Category: Trials

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 3

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, God's Word, Praise & Worship, Prayer, Renewal, Trials

After being in somewhat of a zombie state over the weekend due to the pain meds, I decided that Sunday night was my last round of “every four hours.”  These pain-numbing, body altering meds were going to have to go! Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the help with pain and sleep, but the side effects were weird.  In particular, these meds altered my ability to concentrate, listen, and stay awake. Some folks would say that I’m on meds all the time. J  Nevertheless, I was grateful that last Monday I could finally listen to preaching on my phone and jot down some notes in my journal.  Hence, the lesson from this hernia surgery that I am sharing today is as follows:

Lesson #3 – One of best responses to and blessings in a crisis is to listen.

That Monday morning, I heard and recorded the following statements from one of my favorite preachers, Tony Evans.

  • God brings crisis for you to know that God is real!
  • Nothing will make you seek God like a crisis.
  • Crisis make you stop praying cute prayers and makes you call out to God!
  • A truth to remember in a crisis: Heaven rules; earth never has the final word.
  • Never let your feelings sit in judgment over your faith.
  • Our God is the God of all the nations. When you have a “nation-sized” problem, you don’t want a “street-sized” God!
  • Name your crisis “Goliath” to remind you what will happen to it.

How grateful I was to be able to listen to the preaching of God’s Word and to be challenged, edified and encouraged.  You see, as a parallel to Day 1 and Day 2, a crisis, “a hernia time,” will be much more beneficial if you just make opportunities to listen.  I used my ear-buds with my phone and listened to sermons, music, and the Scripture.  How soothing, encouraging, challenging, and calming were the words of eternal Truth.  All I had to do was listen.  Times of worship occurred; tears flowed; my heart rejoiced; conversation took place between my Lord and me; and . . .  sometimes I would drift off to sleep.  But, what a way to rest!  That chair in the family room where I spent most of my time holds special meaning to me now; it is and was a place of rich communion.

So in a crisis, be still and listen.  Just be careful who or what you are listening to.  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth (1 Samuel 3:9-10).

Here are two YouTube links of one of the many songs we love to sing at our church that sums up my post for today.

Speak, O Lord – 1  (A vast congregation of men only)

Speak, O Lord – 2 (Kristyn Getty; with lyrics)

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 2

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Health, Trials

As noted in yesterday’s blog post, Lesson #1, I have recently undergone hernia surgery.  As I told my surgeon yesterday during my post-op visit, “Doc, I really don’t like to be around you when you start cuttin’ up!”  There have been times in my past that got in trouble for that!  Well, as the Lord would have it, this time was for my good.  These are the times when God does some work of heart and draws us to Himself for personal discipleship (Matthew 11:28-30).

Lesson #2 – He must increase; I must decrease.

The past year in ministry has been the most demanding that I’ve gone through in years.  When ministry takes the turns that it has, my automatic reaction is to work harder; to increase.  All I want to say today is, the hardest work of increase should come on our knees.  There, Christ is increased, and I am decreased.  That’s way it’s supposed to work (John 3:30).  “Thank You, Lord, for leading me beside the still waters of that passage on the day after surgery.  Sure is hard to do my work of increase while medicated and grounded.”  And . . . Christ’s ministry just kept right on going.

Friday’s Findings

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Church, Family, Parenting, Pastoring, Trials

Why I Stand With the Five Houston Pastors – Paul Chappell’s spot-on post about the sermons subpoena in Houston.

Christian Guide for Reading the News – Zach Franklin gives us a redemptive way to read to all the bad news in the world in print and through social media.

Millennials Want Something Real, Not Just Hashtags and Twitter

Why You May Be Tempted To Neglect Your Church – Encouragement and insight on the need of getting back on the team!

Five Bad Substitutes For Discipline – Excellent counsel for parents!

Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance – A classic.  I remember watching him when I was young.

Tom & Roger

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Death, Heaven, Hope, Trials

March 18, 2007, I stood on the parcel of ground where Oak Ridge Baptist Church is now located.  There, Pastor Tom Craig, Pastor Gary Ledbetter and myself gathered in prayer for the future construction of their church building.  As we joined our expectant hearts together before the Throne of Grace, we asked God to do a mighty work for His glory.  God answered our prayers as well as the prayers of a host of others. Not only was the building constructed, but greater still, lives were and continue to be transformed and built for God’s glory.  Tom was sure that would happen.  He discipled, loved, cared, and ministered the Word of God with grace and balance.

Interesting enough, that March 18th morning, another individual who impacted Gary’s and my life through his music, Roger Bennett, passed into the presence of the Lord after a long bout with leukemia.  The connection with Roger and his ministry team, Legacy Five, was the primary purpose for Gary and I being in Oak Ridge that weekend.  I remember walking into the Hampton Inn to meet Gary and his family on that Friday afternoon.  There in the front lounge area was Tom and Bobby cheering on their UT Vols in the college basketball tournament!  How surprised he was to see us.  He thought he had missed some conference in the area.  🙂

Tom and Roger, two men from two completely different ministry orbits, but today in the presence of the Lord! Both involved in a journey with cancer now forever over. How thankful I am for those the Lord brings into our lives to edify, encourage, exhort, and enjoy!  Thank you, Tom, for being such a man.  Gary and I will continue to sing and preach the Word until we join you on the other side.  Until then, My Hope Is Jesus.

Why? – Part 2

by Dale, posted in Death, Suicide, Trials

FoxNews reported the following about Robin Williams:

The beloved “Mork and Mindy” star had been battling severe depression recently, said his rep Mara Buxbaum. Just last month, he announced he was returning to a 12-step treatment program he said he needed after 18 months of nonstop work. He had sought treatment in 2006 after a relapse following 20 years of sobriety.

He had a complicated personal life and often seemed driven by demons. He did a few lines of cocaine with John Belushi on the last night of that comic’s life.

A darkness seeped in during an interview with comedian Marc Maron in 2010, where Williams seemingly dismissed what would be a career highlight for many actors. “People say you’re an Academy Award winner,” he said. “The Academy Award lasted about a week and then one week later, people went, ‘Hey Mork!'”

Depression, alcohol, cocaine, demons, and darkness; these are the words that stood out to me as I read the report.  Why would anyone take their own life?  Yesterday, I shared two important thoughts in reference to suicide.  Today, two more.  May I quickly add that my heart is saddened when I hear of anyone coming to this point because there is a remedy for ALL of life’s trials and disappointments.  His name is Jesus (John 10:9-11)

  1. No matter what the situation or circumstance of life may be, you must begin with God.
  2. Never overestimate the condition of man’s heart.
  3. Suicide is NOT the unpardonable sin. When you study Matthew 12:31-32, where the unpardonable sin is mentioned, you find no mention of suicide in that passage.  The unpardonable sin as verse 32 says, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  For a more in-depth study of this passage, see the following link, The Unforgivable Sin.
  4. Recognize the full deception of Satan. Jesus said of the religious, hypocritical Pharisees, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).  Satan is a complete, absolute liar who cannot speak the truth because there is no truth in him (Genesis 3:4-5).  He has been engaged in an all-out assault on the truth, on men coming to the Truth (John 14:6), and seeking to defraud the truth from the time of Adam and Eve.  He hates Jesus Christ, Who is Truth. He will do all he can to hinder someone from coming to know the Truth. When a distraught individual considers suicide, Satan will place thoughts of revenge, selfishness, bitterness, despair, and/or utter hopelessness and helplessness in the minds of individuals.  Satan is a destroyer who is always on the prowl waiting to lick his chops over another soul he has devoured (1 Peter 5:8).

Now, there is no way any of us can know all that goes through a man or woman’s mind who considers and then completes the act of suicide.  I only offer these truths in light of recent events to maybe help someone who is thinking of taking their life as well as to shed some light on this dreadful subject.

For anyone you know who may be dealing with thoughts of suicide or even yourself, I recommend you turn this website and check out the list of resources counselingoneanother- resources-suicide

My friend, for every issue of life, for sin, for sorrow, for despair, for the agonies of life, the answer is Jesus Christ. Turn to Him today. Receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior. (Isaiah 53:1-12; Romans 3:19-26; 5:1-11; 8:28-39; Philippians 2:1-11)

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. — Hebrews 4:14-16

Check Your Cell Bible

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, God's Word, Trials

As we drove to church last night, I made a comment to my wife about the ominous weather system hanging over us.  The sky looked eerie and was accompanied with an interesting calm.  We had already been alerted to the potential of tornadic activity in our area which became a reality as our cell phones’ severe weather alerts sounded off.  As we heard the thunder and rain, many of us went into “checking our phone” mode.  Probably not too much is remembered about the missionary DVD presentation because of us watching the weather radar.  Eventually, to be safe, we moved everyone downstairs to a secure location.  The storm passed to the east of us, we continued our service there and then enjoyed a time of fellowship in the gym eating sandwiches, chips and ice cream.

Our reaction to yesterday’s severe weather reminds me of how we should live in the storms of life.  Think about all the “storms” brewing in the world today:

  • Israeli – Hamas conflict
  • The Russian – Ukraine conflict
  • Persecution of believers in Iraq and Syria
  • Strange weather situations like in the Los Angeles area on Sunday afternoon

So, what is the correlation? In the same way our cell phones had our attention, and in the same way we kept checking it for new alerts/messages, we should be looking at all the “storms” in the world as well as our own life constantly checking our Bibles. Scan  what God has to say about wars, sin, strife, conflict, sorrow, the weather, upheavals, death, etc.  You want to know how to respond in all the storms of life, search the Scriptures. You want to know the latest, check your Bible.  God’s Word is always relevant, fresh, and true.

By the way, your “Cell Bible” just vibrated!  You have a storm alert sent from Heaven!

Praise God For Music!

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Music, Praise & Worship, Trials

How grateful I am that God created music!  Since I can remember, music has been a big part of my family.  My mom was an excellent pianist having played since she was six years old and learned the style of Rudy Atwood.  My dad sang, which was a chore to him.  I will say that he learned to play the radio quite well. 🙂   I played the trumpet and treble clef baritone in the band, and my wife played the clarinet. My oldest daughter plays the piano and my youngest daughter is multi-gifted as she can play several  instruments.

Music has been a strong guiding force and source of encouragement as well as “setting the atmosphere” in our lives many times.  Music has shown up in so many venues of our life such as in the car, at church, around the table, at a concert, while washing the car, driving through the countryside, on a date, on the back deck, running early in the morning, etc.  Music has touched us in so many ways from excitement, tears, raising a hand or two accompanied with a shout of praise, exhortation, foot tappin’, and on and on.

Due to a year of many trials in all “shapes and sizes” (James 1:2), music has found a common resting place in our hearts to encourage, edify and strengthen us.  Here’s one song that I often hear as I run.  It is one that folks in our church have found to be a “song in the night.”  Let the words minister to you today, and thank God for music!

I’ll Never Forsake You

Job 35:10  But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night.

Psalm 32:7  You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Psalm 119:54  Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.

A Cancerous Church

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Heaven, Trials

pastorcraig

My heart was greatly saddened to hear of the recent cancer diagnosis of Pastor Tom Craig, Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Oak Ridge, TN.  Today, I am sharing a blog post written by one of the faithful church members of ORBC.  This is powerful.  I beg every one of you to click on the link and read it.  May I ask that you read it slowly, prayerfully, and eternally with your gaze fixed on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2; Colossians 3:1)?

Cancer Has Spread Through the Whole Church