Friday, April 30, 2010

Death, Dying, and Time.

This year it has been ten years since my father passed from this life into eternity. It's never easy to loose someone you care about, its really hard to loose a parent. Every year it has gotten slightly easier to deal with. I just realized after going to Joe's funeral last week that it had been ten years since Dad died. Usually, I would remember the date he passed and I would think about him and get a little nostalgic. This year, I totally missed remembering his date by like three weeks.

Time, couple with a life connected to God makes the loss easier to deal with. For those that have lost someone and are still struggling understand this: There is no magic pill to take away the pain or the loss. If there were we'd all have taken it. Learning to deal with that pain and running to God in the midst of the pain is part of our growth as Christians and as people.

As tough as it is to do I say embrace the pain, turn it all over to the one who really knows and can do something about it. Turn it over to God.

Ten years later, I am thankful to have had my Dad in my life. I realize now, how much I have grown in God since he has left. Not that the two are related, but in many ways they are....

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Pain and Suffering

Today I stood at the foot of a bed. In the bed was a man that had suffered more over the last few years than anyone I had ever seen or heard about. I'll spare you the details...It was difficult for me to watch as an outsider, not a member of the family. This morning, he was released from his pain.

There's an old Wayne Watson song called Home Free. One of the lines in that song was: at the ultimate healing we will be home free. I have always loved that song and it's times like this that remind us that heaven is our home.

One thing I can say with certainty is this. God never promised us a life without pain and suffering. He simply promised us he'd be there with us in the midst of it. That doesn't bring much solace for those who grieve. But we all need to remind ourselves from time to time that God watched his own son suffer at the hands of those he was there to save.

My encouragement for each person that reads this blog is this. Take the time and thank God for everything in your life. The good, the bad, and the indifferent. You never know when it will be the last time you are able to do that. If you have issues that are unresolved with a parent, humble yourself and make your peace with them.

None of us is promised another breath.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Forget About God's Will

One of the major theme's of Chan's book Forgotten God is that we should spend less time trying to figure out what God's will is for our lives and spend more time allowing The Holy Spirit to speak to us and lead us.

WOW, how true is that!

If we could learn to get ourselves out of the way and learn to allow God a more prominent place in our lives the simple fact is we wouldn't even have to question what his will for our lives was. Why? Because if we were living lives lead by the spirit he'd lead us to the place where his will lies for us!

How do we get more of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Simple: 1st invite him and spend some quality time communing with him. 2nd, understand he speaks with a still small voice. In order to hear him you'll have to get some of the noise out of your life and get some quiet in your life.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Messed Up

I have been reading Francis Chan's book The Forgotten God. There have been numerous things in that book that have just plain messed me up. Pastor Chan asked the question if you and I are so good and so right how would the kingdom of God improve if everyone (all people in the church) were just like you?

For example:
  • Would there be more than enough love for God's people? Would everyone be a better friend?
  • Would the church thrive or collapse because of your giving? Remember everyone is just like you!
  • Would the hurting find love, acceptance, and help? Or would they face a world full of bitterness and fundamentalism?
  • Would anyone ever teach a class, hold a Bible study, or a home group? Or would people wander through life alone without the help of a brother or sister?
Now, of course this is not a realistic picture of how God chose to inhabit the earth. It's still a great reminder though that all of us have some growing to do, cause none of us have spiritually made it yet!