The Christians in Sri Lanka weep as they mourn the loss of hundreds of precious lives, and pray for the wounded numbering in the hundreds more.
We weep with them. We mourn with them. We pray for the wounded.
But we rejoice in that the victory has already been won . . . The church will not be defeated . . . Jesus Christ has risen!
Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning! – Psalm 30:5
Filed under Christianity, Church, Countries, Culture Wars, current events, Prayer, Struggles and Trials
This Sunday morning I will be taking a break from my regular sermon series and will preach from the following passage:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; – 1 Corinthians 1:23
The key point of the sermon will be centered around the word “crucified.” Maybe I’ll, write about it in the future.
But below is something that came to mind as I was thinking of the Cross. It’s a post I wrote last year. And I’m STILL unashamed!
Back in 2014, during the semifinals of The Voice, “Team Blake” member Craig Wayne Boyd cranked out a fantastic rendition of the classic hymn “The Old Rugged Cross.” Many people – including those who call themselves “Christian” – were shocked. Why did a singer choose to sing this hymn on a national stage – in a competition? I mean, the cross? Really? What was this guy thinking?
Maybe, just maybe, Craig Boyd was letting the world know where he’d lay that crown, should he win it.
You see, it was on the cross of Calvary that the “Dearest and Best” was slain. It was on this cross that the “ordinances against us” were nailed (Col. 2:14). It was on this cross that our Savior promised that if He be lifted up, He would draw all men unto himself. It was on this cross where Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Without the cross, grace would be a non-issue and the Law would still be my master. Without the cross, Easter would be irrelevant. Without the cross, we’d never been able to witness the most powerful manifestation of love (1 John 4:9-10)the world would ever see.
It was on that old, rugged, blood-stained cross that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin. It was the crossroad of judgment and mercy where the Lamb of God humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8) and purchased my reconciliation with God (Eph. 2:16).
So, why cherish the cross? Because it was and is proof positive that even before I knew Him, even when I was steeped in sin, God loved me enough to die in my stead.
It’s shame and reproach I’ll gladly bear.
Filed under Christianity, Easter, Faith, God, grace, Love of God, worship
Above is the view from my hospital bed at Coliseum Medical Center in Macon, Georgia. It’s not a view that compares with those my friend David Welford posts on instagram, but at least it’s a view – there were no windows in the ICU.
However, this morning my wife and I will be driving the 4-or-so hours back to Chattanooga, enjoying the view through the windshield. FREEDOM!
Last Friday I entered a new era in my life, one that will require lots more medication, a radical change in diet, and a physical therapy program that will probably turn into a regular workout program. I went from living life a certain way to living it a totally different way. I went from life as usual to life unexpected.
That’s what happens when you have a changed heart.
My heart began to change the moment I realized I was in trouble and admitted my need for help. Had my pride said, “I can handle this…I’ll be OK,” I would have been dead. But the painful feeling in my chest convinced me nothing I could do was going to change my condition – I needed a doctor.
The next step in my change of heart came when I submitted to the recommendations of those with whom I consulted. There was the doctor in the first hospital in Washington County who told me: “We got the results of your blood test…there’s something going on…you need to see a cardiologist tonight.” Then, several hours later, after a long ambulance ride and a lot more tests in another hospital (Coliseum), there was the cardiologist who said, “You need surgery.”
If I had rejected the recommendations of either, I would not be writing this; someone else would be writing my obituary.
The final step came when I submitted to the wisdom and ability of Dr. Nisreen Jallad and allowed her to fix what was wrong by weaving a wire up through my wrist and arm, all the way to the blocked arteries in my heart. Had I just agreed to what was needed, nothing would have changed. It was only when I put my life in her hands and allowed her to perform the scary, painful, life-saving angiogram and arterial surgery that change actually occurred.
Over the next couple of days, as I lay in the intensive care unit (ICU), there were times when I felt pain in my chest. Was I having another attack? More surgery?
That’s when Dr. Jallad calmly reassured me, “You came in with problems, but you are fixed…don’t worry.” All I was feeling were a combination of soreness and anxiety, not a heart attack; my heart was working fine.
What’s the next step? Live like my heart has been changed.
With a changed heart I will no longer consume the same foods; I will be on a healthier diet, one which will demand I think before I eat.
With a changed heart I will require an ongoing relationship with a cardiologist, someone who knows how the heart works and how to keep it working.
With a changed heart I will have to maintain a very specific regimen of medications for the rest of my life, else the devices in my heart will cease to perform as designed. The change was permanent, but its usefulness could be thwarted by my complacency and lack of discipline.
Can you see any comparisons to the spiritual heart? Some people claim to have had a change, but where’s the evidence?
Was there ever a moment of crisis? A moment of need? A time when you realized something was seriously wrong and there was nothing you could do to fix yourself?
Has there been a change of diet and discipline? Has the change been taken seriously?
Was there ever a surrendering to the Savior’s surgical hand, or did you simply continue as you were with only His words to contemplate?
Is there an ongoing communication with the Great Physician, the Cardiologist of the soul? Or, was that one trip to His office enough for you?
Then did a heart change really take place?
All I know is that everything changed for me the day my heart was changed.
Filed under Christianity, fitness, Life Lessons, Life/Death, salvation
I was behind the wheel of our Toyota sienna when my wife looked over at me and asked, “Are you OK?”
We were in a little town called Sandersville, GA, and we had just finished walking through a small grocery store just to see what it was like. But when I got in the van and sat behind the steering well, my chest was burning. I was a little short of breath and I was staring straight ahead. My wife had good reason to ask if I was OK, because I wasn’t:
I was having a mild heart attack.
Over four hours away from home, not counting Atlanta traffic, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the emergency room in a little town where the hospital wasn’t much bigger than a Walmart. But knowing that chest pain isn’t something to trifle with, and especially since my wife looked worried (Who’s kidding who? I was worried, too!), I agreed to go get checked out.
The little hospital was the best it could be, I suppose, for a little town like Sandersville. They couldn’t do much for me other than do an EKG, a chest X-ray, and a blood test. All of the tests that they did came back negative, as in nothing was wrong. So, we got ready to leave as we awaited the results of a second blood test that needed to be done, one which was supposedly only a formality. The only problem is that the final blood test showed that my troponin levels doubled in the three hours that I had been there…evidence something was wrong.
The emergency room doctor came back with the results and said that I needed to go see a cardiologist. My wife asked, “Just schedule an appointment with one when we get back home?” “No,” replied the doctor, “he needs to be transported by ambulance to another hospital right now.” Unfortunately, the nearest ambulance to the hospital was still two hours away! So, the waiting began.
When the ambulance finally got there, we decided to go to the nearest hospital that was in the direction of home. So, we decided on a hospital in Macon, GA. An hour later I arrived at Coliseum Medical Centers. #coliseumhealthsystem.com
All I can say is that I praise God this happened down here when it did, because this place is so much better than Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. Everyone down here, from housekeeping to the nurses to the cardiologist, has been absolutely wonderful! They have treated me like I was their only patient. If I had been at Erlanger, it would’ve taken me four hours to get a bedpan. But I digress.
Anyway, long story short, more tests were run on me here which led to the discovery that I had blockages in all four main arteries in my heart, two of which were blocked 90%. A few hours later I was in surgery receiving 2 to 3 stents, depending on how you measure them (one was as long as two). Other than when they numbed my wrist, I felt everything. No kidding, it hurt.
But I’m alive.
Come to find out, I’ve had heart problems for a while. When I have had pain in the past, all that was done were EKGs and stress tests. But nothing ever showed that I had blockages of any kind. None of the places in Chattanooga ever did a heart catheterization.
My dad died at 46 with a heart attack. My grandfather died at 53. I’m 51. Am I blessed, or what?
But here’s the thing: I’m going to die one day, and so are you. Unless the rapture takes place, everyone of us have an appointment with death. It doesn’t matter how many times we go to the hospital and get fixed, these old bodies will eventually break down the last time and we will enter into eternity.
My only hope for you, dear reader, is that you have the same hope and peace that I have. That hope and peace is found in my Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him, when I take my last breath, I know where I will spend eternity.
I’m not dead…yet. But because of the blood Jesus Christ shed for my sins, I’ll be more alive that day than I am right now.
I’m ready to go. Are you?
Filed under Christianity, current events, fitness, Life/Death, Struggles and Trials
Filed under Christianity, Faith, Life Lessons, wisdom, worship
This morning I want to look at a verse from Proverbs. But before we do, let us read it in a couple of versions.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth [very] friends. – Proverbs 17:9 KJV
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. – Proverbs 17:9 NLT
Now, let’s talk about it.
Reminding
Have you ever had someone remind you of a mistake you made years ago? If you are a husband, like me, then the answer is “Yes!”
I may be running the risk of alienating many female readers, but men who are married know that mistakes made today are likely to be discussed tomorrow…and next month…and ten years from now. You see, wives are endowed by God with the uncanny ability to remember every time a man goofs up. I am convinced it’s an ability given to them to help even out the “weaker vessel” playing field.
However, I have also learned something else about wives – they know when to draw the line. If they wanted to, they could talk all day about the stupid things we men do; but they don’t. They remind us just enough to keep us humble, but not enough to break our spirits.
Most wives actually love their husbands, you know.
Repeat Reminding
Sometimes it is necessary to remind a person that is about to make a mistake what happened in the past. For instance, a true friend who might have been robbed by another friend who was drunk, or on drugs, might remind that person of his actions when he is tempted to take another drink. The reminder can be a warning designed to preserve a friendship, if not a life.
On the other hand, there are people who like to bring up the past on a regular basis. Their intentions are not to prevent anything, but to manipulate and control. That is what Solomon was talking about in today’s proverb.
The word translated repeateth is in the “active participle” tense. So, to put it another way, the person who is losing friends is the one who is continually bringing up the past.
Gracious Love
Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” In other words, it is hatred that keeps uncovering the pain of the past, but love heals as it covers. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that everything must be forgotten, for even though a bandage covers, the bandage only signifies a wound was there in the first place.
Of course, that’s what makes grace so great. Without sin there would be no need for grace; but because of sin, grace abounds. A love that is real is a love that testifies something is covered.
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
– Julia H. Johnston (Grace Greater than Our Sin)
Filed under Christianity, grace
There is an old saying that has floated around for ages. Have you heard it? Have you quoted it like you were quoting the Bible? It goes like this…
“God helps those who help themselves.”
Oh, I understand the thinking behind this statement. We have always had too many people who would rather ask for handouts than work for anything. As a matter of fact, the Bible has a few things to say about those who refuse to work…
People who refuse to work are:
However, it is terribly UNBIBLICAL to suggest that “God only helps those who help themselves.” Ask yourself the following questions…
No, I didn’t think so!
When the chains are unbreakable…When the disease is irreversible…When the money is unobtainable…When the marriage is unsavable…When the enemy is unstoppable…
When all hope is lost…
God helps those who CAN’T help themselves!
Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, That they may know that this [is] Your hand–[That] You, LORD, have done it! – Psalm 109:26-27 NKJV
In a fire? Lions ready to pounce? Bound by chains? Hungry and without hope? There is Help!
Thank God! He helped me when I COULDN’T help myself!
Filed under Christianity, grace, politics, Work
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