The Future is Out of My Hands...

The following is an e-mail I wrote to a friend. Normally I would write an original blog entry, but this letter sums up what I was going to write again anyway. I'm not going to include my friend's name, I'll just say he's going through some pretty tough times right now...

"Dear..., 

I am, of course praying for you. I know there a lot of people that are praying for you.

I want to share a passage with you, that I'm sure you know, but it's a verse that gave me great hope when I was going through the decision about what to do with my foot.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:26-28

Specifically, it was verse 28 that brought me the comfort. I was, and you are, looking down a hallway that looks very dark, with not a lot of hope down there. But I had to be faithful; I had to trust that the Bible was true, was accurate, and applied to me. It's not easy, but this is really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to our faith, are we going to trust that God not just knows the future, but He knows the future because He plans the future, and it will work out for His glory.

This is not just the place where you faith becomes more important in your life, but it also gives you the opportunity to make your faith even more real to the people around you. We only have to look to Paul to see an example of this in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We both have a dark cloud hovering over us, yours seems darker than mine with all that you are going through, and I don't know what's going to happen with my other foot yet. But what I do know is that God loves both of us, God wants what's best for us, and whatever happens, it will work for God's glory, so we should be rejoicing in that."



I hope this brings all of you comfort. This is something that I talked about several times this week as I was out with Coastlands. And that is a huge blessing in and of itself, I had a wonderful week with Coastlands, and I look forward to more weeks in the future.


Also, I get my car set up with hand controls this week so soon I'll be able to drive again!


Thanks for reading!

Simply Trust

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
   but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
 They are brought to their knees and fall,
   but we rise up and stand firm." Psalm 20:7, 8

I think this verse speaks for itself, so no commentary from me.

Seeking Meekness

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

"The surest way to assure the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" attributed to Edmund Burke

I look at the attitude of so many Christians today and I feel bad for them, because I feel they have gotten it wrong with their attitude on meekness. I know they mean well, and I know they don't want to hurt feelings, and I can appreciate that and I think they're trying to live like they think the Bible tells them to, and I think that is admirable...but I still think they've gotten it wrong. While it is admirable for someone to want to live out what the Bible says, it's extremely important to get that right, and I think that those Christian doormats out there are missing something.

Sure, the Bible says a few things about meek people...Psalm 37:11 "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity." and Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." to name a few. Two verses that are very similar, but don't really speak to the character of someone who is meek. I think verses like Zephaniah 3:12 speak a bit more to what meekness is; "But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the LORD."

There is a definite similarity between meekness and humility, but I think it is too easy to take them too far. The Bible speaks a lot to forgiveness and humility (and please note, it's not "humbleness" it's "humility") but nothing about being a doormat. If we look at our best example of living a Christ-like life, Jesus, he was by no means a doormat, he very gently made his point, at times like when the woman was caught in adultery, and at times was forceful about it, like when he went tipping over tables in the synagogue.

The key is to find the balance in between being walked all over and being a bull in a china shop. I can't say that I've found that balance, but I know there is one.

Overcoming Trouble

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
   and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
   and my blessing on your descendants." Isaiah 44:3

I love verses like the above one, while it was originally a promise to Israel, I think it still holds true today. I think where a lot of people get into trouble is when they only look at verses like the one above and always expect their live to be easy. People tend to forget that while God promises us a victorious life, he never promised us an easy life. Look specifically to John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Looking at this verse, we can see that we are actually promised a hard life, but what we need to realize is that our reward won't be here on Earth. You can't live an easy life as a reward for a life you haven't lived yet.


Today's entry is brief, but contains an important lesson, life isn't easy, but we know it can be victorious. I've referenced Romans 8:28 before, but that's where I point to when I need to make sense of something I can't make sense of. All things work for the glory of God, not some things, not even most things, all things. 


This is where I need to keep looking to make sense of what's happened to me in the last year.

Either/Or? Nope, Both/And

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
   But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James 2:14-18

First of all, for those of you who follow this blog, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last blog entry. I'd like to say it's because I've been so busy, but I really have no excuse. The only reason I haven't been blogging is because I've slacked off with my devotional time. There is certainly no good excuse to neglect the reading of God's word, in fact what I write about today might touch on this.

Anyway, on to the entry...

This past few months, more than any other period in recent history, I've been the recipient of the generosity of my fellow man. And as I was reading the above passage with my Bible study group last night, I got to thinking of how blessed I've been by people putting their faith into actions.

First of all, I know a lot of people might point at this verse and say exactly what the someone in the passage said; "this passage is obviously saying that it's the works that get you into Heaven, and if you want to believe that, that's fine for you, but I believe it's my faith and since I have that faith, I'm all set." And then you have the other side of the coin, where someone will say; "Look at all the stuff I've been doing, I'm involved in this ministry at church, I do this and that, I've done enough stuff that I'm definitely going to get into Heaven." The mistake that both of these people are making is that it's not an either/or situation, it's a both/and situation.

James is saying that you can't have true faith without it flowing out into your life. I have been blessed with wonderful friends who let their faith flow out into their life every day. I've been blessed with monthly supporters who have continued to support me even when I haven't been able to go out with Coastlands, and I have friends who, even though they can't financially support me, they pick me up and drive me places and make sure I can get to things. In both cases I can see how their faith is being lived out in their actions.

So my challenge to all of us today is to make sure our faith is being lived out in our actions. And I promise I'll be writing more often.

God bless you!