Tag: Trials

Running Uphill . . . to the Finish Line

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Faith, Health, Running, Trials, Uncategorized

My son-in-law and I have basically owned the Tweetsie Trail this summer for our morning run.  The beautiful scenery, friendly bikers, walkers and runners, beautiful wildlife, the nostalgia, pristine quiet, and the desire to stay healthy and prepare for periodic races calls us out three to four times a week.  Our routine is to run from Johnson City to Elizabethton at different distances as my training is currently maxed out for 10Ks while Andrew is preparing for a half-marathon.  Recently, I said, “Let’s change our routine and run from Elizabethton to Johnson City.  Well, I was greeted with a startling fact . . . the trail is predominately an uphill grade.

Our last run really took it out of me, and I was a bit defeated because running is such a challenge to me.  Upon sharing my thoughts via texting with Andrew, he said, “The second you feel defeated, you fail.  Sounds like the Christian life.”  He is right.

Running is such a mind game.  Correct thinking is so crucial.  In most instances, you can run farther than your mind tells you.  There you are, your legs are burning a bit, your lungs grasping for air, and your mind saying, “Just go ahead and quit.  You know it’s too hard to finish. You just don’t have it.”  That’s when you have to think the truth, remind yourself about things you have learned from running, and take another drink as well as another step.  You really don’t want to listen to yourself.

The Christian life is often uphill as well.  Every day presents you with battles that begin with putting your feet on the floor first thing in the morning.   Once that happens, you are “off to the races.”  How needful it is to think biblically from the first thought of the morning.  So often when we start the Tweetsie Trail, one of us will say, “What a beautiful day to run.  Praise the Lord!”  Starting your day thinking the Word and then throughout the day reminding yourself of the Word will help you climb the next hill.  It is so important that we do not listen to ourselves but rather preach the Word to ourselves.

I for one will tell you that one of the best parts of running is the finish.  There is such an exhilarated rush when you are done.  So here’s some truths to begin your day that will get you to the finish line… even if its uphill.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.  (Lamentations 3:21-26)

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

This-N-That

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Heaven, Music, Trials

“Throwback Thursdays” come with an array of pictures and memories.  Yesterday while preparing for our study in Matthew 6 for Prayer Meeting and for this Sunday’s message, I played a Youtube mix of one of my favorite singing groups from the early 80’s, the Cathedral’s and Legacy Five.  To say that “I had  church” here at my desk would be an understatement!  As the truths of God’s Word worked in my heart coupled with the lyrics and memories from the songs, various emotions came out.  I was reminded of how God’s Word and these songs were precious to me in various trials and times of rejoicing.  Also, what some of these men have meant to me and my family in years gone by and continue to do so today.

Two songs that are linked below reminds us of the cry of our heart and the blessing of God’s nearness when we are faced with cancer, death, hardships, questions, heartache and tears. They were written by Roger Bennett who sings them. He battled leukemia from 1995 until the Lord took him Home to Glory on March 17, 2007.  You will notice in the second video the toll that cancer had taken on Roger’s body.

I trust that today’s simple blog post will be a blessing to you as you realize that in the midst of life’s storms, God will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5-6), and He does speak to us in the night seasons (Job 35:10; Psalm 42:80).

What God Whispers in the Night

Stay Close to Me

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 4

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Health, Trials

This past weekend we had something weather wise that is not often seen in East Tennessee.  The Lord saw fit to cover the beautiful fall foliage and the ground with a pristine blanket of white.   The colors stood out and the ground was quieted.  Two seasons came together in one.  Our lives are made up of seasons, too.  Sometimes it’s a season of joy and sorrow all mixed together in one.  Today, I am sharing the last lesson of this weekly series of what the Lord has been doing in my life through hernia surgery, through this season of my life.

Lesson #4:  Seasons of pain prepare us for the days ahead.

As I look back over my life, and I have more earthly years in my “rearview mirror” than I do out the front window, I am able to point out painful, growth markers.  These are times that God chose to send pain into my life to set me aside to teach me about Himself and me.  Some of those markers were . . .

  • The stillbirth of our daughter, Ashley Marie
  • Hernia surgery on the right side
  • Cancer and subsequent death of my parents
  • A detached retina in my left eye requiring surgery
  • Hernia surgery on the left side

I could mention other trials because life is full of them, but the aforementioned are definite times in my life when God did some deep plowing in my heart.  These were seasons of pain . . .

  • to teach me some wonderful truths from His Word
  • to correct some things in my life
  • to show me something of Himself
  • to set a course of action in my personal life, home and/or ministry
  • to turn my longings from earth to Heaven

None of us like pain, but I can truthfully say that God has used it to do some blessed things in my life.  Psalm 119:71 says, It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I may learn thy statues.  I have written in my Bible beside that verse, “2-16-03 Preached this passage as a result of what God taught me through Dad’s death.”  Even as I type this, the pain of my hernia is biting me.  Life is hard, but God is good.  “Thank You, Lord, for this pain.  Looking forward to how You are going to work in the days ahead.”

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.

Lessons From a Hernia

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, God's Word, Praise & Worship, Thanksgiving
All my life I have lived in full speed, all-out, never-sit-still motion. Every day is an adventure. I believe in being loyal to the end and give it all you got. This can be a positive in many ways, but life lived like this can also have some disadvantages. My independency, impatience and let’s go attitude does not bode well at times with following the Lord, my Shepherd. So, when He needs to get my undivided attention to do some whittling and training, He chooses something to really slow me down. As a matter of fact, to literally stop me. Two years ago it was eye surgery. This time it is hernia surgery. So, what have I been learning in slow motion from my patient, merciful, loving, sovereign God?

Lesson #1 – You must slowdown in this busy world of good things and make time for the best thing.

When you are laid aside for a number of days, you have the opportunity to read more, pray more, listen more, worship more, think more, and prioritize more. What delight to spend a whole morning (after you come off of pain meds) in the Word, in communion with the Lord, reading books, blogs, and articles, in prayer, writing in your journal, listening to sermons, etc. All of that to say, a time like this makes you hunger for more. Because our lives are so busy with good things, we fail or are slack in the area of the best things. Therefore, such is the need to plan your week and your month to really spend time with the Lord. I don’t know what that will look like for you and your schedule, but if Christ is to be sought first (Matthew 6:33) because to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21), then what will you plan for this week, this month?

Hint: When you come to the end of this month of November, will your heart be filled to overflowing with gratitude for your God?

  • Spend a “Thanksgiving morning” reading the psalms, singing songs of gratitude, and writing in your journal what God reveals to you during this time.
  • Keep a gratitude list through the month, not of what God has done, but for Who He is.
  • Read articles, blogs, or books about giving thanks.
  • Have your family share points of gratitude at your daily meal times as well as what God has revealed to them during each day of their time in the Word.
  • As you study your SS lesson, ladies Bible study, or your regular Bible reading during the week, make a conscious effort to praise the Lord for what He teaches you. For instance, you have just answered a question that causes you to think about the greatness of God or His works, so you stop right there and have a session of praise before the Lord.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Oh, Those Precious, Pious Statements – Part 2

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

Illustration by Rachel Ternes

What would the following men have said if a dear, well-meaning individual said to them, “Well, you know, the Lord won’t put on you more than you can bear”?

Elijah

And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:7-8)

Job

“Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest.  (Job 3:11-13)

Paul

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (2 Corinthians 12:7-8)

If I read these passages correctly and there are many others, it sounds like to me that the Lord did put on these men more than they could bear!  Truth is, God does give you more than you can handle because He wants you to depend totally on Him.  Think about this lame, spiritually sounding phrase against the backdrop of these passages of Scripture:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.  (Matthew 11:28-30)

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.  (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

These passages address this erroneous statement of  the Christianese language.  God does put upon us hardships and trials that are too hard for us to handle.  He does so to develop Christlikeness in us (Romans 8:28-29) and a dependence upon God alone.

Psalm 18:1-3 — I will love You, O Lord, my strength.The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.

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