Archive for September, 2009

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9/11 Thoughts

Friday, September 11th, 2009

I was fixing breakfast for my family when my husband walked into the kitchen with an odd look on his face. “A radio announcer said that an airplane just slammed into one of the Twin Towers in New York,” he said. “I wonder how that happened.”

“What kind of plane?” I asked.

“I dunno – probably a little one,” he said, returning to our bedroom to listen to the radio show. He re-entered the kitchen minutes later, his face ashen.  “Something’s really wrong,” he said. “A second plane crashed, but it hit the other tower. These planes were passenger jets! These weren’t accidents! Something’s very wrong.” He dashed into the family room and turned on the TV. And that’s where we sat for the next five hours, watching in horror as the terror unfolded.

Eight years have passed since 9/11, and the world is forever changed. For one thing, security has tightened in airports worldwide and at border crossings, especially entering the United States – I could write a book about challenges we’ve faced in that regard! The States wants to ensure the safety of its citizens, and so it tries hard to keep the bad guys from sneaking in again.

As I think about the anniversary of 9/11, I want to pose a question: Where does the real danger to our nation/continent lie? Is it in the extremists who embrace a suicide mission as a guaranteed ticket to heaven and its perks? Or is it lurking somewhere else?

Psalm 55:10 says, “Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.” I have a hunch that the real danger we face lies within our own nation.   

When we remove God from His rightful place and worship the created being instead…when we kill the unborn and the defenseless…when we condone lifestyles condemned by God…when we fail to care for the poor and helpless…when we allow greed to run rampant…when we excuse what God cannot excuse by saying, “Times are changing”…when we allow busyness to rule our lives and rob us of time for what matters most – then we face a very real danger. It’s called ‘spiritual bankruptcy.’

How can we protect our nation (s) against the danger of spiritual bankruptcy?

  • By keeping our personal relationship with God our first priority so our attitudes and actions honor Him.
  • By encouraging other believers in their spiritual journey.
  • By sharing our faith with unbelievers and praying for their salvation.
  • By discovering and using our spiritual gifts to strengthen the Church.
  • By educating ourselves about decisions our leaders are making and being a voice for truth in a respectful and appropriate manner.
  • By valuing our marriages and families.
  • By training our children in godliness.

The list could go on and on, I’m sure. Perhaps you have some suggestions you’d like to add – please feel free to do so. And let me know what you think – where does the real danger to our nation (s) lie?

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Giving Thanks

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Yesterday I interviewed Gary Shepherd, the author of a newly released book titled Angel Tracks in the Himalayas. He’s a Wycliffe missionary responsible for translating the New Testament into the Magar language for that tribal people of Nepal.

Gene and I have known Gary for 27 years. In fact, we spent our first Christmas in Nepal in his home. I was pregnant with our first child then – so nauseous that I couldn’t even roll over in bed without getting sick. Gary’s wife Barbara cared for me, setting plates of soda crackers on the table beside my bed, and giving me hard candies to suck.

That was in December 1982. That was also the month Barbara began experiencing psychotic breaks, imagining things that were not real. One night Gary found her standing in an empty room flicking the light switch off and on. “What are you doing, Honey?” he asked. “The Communists are coming for us,” she answered. “I’m signaling the police on the hill.”

Barbara’s condition worsened despite counseling and medication. In December 1991, this woman who’d endured the rigors of pioneering missionary work and helped her husband translate and publish the NT in a tribal language ended her life.

I can’t fathom the shock and grief Gary and his two children must have experienced; I admire his willingness to talk about what happened. As he spoke, he shared a fundamental element of his emotional healing – giving thanks.

One day, in the midst of his grief, Gary read Psalm 50:23: “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” Desiring to honor God in this situation, he began doing what it said. He looked for things for which to be thankful – the good memories he and Barbara had shared, for instance, and their two young adult children. He kept to this path, and trusted God to fulfill His promise to bless him.

Gary’s expectations were fulfilled and then some. His heart began to heal. He returned to Nepal several months later, and lo and behold, was introduced to a missionary nurse who shared his passion for the people of that country. They were married four months after their first dinner date, and they continue to partner in ministry to this day.

“Giving thanks in the midst of tragedy is a sacrifice that honors God,” said Gary. “When we put Him first and do as He says, the door is opened to experience His blessing.”

I agree. Giving thanks in the midst of tough times is a sacrifice. It’s not easy, but God enables us to do what He commands, right? And when we obey, He blesses. We can’t predict what form that blessing will take, but we can rest in the knowledge that He knows what’s best for us.

How about you? Have you experienced God’s blessing for giving thanks in the midst of difficulty? If so, we’d love to hear about it.

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A Six-Word Prayer

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Sometimes we think our prayers must be long and eloquent to be meaningful. Wrong.

This morning I discovered a significant prayer that’s only six words long: “Make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:12). Wow. If we prayed these words and meant them, our lives could be completely transformed. We’d be inviting God to change our hearts, to bring our desires in line with His, to remove any shred of disobedience so He could be free to accomplish His purposes in and through us.

A greedy person praying these words would open her hand and give generously. A bitter person holding a grudge would forgive. A fear-filled person would commit her anxiety to the Lord and experience peace. Someone struggling with impure fantasies would embrace God’s standards for her thoughts. Someone prone to gossip would learn to leash her tongue. The person who’s made food her god would learn self-discipline. And followers of Jesus Christ would boldly share the Gospel with others. The list goes on.

Imagine how our lives might look if we unconditionally prayed, “Make me willing to obey you.” Imagine the influence we’d have in spreading the Good News to a hurting world!

Have you ever prayed this prayer? If so, how did God answer and what was the result?

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New People

Friday, September 4th, 2009

In a few months I’ll be interviewing a woman named Diane Nichols for a Power for Living article. She wrote a book titled Prison of My Own: A True Story of Redemption and Forgiveness. I’ve been reading that book this week, and it’s reduced me to tears twice already. I cannot, absolutely cannot fathom the pain this woman has experienced.

The story opens in a courtroom where Diane’s ex-husband is on trial for murdering his 19-year-old lover. He goes to prison, and Diane is left trying to function as a single mother with two little girls who can’t understand what’s happened to their perfect family. She gets involved with another man and seeks to dull her pain with alcohol. Hers is a picture of utter, dark despair…until she finds Christ and her life begins anew.

“…Those who become Christians become new persons,” says 2 Corinthians 5:17,18. “They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did.”

Amazing, wouldn’t you say? That a person can be transformed from the inside out is a miracle of God’s grace. You know what I really love about this? That we don’t have to do it ourselves. The work has been done through Jesus’ death on the cross. He died so that we could live – truly live, with hope for the future and freedom from the past. The instant we place our faith in Jesus, old things pass away and all things become new.

Some habits die hard, mind you. But when the Holy Spirit moves in, He sets about housecleaning in our hearts. He takes away the desires we have that are wrong or bad for us, and He replaces them with what is good and right. He gives us the ability to resist temptation, and He gives us courage to say no to the things that once controlled us.

Diane’s story is a perfect illustration of what it means to become a new person because of what Christ has done. I can’t wait to finish it, and then to do the interview.

How has Christ made you new?

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Heart Health

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

How’s your heart? Healthy, I hope, both physically and spiritually.

Physically, I’ve been taking deliberate steps to increase my heart’s health because I want to live well and long. I walk for 45 minutes several times each week, and I work out at a fitness center when I’m not traveling. My intentional efforts are paying off:I have greater stamina, able to walk longer distances sometimes carrying large loads, without panting and puffing. 

Spiritually, the same principle applies. Enjoying a spiritually healthy heart means being intentional about doing things that promote such health. The main exercise involves filling it with God’s Word. There are several benefits for doing so:

  • I’m able to discern right from wrong. (Psalm 37:30 – “The godly offer good counsel; they know what is right from wrong.”)
  • I become a competent people-helper. (Psalm 37:30)
  • I stay on a path that pleases God. (Psa. 37: 31 – “They fill their hearts with God’s law, so they will never slip from his path”; Psa. 44:18 – “Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path.”)
  • I find joy in doing God’s will. (Psalm 40:8 – “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is written on my heart.”)
  • I’m able to walk in obedience to God’s ways. (Job 23:12 – “I have not departed from his commands but have treasured his word in my heart.”)

 When our spiritual health wanes or fails, chances are pretty good that we’re feeding our hearts with stuff that isn’t good for us such as steamy romance novels, gossip, lustful thoughts, envy, or pride. Feeding on the Word has probably become a meaningless ritual or duty, or fallen by the wayside altogether.

We can prevent unnecessary pain and problems in life if we maintain a healthy diet of feeding on God’s Word. Fill our hearts with it. Realize its value to us, and make it a daily priority.

How do you maintain a spiritually healthy heart?

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