A Friendly Reminder for January 31

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When the world seems chaotic and spinning out of control, God’s still in control.

When there’s nothing but pain and loss and suffering in the news, we still have hope in the good news of the gospel that Jesus has already won and He will soon return to put everything right.

I’ve mentioned the quote before but it bears repeating that your story doesn’t end with ashes. It ends with golden streets and a golden crown to lay at the feet of Jesus.

To all of you reading this (and to me), take heart. Stay grounded in the goodness of God. Don’t let the world teach you theology or how you should view the events playing out in front of you on your TV (with thanks to Michael Easley for that one).

We’re going to be fine in the end, and if everything is not fine, it’s not the end.

Wise Words from Amy Carmichael

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One of my favorite authors growing up was a lady named Amy Carmichael. She served as a missionary to India for over 50 years and wrote quite a bit on the topic of suffering patiently under the hand of God. Some of her books include Gold by Moonlight, Edges of His Ways, and If. Most people who are familiar with her and her writings probably know her from the fact that she was a hero of Elisabeth Elliott’s. Here is a sample of what made her so great. It’s one of my favorite quotes of hers:

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

Cloud of Witnesses

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“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2, CSB).

I had the honor of being invited to the premiere of a short film directed by a friend of mine at the Franklin Theater last night. It was mind-blowing to see the place packed out and to see everyone clapping and cheering when she came up to the microphone to introduce the film.

My favorite part was after the film when we all gave her a standing ovation that made her cry a bit. It was such a moment of celebration and joy that culminated a long process to get this short film from her mind to paper to the screen.

Then I remembered the verse in Hebrews that talks about the cloud of witnesses surrounding us. In my own sanctified imagination, I can see them — everyone we’ve ever known and loved — watching us from above and clapping and cheering for us when we finally cross that heavenly finish line.

I don’t know if my vision is entirely biblical, but I like to think that heaven is invested in our earthly race. We never run alone and there is not a moment when we’re not loved and supported and cheered on. I know for certain that we have an advocate in Jesus who prays for us and watches us and encourages us onward. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that all the saints who’ve gone before us have ringside seats to see God’s people living out the Great Commission.

I know that my church has a small cloud of witnesses that cheers us on as we reach out to our neighborhood, city, state, nation, and world. I imagine Ron, Matt, and Rick (and probably others I’ve forgotten to mention) cheering and clapping as we continue to take the gospel to wherever we live, work, and play.

One day, maybe we will be in that cloud of witnesses and get to be the ones who will clap and cheer for others as they finish their race and get to hear the longed for words of Jesus to them: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Jesus In Me, The Hope of Glory

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“It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it — I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it — I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come into me, then I could live a life like that. This is the secret of Christian sanctity. It is not that we should strive to live like Jesus, but that he by his Spirit should come and live in us. To have him as our example is not enough; we need him as our Saviour” (John R. W. Stott).

We miss the point when we make the Christian faith a matter of behavior modification or merely championing causes. It’s not about following rules or fighting for the right social injustice. It’s about being transformed by the indwelling Christ.

That’s what I need. I need Jesus to live in me and to live through me because I can’t live like Jesus on my own. I can’t be holy as God calls me to be holy. But Jesus can. My righteousness can’t exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees (or anyone else for that matter), but Jesus’ righteousness exceeds them all and His righteousness is now my righteousness if He is in me.

So I don’t need more self-help books. I don’t need more Bible studies. I don’t need more Christian events. I don’t need more coffee (but I sure would like more). I need Jesus. That’s it. That’s all. Just Jesus.

Forgiving Yourself

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“How can we forgive those who do not want to be forgiven? Our deepest desire is that the forgiveness we offer will be received. This mutuality between giving and receiving is what creates peace and harmony. But if our condition for giving forgiveness is that it will be received, we seldom will forgive! Forgiving the other is first and foremost an inner movement. It is an act that removes anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge from our hearts and helps us to reclaim our human dignity. We cannot force those we want to forgive into accepting our forgiveness. They might not be able or willing do so. They may not even know or feel that they have wounded us.

The only people we can really change are ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost healing our own hearts” (Henri Nouwen).

Sometimes, the hardest person to forgive is yourself. It can be much harder to forgive yourself or to receive forgiveness than to give it. But at the end of the day, we are all broken and hopeless without Jesus. We all bring nothing to the table in and of ourselves but our own sin, but when we are in Jesus, we bring Jesus, and that is enough.

Reminders & Predictions

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In case you needed a reminder (and I sure did) about God’s patience not being the same as His absence, there you go. Remember for God a thousand years is as a day and a day is as a thousand years. So basically, time has no hold on God.

Also, in case you’re already freaking out about 2025, here are a few predictions that I found from 2013 in a post from Darrell A. Harris:

TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2013:

With all the problems the World is facing, it can be unsettling

to the mind.

“Today, I/we share with you ten predictions that are true!

*1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth..

3. The Holy Spirit will still move..

4. God will still honor the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Isn’t it great To Remember Who Is Really In Control,

and that; “the Word of the Lord endures forever.” ( 1 Peter 1:25 )

‘Til the nets are full, keep on fishing!”

Even Though

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“Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
    and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
    and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
    and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
    I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, The Message).

I’m putting no provisions on God in 2025. I’m still praying for a job and a spouse, like all good Christians, but my hope isn’t dependent on those things. I am confident that God is enough.

I’d like to say that I’ll praise God no matter what, but I’m fearful and prone to worry. I get distracted easily and lose focus on what’s important often. But God is worthy of my worship no matter what.

God is enough. I can bank on every single one of His promises. I can depend on Him to do for me and to give me what’s best and what I need most (and not always what I ask for or what I want). I can rest assured that God will keep from me those things I ask for which would destroy me if I got them.

I can confidently assert like Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him!”

You Can’t Fix Everything

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In the wonderful world of social media, I see lots of posts of lots of people offended by lots of stuff. Usually, it’s what the other political side said or did. It’s something “their” President said or did. Many people seem to think it’s their job to point out the wrongdoings of everyone else, especially when it’s “them” doing it.

I listened to a great audiobook recently entitled Unoffendable by Brent Hansen. The gist of this masterful little book is that believers should be the hardest people to offend because we understand our own frailty and weakness foremost. We understand that it’s hard to cast any stones when we have plenty of our own sin to deal with.

Again, I want to give a reminder to anyone reading these words that it’s not your job to fix everything that’s wrong with everybody else. It’s not your place to try to right every wrong, to rectify every injustice. You can be sad that we live in a world where not everything works like it’s supposed to or that not everyone abides by God’s law. But you also need to remember that we live in a beautiful but broken world where life is unfair but God is always good. Our hope is not in this world or in this life but in Jesus who will come again and restore what was broken and make everything right.

If every single person could look in the mirror and work on what they saw there instead of pointing out the errors of everyone else, we’d all be a lot better off. Better yet, if we spent less time complaining and whining and more time praying for those people, we might find ourselves less inclined to be anxious. We might even love those on the other side a little more.

The key is before you try to fix everyone else, fix yourself first. Or just let God fix you and let Him worry about fixing everybody else. Sound good to you?

Opryland Memories

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This year will mark 28 years since Opryland USA theme park went away. I still think that tearing down Opryland to put up a mall was the dumbest thing Nashville has ever done. At least, it’s in the top ten.

I miss that place. I miss the rides. I miss the shows. I miss those little fruit drinks that came in the plastic containers shaped like fruit. I miss it all.

Most of all, I miss knowing that a place like that exists. I understand that Dollywood is still around and isn’t that far away, but it’s not the same. There is so much history and so many memories from 1972 to 1997.

Maybe what I miss in a way is how life was back in 1997. No social media. No constant 24 hour news channels. Less craziness in the world (or maybe it seemed less crazy because there weren’t CNN and Fox News channels constantly reminding us of how bad everything is).

These days, I’m always on the lookout for Opryland memorabilia. So far, I have a couple of t-shirts, a couple of records, and some key chains and glasses. Every time I go to Goodwill, I check for Opryland shirts.

There really is no point to this story, other than if you want to send me Opryland stuff, that would be great. Sometimes I get nostalgic and need to write it down. Also, it helps me remember more good times from back then.

Thanks, Opryland USA, for some of the best memories!

A Fitting Benediction

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It can be very tempting to waste the present by focusing on and wishfully thinking about the future. You can be so zoned in on where you want to go next that you miss the place where you are. I’ve been guilty of wasting weekdays by living for the next weekend.

But even if you don’t necessarily like where you are, you can still learn from it. You can grow where you’re planted and use the time to become the person God can use in the next place He has for you. Sometimes, the best training school is the one where you patiently endure the season you’re in until the next one starts.

Oswald Chambers said that sometimes God will teach you a lesson in the dark that you can use to help others once you’re back in the daylight again. You experience the kindness and compassion of Christ while you’re in a season of suffering so that you can in turn show that same kindness and compassion to others when it’s their turn.

Most of all, you identify most with Jesus when you suffer. He was known as a Man of Sorrows and told us that in this world we would have suffering. It wasn’t a matter of if but when. And when we do undergo trials, we know that our Savior has been through everything we experience but did not sin. Plus, He is with us through the fiery trials.

The key is to count it all joy. Again, don’t be a masochist and thank God for suffering, but you can be grateful in the midst of the pain knowing that God is with you and is working all things for good. The disciples rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. May we do the same.