You Can Have a Christ-less Christmas

I’m not very trendy.  Politically correct speech, trite talk and insincere platitudes irritate me.  Common cultural controversies seldom speak my heart or compel me to take a stand.

With that stated, you might not be surprised that hearing Season’s Greetings or Happy Holidays doesn’t offend me.  In fact, if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World, those greetings make sense and I’d rather you say them.  You should say what is in your heart because pretense and lies are destructive.

For the very same reason, you will hear from me, “Merry Christmas.”  Seasons come and seasons go.  If that is all I want to say, ‘hi’ or ‘hey’ should suffice.  And to me, happy holy-days are an oxymoron.  Happiness is circumstantial. Holy Days–if they are truly of a holy nature–transcend circumstances.  So, that leaves me with Merry Christmas.  Merriness is a wish for joy and life…and Christmas is Christ’s mass or the feast of Christ.  Indeed, my wish for everyone is Merry Christmas.

The heart-breaking truth, though is that …

…many do have a Christ-less Christmas.

Some folks know that is their reality…and others live in a deadly deception. That is why I hold fast to my words:  Merry Christmas.  Words matter and Scripture says we will have to give account for every word that proceeds from our mouths.  I’m not responsible for your words, nor are you responsible for mine.  But we each must say–and live out what we say–with integrity.

The world still needs the good news proclaimed by the angels at the birth of Christ.  It is the privilege and responsibility of every Christian. Love came down at Christmas time the songs say.  It is that which we celebrate at Christmas.  God loved us too much to leave us in the mess we created…in the messes we create.    He came to save us.  Christmas celebrates the arrival of hope; but Easter is the culmination.  The entirety of the picture brings abundance to our Christmas celebrations.

Check out this “Look at the Book” from John Piper on WHY Jesus chose to leave heaven and be born in a stable to a young girl.

It is the Gospel that creates an awareness of need in hearts.  The Gospel is
this:  man is lost without Jesus Christ.  There is no other explanation for why God would become man, suffer as He did and endure the Cross.  Jesus came because it was the only way for man and God to be reconciled. The same Gospel that creates awareness of need produces fulfillment.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, said in the Magnificat (Luke 1:53), God fills the hungry with good things. Too often, we fill ourselves with 12246761_10153603543295673_5486678576712313541_nthe stuff of this world and our souls fail to magnify God.  We lust but we seldom hunger…and we miss out on the Goodness of God.  That produces a Christ-less Christmas…a Christ-less life…a travesty.   The words that come from our mouths must match the lives we live.  Let folks say Season’s Greetings or Happy Holidays, but you, believer live with joy in the celebration of Christ!

How do you make sure your Christmas is Christ-full?

Advent: A Partridge in a Pear Tree?

It seems to be a rather odd song, doesn’t it?  What could assorted birds, maids ‘a-milking,’ drummers and dancers have to do with Christmas?  You might be surprised.  Before we start exploring the story, though, why not download a free coloring book to go with it at the DLTK site?  Then listen to the song as you read along:

This Christmas carol was published in England in the early 1800s but is believed to be of French origin.   While there is some dispute about the symbolism intended in the carol, several believe that it was a tool for Christians to memorize and share their faith.  Examining the gifts of each day provides a foundation to understand the awesome generosity of our God…and the abundance in the Christian faith.

If you really don’t enjoy reading but want to know the story, I recorded a video to tell the story but below you will find the story and the Scripture references to deepen your study. Traditions and history confound things a bit, so you may find those who celebrate the 12 Days before Christmas.  Most, though, consider Christmas Day the First day (honoring the birth of Christ) and January 5th (Epiphany) the 12th Day (which celebrates the Gifts of the Magi).  But tradition and religion are not the essence of our faith…this song gives us some unchanging Truth to feast upon.  Let’s go!

FIRST DAY                         Jesus Christ                           Luke 1:35 & 1 John 4:9

The celebration begins with the arrival of the Messiah!  God with us, Immanuel!

SECOND DAY                   Old & New Testament         John 20:31

Jesus is the Word in living, human form.  The Scriptures, old & new, speak of Him.

THIRD DAY                       Faith, Hope & Love               1 Corinthians 13:13

Paul said, ‘…these three remain…and the greatest of these is love.’  The heart of the Word is revealed in the three french hens.

FOURTH DAY                    Gospels                                   Matt., Mark, Luke & John

The good news that God continues to seek us…and will do whatever it takes to allow us to choose to be connected with Him is a priceless gift.

FIFTH DAY                         Books of Moses/Law           Genesis – Deuteronomy

Those books of the Law are not dry in any sense.  Though Christians do not live under the Law, we live IN IT – for Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law.

SIXTH DAY                         Six Days of Creation            Genesis 1

Everything was created by God…and entrusted to humanity, His crowning creation.  Made in His image with purposes grander than we conceive!

SEVENTH DAY                  Perfect Gifts

The gifts of the 7th Day exceed our ability to explore them in this lifetime.  Praise Him for the very first one:  eternal covenant!  He is the beginning and the end and everything in between!  ENJOY HIM.

Everlasting Covenant –  Isaiah 56:4-5

Spiritual Knowledge – Jeremiah 24:7

New Heart – Ezekiel 11:19

Spiritual Rest – Matthew 11:28

Holy Spirit – Luke 11:13

Eternal Life – John 10:28

Spiritual Crowns – Revelation 2:10

      EIGHTH DAY                     Beatitudes                                     Matthew 5:3-10

The Beatitudes reveal Kingdom Life–which is pretty much opposite of what we typically experience.  We are to be in the world but not of it so that others can see a distinction.  The beatitudes create a beautiful life.

Humility – Matthew 5:3

Repentance – Matthew 5:4

Meekness – Matthew 5:5

Spiritual Hunger – Matthew 5:6

Mercy – Matthew 5:7

Pure Hearts – Matthew 5:8

Peacemaking – Matthew 5:9

Suffering for Christ – Matthew 5:10

NINTH DAY                            Fruit of the Spirit                         Galatians 5:22-23

This fruit is singular; it is HIS fruit, not ours.  The flavor of our life will be rich and sweet when He is its essence:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness & self-control.  This is not a list to achieve but a spirit to receive.

TENTH DAY                            Ten Commandments                   Exodus 20:1-17

The commandments are all about relationship…first with the Father, then with others.

ELEVENTH DAY                     Faithful Disciples                          Matthew 10:2

We know there were 12; we want to be counted among the faithful.  Judas chose his own way and it was the way of death.

TWELFTH DAY                       Apostles Creed

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

1l. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

PHEW!  Who knew?  Are you astounded by the richness of that carol?

Be blessed and have a Merry Christmas.

Too Much Love to Leave Us in Our Mess!

Years ago I read a story of a little boy who defiantly responded to his punishment with,

“I’m sitting in time out but my heart is standing up!”

There is profound truth in that—and it is the reality of many adults (especially those in Church).  Obedience is not the same as being engaged in a connected relationship.  In our faith walk, God’s goal is never simple obedience.  External action without heart engagement is a sham that God will press through.

I love to watch my daughter work with her horse, Scooby.  He is a high-spirited horse…rebel-scoobyand she is a high-spirited girl.  His attitude does not intimidate her.  The dynamics of their relationship reveal the physics law of equal and opposite reaction.  In their interaction, I see a picture of how God works with His kids.  Riesa does not object to Scooby’s personality; she embraces him even when he is a ‘hot mess.’  She meets his enthusiasm (and even his rebellion) with the force needed to achieve what she asked in the beginning.

God has standards, plans and purposes for everyone—the moral standards are the same, the plans and purposes are for the good of all.  Yet, He crafted every one of us uniquely.  Our personalities, life experiences, and cultures assure unique expressions of God from our lives.  Until we surrender our personal control, the only thing we express is our self—and without God that is an expression of death.   The moment we release our ‘self’ focus, God supernaturally blesses in both the natural and spiritual realms!

When Scooby lets go of his own agenda, he and Riesa become a team.  Their personalities blend into a unique, abundant expression of life.  In the natural realm, they are just a ‘girl 13118959_1133635346699739_8904573366461875584_nand her horse.’  New skills, greater partnership and fun in the field become realities.  In the spiritual realm, growth in understanding and insights into deeper truths evolve as well—bearing seeds of eternal hope in many lives.  It has been and will continue to be a journey, just as the life of faith is a journey.  God loves us right where we are at…but He loves us too much to leave us where we are at!

Genesis 21 and Galatians 4 give us insights on this Truth.  In Genesis, we read how Abram and Sarai sought to bring about the promises of God with their own best efforts.  Their intentions were good; they were not rebelling against God.  Neither were they trusting in Him.  His promise seemed to distant; they decided 15 years was long enough…must be they needed to help Him out.  Paul goes to the heart of the matter in Galatians:  law or grace.  Law focuses on my performance; grace trusts God’s performance.  The Christian life is to be Christ’s life…not what I can drum up on my own.  But in the magnificent creativity and power of God, He empowers me to give unique expression to the life of Christ.

The Father loves each of us and wants to see how we will walk out relationship with Him.  He doesn’t want to see our best effort at ‘being good.’  Our best imitation of obedience is nothing more than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  Like the little boy who sat in timeout with a heart that stood up, many appear to serve God 14076958807_fcee53117d_zand walk in obedience.  The service produces things they want:  acceptance, belonging, praise, freedom from the hassles outright sin creates.  Many of these folks sincerely believe they are serving God in the process…blind to the reality that they actually serve the god of self.  It is an empty sham that God will press into.

Here is where the glory of God shines through in a magnificent way.  In the face of what is actually rebellion, self-glorification and rejection, He looks with love.  He maintains His call to come to Him.  He uses whatever pressure is necessary to move individuals out of their dark deception and into His light!  It’s a journey worth embarking on and one surrounded by love.

Will you let His light pierce your dark places

and lead you to Himself?

Finding Real Love

Human love is fraught with problems that come from our human nature–selfishness, self-centeredness and a lack of faithfulness.  We say “I love you” and really mean “I love how you make me feel.”  The only way we can really love is to receive the love of God and let it pass through to others.  True agape love–the love that is God–is beyond our human abilities.

It intrigued me to discover that only Peter expressed his love directly to the Lord.  We often talk of ‘loving Jesus’ but the Scriptures do not record many such expressions.  There are many commands to love God and discussions of love, but stating love directly is a different story.   You may recall that the disciple Peter saw himself as totally committed to Jesus prior to his arrest…and then he betrayed him three times. It’s also interesting to note the kiss Judas betrayed Jesus with came from ‘phileo’ love–the love that is based on shared interests.  When Jesus restored Peter, he asked him:  “Do you (agape) love me?”  Three times Jesus asked about Peter’s love.  Twice he asked Peter if we agape loved him, and Peter replied, “I phileo love you.” Finally, Jesus asked him if Peter phileo loved him.  Jesus knows our limits and he agape loves us…he meets us where we are at!

The gift of love from another can give us a glimpse of the faithfulness of God’s love.  Make no mistake:  love matters.  We are called to love and do the best we can.  But true love only happens when it flows from the Creator.

We love each other because he loved us first.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,[c] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

1 John 4:19-20

Celebrate those who love you.  But most of all celebrate the One who is love and made it all possible..

Joy in the Mourning

It’s a cute little prayer…with tons of truth and arrows that should pierce.  The election this week eliminated (should have anyways) any illusions of sweetness in our hearts.  The so-far-todayanger, slander, outrage, fear and discouragement engendered by the election was not created by the election.  It was simply unmasked by the process, not caused by it.  In that, I see hope.

The devil loves deceit–and masks.  He operates in the dark.  Fighting an enemy you can not see is difficult and dangerous. The enemy is NEVER flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).   We can’t fight what is ‘outside’ of us without addressing what is inside of us.  The nastiness that spews from those who don’t wear the name of Christ is not as offensive as that which pours out of Christians.  Slander, lies (even half-truths) and coarse jesting reveal yuck in hearts that is certainly not the indwelling Spirit of God.  Colossians tells us not to ‘lie to another.’  When we claim Christ and His love–and speak out of our own convictions in an unloving way, we are lying about the very nature of God.  We are collaborating with the devil in covering the glory of God which dwells within.

Grapes in a press pour out grape juice; olives pressed give forth olive oil.  The election process was clearly a press that revealed evil within us that we still allow to rule and reign at certain times.  Praise God, deliverance is in Jesus Christ!

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23

May our hearts be broken for our own failures–and for those of others.  It is encouraging that as the passage in Mark continues to unfold, we see that the humble pleading of one can deliver another.  The Canaanite mother (one with a heritage of pagan idols) refused to be offended by the harsh resistance she met from Jesus.  She humbly recognized His power and ability and asked for the demon that plagued her loved one to be removed.  Jesus uttered no prescribed prayer, applied no magic formula.  He simply said her faith opened the door for deliverance.  May our eyes see our own need, refuse offense and our faith rise up to bring healing!

Oswald Chambers succinctly reminds us:  “We are called to make disciples, not converts to our opinions.”  Whether we caustically chastise the ‘stupidity’ and ‘evilness’ of another or simply chuckle at coarse conversation or pridefully contemplate our own wisdom, the image of our glorious Savior is obscured.  Anytime our hearts (and the words that overflow from our hearts) do not exude love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control, we are not showing the world what our Lord looks like.  We are showing the world US.  This world needs less of each of us…and so much more of Jesus Christ.

 

Hearing God in Horrors of Hurt

On the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, looking to Jesus–our INTERCESSOR–is a blessed endeavor!  May you enjoy this excerpt from my devotional, Fixing our Eyes on God.

There are some wonderful, awe-inspiring revelations of Jesus that begin with “I.”  He is the I am, the Image of the invisible God, immortal, immutable, and Immanuel, God with us!  The One who is all of those things is also our Intercessor.  Scriptures tells us He lives that He can make intercession for us!  Now that is an incredible view of our Savior!

Intercessory prayer weaves its way throughout scripture.  In the Old Testament, we see God’s people, His prophets and His priests offering prayers on behalf of others.  Isaiah prophesied that the coming Deliverer would pray for sinners.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12

The truth of that prophesy shines forth in the New Testament as we observe Jesus praying for His disciples, His enemies and us!

Intercession is a costly endeavor that God expects from each of us.  Yet God never asks us to do anything He won’t join us in doing.  Intercession is a joint endeavor…it fulfills the prayer of Jesus in John 17 which asks the Father to bring us to unity.  Intercession unites our hearts with others, with the Spirit, with Christ and with the Father.  The fact that Jesus is our Intercessor reveals the incredible privilege we have to intercede.

Our human passions and concerns often cloud our minds.   We do not always know what to ask of the Father; we would miss countless blessings without our Intercessor!  The Spirit searches our hearts for the needs we cannot express—and sometimes do not know.  The Spirit’s unity with Christ—and His with the Father—brings the very will of God into the center of our being.

Our Intercessor’s prayers are pure and perfect, aligned with God’s purposes for our lives.  Jesus asks for exactly what we would ask—if only we understood as He does.    Our minds can only glimpse the fringes of the great mystery of unity with God through Christ.  Our intercessory prayers for others allow us to join in the very work of our Savior.  May we rejoice in His work and our privilege as intercessors!

Going Along To Get Along Kills

Relationships continue to weigh on my heart.  The longing of God for each of us to connect to Him (and one another) with depth and honesty beats loudly in my mind.  The tendency of humanity is to settle for much less than God desires in our relationship with Him and with others.  Truly connected relationships are what our own hearts long for as well.  Contrary to the secular refrain, no one wants to be ‘tolerated.’  We want to be understood, valued and enjoyed.  So does God.

“Tolerance” is the cry of the world; “Treasured” is the cry written by God. 

Connected relationships are better described as partnerships chosen by those involved.  If there is no choice, their is no real relationship.  It is the explanation of that oft-asked question, “Why did God give free will if He knew sin would be the result?”  Without choice, we could not be in a real, connected relationship with God.   If our human relationships aren’t sweetened by choice–if we are dictators to others–we isolate ourselves.  If we simply go along to get what we want (or avoid conflict), everyone loses.  Choosing connected relationships brings richness to life!

Yet, all around us we see chaos and disconnection.  Homes are destroyed by divorce, churches split and our political system spews nastiness continually.  No one wants the reality we see, so how have we deteriorated to such a mess? I can answer with my own confession, and I think it speaks for the majority:

I often trade CONNECTION for whatever is easier.  You, see I like comfort; the easy road is typically my go-to choice.

Sometimes the easy road actually is a good choice, but  “Good is the enemy of best.” We fall to the temptation to ‘go along to get along.’ We sacrifice what we know is right because that is the expedient thing to do.  That is how Jesus was consigned to the Cross in 30 A.D.  We do the same when we trade God’s desires for the easy road.

Going through the motions may get the job done…but settling is always a travesty.

The work of relationships takes us out of our comfort zones and easy chairs.  Understanding the cast of characters that compel us to choose the easy route sheds light that helps us embrace the challenge.

  • Sometimes we are not clear on what is actually being asked by a relationship partner.  We must be willing to do the hard work to figure out what is needed.  Relationships are not about what we get out of them–or what we do for others.  However, when we love, we value others and are valued which means we do things for each other!
  • Other times we simply cannot do what is being asked and don’t clearly communicate our reluctance–or our needs.  Here we have two parallel paths to walk.  We need to work on our communication AND build up our strength.  If the ‘ask’ is reasonable and beneficial for both but we haven’t developed the skills–it is time to work on those skills!
  • Sometimes we simply are not willing to do what is needed.  This is particularly common as we age and grow weary.  A modicum of maturity restrains our reactions so our relationships appear okay–and sometimes we believe the lie ourselves. Dis-connected hearts, though, are a sham that will eventually implode!   Simply going through the motions (or doing what we’ve always done) does not satisfy our hearts or God’s.  Settling is the beginning of a dying relationship. Recognizing the danger and valuing what God values will blast this darkness away.

Healthy relationships matter!  Make a commitment to do the work of building unity.  Ephesians 4:1-3 offers great wisdom:

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

We have an incredible calling.  We have an amazing God who shows us how to relate to others.  Christ who left the glories and comforts of heaven to redeem those who would reject Him is our Savior–and our example.  Living surrendered to Him will sweeten every relationship.  In fact, until we are solid in our connection with God, we will try to make other relationships do what only He can do.  He is our source.  Plug in and invite others to join!

For more practical tips, visit:  ABCs of Relationships.

 

 

Celebrate the Journey

In a recent piece, Building Relationships, I shared with you some of the lessons I am 0923161019learning from my equine instructor, Gretchen.  Like our English Bulldog, Barnabas, she inherited a life goal just by joining our family: be a tool for teaching Scriptural Truth.

In our mind, that goal meant the pets would become therapy animals for others.  It was–and is a good goal…but goals are a direction setter and the journey has some awesome scenery.  It seems that perhaps God’s purpose for them is that they simply teach us.  But maybe the things we learn will bless someone else as well.  So, our goal will be reached even if we never get there :).

With that, I share with you my lesson for the past few weeks:

ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

A friend recently shared a video that would inspire anyone.  A man and his horse in perfect sync…playing, dancing, flying across the country-side.  Partnership and freedom–two powerful longings woven into the DNA of everyone.  Why not stop and enjoy these two before we skid back to my world!

That sort of partnership is an awesome goal…not realistic for me but direction setting, for sure!  The truth is I do not have the horsemanship skills–or the physical ability–to come anywhere near that sort of performance…and time is not on my side.  But it’s okay.  You see, the destination is not the greatest delight for the two in the video.  Each other–and the connection to each other–is the real joy.

A ‘performance’ is just the fruit of a goal that provided direction.  The delight is in enjoying every step taken together toward the goal.  The foundation of the performance is relationship.  That partnership connection developed one moment at a time.

Each of us has what it takes for  building relationship because that is the very purpose for which we were created!  You might say we inherited that purpose like our family pets inherited theirs.  The good news is relationships are God’s purpose…and His purposes find completion.

Relationships are the foundation of life: 

Love requires a relationship to engage it. 

Relationships require love to develop. 

Its a perfect set-up–the expression of God Himself.

Every relationship is unique…and each offers to reveal more of how God relates with us.  Each partner brings unique strengths and weaknesses.  When the mix is rooted in agape love and given the time to develop, incredible results bloom.

Back to the Gretchen Connection:  What I bring to the table with my horse is inexperience, uncertainty–even insecurity–and a body that doesn’t always like to bend or move fluidly. What she brings to the table is largely unknown to me but broken trust and very different expectations than I have are definite. We are still getting to know each other, building trust, learning how to communicate.  I am realizing I don’t always know what I want and other times I don’t know what I am asking.

Therein is the power and potential in my equine instructor:  those same issues that bubble up with her are truths in other areas of my life.  Recognizing weaknesses is the first step in inviting the Spirit of God to transform me at a deeper level.  At that point, it isn’t about my goal with Gretchen–but God’s goal for me.  All of our life, in every aspect of our life, God is about producing His plans for us.  His plans are always good.

My goals for my horse are a direction that does more than build our relationship or prepare us for something more.  Right goals are a pathway for God to do so much more than we can0908161033a ever ask or think.  Maybe one day she and I will do a dance…but tomorrow and maybe even into next month, we’ll just breathe and listen to each other.  I’ll learn something about me–and something about horses and Gretchen in particular.

We’ll partner with the moment and thank the Creator who lives in that moment with us.  Like a parent watching their child immersed in the joy of play, God will enjoy our joy…because we are His!

We have a tendency to continually think “If this or that, then I will be happy.”  It’s a lie, a distraction to steal the present.  The moment is now!  The God we serve is the Great I AM.

He has given us everything; we choose to enjoy it–or postpone that enjoyment till some future day.

Choose this day to enjoy this moment!

How we live matters.

The chaos and horrors of the world pile up to make us feel helpless and hopeless.  It isn’t true.  Every life has impact; every life matters.  We must accept responsibility both for how we live and what we look at.  The children’s song I used to sing with the children is on my heart this morning:

Proverbs says that in the path of the righteous there is no death.  That doesn’t mean that any of us can always do righteously or that no one will die. It means that lives seeking God with passion and perseverance…lives seeking righteousness IN Christ emanate life.

Last evening we looked at these verses from Romans.

Romans 8:24-25New American Standard Bible (NASB)

24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Many believe in Jesus…accept ‘fire insurance’ so to speak.  We are willing to believe in the face of what they cannot control…but then set out to control everything else.  We have a ‘confident assurance’ for eternity but doubt God’s ability to handle a car repair or a disability or …. you name whatever robs your peace.

We only believe what we live.  Peace is possible in the midst of ALL things.  I was compelled to write this this morning after reading of a recent martyrdom in the Middle East.  The article is painful to read.  It reminded me both of the reality of my faith for life…and the impact of lives focused on Jesus.  I want to be found faithful.  I want to live–and die–to the glory of God.  It takes time, focus and intentional living.  Let’s do it!

When the eight victims were forced to kneel for their beheadings, all eight prayed loudly.

“Villagers said some were praying in the name of Jesus, others said some were praying the Lord’s Prayer, and others said some of them lifted their heads to commend their spirits to Jesus,” the ministry director explained. “One of the women looked up and seemed to be almost smiling as she said, ‘Jesus!'”

 

Seeing God’s Glory in Parkinson’s Disease

Reprint of a column from the Baptist Voice in honor of the birthday of this saint who shows us the way of Christ!  It was our joy to see Dave & Terri on our NY trip this year.  They both press on in the face of Parkinsons–bringing great glory to God.  Love to you both, my friends!  Thank you for helping me grow in grace & knowledge simply by being yourselves!

Parkinson’s disease is relentless and destructive. It attacks the body in a myriad of ways: hand tremors, walking impairments, speech, and even involuntary movements such as blinking. Seldom is Parkinson’s linked to the concept of a blessing. Our victory report today, though, is somehow who sees eternal victories in this earthly curse.   God’s glory is present even in Parkinson’s…

Perhaps you have unknowingly enjoyed some of the victory yourself through attendance at one of the Southern Gospel concerts at First Baptist Church of Port Crane. Dave Samson, the concert organizer, is God’s victorious soldier of today’s column. His victory report is not without the reality of damage inflicted through Parkinson’s. The loss of his job and its income; increased difficulties with basic and necessary daily tasks: speaking, writing, typing, buttoning a shirt, driving, walking; impairment of his carpentry hobby; and greater burdens on his wife and family are all part of Dave’s battlefield losses. Nevertheless, Dave also sees a field of sowing and harvesting created by the Parkinson’s because it narrowed his options and increased his focus!

Dave had long enjoyed listening to Southern Gospel Concerts. He and his wife, Terri traveled to area performances as their schedules permitted, but never dreamed of organizing local events. As Dave’s disease progressed, his sales career in Christian resources became difficult to the point of danger. His driving ability impacted by the disease, Dave accepted the need to apply for disability. The debilitation to Dave’s overall motor function sped the disability process along and financial worries were somewhat eased. However, Dave officially became ‘disabled’ rather rapidly, and he felt at loose ends. Though all of his movements had slowed, he still wanted to live fully!

Much to his frustration, the diagnosis generated such sympathy from those who cared that others often restrained him from doing even what he could. In fact, the kind intentions began to make him feel not like an invalid but as if he were simply in-valid—of no apparent use anymore. Fortunately, Dave believed (and believes) that when God allows one door to close, it is so He can clear the path to a better doorway. Such was the case in this situation.

It began when Dave agreed to the simple task of making a phone call to find out about the availability of a gospel group. It has grown to a Southern Gospel concert ministry with hundreds who attend at a tiny country church in rural New York. Every concert touches hearts for Jesus; many times, there are professions of salvation or rededication.

Dave willingly pays the physical costs for this labor of love. He says his illness has given him time; the ministry provides him purpose. He sees victories that are eternal because he accepts the disease as filtered through by the loving hand of the Sovereign Father. Is there something in your life that needs a new perspective? Ask God to show you how He can transform your roadblock into a doorway to blessing!

Jeremiah 29:11