Lay Them Down

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I am sitting here getting my last treatment of cycle 2. It is a day early, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Then next week is my rest week. That will be nice. Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and encouragements. They are many of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

Philippians 4:4-7 is one of my favorite passages. It is a choice to rejoice. Similarly, it takes exercising great trust to not be anxious. It takes prayerful, mental action. I do have moments, of course, but by laying these things at His feet, it is much easier to cope. As I write, the words to a chorus I learned when a counselor at Super Summer ’72 come to mind. Ken Medema was our worship leader. He may have composed this “on the spot” as he often did. Not sure if it was ever recorded, but it was powerful then and now.

"You’ve got to lay down your burdens at the feet of Jesus.
You’ve got to lay down, your burdens at the foot of the cross.
When the devil wants to ride on your back,
Just call on the Lord on your knees,
And lay down, your burdens at the foot of the cross."

When I do that… I mean really do that, then the peace of God, which passes all understanding does guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Have a great Thanksgiving, and may the peace of God surround you as you lay your burdens at the foot of the cross.

Keep Pressing On

Ever had a goal in sight, but knew that it was still a long way off before you achieved it? Sometimes, it is the homestretch that is the most difficult. What is even a bigger deal is that past performance does not guarantee success. If viewing life like a race, one may have a great start, and a solid mid-race, but the key is to finish well.

In 1973, some friends invited my to join them on a trip out west where we would back-pack into Havasu Canyon, and camp out for a couple of nights. It was an incredible trip. The beauty of God’s creation was obvious all around us. The only problem that to achieve the goal of seeing this place you have to hike in about eleven miles, and that was if you made no wrong turns. (We added a two mile excursion to our trip in.)

Having walked down, meant a couple days later, you had to walk back out – eleven miles. My cronies were in much better shape than I was in, but fortunately they were patient. The first nine miles of the trail were not too difficult. The terrain varied. There were places to stop. The start and middle of the trip were fine. It was those last two miles.

The next-to-last mile was a long approach hill, steadily climbing with no relief. The farther you went, the steeper it became. The last mile was switch-backs. There I was, stopping, starting, huffing and puffing. I was beginning to wonder if I would make it when some of my friends came and gave me a hand with the heavy water bottles I was carrying. They lightened my load, and eventually, I was back on top with everyone else. My friend’s truck didn’t look life heaven, but it sure felt like it as we road away from the canyon rim back to hot showers and an incredible meal.

Paul speaks in Philippians 3:14 of pressing on toward the highest goal of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the end of the race will be more like climbing those Arizona switchbacks than lounging on the beach on a South Pacific island. [Now, don’t read more into this than I am saying! I plan to finish quite some time from now!] For me, the phrase of the day is to “keep pressing” toward the goal of Jesus Christ.

“Ebenezer.” For the past few days this word has been hanging around my mind. I don’t think it is because it is getting near Christmas and I am getting my “Scrooge-face” on. The word goes back to 1 Samuel 7:12, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’ ” I echo those words: "Thus far the Lord has helped me." Your prayers for His help are being answered. Your friendship, encouragement, cards, and even gifts are expressions of His help. Thanks. Please don’t let up as I continue to walk each step with God through this time. May He be glorified!

Gaze and Glance

I was reading in Philippians 3: 1.
Paul reminds me (and us) to rejoice in the Lord. [Yes, no matter what, rejoice in the Lord.] You may not be able to rejoice in earthly things, but you can always rejoice in the One True God for He, His character and His ways are unchanging. He is not capricious in His dealings with us, but does everything for a greater purpose—His!

This rejoicing in the Lord is both a safe thing to do and a safeguard, because it keeps our eyes focused where they need to be—on Christ. One of the most helpful things I ever was taught (I am still learning) is where my focus needs to be when facing serious problems or circumstances. It was the “Gaze and Glance Principle.”

Think of a small (in my case rather primitive) drawing. You are a little stick figure on the bottom right. On the bottom left is the “wad of circumstance(s). At the middle top is a symbol for God. Use what works for you. Maybe just a big "G" as long as it doesn't look like a sports logo. Now, having decided on your God symbol, draw a solid line from your little stick figure eyes up to God, and write “Gaze” on it. Then draw a little dotted line from your little stick figure eyes to the wad over on the left, and write “glance,” on it.

Our gaze or focus, should always be on God. We have to glance at our circumstances, but if our focus is on Christ, then we will 1) Realize that our issues are small compared to our big God, and 2) we will be headed in the right direction. If we focus on our problems, then they overwhelm us. If we focus on God, then He surrounds us with Himself. Easy? No. Certainly not natural, but a far better way to live, especially when facing a what seems to be a Mount Everest sized “wad of circumstances.”

How do I do this? Mostly, it is talking to God a lot, throughout the day admitting my needs, fears, and hopes, as well as thanking Him for big things and little things. Spending time in the Word of God is most important, and keeps me from off-the-wall ideas that some would propose. Chewing around on what I have read is the key. Most of my writings here are ruminations on what I have just read, even though you may not see it for days or weeks. For me, another focus helper is music. I don’t have it playing all the time, but I enjoy and am encouraged by Praise and Worship, Hymns, Christian Rock (Hey, I grew up in the 60’s!) and Classical. I have limited appreciation for Country, Blue Grass, and Opera. (Your listening choices will vary.) What I play depends on my mood.

Got a “wad of circumstances” you want to get over? Where is your gaze? Fix it on Christ, and glance at your problems.

Attitude

A few days back I was reading Philippians 2:5-11. Paul calls us to have the same attitude that Jesus had. He is following up the previous five verses where he exhorts us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit… but to regard others as more important than ourselves. Then he presents the standard by which we’ll all be judged—Jesus. In a day when I like to feel good about myself because my behavior is better than the latest miscreant in the news, Paul raises the bar seemingly out of reach. What was distinctive about Jesus’ attitude? ·

• He humbled Himself even though he was God. The point here is that He did not hang on to his high status as God, but humbled himself and became a servant in the appearance and likeness as a man. He moved from God in heaven to a servant on earth. Remember Jesus washing the disciples feet?

• He became obedient, even to death. Now that is submission to the Father’s will, plan and purpose. The outcome was that the Father highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus’ submission and humility regarding his position on earth resulted in His exaltation. Why? To bring God glory.
  

Once again, the Word runs through my life-filter, and I see the attitudinal application for me. (Your application will vary.) I have this cancer, and I could be angry at God and everybody about it. I could choose to be depressed. So far, and by His grace, I am not angry or depressed. I could lay down and give up, but that is not submission. That is cowardice. So, I fight. I go to God. I go to the doctor. I take the meds. I do what I can. BUT, I trust this circumstance to God, because He is in control—now and forever. Hopefully, God will be glorified.

Attitude is huge.

Today, I began cycle two of Chemo treatments. Today and Thursday of this week. Monday and Wednesday of next. Many of you are praying for me, and again I want to thank you. You prayers and faith are making a difference. I got a report today that indicates the chemo is working. You have already heard that the first cycle side effects were minimal, and I am praying (and asking you to pray) that continues.

Pray, too, that I will pace myself, prioritize properly, and that God will raise up people to do some of the things I do so our church's media and mission work will go on without a hiccup, when I have to be out for some of the treatment regimen after the first of the year.

Sometimes Shepherds Have To Holler

Sometimes, God speaks with a whisper, and sometimes he hollers — well, speaks very loudly, anyway. He wants our attention, and we need to give Him our attention. Like the sheep in the video, we can have our eyes on the greener, more plentiful grass on the other side of the road and totally miss the fact that a large truck (circumstance, etc.) approaching rapidly that could run us over.

I had a professor while in seminary who sometimes grew tired of looking at the top of our heads while we were furiously taking notes. He would say, “Okay, let me see your eyes. I’ll give you a paragraph to write down later.”

Sometimes, we get so busy with life, even church life, that God uses circumstances to say, “Let me see your eyes.” While we may be totally focused on that circumstance, we may be totally unaware of what He is protecting us from.

Giving God our attention is not a narcissistic demand. This is the call of God who created us and thus knows that more than anything else, what we really need is Him. We need to know Him. We need to regularly experience His love. Sometimes there are sin issues that must be dealt with, but those are dealt with “in the hug,” as my friend Dave Busby used to day. Dave would explain that most of us “perceive God as one who stiff-arms us until we get everything cleaned up in our lives so we can approach Him.” Truth is, if we accept Gods invitation by faith to follow Christ, then, with His arm around us, God says, “I love you. Here are some things we need to work on to make our relationship better.”

It isn’t very flattering to be compared to a sheep. They are high maintenance animals. But, all through the Bible, we humans are compared to them. Isaiah 53:6 says, “all of us like sheep have gone astray, every one of us has turned to His own way.” But this prophetic utterance goes on to say of Christ, “and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” When Jesus was on earth, he compared us to sheep in John 10. His sheep know His voice. He is the good Shepherd.

I could have hollered at those sheep in Medgidea all I wanted, and they would have moved no faster. But they knew their shepherd’s voice, and when he spoke, they moved. That obedience saved sheep.

Twenty Years Ago Tonight

I am sitting here watching the news, and am reminded of what I was doing twenty years ago tonight. My wife was at work, and I was sitting on the couch, watching something happen that all my life I assumed would never happen. The Berlin Wall was coming down.

I remember sitting there, weeping, as I thought of some friends who were involved in youth ministry, and how they had already been "behind the iron curtain" to meet with youth workers in some of those countries to teach them a little of what we knew. I remember saying to God and to myself, "Lord, if you open the door" I will go. Little did I know that it would take nearly two years for that door to open, and little did I know that from 1991 to the present, I would have gone to Eastern Europe twenty-one times. (Mostly to Romania, four times to Ukraine, and once to Russia) I have been privileged to help train youth leaders, serve orphans, and share the love of Jesus with people through church outreach.

I still have friends from that very first trip in 1991. I count many orphans who are growing up among my friends as well. And there are precious believers from numerous places.

Going to Eastern Europe in those early years was a big stretch for me. I'd been to Kenya in 1988, and that is another awesome story, but this was so different. Romania especially will always hold a special place in my heart, because of the hundreds of friends I have there. Lots more thoughts, but, you get the idea.

If you ever get a chance to travel with a purpose like this, you should not miss it! It will change your life, and the way you see others. Warning though... It could change where you live... or at least fill up your passport.

Jesus said, "Go." Why are we so prone to stay?

Appearances

I have been thinking a lot about appearances lately. They can be deceiving, on a multitude of levels.

A funny thing (in a rather dark sort of way) happened last Saturday. I was sitting in my study, and heard a large truck coming up our street. Well, it was not trash day or UPS delivery time, so I decided to go take a look. As I looked out the front window, I saw a large moving van coming to collect our next door neighbor’s stuff. But, at that very moment, an ambulance was turning around in our driveway. No siren, but lights were flashing. “Well, that will give a few of the neighbors pause,” I thought. (It did.) The ambulance was following an inaccurate map or GPS unit. That was what was going on.

Many have asked me how I was feeling, and did I have any symptoms (appearances). Short answer: before the discovery of cancer, I had none, and what I feel now is more the result of treatment than the disease. (Side effects have, so far, been very mild. Keep praying!) This is a strange disease. I have had no visible or tangible effects, but what I do have is test results—lots of them. These tests look deep below the surface and find out what is going on at a level below my awareness. Reminds me of how God sees into each of us.

When Samuel was looking for the person God would choose to replace Saul (and his lineage) as king, God sent him to Jesse’s house. There he would find a teenager named David. We know he was a shepherd boy, therefore young, and maybe he had pimples! Not exactly the king-to-be type. But as Samuel looked at one of David’s older brothers, God gives Samuel a powerful insight. (1 Samuel 16:7) "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." The heart.

In our culture we are all about external appearances, but the really important view is what my heart looks like to God.

Jesus said in John 7:24, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

Treatment Update: I am through the first round of meds. I get to "rest" next week. God continues to be good, faithful, merciful, awesome, gracious, amazing...

And so many are praying! Thanks!

Treatment #3 Update

Hey,
A bigger post (or video) is working in my head, but I realize I haven't posted anything in a while.
As of Monday, I have finished my third chemo treatment, and side effects continue to be mild. (Tired, hiccups occasionally, and quite possibly a bit grumpier!) Thanks for all you who are praying. Prayer is key, because prayer addresses the One who really does know what is going on, and is in a position to do something about it.
Thanks!
More later.
Tom