Glimpses from a weekend jaunt ... a step back

God's love is all around us ...

God's rainbow ... God's love

While I was reading my Bible this morning, I thought God was telling me about "love." And then I decided to go through His book and share one-line thoughts I had written on its pages through the years. Such as "love is the unsolicited giving of the best you have in behalf of another regardless of the response." But my continued search for "love thoughts" led me elsewhere ... to these thoughts:

Resentment destroys our peace. Resentment destroys our perspective.

Setting a goal is easy - seeing it through to the end is the true measure of success.

God sees the good in each of us even though we ourselves have trouble finding it and only see the wrong within.

Sin is rebellion against God's will. Sin is always a conscious choice.

If we don't examine our own shortcomings and try to do right, sinful behavior will follow. When you become angry, must learn to control the anger or channel it into positive results.



And a prayer I had written in the front pages: "Lord, lift my eyes, Open my heart, Touch others through me."

Looking for a particular Scripture passage, the Lord stopped me at Genesis 9:13, where it talks about "My rainbow in the cloud." The flood of all time had taken place and God was conversing with Noah.

I read verses 11 through 15:
"Thus I established My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations. I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; And I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; The waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."

Never again would God send a flood of total destruction. There would be floods though, as we have seen. Here in our city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Mississippi and Florida, tsunamis elsewhere. There is mass destruction, but we are still here. And the rainbow, God's rainbow, reminds us, or at least it should, of His great love for us. Even for those who profess there is no god, seeing a rainbow proves otherwise.

Love ... to know it, to show it, open your heart ... to Jesus, to others.

Where is your faith?

If your mind is open to God and what His word has to say to you, you will find that "with God all things are possible." Just like it says in Matthew 19:26. We have these words framed on our dining room wall. I see it everyday. I read it everyday. Yet as I mentioned yesterday, brain connection is not always present. It is good that God does not give up on me. For if He did ... I am definitely very glad for Jesus' presence in my life.

I wish I could just let go and let God at every stage. I wish my faith in Him was stronger, bigger, ALWAYS present, never questioning. But alas, we are human. And as such, we think and consider and reconsider and wonder, when perhaps what we should do is ask God to show us the way He would have us go.

Rely on Him, seek guidance for everything from Him through prayer. Prayer is the answer. But in prayer, we must listen for His response and obey.

We can't just assume because we have prayed for a disease or illness to be healed, God will instantaneously remove it. No. He may and He may not. We can pray for healing, but I think too we need to pray for guidance in its midst. What am I to learn, do I go to another doctor, do I stop with the round of doctor visits, am I to wait, when is waiting too long. So many questions.

And when we pray, we need to believe God hears us. "And Jesus said, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' " (Mark 9:23)

When we doubt - whether it be doubting the power of prayer or doubting He hears, perhaps we should question just where we are in our walk -- are we truly one of His?

Prayer is the voice of faith.

A moment of prayer ....
Lord, show me how to make the money we have available last us till payday. Lord, enable the money needed for our medical bills to be paid. Lord, show me how to utilize faith in the workplace. Lord, enable me to teach another in the workplace and bring me patience while I am about it. Lord, guard my mouth - what I put in and what comes out. Lord, show me how to be pleasing to you. In your name I pray.

Faith looks across the storm -- it does not doubt
or stop to look at clouds and things without.
Faith does not question why
when all His ways are hard to understand,
but trusts and prays.

Jumbled, mismatched thoughts

Sometimes I feel my life is meaningless. No one cares what goes on. I am absent from another's thought. I know my life is far from meaningless and drab. I have much to be thankful for. I have Jesus. I have Jimmy. But still, don't you feel that way sometimes too? No rhyme or reason for anything. No simple days. Perhaps it is the dreariness, the dampness of the morning sky. No shining sun.

Why is my father's death so prominent in my mind today. I do not understand. He has been gone 35 years tomorrow. Gone long before that. My parents' marriage ended when I was 8. So why am I thinking about him. Seems so surreal.

So tired. So much to do. So much to prepare for a writers workshop coming up. So tired. Tired of day in - day out thinking about work. Just want a reprieve. Do I ask too much?

I have this Web ministry I started in 2001. A resource guide -- is that where my life is. I think. I wonder. I have many blogs. I want to redesign my Web presence. I have ideas. But I can't devote excessive time to that currently. Must work on church history. Scan photos. Write. I like history. Sometimes the scanner gives me grief, much frustration. So many photos to scan.

A new blog I have started is actually part of my Web site, but it has the new design I am experimenting with. ... Heavenward Bound. It too is a resource ... of course.

I am tired. Tired of being church historian. Ready to retire from that position. Plan to after Immanuel's 50th celebration.

Unless of course God has other plans. I only wait. I must wait for all the answers I have questions too.

And then there are other issues I have to deal with. Much my own fault or lack of brain connection. I do not like dentists. Yet I have need of dental work soon. Mouth pain. First I have to pay the balance due that insurance didn't cover. Always some amount health insurance doesn't pay. Always. Wouldn't it be great - no pain, no complaints ... I guess that would be very idealistic -- seeing through rose-colored glasses.

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Even what we do see is not very factual. Its only what we perceive of ourselves or what we perceive others think of us. Our perceptions are way off base. Its not wise reaching into your unknown and dwelling there for any length of time. It only brings tidings of woe upon ourselves. Why oh why would we want to go there. We get down and develop a singular load of pity upon ourselves. There is no point.

"Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23)

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." (Proverbs 15: 13)

No point at all. It's hard to climb out of the pit of dismay, disheartedness, depression. It's easy to look up, but it's hard to comprehend what is up. Down is darkness. Up is light. Jesus is the light.

"Then Jesus spoke, saying 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have The Light of Life.' " (John 8:12)

"Let us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah 2:5)

I follow you Lord Jesus. Keep me from faltering, keep me from falling down and losing my way. Keep me on your path I pray.

~~~~~

A few days ago I was thinking about faith and I came up with comprehensive questions we might all want to consider. It would be great if any of you who read this blog from time to time would consider responding. Wouldn't it be worth it to others to know?

My questions .......

IF God offered you anything you wanted, what would you ask for?

WHO has profoundly influenced your life?

DO you have a favorite quote or Bible verse? What is it, what does it mean for you?

ARE you pursuing a dream?

WHAT goals do you have?

WHAT have you achieved or accomplished for God or for yourself?

WHAT do you like least about yourself?

DO you have a mentor? Or are you a mentor?

IF you are a follower of Jesus Christ, in what ways has knowing Him changed you?

CAN you describe a specific personal instance when you were aware of God presence?

HOW has God enabled you to reach His lost sheep (unbelievers)?

Your answers .....

Witnessing The Truth in Love

Witnessing
to
you
and
you
and
you

Have you
Are you

How?

What?

"You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

To your
next door neighbor
To the
grocery checker
To members
and visitors
of the church
you attend
or visit
To your
co-workers
To those
of different nationalities
and lifestyles

To all

The truth ...
in love
All in love

God
commands
His
believers
to
follow

to be
obedient

to do
all
in love

for it
was
because
of love
for the world ...
for all
that
"He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Witnessing
to
bring you
to
an
understanding

a belief...

Faith.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:17)

No belief?
No understanding?
No faith?

All the
love the
Father
bestows
upon
you
is
meaningless
when
you
proclaim
God is Not
Jesus is Not

The truth --
God's word

When you
read it
and
claim it false
or
claim it
doesn't apply to you
or
claim it
is useless
ancient history

Your unbelief
condemns you
You are like
many
who have heard
The Truth
that
"the light has come in the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)

The olden days
of Sodom and Gomorrah
The current days
of
a new Sodom and Gomorrah
of
abortion
and
same-sex marriages
and
pornography
and
the list goes on

We
are
still
to witness

The Truth

to bring
another
to
Jesus

So
his life
can be
redeemed
so he
can live

Really live
in
Christ

who came to save us from our sin
to bring us hope eternal.

Remembering

Memorial Day ... A day of remembering loved ones no longer among us. Today and earlier this week my husband and I placed flowers on family graves in Black Hawk and Johnson counties.

At Oakland Cemetery near Solon in Johnson County, military flags lined the road. Often the flags are not yet in place when we arrive there, but we were fortunate since we came today.

My family is buried at Oakland, but it is only my mother and maternal grandparents that are honored with a visit. The flag next to my mom's stone is in memory of my father, A. Paul Orrick. He donated his body to science and we have never got around to having a memorial stone placed for him.

Here is a picture of him as a young man at Hunter Airport in southwest Cedar Rapids. My dad was born March 7, 1910. He died May 27, 1974. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps during World War II (1941-1945). His overseas duty was in the China-Burma-India Theater from July 1944 to November 1945. A staff sergeant, he was stationed with the 2059th Ordnance Section at Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Fla.

The remaining pictures are gravestones from the Cedar Falls and Waterloo area of Black Hawk County and include my husband's mom and dad and maternal and paternal grandparents.





Memorial Day was instituted in this country a long time ago, to pay tribute to our war dead during the Civil War. Memorial Day of recent times have come to pay tribute to all who have died, not just those serving in the armed forces.

Earlier this week when I first started thinking about writing something about this day, it dawned on me that the idea of showing honor to another began way back in Jesus' day.

Matthew 26: 13 says, "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, had brought an alabaster jar of costly fragrant oil, and, as a sign of honor and tribute, poured it on the head of Jesus, when he was in Bethany before Passover. Jesus' disciples were indignant at such waste, saying it could have been sold and used for the poor. But Jesus rebuked them, saying what Mary had done was a good work, that she did it for his burial.

Matthew 15:4 says, "For God commanded, saying 'Honor your father and your mother.' "


1 Peter 2:17 says, "Honor all people."

Memorial Day is about remembering, paying tribute, honoring their lives. The good times, the bad times, the sad times, the happy times, every time.

Lets remember to honor God the Father and Jesus His Son as well.

It was a dream

I woke
it was 6:06 on the clock dial
Too early
So I returned
to slumber awhile longer

It was a dream ....

Standing on the stairs
near the second floor window
I saw it
a twin-engine
a bi-plane
like a crop duster
gliding past

I waited
for it to clip
the corner of our house
but it did not

I rushed up the stairs
to a third floor landing
to see its massive wings
narrowly miss its surroundings

I wondered
why
where
who

But it was gone.

It was a dream.

What might it mean? Is there a lesson here that God wants me to pick up on? There may be, but only the dream is awake, not the interpretation thereof.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Should Christians "Respect" Other Religions?

NOTE: The following article is written by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention. I have read some of Mohler's work, which can be found here, but only came across this one through a Twitter link. Bottom line is respect the person always, but not the deed, not falsehoods.

The world we now know is marked by religious pluralism and the clash of worldviews. The modern world brings individuals and groups of different belief systems into both proximity and potential conflict. How should Christians respond when asked about this? Should Christians "respect" other religions?

Headlines throughout the world announced this week that Pope Benedict XVI, while visiting Jordan, spoke of his "respect" for Islam. This came on the heels of the Pope's notorious 2006 speech at Germany's Regensburg University. In that speech Benedict quoted Emperor Manuel II, one of the Byzantine monarchs, who said: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The outrage throughout the Muslim world was immediate and overwhelming. The Pope issued clarifications and explanations, but Muslim outrage continued. This week, with the Pope scheduled to make his first papal visit to an Islamic country, the sensitivities were high.

The Vatican's official transcript of the Pope's comments at the Amman airport records him as saying:

My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community, and to pay tribute to the leadership shown by His Majesty the King in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam.

There are so many different angles to this situation. First, we have the spectacle of a Pope being received as a head of state. This is wrong on so many counts. Second, we have the Pope speaking in diplomatic jargon, rather than in plain and direct speech. Third, we have the Pope speaking of "respect" without any clear understanding of what this really means. Does the Pope believe that Muslims can be saved through the teachings of Islam?

Actually, he probably does -- at least within the context of a salvific inclusivism. The Roman Catholic Church officially teaches that Muslims are "included in the plan of salvation" by virtue of their claim to "hold the faith of Abraham."

In the words of Lumen Gentium, one of the major documents adopted at Vatican II:

But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohamedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.

The same language is basic to the current official catechism of the church as well. Within the context of the document, this language clearly implies that Muslims are within the scope of God's salvation. While the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Islam is both erroneous and incomplete, it also holds that sincere Muslims can be included in Christ's salvation through their faithfulness to monotheism and Islam.

Thus, when the Catholic Pope speaks of "respecting" Islam, he can do so in a way that evangelical Christians cannot. Within the context of official Catholic teaching, the Pope can create a fusion of diplomacy and doctrine.

While evangelical Christians face a different context to this question, the urgency is the same. We are not playing a diplomatic role as head of state, but we are called to be ambassadors for Christ and his Gospel.

In this light, any belief system that pulls persons away from the Gospel of Christ, denies and subverts Christian truth, and blinds sinners from seeing Christ as the only hope of salvation is, by biblical definition, a way that leads to destruction. Islam, like every other rival to the Christian gospel, takes persons captive and is devoid of genuine hope for salvation.

Thus, evangelical Christians may respect the sincerity with which Muslims hold their beliefs, but we cannot respect the beliefs themselves. We can respect Muslim people for their contributions to human welfare, scholarship, and culture. We can respect the brilliance of Muslim scholarship in the medieval era and the wonders of Islamic art and architecture. But we cannot respect a belief system that denies the truth of the gospel, insists that Jesus was not God's Son, and takes millions of souls captive.

This does not make for good diplomacy, but we are called to witness, not public relations. We must aim to be gracious and winsome in our witness to Christ, but the bottom line is that the gospel will necessarily come into open conflict with its rivals.

The papal visit to Jordan points directly to the problem of the papacy itself and to the confusion of Roman Catholic theology on this very point. To understand Islam is to know that we cannot identify Muslims as those who "along with us adore the one and merciful God." To deny the Trinity is to worship another God.

Respect is a problematic category. In the end, Christians must show respect for Muslims by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit of love and truth. We are called to love and respect Muslims, not Islam.

What is your hope ... are you living in darkness?

In John 9:39 Jesus says, "For judgment I have come into this world; that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."

Not physical blindness, but spiritual blindness. When you come to Christ and accept and believe, becoming one of His, following in obedience to Him, you become open to God's word ... His veil is lifted. When you have "aha" moments, it is then you see, understand what God's word is saying, revealing to you.

On the other hand, there are those who think they have all the answers, but do not believe in Christ, do not accept Him as Messiah, who want nothing whatsoever to do with Him. They lack true understanding of what God's word says ... it is hidden from them, thus they are blind.

God desires all of humanity to come to Christ and see, witness the light He alone brings. Without Jesus, there is no eternal hope. No life everlasting. There is only hope for the moment. A hope that is here and gone.

What is your hope? Are you one of His or are you living in darkness?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He who believes in Him is not condemned (judged); but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation (judgment), that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3: 16, 18-20)

Video: Waterloo Baptist Temple building collapses

The collapse of part of a wall of the old Waterloo Baptist Temple was reported on KWWL.com shortly before 11 last night.

WATERLOO - One of Waterloo's older church buildings had part of its wall collapse Friday night.

It happened at West 4th and Wellington streets. Emergency workers were called to the scene around 9:00 p.m.

It's the old Waterloo Baptist Temple in an area of Waterloo known as Church Row. Some of the buildings in that area are more than 100 years old.

Investigators don't know what caused the collapse. There is concern that more of the building may fall down. The building and a neighboring business have been roped off as a precaution.

Song of Moses ... a wake-up call

Song of Moses is found in Deuteronomy 32. It is as much a wake-up call today as it was many long years ago.

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)

"Where words fail, music speaks" -- Hans Christian Anderson

Follow Jesus

"And He said to them, 'Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.' " (Matthew 4:19)

Not the crowd, not our neighbors, not our family. Only Jesus.

What would Jesus do in any given situation? The answers are found in His word -- the Bible.

Not in our own opinions.

What is right and what is true and what is wrong -- all answers are in the Bible.

"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good words which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the King as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men -- as free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak for vice, but as servants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King." (1 Peter 2: 11-17)

Peaks ... Valleys

Where Lord where
Where will you have me go
Where will you lead
What goals do you have for me
What plans
What is your desire

Where do you want my writings to take me
Do I stay
Do I go
Is there more
Or less

Do I write books
or short stories
Non-fiction
or make believe
Devotionals
Poetry
or prose

Do I capture
a new thought, a new idea
of You
through my experiences
or
is none of this
for me

Do I return to school

What Lord
What do you have for me

Am I
anyone
anything
Does it matter
Is my labor in vain
Or does it
come to fruition

Are you pleased
or are you sad
and disheartened
with me

When I fall down
will you lift me up
When I am blue
will you make
the sun shine upon me
When I struggle
with fears and doubts
will you wrap yourself
around me
encompass me
with your greatness
and remind me again
that I am your child

Will you?

Where Lord
When Lord
How Lord
Are you sure Lord
Help me Lord

I want
I desire
Are they the same
wants
and desires
that you have for me

Are they?

I pray Lord it is so.
But I do not know.

Time will tell
Your time
Not mine.

When the time is right
Then I will know.

Help me to be okay
with whatever
your desire for me is
Help me achieve
whatever
your desire for me
is
Help me,
Enable me
to be all
you desire for me.

In Your Name Alone I pray
and seek guidance.

"For to me, to live in Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I
shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you." (Philippians 1: 21-24)

The world watches ... God sees the heart

The world is watching - Christian and non-Christian alike.

Decisions made by individuals -- what is truly in our hearts can only be fully known by God.

No one other person can really know what motivates a person to change direction. We may have ideas and they may be wrong.

We don't want to "bite and devour one another ... lest you be consumed." (Galatians 5:15)

We are to "have love for one another." (John 13:35)

We are not to find fault with our Christian brothers and sisters, but love them so non-believers will know they are followers of Jesus Christ. If our actions and words show us to be no better than non-believers, how can we say we are followers? We are not being obedient to Him. We are not listening to His commands. We are not following through on His commands.

We do not see the heart of another. We only "see in a mirror, dimly."
(1 Corinthians 13:12)

Only God sees our heart. Only God knows us.

We should not presume we know what God alone knows. We should not judge the decisions made by our fellow Christians.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7: 1-2)

The world watches. But only God sees our heart.

"For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16: 7b)

April travels

On April 12, right after Easter services, Jim and I traveled south -- to Jefferson City, Mo., where we spent the next two days. Monday, April 13, was my birthday, so Jim planned several wonderful little surprises for me -- we stayed at Huber's Ferry Bed and Breakfast, about 16 miles from the city, much closer to Westphalia and a lot of other tiny burgs. He asked the owner if a cake could be baked to mark the occasion, and she agreed, preparing a beautiful and delicious heart-shaped chocolate mini cake (the picture I have hardly does it justice). He also made arrangements for me to have a 90-minute massage in Jefferson City. I really appreciated that and could have stayed all day if possible. I even had presents to open!

Here are some pictures of the bed and breakfast, the surrounding views, the 3-story barn built in 1881, and more. The weather was mostly cold and wet, but the time together was extra special.

Be still

This morning I read Psalm 46:10, the first part of which reads, "Be still, and know that I am God."

I thought about that and then started writing down other be's -- be quiet, be calm, be careful, be focused. And then I thought of To Be or Not To Be, a line from one of Shakespeare's plays. A Google search of that line brought me to the March 13 Our Daily Bread entry, which reads as follows:

When I was a child, kids on the playground jokingly quoted Shakespeare’s famous line: “To be or not to be—that is the question!” But we really didn’t understand what it meant. Later I learned that Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, who speaks these lines, is a melancholy prince who learns that his uncle has killed his father and married his mother. The horror of this realization is so disturbing that he contemplates suicide. The question for him was: “to be” (to go on living) or “not to be” (to take his own life).

At times, life’s pain can become so overwhelming that we are tempted to despair. The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that his persecution in Asia was so intense he “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8). Yet by shifting his focus to his life-sustaining God, he became resilient instead of overwhelmed, and learned “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God” (v.9).

Trials can make life seem not worth living. Focusing on ourselves can lead to despair. But putting our trust in God gives us an entirely different perspective. As long as we live in this world, we can be certain that our all-sufficient God will sustain us. And as His followers, we will always have a divine purpose “to be.” — Dennis Fisher

Still, we need to be still, so we can hear God speaking to us in the midst of failure and success.

Do we thank Him?

Psalm 107 -- "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD."


We cry out to the Lord in times of trouble and the Lord hears and saves us from our distresses. He heals us, delivers us, leads us in the right way, He satisfies our longings, He feeds us, He protects us, He blesses us.

Yet, do we give Him honor and praise ... do we thank the Lord for His goodness, and mercy, and love?

Or do we think we deserve all that we have ... do we think it is only by our own limited power we achieve?

How far we think we have come only to discover we have gotten nowhere.

Learning ...

We are "not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ... be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. ... have strayed concerning the truth ... " (2 Timothy 2: 14-18)

"But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, have been taken captive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2: 23-26)

"... be patient ... Do not grumble against one another ..." (James 5: 8-9)

To be obedient to God, have to keep our focus on Him only, not let our minds stray to what is going on around us. We can be involved in what is going on and helpful, but we must draw the line when it comes to allowing ourselves to be dominated by it.

That is hard to do -- keeping your mind focused on God. At least I find it hard. God tells us what to avoid and how to be.

Take for example teaching -- need to be in teacher mode. But what is teacher mode? Not all teachers accomplish what they set forth. Different methods, different goals, different results. Teaching -- just because you don't have an education degree, doesn't mean you are not capable of teaching.

It's easy to get exasperated and hung up on "getting it." But it's important to "get it," is it not?

If we don't understand the why of something does that speak badly of the teacher? Or of the student? Neither one I say. God doesn't expect us to understand everything all at once. It's one step at a time. Whether we are a teacher or a student, we are all learners. Learning to teach better. Learning to comprehend so we can be better prepared to teach and to learn.

The Learned ... The Learner ... The Learnees (that's a new word I coined)

God is the Learned One. He knows all. He is all. Therefore we learn from Him -- His word and through His Son, Jesus. And as we learn from Him, we teach others, who are the learnees. And the cycle continues.

It is when we move God off the top pedestal, off His throne, and replace Him with our own desires, that what we learn and thereby teach becomes corrupt.

"... Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit ... love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control ... you are not under the law." (Galatians 5: 16-18, 22-23)

"Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." (Galatians 5: 26)

"And let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, ..." (Galatians: 6: 9)

I must look steadily toward God and the examples He has given us and then put into practice what I learn, so when I pass on my knowledge I do so as God's obedient servant, not as master of my own laws.

Allyson's journey

A door opened

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas and later Timothy are visiting churches through Syria, Cilicia, Derbe, Lystra, Phrygia and Galatia. As they were to go further, into Asia, the Holy Spirit forbid them. Coming to Mysia, they were forbidden to enter Bithynia, so they came to Troas. There, Paul received a night vision, a plea to come to Macedonia.

"Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord," (2 Corinthians 2: 12)

"For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16: 9)

"And when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." (Acts 14: 27)

"meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, ..." (Colossians 4: 3)

"But ... some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way ..." (Acts 19: 9)

We make plans to go somewhere and may actually arrive, but then an opportunity to go elsewhere arises.

Sometimes we think as we travel along the path the Lord has purposed for us that wherever we go it is right, but that isn't always so. Sometimes doors we think should open never do. We do not understand why. But there is a reason. When we are focused on the Lord and stay focused on Him and just rely on Him alone, we will discover that the door we are to enter will open when the time is right.

Focusing and staying focused and total reliance on Him alone -- so easy to say, so hard to achieve, but we must make the effort ... to grow.

"... I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84:10)

Death Isn't the End

My home page is set to LifeWay: Biblical Solutions for Life and among the many articles I found there today was one on death. My livelihood is in death, so to speak, in that I edit obituaries for The Gazette, a daily newspaper in Cedar Rapids, so that's what drew me to it. Upon reading it though, I thought I simply must share it with my readers. So you can read it below or click here. It is written by Charles Lowery, a member of First Baptist Church in Bossier City, La., and founder and president of LIFE, Inc.

BOSSIER CITY, La. (BP)--I recently spoke in Pensacola, Fla., with Art Linkletter who is 96 years old. He showed me a set of keys and said that when you don't know where they are, that's old age, but if you don't know what they are, that's Alzheimer's. He has a great sense of humor, and as I listened to him, I thought about how much longer people are now living. I then received a call that my mother-in-law, Jane, had just died. Jane had a great sense of humor.

She listened to and laughed at all of my mother-in-law jokes. Like the one about the man who said he was going on a pleasure trip -- he was taking his mother-in-law to the airport. Or the classic one in which a tourist visited a town and saw a very unusual funeral procession. A horse-drawn buggy carrying two caskets led the procession. Behind the buggy was a man leading a dog and behind him walked one hundred men in single file. He was so curious that he just had to ask about the funeral. When he asked the man with the dog, the man replied it was a tragedy. The first casket held his wife, the second casket held his mother-in-law, and the dog had killed them both. The tourist gasped and said how awful that was. He then asked if he could buy the dog. The grieving husband told him that he would have to get in line.

Jane howled at that joke and said that it would be better if the husband and father-in-law were in the caskets. Of course I told her that it wouldn't be as funny because all mothers-in-law weren't as wonderful as she. She often gave me that silly "I-know-you-are-lying" grin.

I have to admit that our relationship didn't start out very well. Jane was a classy lady. At Trinity Lutheran Home, they called her "Miss Hollywood" because she wouldn't leave her room without her makeup and jewelry. Her husband was from upstate New York and he was a dignified, well-educated, formal guy. They were shocked that their daughter would marry a PK from "LA" -- lower Alabama. They believed I was culturally challenged.

Every Thanksgiving, Penny and I argued because it was an event that I had never quite experienced. We arrived at a perfect house that had been perfectly cleaned and sat in perfect chairs with perfect manners and ate exactly at 4 p.m. and not a minute earlier. We sat at a perfect dining room table with a perfect turkey and used perfect silver. I won't bother you by describing the perfect Christmas with a paid professional Santa Claus and rounds of perfectly wrapped presents. I think you now understand that by the end of most holidays I was perfectly ticked. Of course, our kids enjoyed every minute of it!

I then remembered a message I gave about accepting people. I used the phrase, "By their fruits you shall know them, but by their roots you shall understand them." I realized that this is the way Jane showed love. She had the house perfect for us. She shopped for the perfect turkey for us. The china and the silver were perfect for us. I started to receive the kind of love she gave instead of demanding the kind of love I wanted. It was the beginning of Penny's family becoming my family.

Over the years, they left their downtown high church with its liturgy and rituals. Jane became the pianist for the little country church down the road. Her husband Ken was a second father to me, and I baptized him in that country church at age 74.

Jane would tell you that the worst joke I ever told was about a funeral procession. The procession was going up a hill and the coffin fell out. It went right down the hill, through a parking lot and a shopping center, and into a drug store where it stopped directly in front of the pharmacy. As it hit the counter, the coffin's lid popped open. The pharmacist looked down, and a lady looked up. He didn't know what to do, so he asked, "May I help you?" She replied, "You have to give me something to stop this coffin."

Jane was right. It is a bad joke, but it does make a point. Someone had to stop death. Jesus did when He rose from the dead. Some believe we live in the land of the living and we are headed for the land of the dying. It is really the opposite. Because of His perfect love and the blessed resurrection we celebrate, we live in the land of the dying and are going to the land of the living.

Death is a departure. Airport monitors show arrival and departure times. In order to arrive, you must depart from another place. If you try to fly to Dallas without departing from another city, they will call the men in the white coats.

We can't arrive in heaven without departing from this earth. Death is the golden key that opens the palace of eternity. When you put relatives on a plane with someone waiting to meet them at their destination, you say, "There they go." They are gone. But guess what? At their destination, someone's saying, "Here they come."

My wife talked to her mother the day before she departed. She was sometimes confused. Some days she didn't know why we needed car keys. This particular day she was upset because she couldn't find her husband Ken who, by the way, had departed several years before. She was confused on Friday because she couldn't find Ken, but happy on Saturday because she found him. On Saturday, we said, "There Jane goes." But Ken said, "Here Jane comes." We are sad; but we didn't lose Jane that day, we know where she is. We are the ones that are lost because we miss her, which makes me think that we would all be better off dead. I bet Jane thinks that is a funny one-liner.

Set a guard ... keep watch

"Set a guard O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips." (Psalm 141:3)

"He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction." (Proverbs 13:3)

"Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." (Proverbs 21:23)

"... I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; ..." (Psalm 39:1)

"For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body." (James 3:2)

I never thought of my mouth as being a door, but things go in and out, so the correlation is reasonable.

Not so sure God has guarded that "door" -- I do know I often speak wrongly. Or even if what I say is correct, from another's perspective it appears wrong.

Sometimes I think if we said nothing, just went on our way, there would be less grief, but that's probably inaccurate too.

How could we possibly pray before each formed thought becomes spoken and the words rush out?

Why do so many hold so much against another?

No one is perfect. We all stumble.

Even you who think you're above reproach, who think you've chosen your words wisely and suggest ways another could do better. Even you.

We can only remember the truths God has given us, instilled in us; renew our minds to stay obedient to His will; pray diligently for His aid and instruction; continually abide with Him and in Him, as we strive to be what He desires of us and for us.

"... I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84:10)

I would rather be a doorkeeper

Of all that is evil ... past, present and to come: "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84:10)




Genesis 4:7 -- "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Cain was angry and upset that the Lord did not accept his offering like He did his brother Abel. So Cain killed his brother.

Second best to the Lord is not good enough. Giving only enough to get by is presenting a wrong heart attitude. When in reality you really don't care about God or what He has to say to you, sin has already taken root in your heart and you have caved in to its evilness.

Jesus is the door. He stands ready and waiting for you ... will you enter into His courts ... ?