A Second Rabbit Trail Revisited

This post is longer than I had originally anticipated. But I believe God wants to communicate eternal truth to you. I pray you will continue reading through this entire post.

My purpose in writing this week is first and foremost to bring glory to God. I am fully cognizant that without my Father’s sustaining grace and faithfulness in my life, I would surely be lost. While losing my wife to cancer was the most trying experience in my life, it wasn’t the first time my faith had been tried by what felt like fire.

During my third semester at Christ For the Nations Institute in Dallas, I was dating a girl whom I believed the Lord had appointed for me to marry. As we dated and grew closer, she confided that she felt the same, and we began to make ministry and life plans as a couple. Over Christmas break of 1989, she abruptly broke up with me. I never saw it coming and it threw me into a huge tailspin. I believed God had clearly spoken to me and then jerked the rug out from underneath me. As a result, I became angry at God. I’ll not debate the theology of that except to say that that was my experience and God was and still is on His throne.

I seriously considered turning my back on God and walking away from the faith…even after graduating from a Bible school. I was shaken that deeply. I wrestled with it for 18 months before I finally realized I was facing a much deeper question than if it was God’s will to marry that girl. The question I faced, indeed the question we all must face and answer, was this: When the bottom of my life drops out, what am I going to do?

When the bottom of your life drops out, what will you do? When you lose a job you’ve held for over 20 years due to “downsizing,” what will you do? When you fall behind on your mortgage because you lost that job, and you’re getting foreclosure notices in the mail, what will you do? When the doctor says “incurable, inoperable cancer,” what will you do? When your spouse decides the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, or goes through a mid-life crisis and decides he or she needs to “find themselves” without you, what will you do? Dad, when your precious high school daughter comes home and tells you she’s pregnant, what will you do? Mom, when your son decides the band is better than getting his diploma, and he lets his hair grow long, get tatted up, and starts using drugs, what will you do? What will you do?

You’d better have an answer because your life just hit freefall mode. And when you hit the bottom you’d better know which way is up. What will be your answer? When confessing the Word and rebuking the devil just isn’t cutting it, what will be your answer? Jesus was speaking truth when He said, “In the world, you WILL have tribulation…” It will happen. When terror raises its ugly head, grabs you by the shirt collar and hisses, “You’re mine,” what will be your answer?

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. Psalm 62:1

When I realized that was the issue I was facing, I remembered when things started getting rough for Jesus’ disciples and some started leaving Him. He turned to the 12 and asked, “Are you going to leave Me, too?” I echoed Peter’s response to the Lord: “Where will I go? You have the words of life.” Final answer? Final answer.

I had been shaken. Some may say, “Ah, it’s just a girlfriend.” True, but at the time, she was my world and the most important thing in my life. When she left, my world crumbled. Hebrews 12:27 tells us that everything that can be shaken, will be shaken, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain. I had been shaken. But when the dust settled, I found that what hadn’t been shaken was the very core of who I was as a man. I was then what I am now and forever will be. A man of God.

The issue of God’s sovereignty in my life was settled when the most I had to lose was a girlfriend. A stake had been driven in the ground, a pile of rocks had been erected, and there was no turning back. Fast forward 13 years. Four children, ages 3 to 9, depend on me for their very lives. To them at their ages, I’m the next best thing to Jesus that they’ll see on this earth. This man of God is on his knees next to his wife’s hospital bed, explaining to his children why Mommy will never wake up and will never come home. Without exception, that was the most difficult task I have ever had to perform. The bottom of my life had completely dropped out, and what would be my answer?

When it appeared that God chose to not heal my wife a second time, I never considered walking away. Even though what I wanted, what I needed, to happen didn’t happen, God was still God. I knew I had a long hard road ahead of me. But like David, I knew I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. I wasn’t going to stay there forever. Did you notice that David didn’t take his Coleman and pup tent with him through that valley? No camping out at the KOA. I didn’t know when I would come out and I didn’t know what I’d look like, but I knew I would eventually walk out of that valley. How did I know? My faith was established on the character and faithfulness of my Father God. I chose to be a man of God.

Will you be a man of God? Will you be a woman of God?

Jesus did say we would have tribulation in this world. I can almost see Him then getting down on one knee, motioning for His disciples to come closer because He’s eager to share a huge secret with them. Jesus glances around to see if anyone is watching them, then when He’s confident no one is, he says with giddy excitement to the disciples, “Hey guys, I’m tellin’ ya, it’s gonna be tough out there in the world. But you know what? You know what?? I’ve overcome the world!!! They got nothin’ on you! Isn’t that great?!?!” Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow, I will share with you the blessing that came as a result of my choice. Then on Thursday, Beth will share the story from her perspective.

Be blessed, my friend, and be faithful.

Come Clean Before You Get Dirty

Money is the number one reason couples divorce.  It cuts across the entire socio-economic strata, from low-income wage-earners to middle class to those who are independently wealthy.  Hiding one’s debts and spending habits from one’s spouse can and usually does have catastrophic consequences on one’s marriage. 

Before I married Beth, I was a poor money manager and steward.  I hadn’t filed an income tax return for several years because I simply couldn’t pay what I owed.  That came back to bite me in the form of an IRS tax lien on my home.  Before we married, however, we made a choice to begin to handle our money God’s way.  I confessed to Beth about the tax lien and that my total indebtedness was about $85,000.  Because we chose God’s way of handling finances, today we are completely debt-free except for our mortgage, glory be to God.

Here is an article from Yahoo Finance that you should read, regardless of your state of matrimony.  Handling your finances God’s way is best.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-couples-sabotage-their-finances.html

 

Be faithful, my friends.

The First Rabbit Trail Revisited

The focus of this blog has been and always will be to share life-giving truth from God’s Word.  This week, I’m shifting gears a bit and chasing a rabbit trail.  It’s something that I have learned from my pastor, Eric Hulet, the best pastor under whom a man can serve.  A rabbit trail, yes, but a necessary one nonetheless.  This will be a life-giving rabbit trail.

In June 2002, my first wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma.  Our oncologist sent us to MD Anderson in Houston because there was nothing she could do for us here.  My wife was placed on a chemotherapy regimen and we were able to get the treatments transferred to our hospital in Fort Worth.  From her first treatment in June until the treatment was done, the “incurable” cancer had gone into remission.  No trace of it left.  January 2003 brought a clean bill of health.  Our admittedly agnostic oncologist began calling her a “miracle patient.”

In May, a follow-up MRI showed a small spot on the front left part of her brain.  Surgery successfully removed all of it, but she suffered a stroke while in recovery the day after the surgery.  Six weeks later, she passed away.  She was 32 years old.

The outpouring of love and support was overwhelming from my family at Grace Community Church.  We had made some lifetime friendships, shared some painful struggles, and celebrated glorious victories in the Lord.  It made the road for a less-than-gainfully-employed widower with four children a bit less of a nightmare.  I quickly chose to allow God to deal with my heart during the year that would follow.  I made myself accountable to four men in my church; some were peers, some were mentors, some were both.  I began to understand what it was that King David experienced as he walked through the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23.  The darkness at times was overwhelming.  One of my four “guys,” a man I’ll call Papa, made himself available to me 24/7, and many times I took him up on that offer.  Through my relationship with him, I began to see what it meant to be a son of the Most High.  In frustration one day, I cried out to God, “I don’t even know who I am!  Half of me is gone and I can never get it back.  Who am I??”  The answer came to my heart so gently and in such a sweet, reassuring tone that only the Heavenly Father could speak.

You are who you have always been.  You are My son.

God spoke that to me seven years ago, and it’s as fresh today as it was then.  I will forever be searching out the full meaning of that statement.

You are My son.

On Friday October 8, 2010, I will have been married five years to my wife, Elizabeth.  We met in the midst of this crucible.  Even during the early days of our courtship, we knew that only Father God could have orchestrated events to happen that would bring these two people together.  Each day for the rest of this week, I will share a bit of the story of how I fell in love with and married the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world.

Be faithful, my friend.  Be faithful.

Rabbit Trails Revisited

Several people I know are currently processing deep grief. As many of you know, I lost my first wife to cancer in 2003. God did a wonderful work in my heart as I allowed Him to lead me through those dark nights of my soul.

In October of 2010 I blogged for a week about that work. God has recently spoken to me about writing a book about my experience. I am seeing parts of a huge puzzle fall into place as I walk out this process of following Christ. This week I will be reposting my blogs from that week in 2010.

If you know anyone who is currently walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or if you are yourself, I encourage you to read my blog this week and pass along my blog site to others. I believe you will be immensely blessed and comforted by the Holy Spirit.

Be faithful, my friends.

Too Much Time on Your Hands

Steward (n): one who administers anything as the agent of another.  Steward (v):  to faithfully manage what one has been given.

Steward your time, even if it is a time of grief.  God has given you this time to draw you closer to His heart.  Allow this time to fully infiltrate every fiber of your being, and so accomplish its work in your heart.  If you leave too soon, God cannot fully accomplish in your heart that which He desires.  If you stay too long, this time will become rotten and useless, much like an overly-ripened fruit, and that rottenness will then permeate your life.  Run to the Father.  Listen to His heart.  When He says stay, stay.  When He says move, move.  He will tell you when your journey through this valley is over.  Until then, embrace this time of grief as a precious gift from the Lord. 

And be faithful, my friend.

Who You Are

Who you are is so much more than you’d like to talk about. -Sugarland

Sometimes we don’t realize who we really are in Christ. We are blessed, we are chosen, we are loved, we are redeemed, we are anointed, we have authority, we have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, and we are children of the King of Kings. So why do we sometimes choose to believe the lies that the devil tells us? Who we ARE in Christ is so much MORE than we would like to talk about!!

“This is NOT a sales call…”

Well, if it isn’t a sales call, then why are you calling me to get me to sign up for something? 

I’ve been getting more of these calls lately and it really irritates me when they start calling my cell phone!  I mean, really?  Are companies that desperate for sales?  Well, yeah, I guess they are.

I thought I had posted this in a previous blog post, but maybe I didn’t.  At least I couldn’t find it.  Regardless, I’m reposting some information for you so you can hopefully stop telemarketers from calling you during dinner. 

The National Do Not Call Registry has a toll free number for you to call to block telemarketers.  You have to call the number from each phone you wish to have blocked.  The number is 888-382-1222.  The Registry’s website is https://www.donotcall.gov/.

If you’d like to have some fun with them, come up with quirky ways to get back at them.  maybe answer the phone with “Oklahoma City 911 [or whatever your town is], what is your emergency?”  However, that may be against the law in some states, so try something like, “Guido’s Pizzeria, will this be delivery or pick-up?”  Or to really put the fear of God into them, “Thank you for calling the Internal Revenue Service.  For English…”  I seriously doubt they’ll willingly call back the IRS.  Ok, ok, I am NOT seriously advocating that you misrepresent yourself as a law enforcement or government official, but have a little fun with your responses should one of these telemarketers call you.

Have fun, and be faithful. 🙂

How much is that magazine in the window? $1,000?????

I had an interesting thing happen today.  I sent my eldest to get the mail after we got home and began sorting through it.  Bills, credit card offers, Christmas fliers (yes, they completely skipped right over Thanksgiving), ads, bills, college solicitations for my two oldest kids, bills…you get the picture.  It’s nothing that doesn’t happen at your house.

I also got a couple of magazines (we subscribe to a few), including one that wasn’t ours.  It was addressed to the house a few doors down so I walked right over and delivered it to them.  Ok, the magazine was Low Rider and had, as they all do, a scantily clad woman on the cover leaning over a low rider vehicle.  I was a bit embarrassed when the lady of the house answered with her teenage daughter right next to her. 

“Um…sorry, but this was delivered to my house by mistake,” I stammered. A long, drawn-out “Ok” followed from Mom, then, “We get these all the time and never did order it.  They just started sending them.”  I asked if that was her husband’s name and she said yes, then told me about two MORE magazines they’re receiving also.  My identity-theft Spidey-sense started tingling. 

“Hmm…did all three start around the same time?”  Yes.  In my mind I thought, Crap.

I then started talking to Mom about identity theft and that it’s possible, even likely, that someone got her husband’s information and is either pranking him (three subscriptions seems like an expensive prank) or his I.D. has been compromised.  I told her it’s possible that a thief got some credit card info and they may not even see the charge unless they scrutinize every single line of every single credit card statement.  This is typically an identity theft’s initial way he uses to see if you’re really paying attention to your credit card activity.  She said it’s been about three months since they’ve been getting the unsolicited magazines.  That’s plenty of time for the i.d. thief to know that they aren’t really paying attention (unless they have a superhero neighbor like me). 

So what do you do if this happens to you? 

FIRST:  Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and check your credit report FOR FREE.  Federal law allows you one free credit report annually from each of the three credit-reporting bureaus.  For about $10 more, you can also get a copy of your score.

SECOND:  If you find unauthorized activity on your credit report, initial a FRAUD ALERT or a CREDIT FREEZE on your account.  You must only contact one of the credit bureaus, in writing for a credit freeze, and they will contact the other two bureaus.  a FRAUD ALERT puts a flag on your account when someone attempts to take out credit in your name, even when you do it yourself.  When you apply over the phone for a credit card, say a department store card or home-improvement store card, they will ask you very specific questions to which only you should know the answer.  A CREDIT FREEZE differs in that it completely locks down your credit.  Nobody, not even you, can take out credit in your name without a PIN or other identifying information that the bureau will give you. 

Fortunately, nearly all credit card companies and banks will only limit your liability to $50, and most will even waive that.  But you must be proactive and notify the bank of suspicious activity.  If you have been a victim of identity theft, you need to report it to the police immediately and obtain a copy of the report.  This is typically required if you later have to fight to clear your name and get charges removed from accounts. 

Here is a link to FAQ’s about a Fraud Alert: http://identity.georgetown.edu/faqs/

Here is a link to FAQ’s about a Credit Freeze:  http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/005081.html

NEXT:  Monitor your credit card statements RELIGIOUSLY!  Inattentiveness could literally cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars or more, and if you aren’t on top of it, your identity might get stolen before you even know what’s going on.  There are stories out there of mortgage loans being taken out in victims’ names, purchases for cars, boats, expensive electronics, etc.  All this can be done in a relatively short amount of time if you aren’t monitoring your own credit accounts for any kind of suspicious activity.

So, beginning with a seemingly innocent  mistake by a magazine or subscription service (hence the title of this post), that $20 magazine subscription the i.d. thief took out in your name, just to check to see if you’re paying attention, could end up ruining your good name for quite a while.  Be vigilant!!  Yes, we trust in the Lord and He is our Shield and Protector.  But we have an important part to play as stewards of that with which He has entrusted us. 

So be proactive and vigilant about your credit.

Most of all, be faithful, my friend.

 

 

Steve Jobs: Saint or Sinner?

I’ve been seeing some messages about Steve Jobs’ passing from several media outlets over the past few days.  Stated are reasons to mourn his loss and to be thankful for the contributions he made to our society and culture.  Also stated are reasons to dislike who he was, what he did, and what he stood for.  Most of these perspectives come from well-meaning, God-loving and -fearing, Bible-believing people, and both perspectives hold credence.  But what should our reaction truly be?  Do we embrace what Steve Jobs contributed to the betterment of his/our world or do we cast it aside as tainted in light of his actions and attitudes toward others?

In light of a Christian worldview, our first question should be this:  Was Steve Jobs a believer?  When he died and passed from this life into the next, did he behold the face of his Loving Savior and enter into His rest, or did he behold the face of his Eternally Righteous and Holy Judge and enter into an eternity apart from Christ?

In absence of evidence that he wholly embraced or summarily rejected Christ’s work at Calvary, we can only speculate.  Speculation is best left to statisticians and meteorologists.  Each of them can always cite a variable for which they did not or could not account.  

Here is what we know, or claim to know, about Steve Jobs:

1)  He was a great inventor whose foresight surpassed his own time/space continuum.  He was responsible for creating Apple, Inc., whose influence over our technology and culture has yet to be fathomed.  He gave us the iPod, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, and single-handedly revolutionized the personal computer industry with the Apple and Macintosh platforms. 

2)  Steve Jobs was a tyrant, a manipulator, mean-spirited, vindictive, and spiteful; this according to an article on Gawker.com.  Upon his return to Apple in 1997, he summarily halted all of Apple’s philanthropic efforts.  Apple is reported to employ underage workers and operate sweatshops with intolerable working conditions in China.  Jobs allegedly swore at and belittled workers, and actively enforced censorship within his business.

Conclusion:  So what?  Big fat hairy deal.  He’s gone, and neither trashing his reputation nor granting him sainthood is going to change anything in the here and now.  When the good things that Steve Jobs accomplished are weighed against the bad things he did, what will be the outcome?  What will determine Steve Jobs’ legacy?  Does his legacy really matter since everything on this earth will burn anyway?

Here is the bottom line:  When Steve Jobs stood before his Creator and gave an account for what he did with his life, what was the Creator’s answer?  Did God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into your Lord’s rest?”  Or did Steve Jobs hear, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity.  I never knew you?”  This side of heaven, we will never know.  That side of heaven, it will never matter.

I sincerely  hope we can all be thankful for the contributions Steve Jobs gave us to make our lives a little bit more convenient.  Who hasn’t Facebooked from their iPhone or smartphone?  Who hasn’t become addicted to Angry Birds yet?  (Don’t worry, you soon will be!)  Who hasn’t benefitted from the GPS navigation apps so readily available?  And creating your own unique Starbucks concoction from the palm of your hand?  Talk about coffee bean Utopia!  Steve Jobs’ contributions revolutionized our entire culture.  I hope we can at least give him credit for that. 

If we do anything beyond that, it needs to fall into one of two categories:  1)  Pray for his family and for other lost souls around the world that they would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; or  2)  Hush up and do #1. 

The condition of Steve Jobs’ heart was the key to what he heard the Lord say to him a few days ago.  What is the condition of your heart?  And what will you hear the Lord say to you?  I pray you hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.  Enter into the rest of your Lord.”

Be faithful, my friend.

The Dreaded Debt Collector

Wow…it’s been quite a while since my last post.   July 29.  Might have to see what I can do about that.  Honestly, like everyone else, I’ve been busy.  Too busy, in fact.  I haven’t taken the time to concentrate on those things that really matter nor on those things about which I am passionate. 

Here is something that will hopefully help you out in your endeavors to become a more faithful steward of what God has entrusted to you.  I just found this article in my recent copy of Reader’s Digest and found it to be quite illuminating and informative.  I hope you may be able to glean something useful from it.

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-things-a-debt-collector-wont-tell-you/5/

Be faithful, my friends!!