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Life is Full of Struggles

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What are You Going to Do About Them?

We all experience struggles in life. We also have opportunities to celebrate peace and harmony. The question is which you’re going to focus on.

This past Sunday we celebrated getting new hymnals at church. Pastor Lisa pointed out that, at different times different things speak to us. This is true in worship.

It might be a prayer, a liturgy, a Scripture, or a song. Music is certainly something that can move us. A hymnal is more than just a book of songs.

It is a gathering of history. It is scriptural. It is a part of a journey. It gives us direction.

One such song is Great is Thy Faithfulness.

This popular Christian song was written as a poem by Thomas Chisholm in 1923. It was about God’s faithfulness over his lifetime.  Chisholm sent it to William Runyan who was affiliated with the Hope Publishing Company. Runyan set the poem to music. It quickly became popular among church groups.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; 
there is no shadow of turning with thee; 
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; 
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Refrain: 
Great is thy faithfulness! 
Great is thy faithfulness! 
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!


Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness 
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]


Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, 
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, 
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]

Great is Thy Faithfulness, Thomas Chisholm

These Biblical lyrics reference Lamentations 3:22-23.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamenting is crying out. It is to express deep sorrow, to mourn, or grieve.

This is what the book of Lamentations is. In the Bible, people would wear sack cloth and throw dirt. I remember when people would wear black for a while to show their feelings of lamenting. Now people get on social media.

Lamentations 3:19-26 gives us a good plan for dealing with life’s struggles. It tells us to get these struggles out and share them with God. It professes God’s daily mercies and peace we can have. It points out that it is up to us to look to Him for this comfort.

We need to tell God how we feel and have faith in Him.

It is up to us to believe. Christians do not lament as the world does.

Give your struggles to God and live in His peace.

What’s the Purpose You’ve Been Called To?

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Here I Am Lord, Send Me

Pastor Lisa is preaching a series on the prophets. This week’s prophet was Isaiah. As is the case with most prophets…the people hearing the message weren’t very receptive.

We don’t like it when someone tells us what we’re doing is wrong.

We like to think we have it all figured out. This is how it was for the people of Judah and Jerusalem when Isaiah shared God’s message with them. He was telling them to change their ways or there was going to be price to pay.

The Bible is full of people being made aware of their mistakes. It’s also full of examples of what happens when the warnings are ignored.

In this week’s Scripture, Isaiah 6:1-8, we hear about Isaiah’s vison of the Lord sitting on His throne. There were six winged creatures flying over Him covering themselves with four of these wings. They were calling out,

“Holy, holy, holy,
    Lord All-Powerful!
The earth is filled
    with your glory.”

As Isaiah witnessed this, he realized how unworthy he was. Then he cried out, “I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

purpose

Then one of the creatures took a burning coal from the alter and touched Isaiah’s lips and said, “Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

The Lord asked, “Is there anyone who I can send? Will someone speak for us?

Isaiah answered, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

We need to be willing to do what we’ve been called to do.

This doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. It’s a more difficult road for some than others.

This is the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a Somali-born Dutch-American writer, activist, and former politician.

She is a critic of Islam and advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women. At the age of five, following local traditions in Somalia, Ali underwent female mutilation organized by her grandmother.

She received political asylum in the Netherlands, gaining Dutch citizenship. In her early 30s, Ali renounced the Islamic faith of her childhood and began identifying as an atheist.

In 2003, Ali was elected to the lower house of the States General of the Netherlands. While serving in parliament, she collaborated on a short film titled Submission, which critiqued and depicted the oppression of women under Islamic law.

This led to death threats after the film’s release. At this time, she became more outspoken as a critic of the Islamic faith. Her outspoken criticism of Islam made her a controversial figure in Dutch politics. Following a political crisis related to the validity of her Dutch citizenship, she left Parliament and ultimately the Netherlands.

Moving to the United States, Ali established herself as a writer, activist, and public intellectual. Ali founded an organization for the defense of women’s rights—the AHA Foundation.

Ali was a central figure in New Atheism. She was strongly associated with the movement, along with Christopher Hitchens.

Writing in a column in November 2023, Ali announced her conversion to the Christian faith. In this article she claimed that in her view the Judeo-Christian tradition is the only answer to the problems of the modern world.

So, what changed? Why does she call herself a Christian now?

“Part of the answer is global. Western civilization is under threat from three different but related forces.

We endeavor to fend off these threats with modern, secular tools: military, economic, diplomatic, and technological efforts to defeat, bribe, persuade, appease, or surveil. And yet, with every round of conflict, we find ourselves losing ground.

But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: What is it that unites us? The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

That legacy consists of an elaborate set of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom, and dignity—finding their roots in Christianity.

And so, I have come to realize that my atheist friends failed to see the wood for the trees. The wood is the civilization built on the Judeo-Christian tradition; it is the story of the West.

Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realization that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable—indeed very nearly self-destructive.

Atheism failed to answer a simple question: What is the meaning and purpose of life?

That is why I no longer consider myself a Muslim apostate, but a lapsed atheist. Of course, I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity. I discover a little more at church each Sunday. But I have recognized, in my own long journey through a wilderness of fear and self-doubt, that there is a better way to manage the challenges of existence than either Islam or unbelief had to offer.”

Like the people that Isaiah was speaking to and Ayaan Hirsi Ali we all tend to think we have it figured out. Some people chose to follow Jesus, and some don’t. The question is…are you going to say, Here I am Lord, send me?

You’ve been given a purpose. It’s up to you to decide what you’re going to do with it.

Knowing God is Different Than Just Knowing Who God is

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Even the Devil Knows Who God is

This past Sunday was confirmation Sunday at church. This is a rite that confirms a person’s baptism and admits that person to full participation in the church. It is the open and outward action of showing one’s belief and acceptance of God.

This journey starts with knowing who God is but doesn’t end there.

It is important for young Christians to be aware and understand what it means to be a Christian. It is equally important for spiritually mature Christians to walk alongside these new Christians and help them with their journey.

Satan is subtle. Just look at what happened in the Garden of Eden.

This is why it’s important to get to know Jesus, to spend time with Him, and to know Him intimately.

Even some of the disciples who were with Jesus struggled with really knowing Him. In Luke 24:13-27, two of the disciples were walking to Emmaus talking about Jesus’ crucifixion when Jesus joined them:

He asked them what they were talking about. Cleopas asked Jesus, “Are you the only person from Jerusalem who didn’t know what was happening there these last few days?”

“What do you mean?” Jesus asked.

They answered:

Those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth. By what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet, who pleased God and all the people. Then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross. We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since all this happened.

Some women in our group surprised us. They had gone to the tomb early in the morning, but did not find the body of Jesus. They came back, saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. Some men from our group went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they didn’t see Jesus either.

 Then Jesus asked the two disciples, “Why can’t you understand? How can you be so slow to believe all that the prophets said? Didn’t you know that the Messiah would have to suffer before he was given his glory?” Jesus then explained everything written about himself in the Scriptures, beginning with the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets.

Here are two people that knew Jesus. They hung out with Him. They ate with Him. They were as close to Him as anyone ever was…yet up that point, they missed who He was.

Having our eyes open and being aware is where the journey starts.

Knowing Who God Is

The disciples were aware of Jesus and who He was. Their problem was their preconceived ideas. They expected Him to be some great and powerful worldly king.

We need to put our preconceived ideas away and understand who Jesus is.

Often, He does not fit into our picture of who we want Him to be.

The next step on the journey is the most important.

This is where we decide to accept Jesus as our eternal savior…or not.

This requires intentional action on our part. No one can do this for us.

The rest of the journey consists of learning.

You Should Obey Your Boss

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So, who is Your Boss?

A boss is a person who is in charge and tells others what to do. This doesn’t mean being told what to do is a bad thing. If it’s done in the right way, it gives us guidance and helps us to be better. We all have a variety of bosses in our lives.

The question is which one(s) are you going to obey?

obey your boss, handshake

With Labor Day happening last Monday, Pastor Lisa’s message was about doing the right work for the right reason.

Labor Day was started to bring attention to workers who were being taken advantage of. I alluded to this in my previous post.

Like so many things, it was started for a good reason, but along the way many have lost sight of the reason behind it. Too many times now it’s just another holiday to get out of work.

The question is, who are you working for?

This question needs to be asked and answered.

In Colossians 3:22-24, Paul tells the Colossians a new way to live and work.

colossians

He tells them to obey their bosses. Try to please them all the time, not just when you think they are watching. He also tells them that when they are working for their bosses with their whole heart, they are also honoring God.

“Work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly boss. In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really working for, and you know he will reward you.”

It is easy to get caught up in the daily routine of our work here on earth.

This is why it’s important to take a day like Labor Day to stop and reflect on what our work is and who we’re working for.

We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives. Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed (Proverbs 16:2-3).

Decide who you’re going to work for. Who’s your boss going to be?

boss desk, empty

Learning is How We Find Solutions

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And We Never Stop Learning as Long as We’re Alive

In this week’s sermon, Pastor Lisa used algebra as an example of learning. Really, algebra…

I never was a fan of algebra. I could never understand why it was necessary to mix the alphabet in with math. People that like algebra naturally get it. Not me. I just don’t get this.

Algebraic Solutions

Algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies certain abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of statements within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic operations other than the standard arithmetic operations such as addition and multiplication.

This makes my head hurt.

Pastor Lisa’s point was that algebra is a mathematical example of looking for and finding an answer to a problem. Now that I understand.

Why can’t it be as simple as using a box or a blank for the unknown piece of the puzzle? Why does it have to be a letter?

Like in this example:

⬜ + 10 = 13

We need to find the number in this box. And what number, when added to 10, gives us 13?

Simple, it’s three; we can see that 3 plus 10 equals 13. The puzzle here only contains numbers.

Okay…enough about algebra.

The real message here is about learning.

Learning is acquiring wisdom. And the Proverbs are full of acquiring and sharing wisdom. In Proverbs 1:1-7, we are told how the Proverbs can be used to learn.

Proverbs will teach you wisdom and self-control and how to understand things with deep meanings. You will learn what is right and honest and fair. From these, an ordinary person can learn to be smart, and young people can gain knowledge and good sense.

The Proverbs are not promises. They are a probability.

We can go through life ignoring the opportunities to learn. Or we can soak up every lesson, both good and bad, and build better lives. It’s up to us.

We shouldn’t just take things at face value. We should scratch and think and ponder, trying to find the right answers to the right questions.

It’s how we were made. We were made to learn.

Now go and learn!

Life is Full of Choices

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One of Those Choices is Repentance

We all make mistakes. Some mistakes are more serious than others. The thing to remember is that the mistake doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

King David is remembered as someone after God’s heart even though he made a lot of mistakes. One of the reasons he is remembered this way is because of his willingness to admit his mistakes and repent of them.

This is evident in the Psalms. Many of the Psalms are of David repenting. This week’s Scripture, Psalm 6 is one of these. We don’t know exactly what mistake(s) David is referring to in this chapter. What we do know is that it’s an outpouring of David’s regret. To the point of bringing him to tears.

David’s penance is one of the reasons he was remembered as he was.

Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed. The word penance derives from Old French and Latin paenitentia, both of which derive from the same root meaning repentance.

This is a sincere change of heart and feeling of remorse. Repentance refers to the genuine interior sorrow for one’s hurtful words or actions.

Repentance implies a purpose and the resolve to avoid such hurtful behavior in the future. 

The superpower that we all have, but too often neglect to use, is the power of choice.

David made a lot of choices, knowing they were wrong. But he also chose to openly repent, asking for God’s forgiveness.

We are faced with choices every day. It’s up to us to ask God for His input before we make the choices. This will reduce the time of repentance.

Life is Like a Pencil Maze

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And They’re Easier with Help

A maze is defined as, “A path or collection of paths typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching (“unicursal”) patterns that lead unambiguously through a convoluted layout to a goal.”

Life is like a maze. It has a beginning and an end. We can choose what we want the end goal to be. Do we want to spend eternity in heaven or hell?

We start down a path that seems clear. We’re sure is the right one. Then we run into a roadblock. Now we have to turn around and go in a different direction. And just when we think we have it figured out…there’s another dead end.

This maze we call life can be frustrating.

But if we persist, we will eventually find the goal. Finding our way through the maze is easier if we have a map and help. The map is our Bible. The help is God, our church, family, and Christian friends.

This Sunday’s message was from Psalm 5. It is a morning prayer for help…and boy, don’t we all need help getting through this maze called life.

David starts out by stating who he’s praying to and asking God to hear his prayer. He confirms that God does not like evil and will not support sin. He asks God to make His teaching clear and to guide him. He then closes the prayer asking for protection for those who love God.

Starting our day off in prayer is a good way to begin each daily portion of the maze.

In Psalm 1, we are shown the way to happiness. We are also shown a different path. One path is to success. One is like straw blown by the wind. Verse 6 tells us, “The Lord protects everyone who follows Him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.”

So, if we are aware of the maze of life, understand how it’s better with help, take intentional actions, and continue learning as we go…we’ll make it to Heaven in the end.

The Kind of Clothes You Wear is Up to You

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What Kind of Clothes Are You Wearing?

Clothes are an outward indication of who we are or want to be. This is evident in commercials and advertisements. The latest and greatest thing is bombarding us everywhere we look.

How we dress is one of the first things people see. Our clothes show others who we choose to be.

Clothes can be an accurate or inaccurate presentation. At funerals, typically the dead are dressed in their best suit or dress even if while living they never dressed like that.

Granted, at our own funeral, we have no control over how we’ll be dressed.

This week’s Scripture was John 11:32-44. Most of us have heard the story of Lazarus. He was the brother of Mary and Martha and a good friend of Jesus.

Lazarus was sick and his sisters sent word to Jesus because they knew he could heal him. But as the story goes, Jesus was slow in getting to Lazarus. By the time He arrived, Lazarus was dead.

There was some frustration that Jesus hadn’t got there in time to save Lazarus. “He gave sight to the blind. Why couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”

They went to the grave and Jesus told them to roll the stone away.

But Martha said, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”

Jesus told them to have faith.

After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. I know that you always answer my prayers.”

When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had been dead came out. Jesus told the people to take off Lazarus’ burial clothes.

Jesus makes it possible for each of us to have our burial clothes removed. It’s up to us to accept this offer or not.

Too often we continue to wear our burial clothes…we don’t have to. All we have to do is to accept that Jesus has paid the price for us by dying on the cross and our burial clothes will be gone.

We can also wear clothes for the wrong reasons. They can be worn to present an image to others.

Maybe we’re wearing our Sunday morning, “look at me going to church clothes”. Or maybe it’s our “going out on the town clothes”. Could be that it’s our “look at me I’m better than you” clothes.

There’s nothing wrong with wearing better clothes that present a better image. We just need to be sure we’re wearing them for the right reason and who we’re wearing them for.

What kind of clothes are you wearing and who are you wearing them for?

Routines Are a Good Thing

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That is, If the Routine Includes Doing Good Things

A routine is doing tasks, chores, or duties at a regular or specific interval or time. It is a habitual procedure constantly repeated.

Prayer is a good routine to have.

This is part of the Jewish religion. The Jewish Law calls for praying three times daily. In the morning, the afternoon, and at nightfall. The morning prayer is called (shacharit), the afternoon prayer (minchah), and the evening prayer (arvith or maariv).

It is taught that the custom of praying three times a day was introduced by the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham introduced prayer in the morning, Isaac in the afternoon, and Jacob added one at night.

Routines can help you stay organized, be productive, and even find meaning. Certain studies have associated family routines with parenting competence and marital satisfaction.

Not all routines are created equal and failing to examine or alter bad habits can have a negative effect on our lives.

Habitual behavior can cause us to be unaware. A series of habits can set us on autopilot. This can lead to losing touch with who we are made to be.

For example, scrolling through our phone can seem pretty harmless, but we may be missing out on interaction with others. Similarly, items we pressure ourselves to include in our routines may be taking up time that could be used for better things.

Whatever our personal habits may be, it’s worth considering the ways they may be affecting us negatively. These routines may prevent us from engaging with the world around us.

Routines can start out with good intentions, but the good can get lost in the routine.

If we are doing the routine just to do it, we may have lost the reason behind why we’re doing it.

Going back to Jewish routines, many of the Sadducees and Pharisees in the Old Testament got caught up in the routines and forgot the why.

We need to periodically step back and ask ourselves why. Why are we doing this routine? Is it still an effective part of who we are and what we’ve been put here to accomplish?

As for the Jewish prayer routine, they consider Psalm 4 an evening prayer. It is one of David’s Psalms. In this Psalm, David:

  • Talks to and gives God his problems
  • Speaks to the people and reminds them that he was called by God
  • Advises the people to not hold on to their anger, to not dwell on their anger overnight, and to give their anger to God
  • Trusts in God
  • Asks God for peace and joy

Praying regularly and often is a good way to stay connected with God. This can be especially true as we come to the end of our busy days.

There can be a sense of guilt when falling asleep before you’re finished praying. It’s okay…it’s like falling asleep in your parent’s arms.

Prayers don’t need to be some elaborate thing. They can be simple. Like the “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” prayer that many of us learned as a kid. I found out in the children’s message Sunday that there are variations to this prayer.

Here’s one I really liked –

Thank you Lord for another day,
The chance to learn, the chance to play.
Now as I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Please, guard me Jesus through the night,
And keep me safe till morning’s light.
But if I should I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
And should I live for other days,
I pray that God will guide my ways.
Amen.

Routines help us remember to do things. But we need to do the right routines for the right reasons.

It’s important to be intentional with our routines.

How You Deal With Adversity is Up to You

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Nobody Said It Would be Easy

Life is full of adversity. It comes in all shapes and sizes. We all deal with it differently.

The important thing to remember is that we don’t have to do it alone.

Most of us will never experience the amount of loss that Job in the Bible did. He was a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

One day, a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands.”

While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds.”

While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants.”

While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead.”

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then, he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said,

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
    and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
    and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”

In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

This seems like a lot of adversity. Most of us have never experienced anything close to this. We can’t imagine what this would be like.

It can be hard to relate to Bible stories. They can feel like they are from so long ago and so far away that’s hard to relate.

Horatio Spafford’s story of loss is closer to our time in history than Job’s story.

Horatio Gates Spafford became well-known for his clear Christian testimony in Chicago. He and his wife Anna were active in their church. Their home was always open to visitors, including their friend Dwight L. Moody.

They were blessed with five children and considerable wealth. Horatio was a lawyer and owned a great deal of property in Chicago.

Tragedy came in great measure to this happy home. At four years old, their son, Horatio Jr., died suddenly of scarlet fever.

Then, only a year later in October 1871, a massive fire swept through downtown Chicago, devastating the city, including many properties owned by Horatio. Despite their substantial financial loss, the Spafford’s sought to demonstrate the love of Christ, by assisting those who were grief-stricken and in great need.

Two years later in 1873, Spafford decided his family should take a holiday in England, knowing that his friend, the evangelist D. L. Moody, would be preaching there in autumn.

Horatio was delayed because of business, so he sent his family ahead, his wife and their four remaining children: 11-year-old Anna, 9-year-old Margaret Lee, 5-year-old Elizabeth, and 2-year-old Tanetta.

On November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic, their vessel was struck by an iron sailing ship.

All four of Horatio Spafford’s daughters perished, but remarkably Anna Spafford survived the tragedy. Those rescued were taken to Cardiff, South Wales. Upon arrival, Anna immediately sent a telegram to her husband, which included the words “Saved alone….”

Receiving Anna’s message, Horatio set off at once to be with his wife.

During the voyage, the captain pointed out the very spot where his daughters had died.

It is said that Spafford returned to his cabin and wrote the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” there and then. The first line is, “When peace like a river, attendeth my way…”

Obviously, the voyage was one of deep sorrow as well as inspiration. This is evident in the moving and well-loved hymn.

After Anna was rescued, Pastor Nathaniel Weiss, one of the ministers travelling with the surviving group, remembered hearing Anna say, “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why.”

Naturally, Anna was utterly devastated, but she testified that in her grief and despair, she had been conscious of a soft voice speaking to her, “You were saved for a purpose!” She remembered something a friend had once said,

“It’s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.”

In August 1881, the Spafford’s left America with several other like-minded Christians and settled in Jerusalem. There they served the needy, helped the poor, cared for the sick, and took in homeless children. Their desire was to show those living around them the love of Jesus.

This week’s sermon was on Psalms 3. This Psalm is regarding the time when David’s own son was attempting to take over as king.

David dealt with a lot of losses throughout his life. He had a great many enemies, some of which were his own family. Even with all the mistakes he made, the one thing that David was consistent in, was giving it to God.

We will experience adversity. Hopefully it’s not to the level of Job, Horatio, or David. Whatever the size and extent of the difficulties we experience…

God is the only way we can really deal with adversity.