Sin Flu

Ever since I heard about the swine flu outbreak, and saw the many pictures of people walking around Mexico City with surgical masks on, I have wondered at the extreme measures that people are willing to take to avoid a potentially deadly sickness. Within days of hearing that a new epidemic was underway, thousands of Americans cancelled trips to Mexico. Government officials discussed closing the borders to keep the disease out of our country. Closer to home, even though there were no documented cases of the disease within 500 miles of Coeur d'Alene, a friend noticed that the local Wal-mart had already sold out of painter's masks. Such is the natural inclination for human preservation in the face of a threat to life and limb.

But what about the soul? Where is the concern that it might "contract a disease"? It is a remarkable irony that even though the body is temporal and the soul is eternal, far more energy seems to be spent on insuring the health of the body than on insuring the health of the soul. Unfortunately, there seems to be no natural instinct for preservation of the soul. But in the absence of an instinct, God has graciously given us a "Guidebook for Soul Health" that has much to teach us.

Perhaps the most insidious enemy of our soul is one that we hardly recognize as an enemy: our own sinful choices. We tend to see them merely as little slip ups that we need to try harder to control. But the word of God says that the self-serving compromises that we indulge in (for whatever reason) actually war against our souls. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (1 Peter 2:11)  What a shocking discovery—to find that the sins that we turn to for "comfort" or to "have a little break" are in reality fighting to destroy our souls! No amount of rationalizing sin will change this reality. As the scripture teaches elsewhere "he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption" (Galatians 6:8) and "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15)

If sin is really a disease that is working against the health of our souls, we need to treat it like we would a disease. What steps do we take when we are concerned about physical diseases? These steps can also help us when addressing spiritual health issues.

1. Avoid opportunities to "contract" it.

What steps are you taking to avoid exposure in your areas of weakness? Isn't this what God meant when He said "make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14) We need to begin our vigilance a few steps back from the point of decision to sin.

2. Begin "treatment" immediately

How do you respond when God shows you sin in your life and heart? God's gracious remedy once we have contracted "sin flu" is repentance; immediate and earnest repentance. Do we wait around to treat a disease, once we discover that it is present? Neither should we hesitate to confess and renounce sin in our lives. Remember, it wars against the soul!

3. Take aggressive steps to prevent "relapse"

How drastically do you act to prevent a "relapse"(falling into the same sin again)? Jesus said that if your hand offends you, cut it off. He was not encouraging self mutilation, but highlighting the seriousness of sin, and the kind of action that often must be taken to avoid it (swift, aggressive, and usually painful) If we feel a little embarrassed taking extreme steps to avoid sin, it is only because we minimize the damaging effects of sin to the health of our souls.

4. Turn to God. He ultimately is the only Healer. 

But what if certain sins seem to have a grip on you? What if the "disease" has spread and there doesn't seem to even be the strength to fight it? If you find yourself in this situation, please listen carefully. You are not alone. This is truly where every honest Christian finds themselves. The steps that are outlined above are not sufficient in themselves to win the battle against sin. This fight is one that ultimately cannot be won by our own grit. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" expresses the cry of our hearts. But the next phrase in this Bible text points us to the answer, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 7:23-24)

The beautiful truth is that God knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. He never minimizes or excuses our sin, but He understands our weakness and knows that only through faith in Christ can we be delivered from sin's grip.

And how does that work? Let me quote the great 19th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon:

We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law (our own effort) for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" To give an illustration-you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way? It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it, and say to Jesus, "Lord, I trust thee to deliver me from it." This is the only way to give it a death-blow. Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell him, "Lord, I have trusted thee, and thy name is Jesus, for thou dost save thy people from their sins; Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!" Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification (putting our sins to death). Your prayers, and your repentences, and your tears-the whole of them put together-are worth nothing apart from him.

When we are overwhelmed with the impossibility of holiness, let the cry of our diseased souls be only to Jesus. "Heal me, O Lord and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved" (Jeremiah 17:14)

Staying on the Path

This week it finally happened. After months of waiting for an extended warming trend, the ice on our driveway melted enough for us to use the correct driveway path for the first time all winter. To understand this strange statement, you need to know that our driveway is about 300 feet long and has a pretty healthy bend in the middle of it. Without even knowing it, we spent the better part of the winter missing the bend and driving over a portion of ground that doesn't even have gravel underneath it. How would that happen? Why would we find ourselves making ruts in the snow over an area that is not even part of our proper driveway? Simple. The plow that came through after the first big snowstorm in December missed. And since the snow just kept on coming, we never recognized the mistake until the ground started to thaw in earnest these past few weeks and a few huge mudholes threatened to swallow our car.

While many Christians would admit that they have their share of struggles, few believe that they are really vulnerable to getting "off track" or "losing their way". But when Jesus instructed his disciples about the last days, he repeatedly mentioned deception as being a primary danger (4 times in 20 verses of Matthew 24). And He seemed to focus his warning on one particular danger: false Christs (v. 24).

Is it possible that in raising such a concern, Jesus was quietly warning us that the end times will be characterized by teachers who present a "Jesus" who doesn't clearly match the one revealed in the Scriptures? What if the Biblical Jesus here was warning about the teachers of our day who subtly give us a "Jesus" who winks at sin, and acts as if compromise is just part of what it means to walk in "grace" (and not of the true Jesus who speaks of grace as something that leads us to confront and overcome sin, not excuse it - Titus 2:11-12). What if He was asking that we beware of today's Christian books which present a "Jesus" who might enjoy sitting down and "dialoguing" about the morality of cohabitation, or casual drug and alcohol use (saying nothing of the Biblical Jesus who, while He didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery, He did lovingly and firmly instruct her to "Go and sin no more")? What if He was wanting us to watch out for teaching about a "Christ" who just asks for us to obey a certain set of religious rules and then allows us to continue to indulge in a few "heart" sins (Never really telling us of the true Christ who earnestly desires that we enter into a love relationship with Him that involves ALL of our heart, soul, mind and strength)? Or what if the real Jesus in Matthew 24 was warning of the very insidious tendency of his followers to create a personal "Christ" which suits their own fancies — one that excuses pride, selfishness, or resentment; a "Christ" that accepts a small and insignificant place in their day-to-day life and minimizes their particular patterns of sin as being "not all that bad"?

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus clearly taught that the gate that leads to life is very narrow. The well trampled paths, even within orthodox Christianity, may have been blazed by someone who missed the truth! If there is not a hunger in our souls to know the true Jesus, whatever this knowledge costs us, perhaps we don't have Him at all. And this is a sinkhole that we cannot afford to fall into.

So how can we avoid being deceived in such confusing times? Our only hope is to cling to the True Shepherd who promises to lead "in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:3) and cling to His word which promises to be "a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." ( Psalm 119:105)

Overcoming Fear

Franklin Delano Roosevelt began his presidency during a time when the country was facing a tremendous economic challenge. The stock market had crashed 3 years earlier, and the impact had devastated the economy to an extent that makes today's headlines seem mild. Unemployment was at 25%, about half of all mortgages were in default, and thousands of banks and savings and loans had failed. As Roosevelt stepped up to the microphone at his inauguration, some of the first words he spoke became immortal:

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

FDR recognized that economic difficulties naturally tend to stir up feelings of fear, and he wisely sought to address these feelings directly as he assumed the presidency. But what about his answer? Is "not fearing" fear the best way to deal with it? Don't the threats continue to exist, even if we refuse to be afraid? Are our own efforts always adequate to produce the "advance" that we desire? And for the millions of real people (Christians included) who struggle with fear amidst today's myriad of uncertainties — doesn't God give tools for not just denying fear, but actually overcoming it?

FDR's words that day became part of our national consciousness because they were a call to courage in the face of some very scary circumstances. Such a call from a leader in the midst of crisis is appropriate and commendable. But to call people to hope apart from a concrete reason to hope can just be an expression of wishful thinking and does nothing more to help our situation than shivering in fear does.

In order to understand this truth, we need to understand that when we are afraid, there are generally 2 components at work simultaneously. First, there is a threat of some kind; a set of circumstances that makes us feel that something bad might to happen to us. Second, there is an awareness that we lack the resources to keep the bad thing from happening. For the citizens who heard FDR share his address that day, the threat was that they would have to face financial ruin and all that that entails. They also were aware that they couldn't realistically stop financial catastrophe from visiting their home. Thus, they were scared. Was their fear justified? Yes, it was. The truth is that in spite of Roosevelt's New Deal programs and his call to abandon fear, the country's serious financial troubles would persist for another 10 years or so after this speech. And was it the effort and courage of the American citizens that stemmed the tide and ended the Great Depression? No. History suggests that it was the tremendous infusion of money into the American economy from WW2 spending that finally brought financial relief.

The Bible records many examples of fearful people who placed their hope in themselves and were sorely disappointed with the outcome. Peter was so petrified the night of Jesus' arrest that he first impulsively attacked the authorities who came to take Jesus and later disowned Christ 3 times to save his own neck. Yet the night before, Peter had boasted confidently that even if all the other disciples abandoned Jesus, he would never do so (Matthew 26:33) He had very good reasons to be afraid the next day, and the sad outcome was not avoided by his soaring rhetoric and expressions of self confidence. When push came to shove on the night of Jesus' betrayal, Peter's fears kicked in as his resources failed.

Contrast Peter's brazenness with the boldness of three young Hebrew captives, who bravely and calmly faced the threat of being cast alive into a fiery furnace, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." (Daniel 3:17) In place of self confidence, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego announced their faith in God to deliver them. They believed that they could place their very lives into the hands of God, and that He had the resources to keep them from harm.

But was theirs a blind leap of faith? Were they simply denying the danger that they were in (in the name of courage)? Or were they ignoring the possibility that God might not choose to spare them? No, because the next words they spoke indicated that theirs was a faith that squarely faced the reality of the whole situation, "But if not (i.e., even if God does not deliver us), be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." They had made up their minds that they were going to trust and obey God, resting in His wisdom, and content to accept His perfect will whether it meant deliverance or martyrdom.

In these days of financial uncertainty, God issues a call to courage for us as well. But it is not a baseless "hope for hope's sake" or an injunction "not to fear fear" that He offers. According to the Word of God, fear is not overcome by denying the dangers that we face nor by placing undue confidence in ourselves or anything else in all creation. It is overcome by facing the threats honestly while also fully recognizing God as our Guide, Companion, and Deliverer. We will not slay the dragons of fear in our lives by "efforts to advance rather than retreat" but by laying hold the promise of God's presence, His wisdom and His loving care.

Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:5)

Substitutions: Why Revival Tarries

Growing up with a mother who is an excellent cook is a blessing. But in spite of her culinary prowess, there was one menu item my mom failed to consistently master over the years . . . biscuits. Somehow, she regularly committed the same faux pas in preparing them. By all outward appearances, the biscuits looked just as they should. However, some unfortunate family member would inevitably be the first to take a bite of a steaming buttered biscuit only to discover that once again my mother had substituted baking soda for baking powder... Now there are some substitutions in cooking that work beautifully, but just ask any of my siblings who decades later still have the flavor of baking soda biscuits indelibly printed on their taste buds---there are some substitutions in cooking that can ruin a good recipe. When it comes to biscuits, the long term effect of bad substitutions is insignificant, but when it comes to the kingdom of God, the results can be disastrous.

As the Christian community has walked through the past 10 months, there has been a growing concern about our country. With a significant presidential election, the unstable prices of fuel and food, and the cataclysmic economic rumblings, Christians are wrestling to find a place to put our feet. Inevitably as we have heard these numerous concerns expressed, most of us have probably heard the well known verse quoted again: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)

Is it my imagination, or is this verse not quoted with quite the same confidence and bravado today as it was quoted in years past? How many times have we as Christians claimed the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our country only to be disappointed with the lack of visible results? Certainly the Word and promises of God stand true. Even if our faith falters, the character and power of God has not changed. Just over 150 years ago, in the midst of similar financial and cultural turmoil, regular people began to pray and God answered by bringing over one million people (out of the 30 million total US population at that time) into the kingdom of God in one year (read more here). Less than 50 years ago, God sent a similar revival that swept Canada and rippled throughout the world (watch a wonderful testimony here). Why isn't God doing similar things today?

At the heart of the problem is a substitution so subtle and yet so significant that it has hindered the hand of God from doing all that He longs to do. In our concern for our country, we have clung to the promise found in this verse, viewing it as a checklist of what we must do in order to save our land. However, God never intended the Scriptures to be a formula for success. They were meant to reveal the heart and character of God and His provision of a Savior for our sins--so that we could know and love Him. All too often we look to God only for the gifts He will give us, not for the loving relationship He desires to have with us. Can we really grasp how He loves us and longs for us to love Him in return?

William Mason put it so beautifully in his devotional entitled "Christ is All":

"We were once stout-hearted rebels against His crown and government! But, O the love of His royal heart! Instead of executing fierce vengeance upon us, for our sins—lo, He came from heaven to earth, with a flame of love in His heart, and matchless grace on His lips—on purpose . . .
-to die for us,
-to wash us from our sins in His own blood,
-to conquer the rebellion of our hearts against Him,
-and to win our affections to Him."(more here)

All too often we live our days in quiet unbelief and rebellion against our Savior, pursuing sin or seeking fulfillment in things that were meant to add joy to our lives but never satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. When we live this way, the Living God, the Creator of the Universe is relegated to a smaller and smaller place, until we are fully on the throne of our hearts. How subtly this happens. We seldom intend to make this substitution, but in the busy daily choices of life we inevitably let the love of family, pleasure, and self crowd out our beloved Savior. And when His love and blessings fail to woo us, His only remaining option is to slowly allow difficult circumstances to catch us off guard enough so that we can hear His still small voice calling us to return to Him. All too often when things get uncomfortable, instead of seeing our own desperate need, we take a verse that is calling us to return to a love relationship with Him and turn it into a checklist of things to do. . . .all the while keeping our heart cool toward Him and holding on to our favorite sins.

William Mason clarifies the real thrust of 2 Chronicle 7:14:

"O for a single eye to look unto Jesus, a humble heart to sit at His feet, and a simple soul to hear and believe every word from His gracious lips, that we may know the love of Christ—constantly know it by a heartfelt sense of it. This, this is the one thing needful—to make poor sinners rich, and miserable sinners happy in time, and joyful to all eternity!

Remember your chief employment. It is not merely to make a profession, and to keep up a form of godliness; but to maintain and keep up a warm, lively, comfortable sense of the love of Christ in your hearts, from day to day, yes, from hour to hour!" (more here)

When we return to God with our whole heart, He can heal our land because He can finally heal us. He can heal our land because the very instruments that He chooses to use to bring salvation and wholeness to a lost and dying world are finally "fit for the Master's use". Unbelievers will then begin to sense their need for a Savior, not because of the persuasiveness of our words, but because of the contrast in our lives. And there is no substitute for that.

Some have called for a day of prayer and fasting on Monday, November 3. We urge you to prayerfully consider setting aside this day, especially in light of the elections on Tuesday.

Finishing Well

It seemed like a routine trip to the doctor's office. Tim's mom had taken a couple of unexpected spills and the doctor was concerned that she had suffered a very mild stroke. "99% chance, that's what it is," he had said. But now, as she sat with her husband of 30+ years, the doctor's voice lowered to deliver a very different message. "You have malignant inoperable brain tumors." In the quietness that followed those shocking words, she gathered her thoughts, turned to her husband and bravely said, "I guess I'm going to get to go to heaven before you do." Dad just put his head in his hands and sobbed. Her words offered little comfort at the moment, but during the difficult period of treatments and even the fulfillment of her statement six months later, Dad came to more fully appreciate these as words of faith, spoken by a woman who wanted to finish well.

Many people begin their lives well because their families start them on the right track. However, the responsibility of living to please God and finishing well rests squarely on the shoulders of each individual. How many have begun well only to shipwreck on life's unexpected temptations, sidetracks, or trials? The effects of such a tragedy ripple throughout an already weakened church and a watching secular community. In contrast, the life of a faithful, godly Christian who finishes well can encourage others to faith for generations. Who can measure the lasting impact of courageous faith and godly lives in people like Martin Luther, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, George Mueller or Charles Finney? Or even looking at the lives of dear Christians we have personally known over the years, how many lives have been eternally blessed because of their faithfulness? Our own children still reap the benefits of the faith and prayers of Tim's godly grandmother even though she died before they were born.

Finishing well often has less to do with the external choices that we make than why and how we make them. Why do we watch the things we do? Why do we read the books or listen to the music we do? Do we limit our choices because the kids are around or because we genuinely desire that God would be glorified in our lives? Does the concern for what others will think pilot our decisions more than we would care to admit? Where is our love for God? Far too often it is buried beneath a pile of sinful heart attitudes and selfish motivations. The Bible is clear, sin takes away our heart for God. (Hos. 4:11) And yet loving God, from the heart and through our actions, is the primary goal every Christian should have. Do we honestly want to finish well? If we are going to do so, we must seek the grace to lay aside every area of sin (even sinful motivations), believing that He can enable us as we look to Him.

The challenge of finishing well becomes even more difficult when one is living in the time which the Scriptures call "the last days". Today many Christians believe that things are winding down and that the end times are upon us. But why does that make it more difficult to live for God? Romans 13:11-14 mentions one of the biggest hindrances to glorifying God during this time: a tendency of Christians to be asleep to the dangers at hand, forgetting the importance of finishing well. Instead of Christians walking with God in holiness, the Bible tells us there will be a complacency as never before, coupled with an increasing amount of sin in the church. (Matthew 24:12, 2 Thess. 2:3) What are we to do in such a time as this? The Bible has much to say about this, but we will highlight the most important one. Romans 13:14 tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. Along the same lines Rev. 3:20 highlights the same concept. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me." Often used to call non-Chrisitans to Christ, this precious promise is actually addressing Christians. In spite of the evilness of the times and the dangerous condition of the church, Christ offers to each believer the promise that if we will truly open our hearts and lives to Him, He will fellowship with us throughout our daily lives. This is not a mystical experience promised here, but the living reality of His presence and strengthening in our day to day lives. May God give us grace to truly open our hearts to Him in these difficult days, that we might finish well, by His power and for His glory.

Nothing Too Precious

Sometimes, one little sentence can hold a world of challenge and inspiration, especially if that sentence distills the essence of the man who spoke it. We know very little about F.S. Parker. It is difficult to even piece together the life of an obscure man in the late 1800s and yet the short statement he made to a small group of Christians in 1888 has become a treasure to me as a Christian and as a father.

F.S. Parker had a little mission hall in Pittsfield, Massachusetts where he ministered alongside his wife and his daughter, Susie. Susie was an only child, but did not seem to be spoiled by it. She grew up hearing the stories of Jesus but was also constantly reminded, by involvement with the mission hall, that Jesus calls us to love others in His name. Over the years, she became convinced of both the tremendous price that Jesus paid to purchase our souls and the heart Jesus had for those who were not yet saved. There was a genuineness about her faith that showed up when it was time to help around the house or prepare something for an outreach service at the mission hall. So it was not surprising that when the opportunity came to hear renowned missionary Hudson Taylor speak about the spiritual needs of China, she eagerly went.

It was Hudson Taylor's first trip to the United States, and the very beginning of what would become the North American arm of the China Inland Mission. Taylor's words stirred 26 year old Susie's heart and, along with several others, she offered herself to the Lord as a missionary on behalf of China. Preparations were made, training was done, and soon this first group of North Americans to join Hudson Taylor's mission had gathered for a "send off" service.

To quote from a biography of Hudson Taylor,

"The father of a dear girl in the party, Miss Susie Parker, had come over from Pittsfield, Mass., and was sitting near the platform. Seeing a wonderful light on his face, Mr. Taylor invited him to say a few words...He told us with a father's feelings, what his daughter had been in the home, to him and to her mother; what she had been in the mission-hall in which he worked, and something of what it meant to part with her now.

`But I could only feel,' he said, 'that I have nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus. He has asked for my very best ; and I give, with all my heart, my very best to Him.'"

"Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus" The words have stirred me often and form an irrefutable answer to every objection that my flesh raises when a new cost is asked of me regarding my commitment to Christ.

"But I'm not sure I can live without that little pet sin!" —Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus.

"But I don't feel ready to take on this ministry responsibility that's being asked of me!" —Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus.

"But I'm already so busy. How can I really be expected to spend significant time in prayer for the lost and for the world?" —Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus.

"But I'm scared to share the gospel with people – what if I'm rejected?" —Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus.

Mr. Taylor shares further,

"That sentence was the richest thing I got in America, and has been an untold blessing to me ever since. Sometimes when pressed with correspondence the hour has come for united prayer, and the thought has arisen, ought I not to go on with this or that matter? Then it has come back to me-' Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus.' The correspondence has been left to be cared for afterwards, and one has had the joy of fellowship unhindered. Sometimes waking in the morning, very weary, the hour has come for hallowed communion with the Lord alone ; and there is no time like the early morning for getting the harp in tune for the music of the day. Then it has come again'Nothing too precious for my Lord Jesus,' and one has risen to find that there is no being tired with Him. That thought also has been a real help to me when leaving my loved ones in England. Indeed, I could never tell how many hundreds of times God has given me a blessing through those words."

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." -Matthew 13:44

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The quotes above are taken from the book Hudson Taylor & The China Inland Mission: The Growth of A Work Of God. Many other encouraging books are also available to read online here.

Wrong Turns

In the early years of our marriage. Tim and I were agonizing over a decision to relocate. Moving would mean advancing toward our goal of going overseas as missionaries; remaining where we were meant putting our dreams on hold. We prayed, read Scripture and even put out a fleece. Finally, Tim made the decision that we should indeed relocate. In spite of several hesitations, we followed the light that we seemed to have and went ahead in faith. For the next three years things seemed to fall into place for us, at least outwardly. Within a few months of our move we had an income, a church and circle of godly Christian friends. In a short time, Tim was serving on the elder board and was even asked to consider coming on staff of our church, one of the largest, growing churches in the area. However, in spite of outward appearances, it became increasingly apparent that our decision to move had been a wrong turn. For all of our efforts to try to push the door open, it seemed that we simply could not move ahead toward the mission field.

In the months and even years that followed we have wrestled with the question as to where we went wrong. We were seeking God's will. We were reading the Scriptures. What happened? Why were we so misguided?

When Christians are faced with such circumstances, it is easy to just wallow in unbelief, to point the blame at everyone else including God, rather than look at ourselves. We come by it honestly--even a cursory look at Adam and Eve in the garden reminds us of that. However, if we are to move beyond our impulse to blame God for our own mistakes in decision making, we must take His Word in one hand and a mirror and the other and begin to look at both. As we have struggled personally with our own confusing experiences, we have come to some conclusions that are helpful in evaluating the past and navigating the future.

1. Anyone can be deceived, even me.
This might be the most humbling step in the whole process--actually admitting that we were mistaken about God's will-- but it is also perhaps the most important. As long as we are denying our part in the mess, we cannot correct our thinking and learn from the experience. The same Scripture passage that tells us that our hearts are wicked also tells us that they are "deceitful above all things" Jeremiah 17:9

2. Mixed motives muddy the waters regarding God's will.
We learned the hard way that it is possible to think that you want God's will while still putting limits on what you will or won't do. In our case, God was asking us to lay aside our desire to serve Him overseas. A career in missions sounds so spiritual and worthwhile but even such a desire can hide all kinds of selfish motives. For both of us, our pure motives were so entangled with selfish motives that it was difficult to discern the" less than godly" ones. We have since learned to ask God to purify our hearts -- to bring us to the place where we have no personal will in the matter. We need hearts that are open to whatever God has for us and desire His glory above any personal benefit . Anything less, and we are opening ourselves up to self-deception.

3. Pride fogs our thinking.
In Obediah 1:3 God told the people of Edom that the pride of their heart had deceived them. Pride is like an iceberg. Far more lurks below the surface than we can imagine. Dislodging it is a slow, painful process. It requires that we repent every time God exposes another facet of our self-centeredness and that we ask Him again to change us. In spite of the difficulty of this fight, it is one of our most significant battles as God warns us in James 4:6-10 that He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When we have a proud heart, we don't seek Him or his help the way we should and often find ourselves wandering off.

4. Knowing God and His Word are a tremendous safeguard.
It is possible to think that you are doing the right thing but be mistaken because you lack the knowledge of God and His Word that you need. The Scripture has numerous examples of this. One of the most striking occurred when Uzzah was struck down by God for trying to steady the ark with his hand (1 Chronicles 13:7-10). This priest was trying to do a seemingly spiritual thing but died in the process. What went wrong? The truth was that Uzzah and Ahio were handling the ark in the wrong manner. If they had been carrying the ark using poles as God had instructed, the disaster would never have happened. Perhaps these men thought that God would wink at their methods because their objectives were noble. God's punishment may seem severe to us, but we need to consider who they were.These men were priests. They were the ones who were to bring the Word of God to the people. They should have known and valued God's instructions on how to transport one of the most holy things that God had entrusted to the nation of Israel. - How well do you know what the Word of God has to say about the issues of your life? Are you concerned that you might be ignorant of commands or not really understand God and the things that are on His heart?The Holy Spirit promises to teach us all things but He cannot do it in a vacuum.

5. Oftentimes, the way back is the way forward.
God is a God of second chances, but He is also a God who calls us to deal with past failures honestly and thoroughly. The word "repent" always preceded the word "believe" when Jesus was preaching about the kingdom of God. In order to move forward after a misstep, God would have us go back, acknowledge our failures with all the humility and honesty that we can muster, and then "get back on where we got off". Sweeping such things under the rug (our strong tendency) only sets us up to repeat the mistakes instead of learning from them.

It is reassuring to remember that even with the worst of mistakes, we need not despair. God still is able to work all things together for good and use even our foibles to bring blessing. Whether our wandering is from willfulness or ignorance (or some combination of the two), God's ultimate desire is that the bumps and bruises that we experience along the way will lead us to a closer relationship to Him. He wants us to learn through our mistakes that the safest place to be is as close to Him as we can get.

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." Psalm 32:8

– Kristen and Tim Martin

The Hidden Half

We were taking one last hike before the snowfall when one of the kids noticed an odd site. A large chunk of tree had washed up on the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille. I say "a chunk of tree" because it wasn't a log, and it wasn't a branch. It was probably 15 feet of trunk, with a large tangle of branches on top--or at least they looked kind of like branches... But a closer inspection led us to conclude that the tangle of branches were really a tangle of roots. A lengthy soak in swashing lake water had removed every clod of dirt, exposing the elaborate root system of a "once mighty" pine tree.



I walked along pondering what an unusual sight we had just seen. This tree's substantial (but normally invisible) undergirding was exposed to us for careful examination, raising questions about why it fell, and how it washed up on this lonely beach. I also began to consider what a picture this chunk of tree painted of fallen creatures like ourselves.

I believe that in every life, it is the hidden portion that really determines its health. The half of ourselves that is visible to others might receive most of our attention, but it is in the creases of our soul that true health is either cultivated or diminished. As Soloman once wrote, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23) But how are we to keep our heart? And how is it that our roots can develop into a source of strength, nourishment and stability?

Strong Soil
Jesus once explained that one who heard his words and obeyed them was like a man building his house upon a rock. (Matthew 7:24-27) The durability of the house had less to do with the materials used to build the house, but more to do the stability of its foundation. So we must ask ourselves, "How do I cope when the storms of life arrive and strength is demanded? Where does my heart turn in moments of weakness? What do I do when my best solutions seem woefully inadequate?" More than 30 times God in Scripture called himself a Rock--a source of strength and refuge. More specifically, Jesus is called the spiritual Rock (1 Cor. 10:4) and described as One upon whom we can build. (1 Cor. 3:11) Roots that are grown deep into the Lord Jesus Christ will add stability that we desperately need in these days.

Nourishing Soil
Roots have a way of seeking nutrients from whatever soil they are planted in. They can even be very strong roots, but if the ground is void of nourishment, the tree is hindered from growing. People sometimes form deep roots into nutritionally barren soil. Oh, how deeply we dig our hearts into activities, projects and relationships with hopes of finding some food for the hunger of our souls only to find that in spite of all the effort and energy invested, we are hungry still. Jesus said, " I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) A heart that quietly looks to Jesus for nourishment will find itself strengthened and satisfied.

In a sense, when we first come to believe on Christ, a root of life is established in our souls. (2 Cor. 5:17) But if that root is not firmly and intentionally attached to Jesus, we can find ourselves weak, unstable and barren. Sometimes an honest recognition of soul barrenness, and the urgent pangs of soul hunger are really a call from God to repent of our foolish outward focus and to draw near to Christ in earnest faith with that hidden half of us. God will do the rest.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Simple Prayer

In the darkness, we are awakened by a little voice, calling," Mommy, Daddy." Stumbling out of bed, I gingerly navigate in the direction of the sound hoping that we did a thorough job of picking up the toys the night before. Reaching the room at last, I speak softly to the sleepy child, and quickly arrange the twisted blankets to cover his shivering little frame . A hug and kiss reward my simple efforts and I stumble back to bed. Meanwhile, a contented child snuggles in those warm covers, confident that his parents hear and care about the simplest of his needs.

If there is anything we Christians need to be confident of today, it is that we have a Heavenly Father who hears us and cares about us. The Living God knows this, and has taken great pains to reveal Himself to us. And what does He want His children to know? When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He told them to speak to God by saying the simple words "Our Father"--the familiar, comforting term for One in heaven who listens for our little voice. Even though he is such a Father, we must not lose sight of the fact that God also described Himself as a consuming Fire and the HOLY ONE of Israel. Yet the one does not need to negate the other. Is it not more amazing and comforting to know that the Almighty God, who just spoke a word and created the universe is the same one who desires us to call Him Father? Little children always want to believe that their daddy is the biggest, strongest guy around. How much more do we desire to know that there is a powerful, loving God who cares about our smallest and greatest needs and also has the power to do something about them.

But how do we connect what we know about God with the burdens of everyday life? There is just one means. . . believing prayer. In James 4:2b, God tells us that one of the reasons that we don't have is that we don't ask. How many times have we failed to bring our needs to God and have just wrestled through a situation the best we could? Meanwhile, we have a heavenly Father who desires to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think in the situation.

And how are we to pray? We begin with all that we know about God and bring all that we know about the situation, pouring out our heart to God. The more we understand what the Bible teaches us about God the more we see Him as one that we want to pour out our hearts to. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus began with "Our Father...", but then added, "Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, they will be done." If we are to be effective in prayer we must take our proper place beneath the Living God. The LORD, He is God. We are his humble creation, dearly loved by Him, but still weak, fallen creatures. We acknowledge this when we are willing to submit to His plans and His agenda. George Mueller described it as having "no will of our own in the matter". Another godly Christian once stated that when we come to God our hands have to be empty. When this is our posture, we can in faith bring all that we know about our situation to God. No detail is too small for Him to hear about. No problem is to great for Him to solve. Potty training trials, learning difficulties, friendship heartaches, financial troubles all can be brought to Jesus. I do not know how many times we as a couple have cried out to God about a situation only to see Him intervene in ways we could not have imagined. There have been times when we have waited years before some of our prayers have been answered and other times when they were answered in a moment but what would have happened if we had never prayed?

There are many events in the Bible that teach about God and His desire to answer our prayers but one of our favorites is the story of blind Bartimaeus. Begging on the side of the road, Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was near. He had no way to find Jesus in a crowd of people so he did the only thing he could, he began to call out to Jesus. "Jesus, thou Son of David have mercy on me". Bringing all that He knew and believed about Jesus, Bartimaeus presented his need to Him. However, those around him were not happy with his "rude" request. The Bible doesn't tell us if they were concerned about not being able to hear Jesus themselves, or whether they were embarrassed or unbelieving. Probably it was a combination of things. Whatever the case, those around Bartimaeus told him to be quiet. Undaunted, Bartimaeus refused to listen to them and instead just called out even more. He knew in his heart that Jesus could help him and he was not going to let Jesus just pass him by. Jesus heard his cries and told him to come near. When Bartimaeus came to Jesus, instead of the stern rebuke that he probably feared, he heard the Master's wonderful words, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus, full of faith, boldly gave Jesus his simple request," Lord, I want to see." Jesus answered kindly, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." Immediately Bartimaeus could see! But what would have happened if he had failed to ask? Instead of passively bowing to the will of the unbelieving crowd, Bartimaeus insisted on being heard and his life was changed forever. The ultimate outcome of this event? He followed Jesus.

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16

Giving up too soon

Hot dogs and grill were packed in the minivan, along with the hope that we could find a scenic spot somewhere in the mountains for a hike and a picnic. Just as we got to the area where the pavement ends, we ran into a few friends who had been up through that area numerous times before. "You take the first road to the left and just stay on it. After a while it opens up to some gorgeous spots that overlook Lake Pend Oreille", they informed us. "Sounds great," we said, and started up the mountain. Once we found what seemed to be the first road to the left, (mountain roads are not exactly well marked, you know...) we headed down through the woods, bumping and rattling on a road not particularly built for minivans. There were a number of times that we had to straddle deep ruts or make detours to avoid large rocks in order to keep going. Each time this happened I would hear groans from one corner of the van or another of, "Dad, are you suuure this is the right road?" or "Pleeeease can we go back? Can you find a place to turn around?" or "Dad, do you think the van is going to be ok?" These comments only added to my own sense of ambivalence about the cost vs. benefits of taking this route. But the thought of a family picnic overlooking the lake kept pushing me to at least to go around the next bend, then the next one.... After we scraped the undercarriage on pile of rocks, I decided that maybe we should find the next turnaround spot and head back. "Surely we missed the right road", I thought. So I took the next little turn off by some high voltage power lines and we all got out for a little hike to try to salvage something from our little mountain excursion. When we got to the top of the little ridge, we looked across toward where the main "road" was heading and saw a faint glimmer of brightness through the trees way in the distance. "Let's go a little further," I announced. "I think that might be the lake over there through those trees." Needless to say, everybody's attitudes improved once we got to the scenic overlook and found views of the lake that exceeded our expectations. All of a sudden, the twists and bumps in the road seemed pretty insignificant and we settled in for some nice family time.


Recently I began to realize what a vivid picture this story paints of the journey that many of us take as we try to grow as Christians. We start out our Christian life with hearts full of hopes and dreams. We hope for the fullness that Jesus promised to all those who truly believe. After all, Jesus had told us in His Word, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." And we dream of bearing 30, 60, or 100-fold fruit to the praise of this wonderful Savior. Didn't He say, "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit?" Surely these promises meant that we should expect to know Jesus' presence and power in our lives in the here and now, we thought. Heaven will surely be the final reward, but there will be fellowship with God and the blessing of seeing his kingdom advance until then. Ah, but then the twists and bumps of life begin coming, and the rocks along the way began scraping us... The rosy faith-filled thoughts of the early days begin to lose their sparkle and we experience subtle doubts about God's goodness and the blessedness of walking with Him. The strange jumble of internal doubts and disappointing experiences seems to beg us to stop climbing, stop pressing on, and especially to stop believing in the promises of God.

It is here that many Christians find themselves today--not ever abandoning a perfunctory belief that God is there, but not pressing on to really know Him in victory and power either. Because it is so common, this tepid Christianity begins to be understood as the best that a Christian can expect or hope for in this life. Many a Christian can be found picnicking beside the "beauty" of telephone poles and powerlines simply because they stopped too soon.

Could it be, that you are one who is settling for less than what God has promised for those who believe? Are you finding yourself satisfied with a religious profession, but not really growing deeper in a love relationship with Jesus Christ himself? According to scripture, only those who keep on seeking will find. Only those who keep hungering and thirsting after righteousness shall be filled. Perhaps our greatest need is to repent for giving up too soon, and stir up the hunger for God that was there at the start--back when we were just believing the simple words of Scripture.

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jer. 29:13