Jim C's Quiet time blog

Triumph In Tragedy

2010-08-10T10:51:00.003-05:00

(Written shortly after 9-11)

We all watched in utter astonishment as that second jetliner crashed into the side of the World Trade Center. Tears rolled down my cheeks, when in horror, I saw the first of the 2 towers collapse into a huge pile of rubble. Never in a million years could you have convinced me that those things would take place in such a short period of time in a country not in the midst of war. But the sad truth is, they did. It wasn't a nightmare you wake up from. It was a reality you live through. It was a reality you weep through. It was a devastating reality such as we have never seen before, and I pray to God, we will never see its kind again. Destruction like this has the ability to bring about a demoralizing devastation that plummets those who experience it into a despair that they are powerless to recover from.

Can I ask you an important question right here? Have you ever experienced tragedy of this magnitude? I now live in Overland Park Kansas. Well over a thousands miles from New York City. While I wept at the sight, its devastation to me was not first hand, though that could be around the corner. But my 41 years has not escaped great tragedy altogether, and chances are, you have also tasted of that bitter fruit. I've wept at the loss of a child. I've watched cancer take the live of a loved one. As an 11 year old, I looked into the face of my 8-year sister and saw the devastation the teeth of a dog can cause.

Given time, you could probably add to my list, because tragedy, simply put, is a part of life. A part that we would all just as soon live with out, but most likely, we will all walk down that dark path. Having traveled that road, can I share with you what I have learned? The truth of the matter is, some of life's greatest lessons are learned through tragedy. The lessons may be very hard, but their value cannot be measured. I want to share with you the most important lesson I have learned in and through tragedy.

God is there! The path may be dark, but it doesn't have to be lonely, and anywhere God dwells, rest assured, incredible victory can be experienced. When you are in the middle of tragedies strong grip, you can't fathom victory. I, myself have uttered the words, "I can't possibly see how God can bring about victory through this tragedy." Then, I have watched as His hand has reached down and woven a beautiful quilt of victory from the threads of defeat. How He accomplished this, I haven't got a clue, but He did it. Not once, not twice, He's batting a thousand, never a miss. Not so much as a strike. He has an unexplainable ability to work about incredible victory when all we can see is despair. I've seen it first hand. I've also seen it in His Word. Almost 2000 years ago, God took, what was the most devastating tragedy anyone has ever faced and turned it into the greatest victory in the history of the universe.

Will He do anything less today? The answer to that is actually quite simple, No. We are already receiving stories of victory. A newly widowed young mother of 2 (soon to be 3) sharing on Larry King Live how her belief in Jesus has sustained her through this tragedy, then being invited back 2 nights later to do the same thing. Republicans and Democrats standing together united in heart and purpose (that's not far behind the miracle of the empty tomb). Prayers filling the halls of public schools, with not so much as a word from the ACLU (at least not yet). More than 19,000 at a fight filled hockey game pausing to listen to the words of a President and being so moved by those words that somehow, the game seemed unimportant. It ended, a third of the game still to play, with handshakes in the middle of the arena. With all my heart, I believe that we have only scratched the surface of the victories still to come. I'm quite certain that God will bring about so much triumph out of this tragedy, that we will loose track of all that He has done.

So don't loose heart my friend, thinking that all is lost, that you are all alone as you witness this tragedy, or as you go through other tragedies in life. Because God travels along side you on that road. We read in Habakkuk 3:17-19 " 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights."

Something that proved helpful to Pam and me after the loss of our baby some time ago, was memorizing and personalizing this passage. Let me tell me how we would quote it; Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no baby in the crib, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights."

Perhaps for you it will be different. For you it may be though there are no sheep in the pen and the innocent die in crumbling towers, or markets crash or no husband in the home, or I've lost my job, or my health is fading, or I've been diagnosed with terminal cancer, or … you fill in the blank. Each of you can personalize this verse in your own way. Am I promising that your problems will go away? Not at all. I am merely pointing you to The Sovereign LORD who will be your strength; who will make your feet like the feet of a deer, who will enable you to go on the heights.

God is at work and He will bring Triumph in Tragedy. We serve an awesome God and when all is said and done, He will reign victorious.

Watch, see, rejoice,

Jim Canady

My Review of Magneto Trainer

2010-01-18T11:09:00.001-06:00

Originally submitted at saris.com

Stay strong all year long.

The world's first and only mag trainer with progressive resistance.
Exclusive Power Band Technology gives you access to a wide resistance range - from easy spins to lung-burning climbs - without ever touching the unit.
Cam-Lever tighten...

Beats the heck out of riding below 0

By Jim from Overland Park, KS on 1/18/2010

Pros: Easy to Use, Durable, Lightweight

Cons: Instructions not good

Describe Yourself: Avid Cyclist

I use this for the winter months when it's just to nasty or cold to ride outside. I have enjoyed it so far. At this point in time my only con is the instructions that came with it were not very helpful at all.

(legalese)

When God Closes A Door…Don’t Look For an Open Window

2009-10-29T15:17:00.002-05:00

When God Closes A Door…Don’t Look For an Open Window

Acts 16:6-1o “6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

There are times it is quite difficult to understand the plans of God. In fact, from a human standpoint there are times God’s plans don’t make a lick of sense to us. He either allows, or in some instances, causes things to happen that are baffling. While in the middle of these times or seasons we look at what is taking place and think; “What on earth is God thinking? Why would He allow such a thing to take place?” There are other times where we look and see great need spiritually, we make our plans to meet those needs, but it seems at every turn we are prevented from accomplishing our tasks. Surely God wants us to succeed with our plans! After all, the need is great, and we have the ability to meet the need. Yet it still seems as if…..well as if God Himself is preventing us at every turn. I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t exactly what was going through the minds of Paul and Silas in our current passage. There was perhaps nothing Paul wanted to do more than tell everyone he met about Jesus. I believe his plan was to go from town to town, find the spot where the people congregated and proclaim the Good News. God seemed to bless their efforts at nearly every turn. Oh sure, they had some tough times, but as far as Paul was concerned it was a small price to pay. Asia was his next target, but the book of Acts makes it clear that God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, was preventing him from accomplishing his goals. If Paul was anything like me this was very frustrating! But frustrating or not, Paul had no interest at all in doing anything that didn’t have the Hand of God behind it. He had wasted way to much of his life doing what he thought was good, even in the name of God, but without the Hans of God behind him. If God was closing the door, then Paul wasn’t looking for an open window.

Just a brief side note, most of us have heard, or even said; “When God closes a door, He opens a window!” Don’t be too quick to believe that. When God closes a door, that’s it, the door is closed. If you proceed to look for an open window, it could very well be that you are more interested in accomplishing your will than you are God’s will. If He closes a door, wait on Him until He points you in the direction of His open door.

Now back to Paul and his closed door.

Once God closed the door for Paul to preach in Asia, Paul just kept going in the direction he was already heading until he made his way to Troas, a town on the coast of the Mediterranean. That night “had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'" Did I mention Troas was on the coast? Well caddy corner across the coast was Macedonia. Paul’s obedience to that closed door, put him in perfect position to further obey God’s open door and sail to Macedonia. So what’s the big deal? Ever heard of the city of Philippi? Let me make it a little bit easier for you. Ever heard of the New Testament book of Philippians? The first city Paul came to in Macedonia was the city of Philippi. Paul’s first trip to Philippi was the result of that closed door. Perhaps we would have never had the joy of experiencing Philippians had not God closed the door in Asia, or if Paul had looked around for an open window!

The point is this, when God closes a door, it simply means He, you know--- the All Knowing, All Powerful, Sovereign God--- has a better plan. Please understand, I have searched for and found open windows to crawl through. There is no joy in ignoring God’s closed doors. There is little chances of accomplishing anything of eternal significance even if you are doing a “good thing”. Forget “good things” and pursue “God things”, and may you experience your own Philippians joy! (Want to really catch my drift here, take a quick ½ hour and read through Philippians).

Ignoring open windows and looking for God’s opened doors…..most of the time!

Jim

Lets Roll!

2009-09-10T12:08:00.000-05:00

Knowing full well that these words would guarantee the loss of his own life as well as the lives of all others with him, Todd Beamer turned from the phone on the jet and said to the heroes present with him; "Let's Roll!" With that, the soon to be martyrs moved from their position huddled in the back of United Flight 93, stood to their feet, and rushed the cockpit. I believe that there were three thoughts firmly planted in the minds of all of them that day. The first, with the pilot and co-pilots lifeless bodies lying in the aisle, deaths powerful unyielding grip already held each of them tightly. The second, companions of their captors had already turned three other jetliners into powerful weapons of mass destruction. The third, unless they moved now and moved quickly, their own jetliner would soon pierce the side of another well thought out target. Undoubtedly, many of them committed their own lives to Him who counted it a privilege to shed His blood for them. They swiftly rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the only ones who could safely land the plane. Moments later they exploded into a Pennsylvania hillside. While there was a part of their minds that thought of those whom their eyes would never see again, in their hearts they knew that the time had come for the "Pledge of Allegiance" to move beyond a rote recitation, to a strong, undeniable fact inscribed that day in their own blood. While their voices may not have said so, their actions loudly shouted, for the whole world to hear; "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"

With the perfect vision that hindsight provides for us, we see the urgency in their actions that day. We have come to understand the motives of the enemy. We know that, to a certain degree, the very lifeblood of our Nation was at stake. Their actions were not only admirable, they were of paramount importance. In a spiritual sense, we as Christians today are staring into the face of our own 911. Our enemy, who is far more powerful than the al Qaida, aims his own weapons of mass destruction at the very spiritual core of all mankind. The only thing standing in his way is a very small number of Spiritual heroes, who daily present their bodies as living sacrifices to the King of all kings. While most Christians believe that what God is looking for is those who are willing to die for Him, the truth is, what He really wants, is those who are willing to live for Him. Those who understand the power of the enemy, realize that the only chance we have of victory, is to humbly yield ourselves daily into God's all-powerful Hands, to allow Him to work in us and through us. Though there are times His purpose makes no sense to us, our allegiance is proven, when our actions take hold of His marching orders, and we look neither to the left or the right and, in faith march forward.

This battle cry goes out to all who call on the name of Jesus today… "Lets Roll!" Death has no grip on our life, and the Spirit of God Almighty has given all of us the power to shake loose the firm grip of the enemy, to put on the full armor of God and march forward claiming great victories in Jesus name. The time has come for believers today to inscribe on the very heart of God a new list of heroes to be added to the spiritual Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Will you roll with me today?!

This battle is for weak warriors in the Hands of a Mighty God, who will lift their eyes towards heaven and proclaim; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Are you weak today? "Lets Roll!"

This battle is for fearful soldiers whose only courage comes from the Spirit of God who indwells them. Are you fearful today? "Lets Roll!"

This battle is for reluctant troops who will not take a step forward until they hear the voice of the commander and chief. Are you reluctant today? Listen, not just to His command, but also His plea, "Lets Roll!"

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the time has come today for all of us, young and old, male and female, weak, fearful, reluctant, every last one of us, to step out of the safety of our foxholes and to storm the gates of the enemy. God's very Word assures us, we will prevail, "Lets Roll!"

Written in August 2002
Remembering 9-11
Jim Canady

Where do you put a light?

2009-08-03T12:19:00.003-05:00

John 4:35-38 "35I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."

Written in 2001

I've not had the opportunity to watch a lot of kids grow and develop on a daily basis, just the two God has blessed me with. We have a ten-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter and they are as different as night and day. Steven is a lot like me, his attention span is about as long as a Jamaican bobsled team win streak. Brittany, on the other hand, is the most focused three-year-old I know. If something has her attention, it's practically impossible to get her to notice anything else. Barney himself could walk in the room and she wouldn't notice.

Have you ever seen people like that before? People that are that focused can be a great asset, providing they are focused on the right thing. Several years ago, I was listening to a pastor preach and he related the following conversation he had with one of the member of the church. It went something like this;

"Pastor John, I need you to pray for me"

"How can I pray for you?"

"Its about my job. I'm really having some intense struggles there"

"Really, what are you struggling with?"

"Well, you see, I'm the only one who's a Christian there."

"Mary, where do you put a light?"

"You don't understand Pastor, It's really getting me down. It's like I'm all alone!"

"Mary, where do you put a light?"

"Pastor, I'd just like you to pray that I can find another job that has more Christians, or that He would bring more believers to my current job."

"Mary, where do you put a light?"

"What do you mean? I'm just asking you to pray for me!"

"Mary, where do you put a light!"

Finally, a very frustrated Mary replied,

"Well, you put a light where ever it's dark."

"Exactly, could it be that God has specifically put you there to be a light in a place that's very dark?"

Suddenly, the lights when on in Mary's mind and she replied,"I never thought of it that way!"Over the next two years, Mary had the opportunity to see ten of her co-workers pray to receive Christ.

You know, there are times we can be so focused on the minute details of our lives, our own little problems, or even our own big problems, that we miss the incredible harvest God has placed before us. That was the case with Mary. She was so focused on the darkness before her, that she completely forgot that she was a very powerful light, already plugged into the ultimate power-source, Jesus Christ. In a very real sense, the Pastor said, "I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."

A few months ago we bought our son Steven a new reading light for his bed. It’s really cool. You can bend and contort the neck any direction you want. It all depends on where you want the light to go. In many ways, we are like Steven's reading light. There are a whole host of different directions we can shine our light. We are already plugged into the most incredible power-source available, but God doesn't dictate for us where we shine that light. That choice he leaves up to us. We can either focus our light on ourselves, or we can focus the light on the field ripe before us. Can I ask you a question? Can you see what God has laid out before you today? If your anything like me, it's very easy to focus so much on the day to day details of your life that you miss a field ripe for the harvest. Look around today. Could it be that God has put you in a specific place to be a light for Him and reap an incredible harvest? "I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."

One light to another,

Jim Canady

Pats on the Back

2009-07-28T11:01:00.004-05:00

Mark 1:1-4 1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare Your way" 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'" 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Prophesies fulfilled, we see this continually throughout the life of Christ as it is recorded in the Gospels. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, written 600 or more years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah writes of one who would “Prepare the way for the Lord”. That is exactly what John the Baptist lived for, he lived his life with one main purpose and goal; “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.”

The Nation of Israel had been experiencing great turmoil now for many years. If memory serves me correctly they were at the end of 400 years of silence. 400 years where they had not heard from God. No Abraham, no Moses, no David, no Solomon, no Isaiah, no one to be a spokesman for God. 400 years of silence! Oh they had their religious leaders who claimed to be spokesmen for God, but those religious leaders’ ears were deaf to the voice of God. Yes religion was alive and well in those days, but God has never been One who was impressed in any way with religion. Religion can easily be done as a ritual. What God is interested in is an individual who serves God, not from a sense of duty, but from a heart of love. That was what John lived and that is what he preached. John the Baptist preached “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” As you watched the life and ministry of John, you find out that John’s calls for repentance were certainly not aimed solely for the sinners in the world’s eyes. He pointed his accusatory fingers at the religious leaders as much, if not more, than the “sinners”. Guess what, those religious leaders didn’t like of appreciate that and as a result they wanted him dead! They had a good thing going and were not at all interested in loosing it. I wonder if they would have wanted me dead? Would they have wanted you dead? God had a plan, a purpose for John, and John was so intent on obeying God, that he would let nothing, including his own death, stop him from accomplishing that purpose. How set are we at being obedient to God and His purpose and plan for our lives? The good news for the vast majority of us is, we really don’t have to worry about loosing our life. That being said, in some ways the plan God had for John and has for us are quite similar. The rest is up to us. John was opposed to established ritualistic religion that “does, does, does” for the sake of man’s approval. Approval from men is a momentary pat on the back. It’s here today and gone…..well it’s gone today. Simply put, it doesn’t last. A heart that serves God because of love for Him receives a pat on the back from God. Those are the pats, the rewards, the blessings that never end. Which am I working for?

Seeking God's Pat on the back,

Jim

When Midnight Comes Early

2009-07-23T12:51:00.010-05:00

“Cause all too soon the clock will strike mid-night, and she’ll be gone”.

As a dad, my heart has been touched too many times to count when listening to the song “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman. I have a daughter, and I have frequently rushed through the bedtime routine so I can get back to whatever it was I was doing before. Rarely is that task ever really of great importance, yet I rush her non-the-less. I have also had the privilege of dancing with my daughter, singing to her as the song played. It was a very memorable event that I have permanently locked away in the memory banks.

Chances are anyone reading this knows that the song “Cinderella”, though not intentional at the time, became quite prophetic in at least 2 ways, one beautiful, the other tragic. The beautiful fulfillment came in the engagement of Steven Curtis Chapman’s oldest daughter Emily. Chances are the future holds a beautiful and tearful daddy/daughter dance at Emily’s wedding reception. The tragic fulfillment came when 5 year old Maria Sue was killed in the family’s driveway when she ran into the path of their SUV as her older brother Will Franklin was returning home. Midnight had come and gone, and the clock struck midnight before all but One expected it to. The One is, of course, our heavenly Father. The One who holds the future in His hands, Who knows the beginning from the end, Who has written all the days of our life before we breath a single breath. He knew when midnight would come for Maria Sue Chapman. He picked out the exact moment; choose it out of the million available moments. As hard as it may be to fathom, His choice of midnight was not a random choice. He didn’t just throw a dart at the dart board of her life and where it hit midnight would strike. I don’t believe there is anything random with God. There is purpose in everything He does, a plan, and we know from His Word that His plan for use is good. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read “For I know the plans I have for you, ‘declares the LORD’, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I would have pictured those words written by a man who knew quite well, what prosperity was all about. But it is interesting to note, that the man who penned those words, had an intimate relationship with tragedy. One of his closest friends, King Josiah, died a painful death at the hands of Pharaoh Neco II. On top of that, he was chosen of God to deliver the message of God’s impending destruction to the Nation of Judah, his Nation, a Nation he loved. Then he painfully watched as his prophecies were fulfilled. Yet still he wrote “For I know the plans I have for you, ‘declares the LORD’, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”. Amazing words from a man known as “The Weeping Prophet”.

So what does this mean to the Chapman family? Well to a very large degree that story is still being written. Part of that story is playing before our very eyes. Just this morning the Chapman family appeared on Good Morning America. In an interview conducted by Robin Roberts, who herself appears to have been snatched from the clutches of death in her battle over breast cancer, the family shares of the hope they have. One of her early statements was particularly telling. She says that after spending time with the Chapman’s: “I saw a family closer than ever before, there for one another, and a family facing the future, with great hope.” Hope lived out in the day to day life of a family living in the throes of tragedy. Hope spoken from the mouth of a father to a son, dieing daughter in an ambulance heading for Vanderbilt hospital, possibly already haven taken her last breath, as he rolled down his window and shouted; “Will Franklin, your father loves you!” A father who sensed the strong possibility of losing one child and wanted to make sure he didn’t loose a second. Hope lived out in a mother for her remaining children, who at times has to, in her own words “shift her grief” because; “I have Emily who's getting married and her fiancé, Tanner, and Caleb and his girlfriend, Julia, and Will Franklin. You know, he's my baby boy. And then Shaoey and Stevey, and my grief gets shifted to making sure they’re as whole and as healthy as they can be.” Hope lived out in the lives of a bother and sister who have, in the midst of their own journey through “the valley of death’s shadow” sought to minister to their younger brother. Caleb said it so well when he said; “When you see someone hurting, and you see someone burdened. You…you want to take that burden from them.”

I couldn’t agree with Caleb more, but I have learned through life that you can rarely “take that burden from them”. However, you can walk with them through those dark valleys. In fact, that is what we are called to do. As believers we are called to come alongside one another, even if it means a trip through the “valley of death’s shadow”. This is not an easy task, but there are few tasks whose rewards are more telling, more evident, more fulfilling, more eternal. It is those stories you and I are writing today. That we will continue to write tomorrow, that we have the opportunity to live out each day God gives us breath. It has been said that “Hope springs eternal!” But I am here to tell you that there are times that hope is a distant memory so far removed that you struggle remembering what it is like. Times where it is so dark, so painful, so heart wrenching that you literally feel like you have to fight for every breath. I am also here to tell you that there is light at the end of that tunnel. Light so brilliant that it is beyond your imagination. However, when you are deep inside that dark tunnel, it seems like the only thing you have to hold on to is the assurance from God that “I will never leave you or forsake you”. One of our terrific responsibilities is to be used of God to show others the truth of that statement “I will never leave you or forsake you”. The question is what will you do? Let’s follow the lead of this amazing family and come alongside one another to speak, to minister, to live out hope. Then let’s watch as God takes the dark colors from our “valley of death’s shadow” and paints them into a beautiful masterpiece of His graciousness.

A Masterpiece in progress,

Jim

It is not often that I add to what I have already posted. In fact, outside of the comment section or minor edits, I have never done this. However, today is a different day. Last night the Chapman family, with the exception of the 2 youngest, appeared together on Larry King Live. It was a touching hour of remembering what took place. Of reflecting on how they as a family have come together while on deaths dark and winding road, and how they have all seen the Hand of God even in the midst of tragedy.

You know one of the things I love about live TV is that, to a very large degree, the hands of the editors are tied. Outside of the traditional 5-10 second delay, the editors don’t have much power. As I watched the show live last night, I rejoiced at the way the Chapman family sought to bring honor and praise to the Lord. I don’t know this for a fact, but I am guessing that there were key points in the interview conducted by Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, that never got past editing room floor. But things are different on live TV.

I wrote earlier about “Hope lived out in the day to day life of a family living in the throes of tragedy.” Last nights interview brought more of that hope to the forefront. Interestingly, I just watched Larry King do a recap of the show in his regular review titled About Last Night. His words are amazing. He said the subject of the hour last night was “Faith, and faith renewed, and faith restored.” His next statement is very telling. He stated; “I am always amazed at that. I’ve never been able to make that leap into blind faith which they have… and trust. They believe that their daughter is in heaven, watching down. I wish I had that…belief. But it was incredible to spend time with all of them, and the strength of all of them. And even though that strength may be looked at… some, looked by some as leaning…on a fence, a fence that is God or religion. I looked at it as stronger than that. They were an incredible group, I’ll never forget it!”

I have been listening to or watching Larry King since, if my memory serves me correctly, the late 70’s or early 80’s. Back in those days he was not on TV. He was a syndicated radio talk show host with a pension for attacking Christians. He has softened considerably in the years since. I am not completely certain what it is that has changed him. Perhaps he has been impacted as he has, through the interview process, walked with believers as they traveled through tragic times. Who could forget his interview with Todd Beamers wife days after she lost her husband on Sept, 11, 2001 (for more on that see my blogs titled “Triumph In Tragedy” and “Lets Roll”). In that interview she talked about how Jesus had sustained her through the tragedy. Or perhaps it was his own journey to the threshold of deaths door. I am not sure, but I pray that the day will come when he makes that “leap into blind faith”. If, or perhaps I can be bold enough to say, when he makes that leap. He will realize what I have come to realize. I do not lean on a fence that is God or religion! My feet are firmly planted on a foundation so strong and so powerful, that the gates of hell cannot prevail. Every step I take, He takes with me. When I face tragedy, it is as if His hands are resting on my shoulders, reassuring me that I am not alone. I feel his breath on the top of my head and I know that One more powerful than me, is there. My tears are seemingly met by His nail scarred hands and I know that I have a God Who understands my pain. My hope rests in a God Who has no limits, Who is surprised by nothing. Who holds the future, and even the past, in the palm of His Hand. Who gave Gideon his battle cry and guided the stone of David. Who toppled the walls of Jericho as His people watched. Who guided, fed, gave water to and preserved the clothing of more than 2,000,000 people wandering in a desert for 40 years. Who spoke “Peace! Be still” and calmed the storm.

Are you wandering in a desert today? He stands there with you! Looking into the eyes of a giant? Have faith in the God who guides small stones and topples insurmountable odds. Facing a battle you can’t possibly win? Hold high His lamp, break the jar of dependence on yourself and press your lips to the horn of His faithfulness and watch as He wins the battle for you. Look as He breaths on the mighty walls of the enemy and they fall. And listen to His voice as he speaks to the storm, in His perfect timing (His, not ours!)and then rest in His peace. My point is this. I have learned through the pages of His Word and through my own life and its many tragedies, that God is real, and He is there. If I remain in Him, rest in Him, and rely on Him. If I seek Him, follow Him, and hold fast to Him. If I grow in Him, pray to Him, and trust in Him. If I look to Him and hope in Him. My eternity is secure. He doesn’t promise me a life without problems. In fact the opposite is true. I will face sickness. I will see the ugly face of death. I may experience poverty, hunger, pain, loss, unspeakable sorrow. But I am not alone, and the Word of God is clear that:
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

I am not alone! You are not alone! We are not alone. He is with us in the valley of the shadow of death. That is God’s assurance that we don’t face that dark valley alone.

That is the great hope that the Robin Roberts spoke of that she saw in the Chapman family. That is that faith renewed, and faith restored that Larry King will never forget. May others see that great hope in us as we walk through the tragedies of life. May our faith renewed, and faith restored have an eternal impact on the yet to believe world that watches us.

To God be the glory….even in tragedy,

Jim

Under the Mattress

2009-07-22T12:51:00.006-05:00

Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

In many ways we felt kind of sorry for this old couple. They lived in a run down old house. The paint had long since disappeared. All you could see was the drab old grey exterior that tends to happen when a house isn't cared for. While everyone else in the huge metropolis of Pierceville, Kansas had nice green lawns, at this house there was dirt, nothing more, just dirt. Rarely could you ever walk by the house without hearing yelling and screaming going on. And forget about trying to sneak around their house. The very second you set foot on their street the barks and growls began. It was a pack of man-eating wolves that surrounded their property. Many sales careers ended on their front porch. Ok, perhaps I may be exaggerating slightly but those things sure seemed true to me at 7 years old. Every time I ever saw the man, he was wearing the same thing: grey hat, grey shirt, grey pants, wouldn't surprise me if his underwear was grey as well. Chances are that none of those things started out grey, but that's what they were now. Actually, he matched his house perfectly. Did you ever see the children's movie "Snow Day"? Well this man could have been the snow plow driver, including the teeth. Surely this was the poorest family in all of Pierceville, Kansas. Then one day, tragedy struck. There was a fire in the house. Literally adding fuel to the fire was stacks of newspapers, as high as 5 feet. By the time the men arrived to help put out the fire, the house was already engulfed in flames. When they tried to pull his mother to safety, she fought like cats and dogs, kept screaming something about her bed. Sometime later they discovered what she was screaming about. Underneath the mattress on her bed was money. Cold hard CASH. Not just a little, there was an incredible amount of money stashed there. It turns out that what appeared to be the poorest family in town, was actually one of the wealthiest! The problem was, they never took advantage of the wealth they possessed.

In today's passage, we see the disciples listening to Jesus as He spoke some of His last words before the ascension. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." With Jesus leaving, the remaining disciples needed some reassurance. They needed something of a confidence builder. Something they could sense, that they could feel. My wife and I have been drinking a vitamin supplement drink for a few years now. It is a powder we mix with orange juice. On the can it says it tastes good. I'll bet the guy that wrote that likes peas too! Something happens to Pam about five minutes after she drinks it, she literally feels it kick in. It's as if something surges through her veins. All of the sudden she feels energized. In a spiritual sense, the disciples needed something just like this, they needed to be spiritually energized. There were times when they were with Jesus that they felt like they could do anything, but in just a few moments, He would be gone. What would they do then? "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." Now, at this point in time, I'm going to go against what many believe to be true. There are many who believe that before the Holy Spirit came, the disciples had no power, that in a spiritual sense they were powerless. My personal opinion is that this was not the case. Let me ask you a question here. Was there ever a moment that the omnipresent God wasn't with these men? You're right, they were never alone, never without the presence of God. Let me ask you a series of questions now. Did Moses turn his staff into a snake? Did he part the Red Sea? Did he bring water from the Rock? Did Joshua make the walls of Jericho crumble? When Gideon and his army of 300 faced over 127,000 Midianites, was it their skills in hand to hand combat that gave them victory that day? The answers to every one of these questions are the same, it was NOT the men of God that did the work, it was the HAND of God that did the work. Since I am in the question mode, let me continue. Since the Old Testament days, in what ways had the power of God diminished? Are you catching my drift here? The fact of the matter is, nothing within the nature of God had changed. However, something within the lives of these 11 men had changed, and was about to change even more. While these men had grown spiritually in a huge way, (by the way, isn't that what happens when you go through great trials? They either make you or break you.) there was still room for more growth. But Christ-likeness is a final destination that we will never arrive at here on earth. At the same time, it is the one destination we should pursue, with all our hearts, until God calls us home. While the disciples knew full well that Jesus is the Son of God, they didn't realize yet, that He would still be with them, even when he wasn't….well… with them. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."

Personally I believe, that the power that these men needed to a certain degree, was a power they already had. It was as if it was hidden under a mattress so to speak. And what the Holy Spirit was going to accomplish, was to light a fire that would move these men to rip the sheets off their beds, toss their mattresses aside and unleash the incredible spiritual wealth they already had. That brings us to the here and now. If you have put your faith and trust in Christ, you have at your disposal unimagined power to accomplish the will of God. Unfortunately for many, in fact, not many but MOST, that power is buried, hidden beneath the mattress of mediocrity, or the mattress of selfishness, or the mattress of un-forgiveness, or the mattress of hate…… the list of mattresses is unending. Folks, if you don't see the Hand of God working in and through your life, it is not the Hand of God that is to blame. It is you who is to blame. Somehow, at sometime you have taken God's power and buried it under a mattress. May today be the day you toss that mattress aside and unleash the power of God in your life.

Tearing the sheets and tossing the mattress aside,

Jim

Tarnished Tools in the Hands of the Master Craftsman

2007-02-08T10:48:00.001-06:00

Acts 1:6

"Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" These were times of great confusion for the apostles. While it is true that they had just tasted the sweet fruit of victory, had witnessed the resurrected Lord, this also came on the heels of the most bitter defeat they had ever experienced. My guess is that the more time they spent with Jesus before the crucifixion, the more they became convinced in their own minds that they were going to be a part of the re-establishment of the nation of Israel. That they would soon battle along side Jesus, or more importantly in their eyes, that they would lead the nation of Israel. Serve as Generals, so to speak, commanding over an army of Israelites leading them in victory against the mighty Roman Empire. As they followed Jesus in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as they laid their cloaks and palm branches before Him, as the people shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David", the inner confidence of the disciples grew. I believe there was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was here to re-establish the nation of Israel, to finally free them from the grip of the Roman Empire. Then in one week's time, those hopes were dashed. Not just dashed they were crushed. Jesus, their once loved leader, tasted the ultimate in hatred and rejection as the shouts from the crowd came "Crucify Him! Give us Barabas, and Crucify Him!" No matter how hard they tried, those shouts still echoed in their minds.

But it wasn't just hateful words that they couldn't get out of their minds. Far worse than the shouts of a crowd were the actions of friends, greater still their own actions. For three years they had followed Him. When He spoke they moved to the edge of their seats, hung on every word. For three years they watched Him love the unlovely, reach the unreachable, touch the untouchable. They saw one woman healed simply by touching the hem of His garment. Who could forget seeing lepers cleansed by the touch of His hand, or see Lazarus come forth from the mouth of the tomb. Or how about the time He simply spoke and the winds and waves instantly obeyed. All these things they had seen with their own eyes, not because they chose to follow Him, but because He chose them. Out of all the great people in the nation of Israel, Jesus hand-picked each of them. They witnessed perfection personified, yet when the person of perfection needed them most, they turned tail and ran. These were the thoughts and pictures that consumed their minds. So when Jesus spoke of the days to come, their minds were mired in the days gone by. When Jesus spoke of the promised gift, they could only see themselves as unworthy recipients. It wasn't that they didn't want this great gift but they had this great fear that once again they would let Him down. In their minds eyes they felt that the more time that passed, the greater the chance that they would fail. "Lord, are you at this time going to restore Israel?" It was a confused pleading sort of question. Almost as if there were saying "Oh please, Jesus, please do it now, before we fail you again, please establish your kingdom!"

But something had happened to these men. While traveling through the torrid waters of defeat, these once proud men had been broken. There had been a day when these men saw themselves as worthy. Now they saw themselves in the reality of who they truly were, unworthy. All their pride had been stripped away, now the Hand of God was ready to work, ready to accomplish the unexplainable through a pack of unworthy humble servants. His greatest works are accomplished through blemished, tarnished simple tools touched by the Master's Hands, may we joyously watch as He works His masterpiece in and through us!

From one tarnished tool to another,

Jim Canady

Doubt

2007-02-02T09:12:00.001-06:00

Doubt
Written fall of 2000
Mark 16:9-13 "9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 when they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. 12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either." (NIV)

You know there are times doubt just seems to overtake you. It creeps in like a thief in the night and before you know it you can't seem to believe anything, no matter what others may say. They can tell you the truth, even give evidence to back up what they say, but you just can't seem to believe until you see it with your own eyes. That is what is happening with the disciples in Mark 16:9-13. Jesus Himself had predicted both His death and resurrection; they had heard the report from the ladies of what the angel had told them. Mary told them of her face to face encounter with Jesus, as did the two men who met Him on the road to Emmaus, but none of that mattered right now. He was dead! That's that. Their hearts were broken and their minds were made up and no wishful thinking people were going to convince them otherwise. Now, before you jump on the "blast the disciples" bandwagon. Let's quickly recap the events of the past week. This will help us gain a little perspective into what was going on in the minds of these men.

It all started with the Triumphal Entry. What an incredible event that was. Palm branches and cloaks carpeting the road before Him. Shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David" surrounding Him. Try as they may, His enemies could do nothing to stop the shouts from the crowd. He had the city of Jerusalem in the palm of His hand. By Thursday night the tide had drastically changed and I do mean changed. That night, as they were eating, Jesus talked about dying. He announced that one of them would betray Him, one other would deny even knowing Him and the rest would flee for their lives rather than go with Him. His words proved prophetic. Judas betrayed Him. Peter denied that he even knew Jesus not one but three times, and all of the rest ran for their lives. One of His young followers even ran away naked rather than get caught with Jesus. Since that night, they couldn't go anywhere without hearing the people talk about what had transpired. They heard the shouts of "Crucify Him!" Then, the ultimate of all evil took place. He was hung on a cross between to criminals, having already been beaten so badly He barely looked human. Darkness covered the land for three hours right in the middle of the day, He died, and there was a great earthquake. Guilt and depression consumed them and just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, they heard the news; Judas had taken his own life. Chances are many of them considered doing the same. Better to die a quick death at your own hands, than a slow painful death at the hands of those who had taken the life of Jesus.

On the tail of all this, from the others of Jesus, so called, raising from the dead. Maybe they had delusions, or perhaps they were just trying to prevent more suicides. Could be they were just trying to lift the spirits of the disciples. This past week had been an emotional whirlwind. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't believe He had risen from the dead. When you look at the events of the last week it is a little easier to understand their reluctance to believe. When they were in the depths of despair, doubt had crept in and consumed them, so much so, that they couldn't even believe the words of their own friends. Doubt is one of Satan's most powerful weapons, chances are you yourself have felt the iron grip of this weapon. For you it could be that doubt crept in through the door with the words of a physician announcing you have cancer. You have seen the devastation of cancer before and there is nothing pretty about it. It touches 3 out of every 4 families. My family has witnessed its power on more than one occasion. There was a day when my father-in-law Doug was a big strong man. Farmed and did heavy work all his life. It seemed there was very little he couldn't accomplish. Then, one day, his wife noticed he was struggling. He became seemingly unwilling to do anything, confused rather easily, had headaches all the time. After visiting the doctor, came the bad news. He had a brain tumor that proved to be malignant. Within a few short months cancer had transformed this, once powerful man, to a man who could do virtually nothing for himself. Then came his death. I don't pretend to know why God allowed him to die. He was a very godly man. He led more people to Christ every year than most churches. We all prayed regularly for his healing and I believe we had the faith God could heal him. Yet still he died. So what do you do to keep doubt from creeping in at times like this? What do you do? You trust. I'm not saying it's always easy, but you still trust. And what do you trust in? Well, to begin with you trust in His word. Let's go back to the passage we are currently looking at for an example. The disciples had gone from the ultimate in excitement to the ultimate in disappointment in one short week. Nothing made sense to them any more. They fully expected Jesus to come forward that week and take over the throne of David as ruler of Israel. They were ready to do battle against Rome alongside this powerful leader, who had the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, make blind eyes see and calm storms. All with nothing more than the sound of His voice. Instead, Jerusalem had turned against Him and He was dead. They expected one thing, God allowed the opposite. Ah, but you and I know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus had to die to pay the price for our sins. We know that His mind wasn't just on an earthly kingdom but also a spiritual one. Eventually He would rule over both but in order to do so, He had to die. Because of that we know we can trust Him even when it looks like what he is allowing doesn't make any sense. He has proven Himself in the pages of His word.

God's word isn't the only thing we can trust in where God has clearly proven Himself. There are also the true stories of what God has done in the lives of others. Take, for instance, the life of Joni Erickson Tada. One moment she is an active teenager swimming with her friends, the next she was paralyzed for life from the neck down. From first impressions you would assume that God blew it this time. Surely the rest of her life would be filled with great disappointment, despair and depression. If you are familiar with Joni, you know this couldn't be farther than the truth. While Joni could have allowed those these things to happen in her life, she chose not to, and because of her choice millions and millions have been blessed by her ministry.

For most, if not all of us, God has always proven Himself in our own lives. Think through your own life for a moment. Chances are, if you have been a Christian for very long, you can think of times in your life where it seemed God blew it. Nothing good could come out of the situation you found yourself in. Now, however, you know the rest of the story. You watched as God took a great time of turmoil, moved in with His own special touch, took the threads of despair and wove them together into a blanket with incredible beauty. Beauty that could only come from the hand of God.

The stories I could tell you from my own life. Let me share one with you this morning. Daniel was born January 21, 1993 in Valdivia, Chile. His birth mom was Rosa a young Chilean servant girl to a native Pastor and his family. She felt that it was in the best interest of this newborn that she placed him up for adoption. The Pastors wife had a sister who met and married an American while she was in the states for college. Over the years she had helped 10 different American couples adopt babies from Chile. She and her family were members of the church where I was serving as a youth pastor. Pam and I had always loved and wanted children but were unable to have our own by birth, as a result we were pursuing adoption. She along with our senior Pastor met with us and asked us to pray about adopting this soon to be newborn in Chile. In July of 1992 we began the process of international adoption. It was a long process but God seemed to be at work in every part of the process. International adoption can be very difficult but with God's hand at work every door seemed to open and every hurdle seemed like nothing more than a small fence you might have around a tomato plant in your garden. International adoption can also be very expensive but in God's graciousness He took care of all our financial needs to the tune of $15,000 +. So on January 28th Pam and I along with our Chilean friend and her son boarded a plane for Chile. The next morning we held little Daniel in our arms for the first time. We were certain that it wouldn't be long until Daniel would be home with us in America Sleeping in his own crib in a room we had joyously decorated for him. There were still a few loose ends to tie up so one week later I headed back to the states leaving Pam behind to care for Daniel. One thing led to another and as quickly as the doors had opened before, they were now closing and the hurdles were turning into insurmountable walls. Confidently we moved on, if the walls of Jericho were no problem for God then why should these be any different? For the next four months Pam lived in a foreign country with very little ability to communicate, pouring everything she had into Daniel. With no other family within 10,000 miles of her, Daniel became everything to her. Each day she took long walks carrying Daniel in a pouch across her chest, each night he slept in a basket within her reach. The bond was very strong. That mattered little, as the door was quickly closing. Finally, at the end of April, I boarded a plane headed for Chile, still hoping to bring Pam and Daniel home with me. As our final attempt, we flew to Santiago, the capital of Chile and met with a wealthy lawyer. As if it were yesterday, I remember setting across from the lawyer in his high backed leather chair. He reclined slightly in his chair, folded his hands across his chest and told me that for another $10,000 American dollars we could take Daniel home with us. As I listened I knew, his intention were not legal. I can honestly say that money had nothing to do with our decision. Had it been legal, God would have provided. We knew God would not bless our family if we chose to do what we knew to be wrong. With heavy hearts, I turned to walk out of the door. That night, we placed Daniel back into the arms of his birth mom, Rosa, went back to our room and wept as we held each other. Soon we were back in the States facing an empty crib. The pain was incredible. At times like this it is hard to see the hand of God. All you can do is trust that God knows what He is doing. While this may be reassuring intellectually, it does virtually nothing to remove the tears. Over the next 2-3 years our tears flowed frequently.

You have heard the phrase "hind sight is 20/20". Well now, 6 ½ years later, our vision is clear. God did several great things through that tragic time in our life. Our next door neighbor watched us closely as we traveled those troubled waters. She had two children from two different men and many a night different cars would be parked in front of her house all night. Several months later there was a knock at our door. When we opened the door we stood face to face with our neighbor. Her eyes were wet with tears. That morning one of the owners of those "different cars" had taken his own life. She had broken off the relationship and it was more than he could handle. She watched how we had handled the loss of Daniel and wanted to know what enabled us to survive. Within a week she bowed before the throne of the One who laid His own life down for her. Our loss opened the door for her gain.

Many things have happened in the years since we went home empty handed. Yesterday as I was recording my thoughts in the very journal you are reading from, my two year old daughter sat on my lap helping me write, and what a big help she is! As a direct result of our adventure in Chile, God opened up the door for us to adopt, not one but 2 children. Brittany came from a family whose grandmother had prayed for us as we traveled those rough waters. Later, one of her granddaughters, age 19, became pregnant, out of wedlock. She had been raised in a fatherless home and wanted a different life for the child she was carrying. Brittany was that child. Because of her grandmother praying for us she wanted us to adopt her baby. Our 9 year old, Steven, is also a direct result of what took place in Chile. God was at work opening doors only He knew existed. That is the way He works.

Are you traveling through some rough waters today? Have you reached a point where you feel as though God has blown it, lost control, let you down in a major way? Wait patiently, my friend. Chances are He is opening a door for you that you do not even know is there. For if His eye is on the sparrow, you can know He watches you!

He Knows Your Pain

2007-02-01T09:07:00.000-06:00

Mark 15:16-20 16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. NIV

At any point in time He could have ended the torment. He had done nothing worthy of the mockery He was receiving from these soldiers, nothing! Of course, when you think about it, much of the time mockery isn't earned. It is just something that is dished out by people with brutal, hateful hearts. If it is earned, it is earned by being a little different than what is considered "normal". By being a little too short, or too tall of too heavy. It could be that there is a physical deformity or a problem mentally. Maybe there is an ugly birthmark or that a person, by human standards, is not physically attractive.

My younger sister, Joy, was mocked because her face was covered with scars, the result of an attack of a dog. One cheek gone, nose and chin hanging by a piece of skin, teeth marks everywhere. This was in 1971. The doctors did everything they could to repair the damage, but still the face was covered with scars. "Scar face" and "Dog face" were names Joy heard all too frequently. I, too, have been on the receiving end of mockery on many occasions. Much as I hate to admit it, I have delivered mockery as well. Chances are, you can relate to either or both ends of the mockery spectrum.

The point is, you have a God who can relate to you. He doesn't just sit, high up in heaven, on His golden throne, uncaringly ruling with an iron scepter. He understands, not just because He is all knowing. Have you been abused? To you Jesus says; "I've been there too!" Have people torn you apart by words that cut like a knife? Jesus words to you; "I understand your pain!" Been picked on? His word to you; "May I show you My scars?" Isn't it amazing that God can relate to us?! His understanding comes from a "Been there, felt you pain" point of view.

There is, however, one glaring difference. At any point in time, He could have ended the pain with nothing more than a thought. Take today's passage for instance. With a mere thought from His mind Jesus, could have called legions of angels to vanquish those delivering the verbal and physical blows. It would have only taken one angel to send His tormentors scurrying for a rock to hide under. What would you have done with that kind of power at your disposal? I know what I would have done; I would have called for the angel! "Mock me will you, I'll show you what pain is all about!" My guess is, you would have done the same. Not Jesus! He silently took the blows. He knew the names of those who beat Him and He lifted those names to His Father's throne. Every piece of flesh ripped from His broken body by that "cat of nine tails" loudly proclaimed "I love you!" He hung from that cross, blood pouring from the nails in His hands and feet and the crown of thorns upon His head, face beaten so badly that He barely looked like a man, and said; "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." At any point in time He could have ended this barrage of pain and insults, but He chose not to.

In fact, let me carry this thought even a step farther, it wasn't just that He chose not to end it. No, He chose to let it begin. He came to earth knowing, in advance, everything that would happen to Him. He wasn't surprised by the hateful words. Not a single blow caught Him off guard. He knew, long before it ever happened, about the crown of thorns and nails in His hands and feet. With full knowledge of what was to come, Jesus chose to lay aside His royal robes and heavenly throne and descended from heaven to experience our pain. What's more, the Bible tells us He did it "For the joy set before Him". Perhaps right now you are wondering "Why, Why would anyone choose to experience that kind of pain?" The answer is a simple one; because He loves you! He went through it all because He loves you. Wait, there's more. If you put your faith and trust in Him, the day will come when He Himself will wipe away every tear on your face. He will do so with a grossly disfigured hand from a nail thrust through it. His scars will remain as an eternal testimony of His great love for you. Won't you reach out today and receive the life changing touch of the Masters hand.

Bright Lights and Dark Secrets

2007-01-31T09:55:00.000-06:00

John 3:20 "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

Pam and I have always enjoyed watching mysteries, whether it is movies or television shows. Last night we watched Diagnosis Murder. During the show a young medical student killed a nurse who he had been dating. He found out she was pregnant. The problem, besides the obvious, was he was in the third year of medical school and didn't want to drop out to care for a family. Did I mention he was also engaged to another gal? Oh the tangled webs we weave! He took a whole bottle of gel caps she had a prescription for and dumped the contents into some soup he had purchased at a local Chinese restaurant. He then left for a short time and returned later to clean up the mess. There she lay, dead on the floor. He grabbed her underneath her arms and drug her over to the couch. He then pressed her fingers on the empty pill bottle so there would be fingerprints, giving the perception of suicide. While he was out he also purchased more soup. He then dumped the contents of the drugged soup down the drain as well as some of the new soup so it would look like some of it had been eaten. It was a carefully thought out plan, he thought of everything, well, almost everything. Did you know you can see things more clearly in the day than you can at night? What he didn't realize was that during the daylight hours there were visible tracks on the carpet where he drug the nurse after she died. He couldn't see them at night, but with the sunlight streaming through the windows they were clearly visible. That made Dr. Mark Sloan a little suspicious. And soon they had their murderer. If only they had done their investigation in the evening.

In today's passage we see something similar. John 3:20 says, "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." The truth is, just about everyone has secrets. Either things in their past, or even things in the present, that they would just as soon remain a secret. Thing we aren't proud of, worse yet, things we want to hold on to. In some cases, we rationalize that since we do these things in the private, there is no reason that they can't remain private. In other cases, we may rationalize, that we really aren't hurting anyone. Maybe the secret is just within the realms of our thought life. A grudge, a refusal to forgive, animosity towards another… the list of secret sins is virtually endless. I guess the real question is, are there really any secrets? Sure, we may be the only person who knows about it or them, but what about God. Can we keep secrets from Him? I think we all know the answer to that question, but lets look at the Word of God just in case. In Psalms 139:7-12, the Psalmist writes:
7Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

The reality is, there are no secrets from God. I must admit, that doesn't necessarily make me feel very good. Be honest with me for a minute, aren't there certain things you would just as soon God not know about? That is not the case, there are no secrets, the Word of God is very clear, there is nothing hidden from the eyes of God.

Perhaps you may be thinking, "Yea but my stuff really isn't that big a deal. In fact, much of the world wouldn't even have a problem with my "secrets". I'll bet you that there was a time Isaiah the prophet thought the same things. By the worlds standards he was a righteous man. Practically everyone, if not everyone who knew him would have described him as blameless. Then one day, he stood in the presence of the glory of God. Let’s take a minute and look at what this "blameless man" said at that moment. It is recorded in Isaiah 6:1-5;
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

"Woe to me." Isn't it amazing that this righteous man would feel so guilty in the presence of God's glory. I remember one time when Pam and I were looking for a house or apartment to call home. We looked at one place in the late evening. The place looked good enough that we decided that we ought to take another look. Sometime later, over the next few days, we went back to see the place during the daylight hours. Boy were we in for a surprise. The walls were filthy, there were dead bugs everywhere. We couldn't see any of those things at night, but the light of day opened our eyes to things we couldn't see before. I believe that is exactly what Isaiah was stuck with. Compared to other people, Isaiah really was righteous, but in the presence of God's glory, his eyes were opened to things he couldn't see before, and what he saw was anything but righteous.

One of the things I really love about the Word of God is that the passage doesn't end there. It goes on to say;
6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

"your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." What an awesome statement! What did Isaiah do to receive atonement? Basically, he agreed with God. He saw himself for what he truly was, a sinner in need of God's grace. Are we not the same? We are certainly far from righteous. In fact, I'll bet, that most of us don't even approach Isaiah's righteousness, let alone God's righteousness. However, it is no harder for us to receive atonement, that it was for Isaiah. The truth is, it's easier, we don't have to experience a hot coal. Actually, the coal is basically a picture of cleansing. God frequently used fire to cleanse sin. That is what we see hear. The coal wasn't used to hurt Isaiah. It was used to cleanse him. Our cleansing comes from something else. Something just as strange from a human standpoint. It comes from blood, not our own, but the blood of Jesus. Like Isaiah, we can have our guilt taken away and our sin atoned. Like Isaiah, we must see our sin for what it is, agree with God and confess it to him. Only then can we say to God, "Here am I. Send me!" So lets remember that we are never hidden from the light of God's glory, continually confess our sins to God, turn form them and go where He sends us.

In His service,

Jim Canady

They devoted themselves to... (part 4)

2007-01-30T10:04:00.000-06:00

Here is part 4 in our look at the key ingredients to the success and growth of the early church. Again I want to reiterate that I believe that we will see there, key ingredients that will work for us too. Let me know what you think, I value your comments.
Jim

Acts 2:42-47 "42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

We have now come to the 4th and last of the basic areas that were keys to unlocking the success of the early church. That key is prayer. Prayer is perhaps the most intimate of the four keys. First, it is intimate because it is that time where we have the opportunity to be one on One with the Creator of the universe. Did you pick that up? It is that time where we have the opportunity to be one on One with the Creator of the universe. How incredible is that! I can't even get an audience one on one with the President of the United States, yet any time I want to, I can step into the Holy of Holies and have a conversation with the Almighty. As amazing as that sounds, allow me to let you in on something even more amazing, God wants me to come to Him. He actually desires my presence. This is a truth I will never understand. Want to know something even more incredible? Most people, who call themselves Christians, go through entire days without ever going one on One with God. Perhaps they give up a quick prayer at meal time, could be they shoot another one God's way as they kneel by the bedside of their child each night, but far too much of the time, that is the extent of their intimacy with the Almighty. Folks, there is a word for that, the word, "STUPID." It is absolutely stupid. I'm sorry, perhaps you are offended by my choice of words, but to be honest, so am I. In my home we aren't even allowed to use that word, but I can't think of a better word. What would you call me if the President's limo pulled into my driveway, he walked up to my front door, rang the doorbell and requested a moment of my time, only to have me turn him away because I was in the middle of a good TV program? I'll bet you'd call me a stupid idiot. Check it out – you added a bad word to my bad word. Guess what? I think I would agree with you. Even if the President was someone I didn't vote for, if he rang my doorbell and requested a bit of my time, I'd turn off the TV and sit down and chat with him. (Of course, if it was a Bronco game, I might put a video tape in and record it.)

The point is this, far too much of the time we don't even think of the incredible opportunity we have. I wish I could tell you why, but I can't. It just happens. I think that part of it is we have the wrong perception of what prayer is. When someone mentions prayer, we think of long boring prayer meetings at church or of an old saint on his knees in front of his chair or other picture like those. But is that really an accurate picture of what prayer is? I really don't think it is.

Prayer is basically a conversation. Sure it's between you and God, but it is still a conversation and it can take place at any moment in any location. On many days my conversation with God starts while I am in the shower. By that time I have had my morning power drink. The coffee is brewing, I have shaved and my mind is just beginning to function properly. Other times I pray when I am driving. The point is this, there is virtually no place or time I can't pray. The sooner we realize and take advantage of this, the sooner our relationship with God grows more special and more intimate. I can't think of any reason why we wouldn't want to have a more intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.

There is yet another reason why prayer is one of the most intimate of the four keys to success. This reason is actually a little harder to understand. It's harder to understand because we really don't understand how it works, but it works none-the-less. That reason? Somehow prayer moves the hand of God. I really can't tell you how or why it moves the hand of God, but it does. I am convinced that certain things happen or don't happen as a direct result of prayer. Look at Scripture, James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Another passage simply states, "You have not, because you ask not." Perhaps it is because God desires that intimate relationship with us that our prayers move His hand. Sort of like He is blessing our desire to get to know Him better. While I don't know how prayer works, that's not about to stop me from praying. I hope that is true of you as well. You see, I want my intimacy with the Almighty to grow more each day, and I want to be part of the hand of God moving. May my prayer life grow stronger and stronger in the days, months, and years ahead.

We have now taken a closer look at the 4 basic areas that the early church had a unique commitment to. These things were huge in bringing success in the early church. They are:
1. They devoted themselves to "the apostles teaching" (The Word of God)
2. They devoted themselves to "fellowship."
3. They devoted themselves to "the breaking of bread." (The celebration of communion.)
4. They devoted themselves to "prayer."

We have also seen the results of their commitment in these 4 basic areas.
1. "Everyone was filled with awe."
2. "Many wonders and miraculous signs were done."
3. "All believers were together and had everything in common."
4. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Wow, talk about unselfishness.)
5. They regularly met together "with glad and sincere hearts."
6. "Enjoying the favor of all people."
7. "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

As I mentioned at the very start, what an incredible passage. The truth is, it is incredible enough that it ever took place, but its incredibleness multiplies at the thought that is wasn't exclusive to the early church. These things can take place today as well. Oh, perhaps it may not take place in the same magnitude, that it took place in the early church. There was a unique freshness to everything back then because so many had witnessed first hand the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, that does not change the amazing thing that can still take place if we devote ourselves in those 4 areas. If we will devote ourselves to "the apostles' teaching", to the reading and application of the Word of God, we will inevitably grow stronger in our relationship to God. We cannot help but be impacted by His Word. We will also find that our struggle with sin will decrease.

Which is also a result of His Word impacting our lives. If we will devote ourselves more fully to the "fellowship", it won't take long before we realize that we aren't in this alone. The fact of the matter is, if you are actively involved in a good church where there are many committed and growing Christians you will find out that no matter what struggle you are facing, someone else in your fellowship has already walked that road, or one very similar to it. They can come along side you and help you grow through the struggle. If we will devote ourselves more fully to "the breaking of the bread" the picture in our mind's eye of what Christ did for us on the cross can't help but impact our relationship with Him. I can't imagine not wanting to more fully live for Him, when we think of His death for us. If we will more fully devote ourselves to "prayer", the power of that prayer answering God, will become more evident in our lives. That will not only have a pronounced impact on our own life, but on the lives of others as well.

In the mid nineties the most powerful team in college football was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They won three championships in four years and only missed the fourth by about a yard as a would-be game winning full goal sailed wide to the left. Yet as I look back on those teams, I see that they weren't filled with a bunch of superstars. The NFL has a ton of players from colleges like Miami, Florida and Florida State. Very few from Nebraska, yet they faced each other in head to head competition, Nebraska didn't just beat them, they dominated them, even though those other teams had more talent. What made Nebraska different? They had a few key areas they devoted themselves to and together they applied themselves as a team, to those areas. The same holds true for the church. It doesn't have to be loaded with superstars, just ordinary people with a strong devotion to a few key areas and the life changing success will be incredible. "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Becoming more devoted each day,

Jim

They devoted themselves to... (part 3)

2007-01-29T09:13:00.000-06:00

Here is part 3 in our look at the key ingredients to the success and growth of the early church. Keep in mind as you read this post, most of this is not from history. Just a little Canadiology. Again I want to reiterate that I believe that we will see there, key ingredients that will work for us too. Let me know what you think, I value your comments. Jim

Acts 2:42-47 "42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

This brings us to the next basic area, the early church devoted themselves to "the breaking of bread." What we are talking about here is not sharing meals together, not only is that addressed in verse 46 but chances are, it would also fall under the category of "fellowship." What we are talking about here is communion. Perhaps you are taken a bit off guard at having such an emphasis on communion. I mean, what's the big deal here? Most churches today have communion once a month if that. How is it such a key to the success of the early church? Would you go on a little trip with me for a moment? Let's take a trip back in time. Watch your head as you step into my time machine. Now, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Let's go back close to 2000 years. Now I need to warn you ahead of time, you are about to witness some pretty graphic scenes. This trip is not for the weak of stomach individual. Could you please pull the door shut behind you? Thanks, and turn that handle till it locks into place. My hand reaches for a knob or two, push a button. All of the sudden you feel the little time machine start to rumble, the lights flicker off and on. You watch the numbers on the display start to fly backwards as you hear it hum.

Then the humming slows down, the numbers slow down until suddenly everything stops. The little chamber fills with mist. I reach for the handle, turn it and open the door. You follow me as we step out into the sunlight. There is almost a deafening roar rising into the air; "Crucify Him!" came the angry cries. A voice to the right yells, "Give us Barabas!" To the left, "Yes and crucify Jesus!" The crowd roars in agreement. You look at the faces of the people shouting in utter disbelief. You move in anger to the man to the left, "No, you don't know what you're saying. This is Jesus, the Son of God!" Immediately those close by turn their anger on you. The man you just shouted at pushes you in anger. You fall back to the ground, look up and see faces filled with hatred. One man puts his foot on your chest pints his finger to the front of the crowd and says, "Would you like to join Him?" Your eyes move from the angry crowd to the one at the front. Face covered with blood and bruises, badly swollen from multiple blows, your stomach churns at the sight of the badly disfigured man. Somehow, you didn't picture this scene nearly as gruesome as it actually was. To the right of the One you now know as Jesus, stood a man in a regal robe. He steps to a basin, washes his hands and declared, "I am innocent of this man's blood, it is your responsibility!" The man whose foot was still firmly planted on your chest shouted, "Let His blood be on us and on our children!" While the shouts grew louder, the foot lifted from your chest as the crowd moved forward. You stood to your feet in disbelief at what was taking place. Taking everything in, you look at each face, then in absolute horror, you see something in their faces that sickens you. You fight back the vomit at what you see. In each and every face, you see a bit of yourself. Your eyes well up with tears as you realize, had you really been there that day, those shouts would have been yours. You turn and look at me, tears now flowing down your cheeks,
"Please take me away from this place."
"We have one more stop before we can return."
"I want to return now!"
"No, this is a stop we really need to make."

We step back into the time machine, pulling and latching the door behind us. I make a few adjustments, push a button. The machine whirs, then quickly stops. You watch as I open the door, then follow me into the sunlight. We find ourselves in the midst of a small crowd. A hush comes over the crowd as a man steps forward turns and faces the crowd, then begins to speak. "We come here today as a part of a sacred celebration. As you all know full well, I was with Jesus the night He was betrayed. That was a night I will never forget. It was a night I never want to forget. My heart grieves at the thought of my denial of Jesus that night. Yet at the same time, I rejoice because since that day, I have felt the touch of my Master's hand. He has lifted His cup of forgiveness to my lips and I have tasted its sweet juices. We have all come here today to celebrate and to remember. Take a minute and look around you." Your eyes began to move about the room. Everywhere you looked the tears flowed. Then, you saw him. Not 2 feet from you was the angry man from the mob. The one whose foot pushed heavily on your chest, who shouted "Let His blood be on us and our children." His body shook as he wept. At his side, stood 2 small boys. Here he was remembering the one whose blood he shouted for. Then, the man from the front began to speak again. He looked back in our directions and pointed to the man you had been watching. "Simeon, come here to me." With a broken and contrite spirit, Simeon walked to the man I figured to be Peter. "Why do you weep so, my friend?" Simeon's eyes never left the floor. "I called for His blood, not just upon me but my children as well." Peter reached under his chin, lifted his head and looked deep into his eyes. "And His blood you have received. It is the very blood you shouted for that we are here to remember today. It is that blood that enables me, the one who denied three times that – I even knew who He was, that blood enables me to stand before you today not broken but forgiven. Simeon, the difference between you and me on that day is this – you didn't fully understand what you were doing. I completely understand yet still denied Him. I find it hard to believe that He could ever forgive me, but I am not so foolish as to deny the blood you called for, and today, I echo your words. 'May His blood be upon us and our children.'"

With that, his eyes left Simeon and looked out over the crowd. Then he lifted a piece of unleavened bread above his head. "My brothers and sisters, this bread represents the body of Jesus." At that, he broke the bread in two. "His body that was broken for us, take and eat this bread, remembering His body broken for us." With that, the crowd made its way to the front and one by one took a piece of the broken bread and ate it. It was very clear to me that everyone's minds were drawn to the broken body of Jesus as He hung on the cross that day. When everyone was finished, Peter lifted a cup of wine above his head. "My brothers and sisters, the wine in this cup represents the blood of Jesus." His hand touched the shoulder of Simeon, the blood that many of us called for. "No, let me change that, it is the blood that the sins of all of us shouted for that day." He smiled softly as he looked up at the cup, "May His blood be on us and our children! May we never ever forget that blood, and my we joyously taste the sweet cleansing power of that blood until the day we see Him face to face." After he said those words, the disciples that were with him passed their cups among the crowd. Each mind was drawn to the bleeding Messiah as they sipped from the cup. As sweeter taste never graced their tongues before. When the last person drank from the cup, we made our way back to the time machine. Soon we are back to the present.

I don't know about you, but for me, communion will never again be the same. It was your sin and mine that loudly shouted that day "May His blood be on us and on our children." Remembering the broken body of Jesus, and the cleansing power of His blood will always be major keys to the success of the church in every age. "May His blood be on us and on our children."

Desperately in need of the blood,

Jim

They devoted themselves to...

2007-01-26T09:51:00.000-06:00

Here is part 2 in our look at the key ingredients to the success and growth of the early church. Again I want to reiterate that I believe that we will see there, key ingredients that will work for us too. Let me know what you think, I value your comments.
Jim

Acts 2:42-47 "42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

The next basic area the early church devoted itself to was to "fellowship." Now, perhaps there are some who will look at this and think "fellowship." What's the big deal with fellowship? But there is a difference between the fellowship we experience in this day and age and that of the early church. To a large degree, we equate fellowship with that time before and after a church service. You know what I mean, we talk briefly as we run our kids to the nursery or as we look for our usual seat in the sanctuary. "How was your week?" “You gonna watch the big game today." "Can you believe that thunderstorm that blew through here last night?" For the most part it's nothing more than small talk, just a little polite superficial conversation before we find our seat or load into the car. That was not the case with the early church. To the early church, fellowship was a big deal. These folks were family. Oh perhaps not in the literal sense, but figuratively they became family. You see, in those days to become a follower of Christ meant you abandoned the Jewish faith. In many cases, that meant you would be rejected by your own family. In some cases, you were declared dead by your family, to the point of a funeral. When the early church would fellowship, it was far more than superficial conversations. They became family to one another. Their fellowship was a deep and sincere commitment to each other. They needed each other in a very big way. To the early church, fellowship was a big deal so they took it seriously.

Chances are, the thoughts in many of your minds right now are, "But those things are not the case today. We don't face that type of rejection when we put our faith and trust in Christ." I will not dispute you on this. For the most part, you are exactly correct. However, that does not in any way negate the importance of fellowship. To start with, fellowship is not an option, it is a command! That's right, it's commanded. Look at Hebrews 10:25 for a moment, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching." These words are strong enough already, but they are even stronger in language in which they were written. In the Greek, the word for "give up" speaks of desertion and abandonment. Do you get the picture of those strong words? As has always been the case, there are few things that we look down upon more than those who abandon or desert their friends or comrades in their hour of need. So serious is desertion that in many armies today, and throughout history, if you were found to be a deserter, you were put to death. You see, on the battle field, every soldier is important, every soldier! Just one deserter could bring about great defeat. These things hold true in our spiritual life as well. Every believer is important, every believer! Just one deserter can bring about great defeat. We need each other, and fellowship is one of the ways we come along side one another. Fellowship is so much more than just brief conversations before or after church. Fellowship is living life together. It is being there for one another. Praying for one another, holding one another accountable, weeping together, laughing together, studying God's Word together, singing praises together, it is giving and receiving advice and direction. It is spurring one another forward in spiritual growth. If fellowship is carried out to its fullest degree, individual believers grow stronger in their relationship to Jesus Christ. If individual believers grow in their relationship to Jesus Christ, they become more and more effective at living out their Christian life. As this happens, they are better equipped to win their friends, co-workers, family, neighbors…to Christ. "And the Lord (adds) to their number daily those who are being saved."

Increasingly devoted to One-Anothering,

Jim

2007-01-25T09:13:00.000-06:00

For the next few days, let's take a look at the key ingredients to the success and growth of the early church. I believe that we will see there, key ingredients that will work for us too. Let me know what you think, I value your comments. Jim

Acts 2:42-47 "42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

What an incredible passage! The truth is, it's hard not to look at a passage like this and get a touch jealous. Can anyone else relate to those feelings? It's not that you didn't want the early church to experience these things. It's just, well, you yourself want to experience it too! I mean, look at verse 43. "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wondrous and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." Or how about verse 47? "Praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Now this is good stuff! Sadly, it's something that the church as a whole today, only experiences through the pages of the Bible. We don't get the privilege of walking in those shoes. I suppose there are many out there that believe this was just simply unique to the early church. While there may be some validity to that, I believe that the uniqueness is not the result of God reserving it for that specific time and place. Rather, the uniqueness is there because of a unique price being paid, a price far too few Christians today are willing to pay.

Do you understand what I am saying here? What I am saying is exactly this; these things happened largely because the early church had a strong devotion in 4 basic areas.
1. "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching." Simply put, they were devoted to the learning and application of the Word of God. Now, for the early church, this meant that they needed to meet together on a daily basis; "every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts." At that point in Church history, the main way to receive the Word of God was from His chosen servants. In this case, that meant listening to the words of the apostles. These folks had a great hunger for God's Word. As a result, a vital part of their schedules was devoted to heading to the temple courts to listen to the apostles. You and I are far more fortunate. Our daily devotion to His Word takes no more effort than to sit down in our favorite chair, open up the Bible and read the very Word of God. You absolutely will not have the success God wants you to have in the Christian life, if you aren't willing to devote yourself to the reading and application of His Word, and simply listening to the servants of God a couple times a week is not enough. It is absolutely imperative that we have as an important, even the most important, part of our schedule, time in God's Word. According to Acts 2:46, the early church did it daily – I can't think of a single reason why we shouldn't follow their pattern.

I need to be honest with you for a moment, the times in my life where I struggle the most with sin, are those times when I have neglected this important area in my life. When you think about it, doesn't that make sense? Often times the Word of God is compared to bread and bread basically represents food. In your physical life if you don't eat on a daily basis, you become weak and vulnerable. Things that you could normally do with ease are very difficult, if not impossible to do. Why? Because we need food to sustain us! It gives us strength and energy. The same is true of our spiritual life. It is our regular times in God's Word that gives us spiritual strength and energy. As a result, our spiritual life is marked more by victories than it is by defeat. Do you want to have a victorious spiritual life? Devote yourself daily to the Word of God.

Hungering for more,

Jim

Actors on the Stage of Life

2007-01-24T08:38:00.000-06:00

John 5:9-11; 16; 18 "At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man healed, 'It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.'11But he replied, 'The Man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk''…16So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted Him…18For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him"

I have spent a great deal of my life in the church. The first 18 years of my life as a preachers kid, the last 23 years as either a volunteer or a Youth Pastor. When you work as a part of the "inside bunch" in the church, you see and hear things that the average church attendee doesn't. You see the human side of some of the great leaders of the local church, and the picture isn't always pretty. I was a Youth Pastor in one church where it took 5 board meetings before the elders finally and reluctantly gave our Junior High kids permission to splatter-paint their youth room. It was as if the walls of the church building were sacred. In fact, there are far too many who have a higher regard for the church building than they do for those who walk through the doors of the church. The hair on the back of their neck stands up when they see a child spill some of his drink or drop some cookie crumbs. They mumble under their breath when they see a spot on the carpet where someone spilt some coffee. Please don't misunderstand me here. I'm all for taking good care of the church building. I'm pretty particular about the church building looking its best, but the church building is just that, a building. I don't believe there is anything sacred about it, and far too frequently we are more concerned with the "sanctuary" of the church building, than we are with the sanctuary that God Himself indwells, the people! To be honest we often times can't see the forest through the trees.

Guess what, this has been a problem through the ages. Jesus dealt with it in His day as well. Check out John 5: 10 and following. Here's a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. He has an encounter with Jesus, is healed, and obediently picks up his mat and walks. His first encounter with the spiritual leaders brings, not rejoicing at his miraculous healing, but criticism at the heavy load he is carrying on the Sabbath. Kinda makes you feel warm all over doesn't it? Later, when they found out that Jesus had healed this man on the Sabbath, they plotted how they might put Jesus to death. Chances are, much of the community held these leaders in high regard, obediently followed their directives. Even this former invalid was careful to report back to them the identity of the Man who healed him as soon as he could identify Him. Not because of any feelings he had toward Jesus, but probably because these were his spiritual leaders. While on the outside these men looked pure and undefiled, on the inside they were covered with filth. Jesus was never fooled by their outward appearance. He saw their heart.

While it may look like I am seeking to influence you to be hesitant to trust the spiritual leaders around you, let me say that is not the case. Though I will be quick to add, you should never blindly follow anyone. The Apostle Paul put it best in 1 Corinthians 11:1 When he said; "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." Jesus is the due north we are to set our spiritual compass by. What I am trying to influence you to do is to look at your own heart. Do any of us really have the ability to influence anyone else to change? Not really, but we do have the ability to change ourselves. Just as Jesus saw the heart of those spiritual leaders that day, He sees our heart as well. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. What is it He sees when He peers into the depths of your heart? Now let me be quick to add something else at this point. I am also not trying to riddle all of us with guilt here. I understand that none of us will ever be able to fully measure up what God desires. However, that should most certainly be our pursuit, and, I believe, we should be able to identify progress in that journey. If those things are not clear, then perhaps the guilt is deserved.

What I am trying to do here, is to ask each of us to look at our own hearts. I don't know about you, but I happen to be a very good actor. Not the type that wins an academy award. There are no awards I know of for the type of acting at which I excel. Much of my life has been spent acting on a stage, a stage called life. I have fooled thousands over the years. Please understand, I'm not at all bragging here, but I was the one most moms wanted to marry their daughters. I was polite, kind, never missed church. I went to Bible college and studied to be a pastor. Everywhere I went I sought to be a leader and I succeeded. I was a very good athlete, was good looking by the worlds standards (still am!). I could stand in front of large crowd and deliver a message that could have them laughing one minute, and crying the next, but I want to be brutally honest here, a great deal of that time, I was acting. What the crowd saw, was not the reality of what and who I actually was, and while I may have fooled them, I never fooled God. He saw the condition of my heart, and what He saw wasn't at all pretty. As a result, a very important part of my world came crumbling down around me. What I needed was repentance, yet even with my feet covered in the rubble from what had crumbled around me, I still didn't want to repent. I have since repented, but you know, not a day goes by that I still don't battle putting on a performance for the stage called life. Chances are, that will be a never-ending battle. That is a part of my life I will have to daily nail to the cross.

What about you? When God peers into the depths of your heart, what does He see? Is the journey your on, one that is pleasing to Him, or are you heading down a path that breaks the heart of the One who was nailed to a cross for you? Take it from one who has been knee deep in unnecessary rubble, don't wait for the building to crumble, change now while you still can. The spiritual leaders Jesus battled eventually bowed low before Him, unfortunately, most bowed too late. Don't put it off another minute, because you may not have another minute, bow now!

Living on the stage of life,

Jim

BEGAN Part 4

2007-01-23T08:36:00.000-06:00

BEGAN
This is the last blog on the word, or perhaps better said, the work BEGAN. Again, please keep in mind that these blogs in particular, are purely specualtion. The stories come from church history, Fox Book of Martyrs, a book called Jesus Freaks, and my own memories. Enjoy, and please leave me a comment on what you think!! So far it looks like many have read these blogs, but none have posted any comments. Hopefully you folks don't think I have crossed the line on these blogs. If so, let me know!

Thanks, Jim

Acts 1:1
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach"

In the eyes of my mind, I see Luke pausing at this point. As his eyes close, the mind of the Almighty moves swiftly into the future to the end of the 16th century. There in the center of His sight is the Newgate prison. Not far in the distance is a procession. There in the middle of a group of heavily armed guards stood a man condemned to die by burning at the stake. The man, John Hooper, had been condemned for no other crime than that he would not bow to the church, his knees would bow to God and God alone!

As they moved through the streets of London towards Newgate prison. Some of the sheriff's men hastened quickly ahead to extinguish the candles of the street vendors for fear there may be an attempt to rescue Hooper. But the news that Hooper was coming moved more quickly than the guards. As the procession moved through the streets, the people came out of their houses, holding their candles high as a salute to John Hooper. As they looked upon his face, they saw absolutely no fear at all. In fact, as they looked into his eyes, there was an unmistakable joy evident to everyone. Not long afterwards Hooper stepped into the inner confines of that cold dark prison. As the door closed behind him, an eerie silence filled his jail cell. Over the next six days, he saw no one except those who his keepers wanted him to see. The eyes that he saw, the voices he heard, were those carefully selected by those who had imprisoned him. One by one his visitors would come, using every means they could devise: twisting the Scriptures according to their ways, offering friendship, great wealth, then strong threats. But nothing they said or did moved Hooper from his steadfast faith in Christ and the truth of God's word.

On Monday, February 4, 1555, the jail keeper told Hooper to prepare himself because he was going to be sent to Gloucester to suffer death. Upon hearing this, Hooper, who was formerly the bishop of Gloucester, rejoiced exceedingly, lifting his eyes and hands towards heaven, and praising God that he saw it good to send him back among the people over whom he was pastor, and there to confirm with his death the truth that he had taught them. He did not doubt but that God would give him strength to die well for His glory, and immediately he sent to his servant's house for his boots, spurs, and cloak so that he would be ready when he was called. When there were just over a mile outside of Gloucester, they began to hear the noise of crowds. Filled with fear, they sent one of the guards ahead to seek assistance from the mayor and the sheriff. For more than that last mile people crowded that roadside, crying and mourning his condition. When the time had come for him to be brought to the stake to be burned, the sheriff's men showed up with several clubs and weapons to which Hooper replied, "Master Sheriff, I am no traitor, and you have no need to make such a work to take me to the place where I must suffer. If you had told me, I would have gone alone to the stake, and have troubled none of you." About seven thousand people had gathered to see how Hooper would behave towards death. He smiled cheerfully at all who he recognized. After nearly forty-five minutes in the fire, his mouth black and tongue swollen, the crowd could still see his lips moving in prayer. Could it be that as Luke wrote the letter "n" that the eyes of the Almighty were looking into the future, peering through the walls of the Newgate Prison, fixed upon a man joyously awaiting the privilege of dying for Christ who went to the cross for him.

Perhaps you may be wondering today what these stories have to do with the work which Christ has "began" to us. The truth is, these stories, out of the history of the Christian faith, have to do with the very best part of that work begun in us. They deal with the ultimate completion of that work. There are many today that look at what Jesus did on the cross and see its ultimate fulfillment when a sinner puts his or her faith in Christ. They see the completeness in new birth. While new birth is a spectacular miracle, it is not the picture of completeness. The work has just begun. The joy of Christ is made complete when behavior changes, or language changes yes even when thoughts change. While it is true that all those things to bring joy to Christ, His joy is not made complete until that point in time in which the life of Christ so permeates our being that it is THE driving force behind all that we are, behind all that we do, behind all that we say. The joy of Christ is made complete, when our lives are so affected by that work He began in us, the HE IS OUR INDENTITY. Now if you are anything like me, you look at a statement like that and see nothing more than impossibility, and you are right. With us it is utterly and entirely impossible, but the work is not ours, it is God's and what IS impossible with us, is not impossible with God. May we, moment by moment, yield our lives to the Hands of the Master, that He may complete that work He started. That we may become Christ, to a world in desperate need of a Savior. May the story of our life in Christ not end with the word "began."

From one work in progress to another,

Jim

Please take of moment and let me know what you think about this series on the word "BEGAN" Thanks, Jim

BEGAN Part 3

2007-01-22T12:18:00.000-06:00

BEGAN

Here is day 3, today I will cover just 1 letter, though it is not very long. Tomorrow I will post the last blog on the word, or perhaps better said, the work BEGAN. Again, please keep in mind that these blogs in particular, are purely specualtion. The stories come from church history, Fox Book of Martyrs, a book called Jesus Freaks, and my own memories. Enjoy, and please leave me a comment on what you think!! So far it looks like many have read these blogs, but none have posted any comments. Hopefully you folks don't think I have crossed the line on these blogs. If so, let me know!

Thanks, Jim

Acts 1:1
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus BEGAN to do and to teach"

From the letter "g" the quill in Luke's hand moved next to the letter "a". As he wrote, I wonder if perhaps God may have closed His eyes and traveled into the future to the 16th century Scotland to the Abbey Church. On this particular day, George Wishart was surrounded by a virtual army. As they marched him up the steps to the Abbey Church, he paused briefly, and tossed his purse of money to a poor sick man laying on the steps. The doors of the church flung open and George was marched in to the front. The Cardinal, Dane John Vinryme, preached a sermon prepared especially for the ears of George Wishart. After the sermon, John Loader read a lengthy roll of eighteen charges against George. As he read, his anger increased so greatly that by the time he finished, sweat ran down his face and foam poured out of his mouth. Shortly afterwards, he was condemned to be executed by hanging and burning.

On the morning of his burning they put a black linen coat on him and tied several bags of gun powder to various parts of his body. They lead him to the stake with rope tied around his neck. Again he was surrounded by a virtual army with loaded weapons, ready to shoot any who interfered. At the stake, he fell to his knees and three times prayed, "O thou Savior of the world, have mercy on me. Father of Heaven, I commend my spirit into Thy Holy Hands. I beseech Thee, Father of Heaven, forgive them that have lied against me. I forgive them with all my heart. I ask Christ to forgive them, who out of ignorance, have condemned me." Then he turned to the people gathered there and said, "For the Word's sake and the true Gospel, which was given to me by the grace of God, I will suffer this day at the hands of men; not sorrowfully, but with a glad heart. For this cause I was sent, that I should suffer this for Christ's sake. Watch my face closely. You will not see me change color, for I do not fear this grim fire. I know surely that my soul shall dine this night with my Savior Christ. Upon hearing this, the hangman knelt before Wishart and said, "Sir, please forgive me, for I am not guilty of your death." Wishart replied, "Come here to me." When he did, Wishart kissed him on the cheek and said, "This is proof that I forgive you, my beloved. Do your work.."

Could it be that God's eyes were on the Abbey Church on George Wishart as Luke penned the letter "a"?

BEGAN Part 2

2007-01-19T09:02:00.000-06:00

Here is day 2, today I will cover 2 letters as they were not very long. Again, please keep in mind that these blogs in particular, are purely speculation. The stories come from church history, Fox Book of Martyrs, a book called Jesus Freaks, and my own memories. I pray that as you read these blogs on the word BEGAN, you will draw comfort that the God of the universe has BEGAN a work in you as well. May you yield to Him allowing Him to carry that work He has BEGAN to completion. Enjoy, and please leave me a comment on what you think!! Thanks, Jim

Acts 1:1"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach"

Then came the letter “e”. What went through the mind of God as Luke wrote the letter “e”? I wonder, was God’s mind drawn some 1500 years into the future to the country of England? Thomas Bilney was a professor or law at Cambridge University. After having been arrested for heresy, he was brought before the bishop of London. They threatened him repeatedly with torture and burning. Filled with fear, Thomas recanted his beliefs. After being freed, there was no joy in his heart. His mind raced one moment to the cross, another to Peter. Just a thought from the mind of Christ could have ended his turmoil – that thought never came. Then there was Peter. There was the dark day when Peter recanted his beliefs as well. Ah, but later, he was given a second chance. Could Thomas expect the same? Finally, with great sorrow, he repented and soon he was brought back before the Council and condemned to death by burning. Before Bilney was burned, he stated that he fully believed in the opinions of Martin Luther. When chained to the stake, he smiled at all who were there and said, “I have had many storms in this world, but soon my vessel will be on shore in heaven.” As the flames roared around him, he stood unmoved and cried out, “Jesus, I believe!” Then he went to meet Him in whom he believed. Is it possible that as Luke wrote the letter “e” that the mind of the Almighty was on England?

Next, the hand of Luke moved to the letter “g”. It’s hard to tell what God may have been picturing as Luke wrote this letter, but I wonder if God wasn’t thinking of another word. The word that comes to mind is the word “Greatness.” We learn from the Scripture that God sees greatness totally differently than does the world. Perhaps when thinking about greatness God’s mind moved 2,000 years into the future. To the world, there was nothing at all impressive about Doug, greatness and Doug didn’t even belong in the same sentence. But the eyes of the Almighty look deep, deep to the very depths of a man’s heart. It is there where you see the true measure of a man. When God’s eyes moved to the recesses of Doug’s heart, He saw greatness. The world saw a man who was unable to pass the eighth grade until his third attempt. God saw a man with the determination not to quit. The world saw a common laborer. God saw an uncommon servant. With all his heart, Doug wanted to be a missionary, but he wasn’t even great in their eyes. Doug’s determination made a mission field out of every path that lay before him. His place of employment, whether a farm, garage, or factory, was a mission field. The bowling alley was a mission field. If he opened a door, he opened a door to a mission field. When he put his vehicle in gear, his final destination was a mission field. To the world, he may not have qualified as a missionary, but as a missionary in God’s eyes, he was greatness personified. He was a missionary who was never off duty, who had one basic goal in life: to see people put their faith and trust in Christ. He was only 65 years old when he died. His funeral was in a church that held close to 500, packed with a standing room only crowd, one after another the stories were told by those whose lives had been touched by the greatness of this missionary, including a letter from the country of Russia, written by a missionary pastor, who attributed the existence of his church largely to the unswerving dedication of Doug. While the majority of the people on his short term mission trip saw the mission field in those they would have very little contact with, Doug saw a mission field in the young gal who provided translation for them, and on that first trip they made to Russia, she put her faith in Christ. That letter came from her home town, the missionary pastor, her husband. When Luke wrote the “g” on the parchment that day, could God’s mind have been on the “Greatness” of my father-in-law, Doug Mills?

BEGAN

2007-01-18T13:53:00.000-06:00

BEGAN
Over the next 4 days, I will be posting a blog that is tied together. It is, perhaps, too long for one blog so I am breaking it into 4 peices. Please keep in mind that these 4 blogs in particular, are purely specualtion. The stories come from church history, Fox Book of Martyrs, a book called Jesus Freaks, and my own memories. Enjoy, and please leave me a comment on what you think!! Thanks, Jim

Acts 1:1
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach"

From time to time, I am able to purchase new CD's. Unfortunately I can't do it as often as I would like to, there are so many out there I wish I owned. Last week, I purchased a new 2 CD worship set. There are many songs I enjoy, but one of my favorites it "He Who Began A Good Work In You." I guess that the thought of Christ starting and faithfully completing a work in me is very reassuring. Perhaps that is why one particular word really stands out to me in the first verse of Acts 1. The word "began" What is it about that word that stands out to me? I suppose it is the incompleteness of it, the fact that it is simply a starting point. His work didn't end with the disciples, it simply started, and the best part is, it continues today. It is a work in progress, and we have God's own assurance that He will carry it on to completion. Have you ever seen an incomplete project? It leaves you wondering what might have been.

It was almost 20 years ago that Pam and I were married. At that time, we lived in Baltimore Maryland. Six and seven times a week I would hop in my Ford pickup and make the trip down to Washington D.C. to work. Along the way each day, I passed a very interesting sight. I'm not sure whether it was an off ramp or an on ramp or something else. The only thing that was clear to me was that it was an incomplete project. It inclined up into the sky perhaps 50 feet or more and just ended. You could see pieces of rebar at the end of the ramp. Initially I thought it was simply a work in progress, but as I looked around, I saw no construction equipment, no workers on a break, no supplies waiting for the craftsman's skilled hands, nothing. We lived in the area for two years plus, and never once did I see any progress made. It wasn't a work in progress, it was a job that would never be completed. Incomplete jobs are bad enough, but it's even worse when the unfinished project clearly declares to all who pass by it, the vain effort of the workers.

Oh, but things are different with us. With on eye toward the future, Luke penned the word "began." Moved by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke dipped his quill into the inkwell and slowly and deliberately inscribed 5 letters on the parchment, B E G A N. I wondered if he paused for a moment, closed his eyes and tried to imagine what lay ahead? One thing was for sure, no matter how vivid his imagination, it fell far short of what lay ahead. Only God Himself could have come up with all that would take place as a result of that work which Christ "began" Perhaps as Luke wrote the letter "b", God's mind would be drawn to broken shackles, both literally and figuratively. Was His mind thinking ahead to Thomas Hawkins? Thomas Hawkins, shivering in the cold dark dungeon, shackles on his hands and feet because he refused to denounce his faith in Christ. This was to be his last night on earth. On this night, he was not alone. Three visitors huddled with him, oddly enough, the ones who came to give comfort received it. As they wept at the thought of their friend being consumed by the flames, his eyes welled up as well, not so much for what lay ahead for him. His tears were for his companions. The way things were going, soon they would feel the heat of the flame as well. They understood that probability as well; "Thomas" questioned one of his friends. "We are afraid." Then came a very strange request. "Soon we will follow you. We can do so without fear if you can give us some sort of sign from the flames. Something that would tell us it was worth it and that you are not alone in the flames." Together they came up with a plan. The assurance would come when Thomas raised his hands above his head and clapped them. They spent some time together in prayer before they had to leave. The next day, as they watched Thomas being led to the stake, they realized the problem with their plan. His hands were tied. They were slightly reassured when his hands were untied at the stake. Their hopes soon faded when his back was pushed against the stake, his hands pulled behind it and tied together again. They would never know whether or not it was worth it, for it would be impossible to clap his hands.

As the flames grew, their hearts sank. As his flesh began to melt, their tears began to flow. With anguished hearts, they turned to walk away. As they slowly pushed their ways through the crowd, the shouts changed to gasps. Wondering what was happening, his friends turned to look one last time. What they saw astonished them. High above his head, Thomas raised his hands. By now they were nothing more than stumps. With his chin lifted heavenward, he began to clap them together. It was as if he were boldly proclaiming to his friends that it was worth it. Was God's mind drawn to Thomas, who would never again experience bondage, as Luke wrote the letter "b?"