Near Disasters

Have you ever had a near disaster?

In 1961, a B-52 dropped a pair of 24 megaton bombs on a farm in North Carolina. They didn’t explode.

In 1980, a fix-it guy dropped a wrench which bounced off the ground with enough force to penetrate a hole in the Titan II missile while she sat on her silo in Arkansas. The top of the silo and the tip of warhead flung over 600 feet in a massive air disaster.

When I was about 5 or 6, I experienced my first near disaster. At the time I lived in Sparta, New Jersey in a suburban area with plenty of kids in my neighborhood. The key to being 5 or 6 and being happy was you had to own a bike, any bike. If you had a bike you were almost an instant member of the neighborhood bike gang.

Some may remember our bikes back then. They were all 1 speed bikes (unless your parents had money); banana seats with a sissy bar on the back; playing cards clipped to the wheel frames with clothes pins; big handle bars and some with a goofy horn or bell. These bikes were cool when we didn’t know what cool really was and we all had a special trick only we could do with our bikes.

At the end of my street, there was “The Hill”. The hill was a thousand miles high, well it seemed that way to us but actually was more close to maybe a thousand feet but steep. The hill was the highest point in the neighborhood and the road that ran up the center took you to another neighborhood.

The Hill was our starting point, we’d line up at the top and race down the hill. There were a few dangers mainly from cars but after 9 in the morning, this danger was minimized. Of course some of us had brake and tire issues but that never scared us, we were daring.

Which brings me to my first near disaster. This particular morning we were perched and ready to race down the hill. This particular morning I got a good jump at the start on the rest of the guys and took an early lead. As I got half way down the hill out of the corner of my eye I detected movement. Apparently, a little Weiner dog did not care for us racing down his hill that day and attempted to stop us.

He chose my bike to run in front of and I t-boned the Weiner dog. The next sequence of events are still blurry to this day. I don’t know whatever happened to the Weiner dog; I don’t remember what happened to my bike; I don’t remember what my friends did but I do remember the severity of the road rash when I flew over the handle bars from the quick stop. This was a near disaster to me.

The bible talks a lot about near disasters. It reveals that we all are going to face some before we breathe our last breath. But for those of us who trust in Jesus, we need not worry. The same Lord who takes care of the birds by providing them food, the same God who has every single hair on our heads counted, will be at work to protect us and our houses in accordance with His will.

Proverbs 3:1-18 my son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. ²

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

⁴Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.⁶

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. ⁸

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹⁰My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.¹²

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.

When you lie down you will not be filled with fear and your sleep will be pleasant. You will not be afraid of sudden disaster, or when destruction overtakes the wicked; for the LORD will be your source of confidence, and He will guard your from being caught in any trap.

Amen?

Runt of the litter

I had a friend named Mark. Mark believed in God but didn’t attend church. His reasoning was “There were very few good people that actually went to church.” He knew people that go to church who were liars, cheaters and hypocrites.  He refused to associate with those type of people. This bothered me because, I go to church. It saddened me because he missed out on the one of the most important reasons for going to Church, fellowship with the body of Christ.

Sometime later, Mark’s Female Boxer had a litter of puppies. They were so cute I had to have one. The runt of the litter was very small and white. A white boxer is considered an imperfection and some breeders have them put to sleep because it is bad for the blood line. I chose this puppy.

Mark asked, “I have 5 other puppies, in great health; perfect markings and not sickly. Why did you chose the runt?”

I simply stated, “Because she comes from good stock and I refuse to condemn her. When Jesus chose his apostles, he didn’t choose the cream of the crop; he didn’t heal the healthy and he didn’t hang out with the most popular people. His church was a work in progress…imperfect.” He chose me, the runt of the litter!!!

Truth: There are no perfect Christians and no perfect churches.

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this (Not perfect), or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

The Apostle Paul also said, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  1 Timothy 1:15

So anybody who thinks he is a good person is only fooling himself. When we get saved, Jesus does not destroy bodily weakness. We still have sickness, pain, and many health problems. Our souls continue living in a corruptible body…..we make mistakes! All of us have moments when our hearts are not completely pure.

Here’s another truth: Church people should strive for perfection. When we are saved, we don’t desire to stay the way we were, we seek change. The word “press” in Philippians 3:12 means to follow after, pursue…like a runner in a race.

1 Corinthians 9:24 says: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Notice it says we are to run the race…that’s all of us. There can only be one winner though but does that mean we give up running? NO! Does a Nascar Driver think he will win every race? He’d like to but reality is in he knows he probably won’t. He still runs the race though, why? Because winning a single race isn’t the only reward; because winning the Cup at the end of the year isn’t the only reward. He keeps running because there will always be another race.

We keep running because there is more than one race. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. The accomplishment of running the race is doing your best to win, that’s all God wants. Each single race has a reward but that’s not the only goal.

Again, another truth: Saved people are not perfect, just forgiven. Every Christian; no matter how long you’ve been saved; no matter how close our relationship is with Jesus; has the constant need for the grace of Jesus.

1 John 1:8-9 if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That word “confess” indicates that it is not a one-time thing. If it was a one-time thing it would be the word confessed. In other words, it’s a continual process! A continuous race.  We keep on “confessing” and God keeps on forgiving our sins! Forgiveness is a gift that we must receive daily from Jesus.

We are not judged on our ability to be good Christians. Our righteousness is based on our dependence on Jesus. Even the most holy; religious; evangelical; pastoral and obedient person’s lives are based on their dependence on Jesus.

We will NEVER be perfect in our Earth Suits….never.

We ARE forgiven through confession of sins.

The whole reason for this post is if you don’t go to church because of hypocrisy or people not being good enough or because you fault other Christians based on how they are living there lives. Quit providing excuses and holding people to a higher standard.

IT’S NOT YOUR JOB!!!

You should be busy “pressing toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Christ Jesus”!

Do this and you WILL WIN the prize!!!

 

Hide and Seek

Remember playing Hide and seek as kids? You know the rules, 1 Kid was the seeker and counted to 10 with his eyes closed. Meanwhile the others would go hide. The seekers job was to find them before they made it back to base. We played in a large cemetery near my house which made it even more challenging as well as spooky.

Throughout the Bible, mankind has played Hide and Seek with God, especially me. In the Garden of Eden, after the apple incident, Adam and Eve felt shame and tried to hide from God. Peter hid from Jesus after denying him 3 times. I hid from God for many years because I was afraid of Love. Growing up, Love was not a big priority in my family so when later in life, love was expressed to me. It scared me and I would run and hide.

We hide for many reasons, and we hide behind things like wealth, fame, popularity, addictions and pain. I used to hide under my bed thinking, if my Dad didn’t see me, he couldn’t punish me.  We try to drown out or cover up our sins, thinking…”If I don’t think about my sin, am I really sinning?” The pain and depression of this way of thinking is, we hide ourselves from God, limiting God’s work in our lives.

Of course, we can’t hide from God but we can limit him.

Jeremiah 23:24 "Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? Declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth?

God is Omnipresent, we can’t hide from him. We can hide in God though and he will protect us

Psalm 32:5-7 "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

When David confessed his sins, God forgave him and protected; soothed and delivered him. David hid in the Lord. When we hide in God we lose our fears and gain comfort in him.

When my son and I played Hide and Seek and if I was the seeker, I dramatically would search for him saying, now where can he be? My son always seemed to hide in the same spot every time but I would purposely not find him.  I’d open the closets, look under the bed, and look in the toilet stating, “Wow, he is such a great hider!” Eventually, after passing his usual hiding spot, he would come out of hiding and jump into my arms.

You see, that’s how we play the game. We come out of hiding and jump into or father’s arms…where it’s safe!

God, our Father is Base!

Focus: a frontal view

My Mom used to say, “I could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo”. She was right but also wrong. When in my early teens I used to go door to door selling from what is called a Tom Watt Kit. Now unless you’re a 60’s or 70’s kind of person, you probably would have never heard of this kit. Basically, it’s kind of like what the kids are selling these days, you’ve seen them… They come home with a magazine full of stuff to buy and an order form…not to mention the prizes they can win.

Tom Watt Kits were something like that but instead of a magazine, you had a personal representation of each product they sold, in a big old box. Well, it seemed pretty big for me. I would carry this door to door and sell my wares. I sold a lot and won quite a few prizes. Why? 3 reasons… The product was pretty good merchandise (candles, toys, tools and even some pet stuff) and look really good. The reason number two, I looked pretty pathetic dragging this box around the neighborhood year after year.

The last reason is the reason for this writing, if I brought magazines around so people could pick out items, it would be ok. People could actually see, feel, touch, smell and taste what I was trying to sell. Our focus, vision and senses give us most importance in the decision making process.

It’s all about vision and focus. This is ok but we often look at things with earthly eyes, rather than heavenly eyes. We tend to look at things through our own glasses, than with glasses equipped with faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7
we live by faith, not by sight.

The writer speaks of how God responds to those who walk by faith, and not by sight.

Psalm 73 there is this guy named Asaph and in verse 2 and 3 he states: But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

He’s lost his focus. He continues in 4 – 12: 4 they have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.  Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?" This is what the wicked are like- always carefree, they increase in wealth.

We can think of people that we come into contact with on regular bases that have it good. Making lots of money, not many cares or concerns in this life, always doing well, no problems at all. And we look at them, and see their success, and then we look at ourselves, and we start our own little pity party. Woe is me. I’m doing all of this stuff for God, and I’m not as well off as some of these people.

Verse 13 and 14: Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been plagued; have been punished every morning.

How can we fix this type of thinking…..I’m asking you because I have been going thru this very thing lately. Isn’t this wrong all together?

Verse 15 and 16: If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me.

A great example of how we try to rationalize it all and it only gets more painful. The answer seems to be ‘YES’… but only because we are looking from the wrong angle. Our focus is off. Verse 16, 17: When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

It’s apparent; we need to see with the eyes of Jesus and when we enter into worship and the sanctuary of God, we see things very clearly. We need to change our focus, a draw near to him. As we draw near to God, like Asaph, we gain focus. Verse 18-20: Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!  As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

When we see the things of this world and start to feel bad about ourselves, we should draw near to God—come to His sanctuary. Worship him. Come to church and fellowship with other believers. This will help us with our perspective.

Also…did you know self-pity is a sin? Verse 21 - 22: When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence.

I know this fellow from a small town who saved for years so he could see the big lights of New York. When he got to his hotel, he yelled at the Bellman. “Sir, I have saved for years and years to come here, and this is the best room you can give me?” The Bellman simply stated, “Sir, this is the elevator.” Now I know that sounds funny but we are just like that sometimes. We feel bad because we think we have been slighted because that’s the way we saw them.

We tend to look at our lives, our hardships as evidence that things are going wrong. But sometimes, when things go wrong, it’s because we are doing things right. Job was living rightly when everything went wrong—it was his proper perspective that allowed him to not sin against God.

Verse 27 and 28: Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Focus: we need to walk by faith not by sight.

I wrote this because I had lost focus. My new prayer…Papa God, I was grumpy today because I lost my focus. Sometimes we need to focus on what’s ahead!

In God we Must!

Ps. 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.”

On the currency of our great nation are the words, “In God We Trust.” Is this true? Is this true for most of the American people? It is one thing to say we trust God and then it is another thing to actually trust Him.

Again, I refer to my Navy days. One of the key responsibilities of a sailor is firefighting. A fire on a ship is a pretty bad thing. Yes, I know, the ship is surrounded by water but can you imagine being out in the middle of the ocean, and a fire breaks out on the ship. Onboard a ship there is a lot of dangerous things that if they were to get hot or catch fire, life would be really unpleasant. Bombs, fuel and oil to name a few…The metal encapsulated vessel you call home is on fire, and you either fight or flee.

One of the first training classes you take in boot camp is firefighting (One of the first training films you watch is the tragedy aboard the USS Forrestal…or as we like to call it, The USS Forest-fire).  One of the first things you look for when fighting a fire is trust. If you are manning the fire house you have to trust the guy behind you to keep you from catching fire. See, on a metal ship with metal rooms, fire likes to radiate a lot of heat at you. The guy behind you is holding a fire hose too, but it is designed like a shower head, he sprinkles water over you so you don’t burn up from the heat.

The fire house is connected to a pump on the ship that pumps water from the sea. The guy that maintains the pump, you have to trust him to.  You wear an Oxygen breathing apparatus (OBA) because the air/fumes will kill you. The guy that maintains this equipment, you have to trust him to. Oh yeah, in some of the rooms where the more volatile combustible fluid, gas and material are? They are guarded from fire with a system called Haylon. Haylon removes the oxygen from the air to help put out the fire. Fire needs oxygen…so do people. You have to trust the guy manning the Haylon system.

That’s a lot of trust. That’s a lot of trust put on some imperfect things. That’s a lot of trust to put on someone that you have been living next to for months, playing poker with and sharing meals with. That’s a lot of trust to put on things based in a emotional and physical world.

Yet some of us fail to trust a father who has control over these things and everything else as well. Fail to trust a father who is perfect; not based on physical or emotional states. He has proven time and time again, that if we trust him, he will not forsake us.

When a little boy named David was getting ready to go up and fight someone who was really, really tall and really, really strong. He went and chose five smooth little stones and he took his sling to go out and face this giant. He took just one stone and struck him in the forehead and then cut off his head to kill him. Boy, he had some superior trust, David trusted in God.

You have Noah building a boat in the middle of the desert without a drop of water in site. Nobody understood what he was doing, not even his family, and not even Noah. He simply trusted in God and did what God had given him to do. And because of his trust, he and his family were saved from the flood. He put his trust based on a faith in God.

James 4:8-10 “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

It was Benjamin Franklin’s belief that our country would not survive without the help of God (Smart man, wonder why they said he was a atheist?). The leaders of our country in our father’s generation understood this as well. So the phrase, “In God we trust” was chosen as our national motto by an Act of Congress in 1956. It first appeared on paper currency in 1957.

If the phrase, “In God we Trust” is the national motto of our country, declared so by nothing less than an Act of Congress, I want to respectfully suggest that it’s a phrase we should use and display more often. In recent years, people have been wearing a variety of ribbons to show their support for various causes.  I can’t think of anything more patriotic than to wear the national motto as a ribbon.

 
I think our great Nation did well with this motto. I see a lot of people wearing different emblems and messages on their bodies these days. Save this, I care about this and don’t believe that...

It seems to me that to save time, money and get all the messages across using buttons, ribbons and bumper sticker, you would only have to display 3 words.  

In God we trust!

Or better yet, IN GOD WE MUST!!!