ford for awhile; he said, “It was too much bother.” He bought Pops and made buggies; he liked horses better than cars.

Always grateful, Jim got his wish; he went home gently to be with Christ. His last ride spoke to it all—a life imperfect (like all of us) but well lived—but now he is perfect with Christ. What a life; what a ride; what a Savior!

Uncollected Thoughts on a Windy Day

"Christ tells us that if we want to join him, we shall travel the way he took.  It is surely not right that the Son of God should go his way on the path of shame while the sons of men walk the way of worldly honor."

John of Avila

"We put ourselves to all sorts of inconveniences to satisfy our guilty passions but when it is a question of overcoming them we will not lift a finger.  It is just this penny's worth of suffering that nobody wants to spend."

Leonard of Port Maurice

"The best way not to find the bed too cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is."

Charles Borromeo



"Hell is full of the talented, but

Heaven of the energetic"

Jeanne De Chantal

Psalm 37:1-9

If we believe…we are to (BLUE) and the Lord does (RED)

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!

2For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

Psalm 150

"Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD."

What if God only granted breath to those who praise Him??

The Privileges of being a Servant of God – Scripture Speaks

The following is with the help of one Thomas Watson, a Puritan preacher from the 1600’s who made grace so attractive.

A man as a servant of God:

• Ezra 5:11 - This is the answer they gave us: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.

• Colossians 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

• Psalm 116:16 - O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.

The privileges of being God’s servant:

1. Freedom:

• Psalm 116:16 - O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.
• Psalm 51:12 -- Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

2. Honor:

• Psalm 143:11-12 -- For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

• Isaiah 53:11 -- After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

• Psalm 18:35 -- You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.

Jesus is not ashamed to be called a servant.

3. Safety:

• Isaiah 41:9-10 -- I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

• Psalm 27:5-6 -- For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

• Acts 18:9-10 -- One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."

4. Gain:

• John 12:26 -- Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

• Hebrews 12:28-29 -- Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

5. Assistance:

• Psalm 138:3 -- When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.

• Ezekiel 36:26-27 -- I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

6. He is our supply:

• Psalm 37:3-4 -- Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

• Genesis 48:15-16 -- Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm --may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth."

In these days, remember who God is, and the grace and goodness He bestows on us to be His servant son and servant daughter. May we dwell forever in His house.

Hang this on the wall, read it when discouraged.

God's Word Concerning the Poor Among Us

The streets of Minneapolis have changed dramatically in the last six months—people are in deep financial trouble.  In the last two weeks, I have had four people walk into my office and ask for a job. Some ask to the point of begging. I know their stories since all were past tenants or employees.

In my preaching and visiting with people about this, I found most unresponsive towards the poor. We’re unconcerned and damn glad it isn’t us. As “rich” people, we better be concerned for our lot could change quickly. We must be thankful for every little freedom, grace, provision, and protection we have. We need to be humbly grateful for “life, breath, and everything else.” Acts 17:25: “And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."

Here are some scriptures of hope for the poor, the soon to be poor and the rich. In these days be encouraged and challenged by God’s promises.

Psalm 9:10 – “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”  Note promise and condition

Psalm 9:18: “But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.”

Deuteronomy 15:7-11: "If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land."

Deuteronomy 28:47-48: "Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you."

Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 14:12-14: "Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

1 Corinthians 13:3: "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

2 Corinthians 8:9: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

Enough said...

Why is God so good to us ol’ country boys?

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:6-7

It was a hot droopy late July Sunday evening; the end of a two service Sunday. I was standing in the church parking lot watching the sun go down—sweating. I was visiting with a friend, a Western Minnesota farmer. We marveled at how good God has been to us even though we do not deserve this goodness; undeserved merit—grace and mercy.

In Ephesians 2, Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, “God raised us up with Christ” a thought I cannot fully grasp, “and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Wow! Why did He do that? He doesn’t need our company or companionship. He is totally self-sufficient. He doesn’t need us in any way.

But He raised us up with Christ, seats us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (by Christ alone, no one or nothing else). He does it; I quote, “In order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches in His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

God is and has been good to us to show the ages that two ol’ undeserving country boys are seated with Jesus to show the ages His grace and kindness to us.

Why is God good to us? It is because we are His sons. We deserve nothing but His wrath but He demonstrates to us and the ages His “incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness.”

In light of all of this, we should be face first in the dirt shouting “praise God; halleluiah.” Praise God from all blessings flow.

Reaping what we have sown

Dennis Prager is a radio host and college professor of the Old Testament. He is a continual breathe of fresh air concerning the influence or lack of influence concerning Judeo-Christian values. With his wisdom, he can put his finger on an issue and lay it open for all to see and understand.

While I am having a lunch break at work, I listen to him on a Twin Cities radio station and enjoy his program. This week he addressed the lack of manners, common sense and the excess of arrogance in many people.

Mr. Prager’s take is this, in the past people were taught by Mom and Dad, grandpa and grandma and the church or synagogue, to deal with our personal issues first. Lying, cheating and lack of self-control was taught by the parents and the churches. The school then backed up the parents by teaching the same, addressing personal flaws, working hard to develop positive traits. And the parents supported the school’s rules. Everyone was pretty much on the same page.

The schools started to change; rather than address personal issues, the school started to teach us how to be good citizens, to address issues rather than character flaws. They taught our children to combat racism, be good environmentalists, or whatever the issue was, but seldom addressed our own personal “shortcomings”, “flaws”, or “sin” (a very old fashioned tongue-in-check concept). Yes, we are flawed; we need to deal with ourselves before we can be taught to be a “good” whatever.

On top of this program, we started the “positive self-esteem” movement. Coupled with the lack of addressing our personal faults, we now have people who see nothing wrong with themselves but see the world through “issues” which need to be dealt with and addressed. And I’m ok just as I am. If there is a problem, it’s not me; it’s someone else or other groups of people who do not have as high an opinion of me as I do.

Why harp on this? I see and deal with the results of this every day. This week we had a woman who came to the building to perform some environmental testing for the proposed renovation of the building. The common practice is for these people to park on the street. There is room to park on the street but you must feed quarters in the parking meter. She decided she wasn’t going to park on the street. She pulled in unannounced, parked in someone else’s reserved spot, left her GPS on her dash (a sure reason to have her car broken into) and pranced in like a spoiled six year old at a beauty pageant. When I addressed the situation, it was somehow my fault. She didn’t have quarters to feed the meter. Concerning her GPS, I was not going to tell her what to do…well… Totally self-absorbed, arrogant and condescending; obviously, the rules (reserved parking) are not meant for her. I can’t condemn her; she’s just a product of her teaching and environment—she hasn’t been taught. We complain; I complain, but what did I do to head this off? Nothing; I did nothing. The little princesses (and princes) have grown into adults and it is not pretty.

As Christians, once again we shirked our duty. We did not train the next generation to leave a legacy of being a good, honest and upright people. We are self-absorbed and we won’t discuss or think about it much less address issues of self-discipline and self-control. The pulpits have been and remain quiet on this subject.

Ephesians 6:4 says,  "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

God forgive us. Amen.

Babies Milk

Hebrews 5:12-14 (ESV): "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,  for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Would we find it offensive if a 40 year old man still ate baby food and drank milk from a baby bottle? It would be repulsive; yet in the church we tolerate and in some way “like” spiritual immaturity. I mean, if Joe is a spiritual lout (oaf) and could care less, I’m not challenged either and I find my spiritual “loutiness” quite acceptable.

Why do we tolerate spiritual malaise in ourselves and others? Because we think we’re ok just as we are.

In this part of scripture “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness (being right with God) since he is a child.” It goes on “but solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Many of us are spiritual babies and we like it that way. We believe we are just fine as we are. We don’t ever really believe in the eternal battle of good and evil, and if we did, we could not distinguish “good from evil.”

Yes, we tolerate mush, love mush. We love “make us feel good Christianity” and all the while the devil loves it because we are so indifferent or stupid we cannot distinguish good from evil.

Armor up; go to battle; study and know the word of God and practice constantly to discern truth. We are drinking mint julep on the deck of the Titanic while our culture slides into hell.

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.