Suffering vs. Everything

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18 NASB

I am a worm of a man. I do not do what I would like to do and the things I do I struggle with them. I not only feel like Paul did in the chapter before the above verse, I think I have taken on his plight and perfected it. And oh how I suffer.

I suffer as a wimpy man, not able to do the right. I suffer as a worldly man, always about pleasing myself. I even suffer as a committed, obedient Christian. Wow, I can't get away from it! And by the way, if it isn't I who suffers, it is someone I love and for whom I care. Why do we have to struggle so?

I have observed that the usually good folk tend to get the backhand from the world. They try to bless and be a blessing and the world says, "No!" I watch the tender get tenderized, the giver get taken, and the friend get fried. Why would anyone want to be good, say good, or do good?

Yet in the context of this passage, the overriding theme is that God has given us hope in Christ for the future and even for the right stinking now. Who can come against His chosen ones, effectively? God is for us, it says. He has called us to a higher calling, so if we experience downturns, sufferings, loss, we still have hope.

I just went to a church service in Mesa, AZ and heard a testimony of a gal who got in an auto accident almost 15 years ago. The accident left her paralyzed from the neck down. Her husband dumped her, her body was ruined, and her future looked bleak at best. Yet there she was proclaiming the above verse's truth in the midst of her trauma. She boldly stated that the blessing in it all was her trauma bringing her to the place of receiving Christ's love. She was saved to serve in pain and loss, but she now knew a better way in a crippled body than she could have known in a health one. Jesus really has a better EVERYTHING.

So I say shut up to myself and suck it up Christian and know we are not lost in space. I am probably just speaking to myself.

When Were You Saved?

That was the question I asked my Dad this morning at our breakfast conference. I say conference because we have been having these kind of conversations ever since I came to stay with them during my sabbatical. I don't want to seem ungrateful at any level. I am enjoying immensely these daily talks.

"When were you saved?" I asked.

This simple question, and one which is often asked between Christian people, sparked a lively discussion concerning salvation, what it means, how it is expressed, and the significance all that has in this world. My father and I traded profound Biblical positions intertwined with our own brand of witticism. I am sure that anyone who knows us knows how serious, fun and rude that could be at the same time.

Needless to say, Grandma had to stop us from taking the whole morning on the subject we broached with that simple question.

For me, it was in the summer of 1976 at about 3 am. I was talking with my friend, Tom Jackson, when he asked me "What is keeping you from asking Jesus into your life?" After saying yes to Christ, My life has never been the same and I know that I am saved by His most wonderful grace to me.

Truth

"What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar..." Rom. 3:3-4 NASB

God is God. It is such an easy thing to say and from our perspective can be said very flippantly. For if God is God and His word is true, as He is, then there is a mandate hurled at each and every one of us. Will we obey that word or not? And our response, either affirmative or not, can never "nullify" the truth that God is God and we are obligated to that truth.

I think we Christians really like this idea when everything is going our way and our lives have no challenges presented to our faith. But oh how we squirm when this truth remains true, even when we want something else.

The Journey

I have heard it said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I am sure this is a sage saying and one that I truly believe. Really, if you don't step out, you will go nowhere.

Our journey to Nogales was not a thousand miles, but significant nonetheless. We started out on Sunday after church, planning to go as far as we could before we got tired or some other impediment got in our way.

Tiredness set in about St. George and we finally stopped in Mesquite for the night. We got up and ate breakfast to go on our way to Nogales that day. We got outside of Las Vegas and were just entering Boulder City (and over the Hoover dam) when our car stopped running turning a corner toward the dam.

I was able to pull the car over to the side and restart it, when I noticed the check engine light had turned on. We drove to a gas station to check it out and determined after visiting a auto parts store that we needed to have Nissan look at it.

We returned to Las Vegas to a dealership on that side of the town. There they told us we could get it fixed, but not until the next morning. We realized we weren't going anywhere so left it for the night and holed up in LV.

We finally got back on the road the following day (Tuesday) and arrived in Nogales safe and sound. We did arrive later than we had hoped, but we did arrive.

This sort of messed up our schedule for our stay in Arizona, but we were glad that the car had a problem so close to a large city and not out in the Northern Arizona desert.

The Greatest Triumphs

I don't think I will ever forget the message given by the director of the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (AIA) in the summer of 1979. We were at what was called the Institute for Biblical Studies at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins. During that time, my goal was to go to the institute and the subsequent CCC staff training. I had come on staff as an athlete with Athletes In Action's soccer team.

The director for the ministry shared with us the story of Israel and their entrance to the promised land from the wilderness, through Jericho, into the battle at Ai. His main point was that in the ebb and flow of the Christian's experience, the greatest triumphs follow the greatest defeats, and the greatest defeats tend to follow the greatest triumphs.

He used the picture given in the Old Testament of Israel leaving the "defeat" of the wilderness to present themselves faithful before God in doing the command He had given for them as they assaulted Jericho by faith. Following their Lord, they had a victory that by all standards should not have occurred. Miraculously the walls fell and the nation of Israel won the city, clearly, by the power of God.

From that "victory," Israel decided to do it their way against the much smaller and less defended city of Ai. As the story goes, they relied on their on power and wisdom and were soundly defeated by the defenders of Ai.

The messenger at that conference relayed to us that without a consistent reliance on the saving power and guidance of the Lord, we will continue a cycle of victory and defeat. And this cycle, if not short circuited, will lead us eventually to question the very power of God and God Himself. We must, according to him, present ourselves everyday in submission to His power, His wisdom, His grace, and His love if we are to see consistent victories in our lives.

I was reminded of that today as I confront my own victories and defeats. Oh Lord, forgive me my shallow life, relying on my own wisdom and not Yours. Help me to run to You and You alone for the things that I need and help me to see again Your way over mine.

God's people

I just finished trying to encourage a set of God's people who have come to mean a lot to me in my ten years at my church.

The teaching corps of my church's Bible study ministry are a group of people who truly exemplify God's fulfilled promise to teach us all things. Their commitment to the task of sharing the truth about Jesus and encouraging their classes to live it out is a great blessing to me. It is especially so as I prepare for my sabbatical. I know I will leave my church's Bible ministry in capable hands.

My prayer is that they will sense His presence and power as they endeavor to be what He has called them to be. May He allow them the privilege of seeing His hand clearly at work through them.

It's nice to know He answers us.

Strings

I have been watching my grand-daughter move all around the floor like a windup toy. In fact, her crawling not only is speedy, it is also very noisy. She almost laughs as she motors around the house. I am sure it is sheer joy!

One of the things that she is now getting "into" is the fringe of ANY article of clothing, rug, or other type of woven thing. She is enamored with the strings hanging off of whatever it may be. They catch in her fingers and she loves it!

Strings. Those hangy-downy things do seem to catch on things and you have to be careful because of them (in the case of my g-daughter it is all about in the mouth with the strings).

As I prepare for my sabbatical, I have discovered all the loose strings that I have and to make sure they don't catch on anything. I have them everywhere. To be sure, they are a sign of my being too spread out. As I get ready to go, they remind me how I need to parry down my life to something more manageable and God honoring with my time.

One way to take care of the strings in my grand-daughter's life is to cut the strings off of the things to which they are attached. That probably won't make my wife happy. Or I can keep a vigilant eye upon my grand-daughter and insure she doesn't get into the strings.

Maybe I should do the same.

Sabbatical

Fluffy is preparing for a sabbatical graciously provided by his church. He will be working every day on a manuscript concerning the Christian's challenge to live a life in harmony with God's desires without basing said life on circumstance.

During this respite from the day-to-day, Fluffy will try to share regularly the ideas and conclusions he makes. Perhaps this will be a momentous event, perhaps not. One thing is sure, it will be way different.

So, in the spirit of preparation...prepare yourself!

Biggles