Don't Let Life Defeat You

Psalm 55:22

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."

I have always had a fascination with what can age a person. We can see it clearly in our lives. Ever notice how much Presidents age during their tenure in office? So often they go in with energy and youth and emerge four or eight years later with deep lines and grey hair.

Being overweight is my personal struggle, along with hypertension; I've had high blood-pressure since I was 17!

Lots of other things contribute to aging you: Lack of exercise, smoking, heavy drinking, avoiding fruits and vegetables. I've seen people who are vital and active at work start falling apart once they retire. They either become couch potatoes or simply check-out because they are no longer driven by the deadlines and positive challenges they experienced at work.

Work so often invigorates people because they feel useful and needed. Once people experience a life-changing event, such as the loss of a loved one, a career change, an unwanted diagnosis, all too often we see them decline rapidly.

Interestingly, there are some people who experience the very same events, but instead of letting things defeat them, they become supercharged and motivated! Michael J. Fox comes to mind: Here is a young man who was diagnosed very early in life with Parkinson's Disease, so severe he had to quit his acting career. But Fox decided to own his malady. He took on the challenge of increasing awareness and fundraising for Parkinson's research. He started his own Foundation to help those with the disease. The fact is, we know so much more about Parkinson's and how to treat it now than we did because of Fox's efforts.

I have seen people defeated by divorce and others who have made it their work to help others. Retirees who involve themselves in the lives of others do far better than those who just opt to do sedentary things. Watching games is one thing. Playing games is a better thing.

My point is for you to take actions to improve your life now before you are unable to later. Exercise your brain by reading, solving puzzles, writing, and discussing issues with friends and family. Exercise your body so that you don't just resign yourself to watching television. Resolve to eat better, instead of "dieting." The latter is a stress inducing temporary fix.

Above all, the secret to living well is to take God up on his offer to give him your burdens. Live invigorated, open, and righteously. That is your best way to spend the remainder of your days, however many or few that lie before you. Praise God in everything.

WYSIWYG?

Daniel 11: 32-35

"With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. "

There are two reasons someone embraces a cause. One, because they truly believe in it. The other reason can be less honorable.

When I used to work at a high-profile ministry, I met a man who could knock you over with his sincerity. He was a real story: He had no family, and he'd been on his own for quite some time. He became a successful businessman. Unfortunately, his partner had swindled him and took all the assets, leaving him destitute. He was a devout Christian, and a very sweet guy, and was just looking for another big break that would put him back on top again.

Unfortunately, it was all a lie. He was an accomplished con artist. The high profile and big crowds at the church made it possible for him to move about relatively easily without being detected. He had been to many events, and had his picture taken at several of them with the Pastor, so it looked like the two of them were close. He also put together a network of legitimate "friends"; folks who would know him, say hello to him, and call him by name, unaware that he was using them to give him a legitimacy. He knew the morning schedules of those who were on to him, and was able to find his way around without being sighted.

He would come and go. Usually when he disappeared it meant someone had been conned and he decided to lay low for a while. It caused the ministry a lot of trouble. We managed to tip off the police whenever we discovered he was working another parishoner, but every time he got arrested he would get off with a minimal sentence, and within a year he would be back to his same old tricks.

Christianity, because of it's stress on forgiveness, is especially vulnerable to these kinds of things. We want to believe people when they say that Jesus Christ changed their lives. But it is a sad fact that there are some out there who have no conscience, and can convincingly profess Christ, but with total insincerity. Other entities suffer as well: Many so-called minority leaders profess a commitment to the cause of equality, while misinforming their constituency regarding policies that seem so good, but actually work to the detriment of "their people." Why? Because what would a minority need with a leader, if members were fully functioning well within society? Keep them enslaved, keep them indebted to their leadership!

Today's column is to serve as a warning: We cannot afford the luxury of complacency. Be careful. Trust those who can prove their trustworthiness. Look beyond the surface and try to find the real people you deal with. Jesus went beyond the surface. He saw into people's hearts. With prayer, and carful observation, we can and must do the same. Don't take a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) approach to life.

You can be discerning without being judgmental. Look deeper, and act accordingly.

We Built This City on the Wrong Rock.

Psalm 62:7

"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge."

Ever wonder where the term "Rock and Roll" came from? I think most people, if they had to guess, would say it started in the 1950's, but actually it goes back much farther.

In 1935, Henry "Red" Allen recorded a song with lyrics by Russel Robinson called "Get Rhythm in Your Feet and Music in Your Soul." It is the first pairing of the two words, etymologists tell us, with the lyric "If Satan starts to hound you, commence to rock and roll. Get rhythm in your feet and music in your soul "

The term rock came from old gospel music, where a person would be "rocked to the core" in a spiritual way. Roll was also a religious reference, where evangelicals would roll in the aisles, moved by the holy spirit. As the terms evolved, they began to pick up a double meaning, where "roll," became a euphemism for having sex (as in "roll in the hay"). "Rocking" came to mean to dance suggestively.

Small wonder then, that when the hot era of Rock and Roll music on the radio took over the airwaves, it freaked out a lot of conservative parents and pastors! Dancing, if it was allowed at all, was to be "civilized" and disciplined. Which does explain why my mother, even to her last days, felt a big loss with the decline of old-fashioned ballroom dancing. She would watch "Dancing with the Stars" with contempt. "That's not dancing," she would declare, and ignore the television.

Rock and Roll morphed over the next few decades, from ethnic street harmonies and Gospel remakes to Bubble-gum Pop, British invasion, and Hard Rock. In the 80's, Jefferson Starship came out with the ultimate Rock and Roll anthem with lyrics that summarized the rebellious feeling among rockers tired of Rock's hypocritical intolerant critics:

"Someone's always playing corporation games
Who cares they're always changing corporation names
We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage
They call us irresponsible, write us off the page
Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don't you remember
We built this city, we built this city on rock an' roll."

In rebellion, Rock becomes a voice against immorality. It sets itself up as a new morality: "All we want to do is dance and not play the corporate games of greed and corruption."

Ah but sadly, Rock and Roll itself is big business, and the hardest of Rockers have a reputation for being the bad boys and girls. It's hard to resist the draw of wealth and fame. Far too many have died living the "free life" of being stars. The things wealth and fame attract have killed many a musician.

It is too bad things have strayed so far from the original Rock of Ages. You can think you are okay, ignoring the real dangers of life. It would be nice if we could dance evil away... but that doesn't work out well.

We built this city, but on the wrong Rock. God is our mighty rock. We may seek salvation in trying to blithely dance away our cares away without seeking truth and honor. It cannot be done. Listen to His call. Let Him be your ultimate refuge.

Like A Bolt Out of the Blue

Philippians 4:6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

A while back one of our readers told me a lesson he learned while out riding motorcycles one day with his brother.

They rode across desert hills, and wound up miles from anywhere. Topping a rise, they stopped for a moment to appreciate the vistas before them. But trouble was noticed almost immediately. A strange sound was coming from his cycle, and upon investigation he found it was the sound of air being sucked into the crankcase. He had lost a bolt out of the engine, and if it were to be turned off, all the oil would drain out immediately.

He had no options but to turn around then and there and go back, canceling the plans for the day... unless they could find that bolt. In desperation they left the cycle idling on its kickstand and started to walk back along the desert trail. How hopeless it seemed. Who knew where it might have fallen out?

Then his brother suggested that One DID know where the bolt was, and they should stop and ask Him for a little help. So they did, and bowing their heads they sent off a simple prayer. He felt a little silly: he basically believed that God helps those who help themselves and stopping to pray they were we wasting time. Then he realized that with his head bowed, he was looking down at the trail at his feet -- and there was the missing bolt!

God knows your troubles. Yes, pausing to pray about them takes time. But the hardest thing we have to learn is that when we take the time to include God in our plans, we give him the opportunity to reveal himself. In everything, present your requests.

Barking at Waterfalls

Psalm 55:22

"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken."

We have written here about two of our dogs: Bentley (Bones), and Matti. We have a third dog, Molly, who belonged to my mother before she died.

Molly is a Doxie; a purebred that was given to her by my first cousin Rick, in Atlanta. Rick and his wife knew mom loved Dachshunds, and Rick wanted to do something special for Mom. So he found Molly at a breeder in Atlanta, and flew out to California with Molly on his lap. Molly's original name was Duchess, but the name didn't seem to fit her. Mom and my daughter Janel liked a character on West Wing named Molly, so Duchess was re-dubbed Molly.

Molly is a big barker. Our pool has a waterfall feature that comes on daily at 11:00 am. She barks when it comes on, and barks when it goes off. We found out Molly had an internal clock the week we drained the pool to replaster it. Even though the waterfall was turned off during the work period, Molly would run to the door at 11:00 am and start barking. We feel very fortunate that Molly protects us daily from the waterfall monster. To her, the threat is real, and no matter how I have tried to keep her from doing it, she continues her insane tirade.

There are lots of monsters out there, real and imagined. And likewise, there are Mollys everywhere yapping at us with dire warnings that doom is very near. I know that the world is a dangerous place. We live in scary times. But I also know that throughout my life, there have been countless of times we have been told that the end was near, only to have the deadline pass without incident.

Mark Twain is credited (perhaps incorrectly) for saying ‘I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.’ It is a quote I think about often whenever I have a feeling of dread for what may or may not be ahead.

When that happens, it is good to recall Psalm 55. In it, the writer tells us that all around him are enemies that seek his destruction. But in verse 22, he changes the tide of his remarks, saying that God will sustain us during those time that rattle us, and cause us dismay.

So, put your mind at ease. Go about today without fear, and think about righteousness. Strive to attain it. Learn from Molly's futile lesson. The water monsters we fear are most likely just imagined.

Paul's "Elevator Speech"

1 Timothy 1:1-3

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

I am Bob, a Christian and a writer, and I have this desire to tell people about God in ways that are not in your usual church language. I write to you, the various people who come to my blog site. I hope things are going well for you, and you have the peace that comes through understanding the gift of life given by Jesus Christ.

That's my personal version of Paul's greeting. In Paul's time, it was commonplace to introduce yourself fully whenever you wrote a letter, so that you give the reader the honor of knowing the writer more completely. It was customary to say who you were, to whom you were specifically writing, and you stated your business up front.

These days, things are a little more, strike that, a lot different. We communicate in different ways now. Back then, if you wanted to express an idea, you had limited methods. If you could write, that was one option. If you couldn't, you needed to get someone to write for you. Or you could try illustrating by artistic expression. Other than that, your only other option was to speak to the person directly, and over long distances, that was impractical.

Today we have all kinds of ways to send messages, as you well know. Internet, television, videos, texting, calling, video chatting... the options are endless. So now, we are inundated with all types of messages; some desired, some not. Daily we filter these messages to glean out the good stuff. And in turn, the messages have tried to be more creative over the years.

So now, we get emails, advertising, links, and videos that may not be as up front about the end-message as we once had. The message has to have some sort of hook, to grab your attention. Take television ads, for example. Often is the time I watch in my alpha-state stupor, as the big screen offers message after message. But occasionally, a particularly clever ad gets my attention. That's good, mission accomplished, the advertiser may think. But then, does the ad sometimes fail to deliver the message? I can think of countless ads that I think are clever, but in retrospect, I have no clue what product the ad was promoting. Fail!

We have seen earlier this lent that Paul has one very important message he wants us to remember: Be clear in what you communicate! If your words say one thing, but your behavior contradicts those words, you do the message more harm than good! Your actions could completely contradict the message of love, peace, repentance, and change brought about by Christ.

But part of that clarity comes only if you are clear in your own mission. I found when I wrote my version of Paul's greeting above that it really required some thought. What am I really trying to do here?

And so it should be. We need to "write our introductions" no matter what we are doing. Give yourself the advantage of having ready your own "elevator speech." How can you represent yourself best if called on to give a summary. Call it your mission statement, if you like. You will find it will help you in any endeavor you take on.

Practicing Self-Control

Titus 2: 1-8

"You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

It is interesting when we get a bit of a glimpse into the world and culture of the earliest church. It was clearly a world where a woman's role was inside the home, and the man was one who would go out and earn for the household.

I think a lot of people get the wrong impression about what biblical passages contain. I don't think it was proscribing that those roles continue as such for the sake of God's will, as the writers, Paul here, were writing to the world they lived in. So his instructions are all addressed to people in the role he saw them performing. I don't think it occurred to him that things might change over the centuries. He was talking to a world he knew, and one based on previous centuries of the same.

But times change, and not only are women as much in the workplace as men are these days, but likewise there is a strong movement of men who have become the home nurturers. We could discuss all day long about how this came to pass, and how much more change people would like to see, but I'd like to look at the instructions themselves.

Frankly, the teaching for each of the mentioned groups is the same: Practice self-control! "Teach older men to be... self controlled." Teach older women to not do the common un-controlled actions, like slandering and drinking. They in turn should teach "younger women to ... be self-controlled..." Young men, be... self-controlled. If I were a betting man, I'd bet the theme here is actually for us to be... and this is a big guess here... self-controlled?

It's pretty clear that Paul sees self-control as the key to living a life of shining example to the rest of the world, so as not to give ammunition to those who would try to find reasons to malign Christians.

I wish we had more self-control in our world today. We aren't always the best examples to the world when we join in the popular culture trash sessions. Let's face it: this is a glorious era for the gossip mill. We love to talk smack about celebrities, friends, and groups other than our own. Political parties, religious beliefs, even cross-denominations, we often lack the integrity to keep our opinions to ourselves.

Paul, who was actually aware that he wasn't a very good speaker for reasons not revealed, makes a very big deal about being the kind of people who, when we speak, we are clear about what we are saying. He repeatedly urges us to keep on point with our message, not only with our words but with our actions too.

Lent is a time for refinement. An opportunity to reexamine ourselves and come out revised, rejuvenated, reborn and simply better than before. Practicing self-control is something I really need to work on. I hope this speaks to you as well.