Can you help?

I'm sitting here in my office, looking out the window as I type. I've got dry clothes, a hot cup of coffee, a warm house, and a snoring dog laying at my feet. As I look out the window, I watch the pouring rain soaking the landscape. The wet, the cold, the miserable is out there. I'm insulated from it.

I'm blessed, and really don't know how much. I take so much for granted. If I want to plant a garden, I can. If I want to buy new curtains or redecorate the house, I just have to hop in my car and go to Lowes or Bed Bath and Beyond. I eat well, as evidenced from my expanding waistline. If I get even the least bit sick, I can go to a doctor who will prescribe me any of a number of medications that we think is available for everyone the world over. Even here, in the worst catastrophes we encounter such as Hurricane Katrina, California mudslides, droughts or floods, our people join together to alleviate the pain, the wreckage, and the need. Even in our suffering, we don't suffer as others do. We are a blessed nation, and we are too blind to realize it.

Not everyone is so fortunate.



Heart of God International Ministries has an outreach in Haiti. Before the earthquake they ran a school and had taken in and placed several orphaned children. They lost 50 children to the earthquake, devastating in and of itself. But even worse is the aftermath. Their living situation has gone from bad to worse. Food is scarce. People are sick and the few doctors have said to expect more casualties among the children if needs aren't met. Jan Ross, co-founder of Heart of God says it best in her latest update:

Thank you once again for your love and concern for the 300 people at Camp Victory in Haiti. We are blessed and encouraged by your notes and emails sharing your thoughts and prayers. We certainly are appreciative for all you've done, whether through prayer, sharing the updates with your friends, and/or generously helping us to continue offering support for these people who are so in need!

Dave Young just called with the latest update. We are putting out an urgent call for prayer given the critical situation we are facing with the children, teachers, and elderly people.

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  Pastor D went to a camp near the Dominican Republic to see if it was possible to move the people there to keep them safe during the rains and floods. He stood in line for about 6 hours and was given an application to fill out. He was told to return on Wednesday morning for a decision. Apparently there is room for about 800 people, but thousands are hoping to be accepted. Please pray that our people will be selected among those who will be accepted.
  • There is a possibility that this is not an "all or nothing" situation. This means that it's possible that not all 300 of our people will be able to be admitted to this camp at which time a decision will have to be made to divide the weakest and sickest from the healthier and stronger. This is not an ideal situation, but if it spares the lives of those who are so vulnerable, weakened, and frail, it will have to be done. 
  • If our people are not granted access to this camp, we will have to locate an alternative. Every day that passes creates a greater threat to the health and wellbeing of all those at Camp Victory. Please pray with us that this won't be the case, or if it is, that the Lord will open the doors to a new location that will meet our specific and unique needs. 
• There are 73 children (more than originally reported) who will be going to the hospital in Santo Domingo tomorrow for treatment for malaria and infection. Several of our children have had amputations which are infected and life-threatening. We have sent the funds for the children to receive initial treatment, but ongoing and/or long-term treatment can be costly. Please pray that God will make provision for the treatment for these children who, without treatment, have no hope for a future.

Obviously, the crisis in Haiti is far from over. Please prayer with us over these critical needs. Pray for favor from those who are making the decisions. Pray that God will work through the doctors in Santo Domingo to successfully treat these children and that no lives would be lost. Pray that God would continue to give Pastor D strength to do what needs to be done and that because of his dedication and servant's heart, God would bless him abundantly with success as he continues to preach the Gospel everywhere as he longs to see more people come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support. We encourage you to share this with your friends, colleagues, and contacts so the numbers storming the gates of heaven will move the hand of God on behalf of those who are in such critical need. If you wish to make a donation, please click here; thank you!

God bless you!

I have always intended this blog to be about reaching out and encouraging each other in our Christian walk. Sometimes though, we have to step outside ourselves, outside of our needs and own heartaches to minister to others. Sometimes God calls us to sacrifice our own wants for others. When we heed that call, we will find a depth of relationship with God that we could never have imagined, and never realized, had we stayed within our comfort zones.

Please prayerfully consider donating to this vital outreach. If you can't afford it, then maybe your task in the Kingdom is to pass this along to someone else who might have the resources to donate. I'm asking everyone to share this on Facebook or Twitter with all your contacts. And above all else, please pray. Ask God to open doors, to bring comfort, to heal and to minister to the people of Haiti and specifically the people at Camp Victory.

Thank you for your support of this blog, and thank you for having a heart for Jesus.

Laughter doeth a heart good...

For the last several months, I've been bogged down in so much work that I've lost my sense of humor. I'm not saying I've completely quit laughing or cutting up, but my humor quotient has definitely dropped into the "Danger! On Life Support!" category.

What does that have to do with living the Christian life, walking the walk, talking the talk? What does that have to do with life at all?

EVERYTHING!

Before you say anything, I can already hear your next question. "But, but...I'm a Christian! Am I supposed to laugh?" Oh my goodness, I hope so! If we can't be happy, who can? We're saved, sanctified, delivered and awaiting eternity with God! Who more has the right to bubble up with laughter!?

Have you ever considered that God laughs? Do you really think Jesus would have been invited to all those parties that the Pharisees got their knickers in a bunch about if he had been a party pooper? I KNOW that God has to have a sense of humor when I consider some of the things that have happened to me in my life!

We're made in God's image, right? No, He doesn't have a balding head, or poor eyesight, or middle-age spread. This body is just the shell that holds our essence, the soul that is who and what we are. It's our spirits that are in His image. If we have a natural inclination to laugh, to be drawn to joy, to dance and sing, where do you think we got it from?

Our Father! Exactly!

Habbukuk 3:18: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Ecclesiastes 8:15: So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. (Did God just tell us to enjoy ourselves here?)

My point is that there is enough going on around us to make us cry, mourn, lose sleep, and seriously consider just sticking our faces in the toilet. Okay, maybe not so bad that we'd actually dunk ourselves in the john, but you get my drift.

Proverbs 17:22a: A joyful heart is good medicine...

Job 8:21: He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.

Ecclesiastes 3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...

We will have trials and tribulations in this life. There's no getting around that. But we have to maintain the ability to laugh and have joy in the midst of it all or our souls will wither and die. That is exactly what the second half of the Proverbs 17:22 quote is telling us: ...a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

And while laughter is an emotion of the moment, joy is an emotion of eternity. We can be joyful, we can have our hearts full of joy, we can be content, despite the circumstances! It's when we learn how to do that, that the laughter will bubble out of us.

I was sitting here at the computer the other night, trying to slog through some work, dead tired and on my umpteenth cup of coffee. Things were not going well. My brain was tired and dead. My shoulders screamed with pain and my fingers were all thumbs. And then I got a retweet from a friend of mine:

"I just watched Jaws backwards. It was a movie about a shark that threw up so many people they had to open a beach."

I don't know why that tweet tickled me so much. I snorted, I guffawed, and then I just broke down and laughed. I've been chuckling ever since.

And my burden has been lightened just by that inane tweet.

We were meant for joy. We were meant for laughter. We were meant to sing and dance before God. Don't let this world rob you of your inheritance in God. Take back what's rightfully yours.

Psalm 126:2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them."

For Now We See Through A Glass Darkly...

As a writer and editor, I'm in a constant cycle of "feast or famine". I have either so much work I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off or I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Sometimes it all levels out, but it's not often!

Add into this the normal events of everyday life - the house that needs to be taken care of, the garden planted, the taxes filled out and filed, paying the bills, tending the animals, taking care of the kids and the spouse...it can seem overwhelming. This doesn't even take into account spending time with friends and family and building relationships. What was God thinking when he only put 24 hours into the day?!!

This morning I received this message in my box on Facebook. I belong to the group "Prayer of the Day" and this was today's prayer: Today O Lord, let wind of the Holy Ghost blow upon my life and make my life fruitful in every area. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, with much love and thanksgiving. Amen! 

And then last night I was reading in 1 Peter 4:11b: ...if someone serves, let him do so out of strength that God supplies; so that in everything God may be glorified through Yeshua the Messiah - to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.(Complete Jewish Bible)

And then of course, my personal scripture verse from 2 Corinthians 4:7: But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Whatever I am, whatever I am able to accomplish, it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the power and strength that God provides. When he sends opportunities my way, the accomplishments made are because he gives me the strength to work through it all. When trials come and I'm able to come out the other end standing (not necessarily on my own!) it's because he has provided the means to persevere.

When I see God filling my cup to overflowing, and I'm tempted to panic, I have to remember that he said he never gives us more than we can bear. I have to remember that he has said he will be with me always and that I must learn to trust him. Walking with God is not about the destination, but about the journey.

There have been several tragedies of late splashed across the national news, with one of the most poignant being the man that crashed his plane into the IRS offices in Texas. He felt cornered, trapped, and exploited by life, circumstances, the government and probably God as well. He was overwhelmed to the breaking point. His option was to not only take his life, but as many lives of those he felt had wronged him. We all can probably feel his pain, understand his frustration. We might not have taken it to the conclusion he did, but we can relate to him in some way.

And then I think of Joseph, the youngest son of  Jacob. He was on top of the world, a young man beloved by his father. From all accounts he was probably a little cocky, a little too much into himself, and his brothers hated him. All that changed when he was thrown into a cistern by his brothers and then sold into slavery when they decided they didn't want his blood on their hands. He was later accused of rape, sent to jail to rot, and finally emerged on the world stage as Pharaoh's vizier. By his very placement, he was able to insure the continued survival of his father, his brothers, and the future nation of Israel.


How successful we are in facing the demands of life is dependent on how we view the circumstances that we find ourselves in, how we see our situation as either the capriciousness of Fate or the hand of God guiding everything in his perfect will. If we look at everything from a "the glass is half empty" perspective, then we're going to view everything through the distorted lens of bitterness, anger and hate. However, if we can look at what we face as an opportunity to walk with God, to serve his purposes, and to minister to those we encounter, we will begin to see the unlimited possibilities that God places before us day in and day out.

And instead of being tempted to fly an airplane into building, we will be encouraged to soar with wings as eagles. In God, there is always hope.

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

The Blessings of Wise Counsel...

I was telling a friend of mine the other day that God was walloping me upside the head about some of my attitudes! It seemed every where I turned, I was reading something about the heart and face we present to the world as Christians. She laughed and said that God walloped her quite a bit to get her attention as well! Well today has been no exception to that, only it's about something else entirely.

It's about taking advice...{{{shudder!!}}}.

As Americans, we can be quite individualistic and opinionated. That's not necessarily a bad thing in many ways, but it can be when that individualistic spirit causes us to shun the sound advice of people who love and know us quite well. I can be especially stubborn, wanting to go my own way wherever I see the road leading.

Sometimes though, what I think of as the main road is really a side street of distraction that God has not purposed for my life. Proverbs 11:14 in the King James Version says this: "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

I like the thought of a safety net. I like the thought of accountability and having others watching my back. I appreciate the fact that God loves me so much that he will put people in my life that will guide me and advise me. But all of that is to no avail if I won't listen, if I'm so intent on doing my thing that the Voice of God is drowned out in the maelstrom. We're even warned of this in Proverbs 14:12: "There can be a way which seems right to a person, but at its end are the ways of death." (Complete Jewish Bible)

We do have to be wary of those we seek advice and counsel from, however. There will be times that we'll get "words of wisdom" from people only intent on their selfish wants and desires. We'll get advice from folks who may not be as open to the leading of God, or walking in step with him. We must always weigh the advice we get with the whole of scripture, as well as where God has led us in the past and shows us he's leading us in the future.

For instance, I know that God has purposed me to write, and that my writing is a ministry for him, not myself. However, I'm also a political animal...I LOVE politics! However, God has shown me that my political interests take me away from what he wants me to pursue for him, that my love for political discourse gets in the way of living for him and that I have to make a choice. I was honored to be asked to speak at a conservative rally the other day and I so wanted to do it! But advice from people who know me (telling me I've always been a writer, not a very eloquent speaker) and knowing what God has told me about where he wants to lead me, has made me turn down that offer. It was a side road of distraction for me, not the main road where my Savior waited. I'm so thankful I have this support system to help me make these decisions, and the love of an awesome God leading me.

I want to encourage you to seek God, asking him to show you where he's leading you in your life. Seek the godly advise and counsel of people that love you, know you, and are not looking at their own self-interest. It is when we seek after God first, that he in turn fulfills all our desires.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

If You Have To Say It....

A friend of mine is going through some very tough times. It's not anything she has done to herself. It's not circumstances or natural life events. She faces the possibility of losing a lot of money because she hired someone to take care of her interests in a long-term investment, and that person didn't turn out to be trustworthy or a person of their word.

This person has a praying hands lapel pin. She speaks of her Christianity and her moral values. In fact, she talks a lot but doesn't deliver. My friend thought she was dealing with a person of integrity but it turned out this woman was serving only her self-interests and greed.

It grieves me and it angers me. I grieve for my friend because she can ill-afford to lose that kind of money - not at her age. It angers me because I can see by her actions, this woman is not Christ-like at all and in fact, blasphemes the name of Christ.

John 15:8 says: This is how my Father is glorified - in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim [disciples].  (Complete Jewish Bible) Okay, we're to bear fruit to show we're His disciples. But what kind of fruit? Are we judged on how many people we bring into the Kingdom? Are we judged on how many times a day we pray or how ascetic a lifestyle we adopt?

Galatians 5:19-22 gives us our answer: And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does.It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; idol-worship and misuse of drugs in connection with the occult; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue, and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God! But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Doesn't Christ sum this up nicely in the two laws He says are the most important? We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and might. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. That's it in a nutshell. Well, who's our neighbor? It is everyone we meet on this road of life, according to Christ.(Luke 10:25-37)

Everyone.

We are to love our neighbors as ourselves - and that means everyone. We are known as His disciples by our fruit, and those fruits are the fruits of the Spirit enumerated in Galatians. If we are truly living as His disciples, we won't have to tell people we're Christians.

We'll be living, breathing, and walking our faith. It's the only advertisement God asks of us.

I have to look at myself and see if I'm failing in this area. If I feel the need to tell people I'm a Christian, if I feel the need to advertise it with lapel pins and bumper stickers, then maybe I need to look at my actions and see why they aren't sufficient to draw the world's attention. If my attitudes, my interests, and my behavior don't show there's something different within me, then all the words in the world won't matter.

I may be able to fool some folks for a while, but it'll catch up to me eventually. And then I'll have to answer to God Himself.

I really don't want to find myself in the hands of an angry God.

Just What is Humility?

I've been having a hard time with the concept of humility. You see, popular culture gives us the picture of a humble person as someone with pasty skin, afraid of his own shadow, stuttering, grateful just to be allowed on the outskirts of life, with a spinal cord the consistency of jelly and the inability to stand up for himself or anyone else. In short, he's a pansy. I look at this Milquetoast character I have pictured in my mind and ask God, "Is this what you really mean by humble?"

You see, I just can't be that person. And I've told God this over and over again. "Lord, we're just going to have to keep a continuing repent/forgive door open here because I can't do that." I've been guilt-ridden every time I open my mouth to challenge a thought or attitude because I get the nagging thought, well, you're not very humble, are you? And it's gotten to the point that I just have to know - what does humility mean for me as a Christian?

And that's when I'm so thankful for the Word of God. It is a constant in our lives. The answers to the questions are always there. And unlike Webster's, the meaning of the words haven't changed from one generation to the next. "Thou shalt not steal" means pretty much what it did when God carved it into the tablets for Moses on Mt. Sinai.

What exactly is a humble person? What is an example of one? We only have to go as far as the Gospel of Matthew to find out. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29 NIV) These are the words of Jesus. Well, Jesus certainly wasn't a stuttering, Milquetoast-type savior. He was compassionate and gentle, but he was iron and steel resolve as well. A scared-of-his-shadow type guy wouldn't have driven the money changers out of the Temple, nor would he have mixed it up with the Pharisees and the priests. A pansy wouldn't have pointed an accusing finger and roared, "You snakes! You brood of vipers...."

With this in mind, it seems that maybe it's time for me to reevaluate what exactly being "humble" entails.

Humility is the opposite of pride. So, what is pride? Dictionary.com says pride is "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc." In essence, this definition of pride is synonymous with arrogance or thinking too highly of oneself. It's forgetting that you put your pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. It's the attitude that you're above the plebes and riffraff around you. (Can anyone say "congress"?)

This definition is borne out by several Bible verses. Proverbs 8:13: "I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Proverbs 11:2: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace." Proverbs 13:10: "Pride only breeds quarrels." And of course there's the all familiar Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

On the other hand, God's Word says this about the very opposite attitude. Isaiah 57:15: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit." Isaiah 66:2: "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." Is humility remembering your order in the universe and acting accordingly?

If you want to be humbled and put in your place, you only need to read Job 38-41. God doesn't explain himself at all - he just asks a lot of penetrating questions. Basically, God puts the smack-down on Job. What is Job's response? "I had heard about you with my ears, but now my eye sees you; therefore I detest [myself] and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:5-6 Complete Jewish Bible)

I have to conclude from all this that humility is a lack of arrogance, not a lack of spine. It's understanding that as the created, you are no better or worse than anyone else. It's giving God his due praise and glory. At the same time, it does not preclude us from standing up against evil, nor stop us from speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves. It's the ability to call sin, sin...yet embrace the sinner with all the love that God has showered on us.

It's a hard line to walk, a tough row to hoe. Our natural man is at constant war with our spiritual man, and sometimes we lose the battle. But we can rejoice as Paul did in his letter to the Romans: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25)

When Life Derails Your Train...

I started the new year out with a bang! I had my list of things to do, I had my list of things to accomplish, I had my writing goals laid out, I had my spiritual goals settled on, and I had my pocket planner all filled out for the month of January. It was going to be a GREAT month! My little train was headed in the right direction. I was like the little engine that could. I think I can....I think I can...

Then my train derailed.

It was sidelined.

Pulled into the station and no one was there.

I got sick. Not fatally ill...although there were days I did want to just crawl underneath the covers and die. Just horribly, nastily sick with stopped up pipes and congestion and headachy and fever and....well, you get the picture. And the darn mess just would NOT turn loose. Those little demonic bugs had a tenacious hold on me!

I didn't blog, I didn't write, I didn't edit...I barely crawled through one day to the next.

And most everything I listed in my handy dandy little pocket planner for the month of January just got transferred over into February.

Okay, so my life didn't go quite as planned for the last three weeks. I got nothing accomplished that I wanted to do. I'm one day late and three dollars short on every one of my projects. But you know what?

God is still in control.

Did you hear what I just said? It doesn't matter how far awry your plans go. It doesn't matter how many goals and objectives you fail to meet because life gets in the way. It doesn't matter when you have to take a sharp S-turn or do a complete U-turn on your life's road.

God is still in control. He is still directing your life.


I imagine Saul had a few things on his pocket-planner agenda during those first tumultuous years after Jesus rose from the grave. Hmmm, let's see...study Torah, go to the Temple, rid the Jewish faith of these blasphemous Christians...

Boy, what a train wreck he endured! He was convicted, blinded, and had a name change...all in one fell swoop! Yet, he went on to carry the gospel to the non-Jewish world, and contributed a great deal to the New Testament books in the Bible. From Saul's perspective on that Damascus road, the train of life didn't just derail...it ran slap over him! Yet is there any doubt that God was in control of that situation, from the moment he was reborn as Paul to his death?

God never leaves us, never forsakes us, and never turns us loose just so we can wander aimlessly. There is always a purpose and a plan. We just have to learn to trust Him enough to know that He has our best interest at heart and that life is actually an adventure, not a destination. Our goal is not to get from point A to point B...that's not our purpose.

Our purpose is to dance. To listen to the music and to take our lead from our Bridegroom.

I have to warn you though...He likes to do those surprise dips in the middle of the dance floor.

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5 (NIV)