Tag: Peace

Today’s Word Is HOPE

Tue-Mar-31-2020

We sang a song in church when I was young called “Whispering Hope.” One phrase in it said, “hope is an anchor to keep us, holding both steadfast and sure.” I always liked that analogy … hope is an anchor.

Hope looks to the future with confidence and waits patiently. The Apostle Paul said, “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – (Romans 8:24b-25)

Some hopes are directed at short term needs, and others will take a lifetime to fulfill. Some hopes are directed toward material things, which we know can only bring limited satisfaction and sometimes even create dissatisfaction. How so? Sometimes we discover that “this” was not as fulfilling as we thought it would be, and now we need something more to make us happy.

This cycle is somewhat like the hamster in the wheel, it is never-ending. None of us will ever get enough “stuff” if we only listen to our worldly desires. Now … I am not belittling our desires for material things, I have a few myself. But I am mindful that the marketing we are bombarded with is constantly pushing us to want, want, want. If we become consumed by this, it could diminish our trust in God and our life of faith. Let us hope in the higher things.

The Apostle Paul says: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1st Timothy 6:17)

Look at it this way … Would you rather have a gallon of milk … or be friends with the person who owns the cow? After all, milk spoils. Milk here would symbolize material things which diminish with time. As friends of God, our needs are supplied day by day, including both physical needs and the inner blessings of joy, fulfillment, love, and peace from the Perfect Father. God tends to give out the milk (physical needs) by the glass, by the sip, by the gallon, whatever he chooses for you, so as to build your confidence in his provision. Thus, the material things, as we mature, become secondary. Our hope has refocused on higher things. It makes you shake your head that you ever worried so much about the material things.

If you’re just getting provision by the sip right now,  fear not, God owns it all … everything. So, our hope is rightly directed toward Him. And it is amazing what holding onto hope can do to hold you steady during the storms of life. And no matter how many of our hopes become fulfilled, one at a time, there is always something more to hope for, the greatest and final of these being the hope of heaven.

Remember this … Genuine hope and true joy increase together. On Jesus’ last evening with the disciples in the upper room, he explained as well as he could about his imminent sacrifice and the work of the Holy Spirit to follow, linking them to the joy that is ahead. He didn’t want them to be alarmed or destroyed by the terrible ordeal of his death, because it was all for a reason. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) He was planting a new hope within them, one which would bring joy.

You will know the measure of your trust in God, and you will experience his peace when your unfulfilled hopes do not prevent your joy from being complete. Unfulfilled hopes do not bring us down, they build us up by creating anticipation of God’s good future for us.

Don’t let go of hope and don’t lose your joy,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is OVERWHELMED

Thu-Mar-26-2020

“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” – King David (Psalm 61:2)

Oh my goodness, the King of Israel, the famous David, the victor in battle, the stable force of safety, the direct ancestor of our Lord Jesus … don’t tell me … does he actually get overwhelmed sometimes?! Oh, yes! And the Psalms are full of his every emotion … every high and every low.

But he has a solution … he wants something or someone to remind him where to turn. When he says, “Lead me to the Rock,” who is he talking to? What is he talking about? Well, David knows that in overwhelming circumstances, when he has momentarily failed to hear the direct voice of God and be aware of the divine presence, he needs help. So he is appealing to God to use some trigger, some attention-getter, to redirect his thoughts back to God the Rock.

I’ve felt overwhelmed quite a few times in my life. Somewhere in the midst of that, I too need some kind of trigger that turns my head and helps me to recall who I am and whose I am. This sudden intervention of truth, thought, or revelation can then lead me to “the Rock that is higher than I.”

So, what does God do to accomplish that? Sometimes he uses one of my friends, or even a stranger, as that trigger, sometimes it is something I see, or a Bible verse that pops into my head. The Spirit of God gives me this startle in which I remember that I don’t have to suffer from being overwhelmed. And it speaks into my spirit that there is a Rock that I can stand on.

Once I reach a calmer frame of mind, I can shake my head at myself, and ask … how was it that I forgot during this experience that God is close by … as close as my breath … within my being … that I do not have to be overwhelmed. He is my Rock. Nothing can shake me loose.

I try not to be unnecessarily critical of myself or wallow in guilt about letting myself get overwhelmed. My enemy wants me to respond by “beating myself up.” God tells me he understands my lapse, and that he can pick me up and we’ll keep going.

If your heart is overwhelmed, may something or someone lead you to the Rock that is higher. In the outdoor world, the higher you get, the better your perspective. Receive his assurance and let that overwhelming feeling subside.

Blessings!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is STING

Wed-Mar-11-2020

“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)

Having talked about death yesterday, I realize there is more to say – and an important healing you or someone you know may need. Many years ago, I was in a powerful reunion service with 300+ in attendance in which the Holy Spirit fell on the room and dozens of people wept immensely or fell to their knees and received a healing from an affliction I had never thought of.

Before I describe that event, let me say something about my comment yesterday that I “lost” a dear pastor friend.

Why do we say, “I lost a loved one”? That’s a misleading phrase for a person of faith. Yes, we lost someone, in the sense of their physical presence. But neither my friend who died nor I have been living all these years as if we only had hope in this life.

It is a central faith issue to me to know that I didn’t really “lose” my friend in the sense that people of no faith would interpret it. The family of God has members on both sides of the veil. I am on this side, he is now on that side, but not far away. He is not lost in the sense that he no longer exists, or that we won’t see him again. It is only that I have lost the chance to see him at meetings or to have lunch with him. However, he’s just as important to me as ever. His influence is just as real. We still both belong to the same owner, the God that made us. And someday day I will see him again.

I hope you feel some kinship with persons who have died and gone on before you. Eventually the sadness diminishes and gives rise to a sacred connection. A season of sadness is normal, but through God’s comfort, we eventually receive a sense of peace and thankfulness.

Those who go before us are compared in Hebrews 12:1 to a “cloud of witnesses.” So now my friend is one of my witnesses. And his faith story is part of my encouragement.

My mom, dad, sister, and others are also part of my cloud of witnesses. And being “surrounded” by this cloud of witnesses, by these people who have died in the faith, is not supposed to be depressing. It is intended to be life giving and refreshing. It’s sort of like running the race of life and seeing far enough ahead that there are people past the finish line waving, jumping, and cheering us on.

Back to the church gathering in which so many were healed – it happened at my daughter’s church in California. An apostolic woman widely known across America, who was very advanced in age, walked to the podium to say something the Lord had given her. She read this verse to us, talking very slowly and distinctly, pausing to let each phrase sink in …  (1st Corinthians 15:54-55) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Then she spoke a few minutes which sums up to something like this, “Some of you in this room have had a death in your life that you have been unable to recover from. This is because of an affliction or spirit that has given you a “sting.” The sting of the death of this particular person has stayed with you so profoundly that normal grieving and healing has not taken place. You are suffering from the “sting of death” and it will not go away. I come to you today in the Name of the Lord to break this sting of death off of you. Sting of death, be gone! Come Holy Spirit and heal!”

During her words, a few people in the room had already begun weeping. By the time she finished, some were on their knees. Some lifted their hands as if to receive what the Holy Spirit was doing. The outcry spread throughout the room. Some ran to the front to kneel and pray. Chairs were being moved around as people ministered to one another. The entire room was filled with the electric sense of God’s healing presence. It must have lasted for an hour, as continually more people realized what this sting had done to them. By the end, there came a holy silence, as everyone in reverence understood the cleansing that had just taken place.

I have a word of hope for you … if there is a death in your past experience that still has a “sting” to it, ask God for this healing. Don’t give up or think that this sting is meant to be permanent. That is not true, and is not from God’s Word. God wants us to be surprised and relieved when this sting goes away, so that we ask, “death, where is your sting?” … because we realize it is gone. And all the glory belongs to God!

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is DEATH

Tue-Mar-10-2020

I have suffered the loss of a dear pastor friend this past week, and two weeks before that, sat with a couple whose wedding I performed a year ago, as they suffered the loss of a child after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Death is not a fun subject, but it must be discussed at some point. I frequently deal with death and tragedy. It is heart-rending to sit with a mother whose son has just died from an overdose, or with a husband at the bedside of his wife who just took her final breath, or with a couple whose child expired before being born. Sometimes there just are no words, and the only thing to do is to be present and, if necessary, to remind folks that God is also present.

There are many people who haven’t prepared to deal with death and dying. All of us know that we will deal with it eventually – either the death of a loved one – or facing our own death. Medical personnel want to help us work toward healthy progress and avoid serious physical issues. But they also know that we must stay prepared for life-threatening emergencies. I have seen a trauma team assisting a patient while at the same time trying to help a friend or family member who faints, panics, freezes, or falls apart during emergency response. I have occasionally seen the same thing at funeral homes, where a room full of mourners contains a few who are screaming, arguing, or out of control.

There is a fine line here. Death brings out intense emotions. It is natural and normal. The question I am posing today is whether there is a way we can prepare ourselves for our own death or the death of another. My answer is “yes … sort of.”

The best and only method I know of that works is the faith method. My faith journey has involved going deeper and deeper into the love of God. Whenever I think I have figured out how much God loves me – it turns out there’s more. This creates a peace so profound that panic, stress, and anxiety can’t survive very well, because God is gradually removing the negative soil of fear that these hurtful emotions grow in and is replacing it with the fertile ground of his love, which tends to produce better fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In my experience, people of the Christian faith (of which I am one), on average seem to handle death and tragedy better than those whose faith is non-existent or shallow at best. And those Christians who mature farther, who draw closest to God, and closest to healthy, sincere, wise, loving believers – in other words they are practicing their faith – these are the ones who do not panic or lose control when death is imminent or a reality. My siblings and I stood beside our father’s bed for the last few hours of his life. We sang his favorite hymns and told stories of his serious and humorous moments.

Can we be prepared? The reason that I said above – “yes, sort of” – is because even if we are mature and grounded enough to deal with various difficulties in life, death events still impact our emotions deeply. Tears are normal, loss is heavy sometimes. When a death occurs it is OK to say, “I was prepared, but I wasn’t prepared.”

It has been said of the statesman Hubert Humphrey that he “taught us how to live well, and he taught us how to die well.”  To do so ourselves, we can affirm that God will be there for us in our time of need. If it is our own death, God can comfort us through it. If it is the death of another, we can receive assurance that God will hold us in our future, so that when a moment of loss comes, we don’t have to panic as if to conclude, “What am I going to do? I am lost. I can’t go on.” We may “feel” lost and unable to go on, but even though we may not want to go on past this loss, the Spirit will speak into our hearts that we can go on because of him.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

I am thankful for readers who have ventured forward in faith and who help others make it through difficulties.

But, I also want to speak to someone who realizes that you are probably just treading water in the spiritual pool, someone who realizes that you probably aren’t prepared for handling tragedy, someone who needs to let God take you on a faith journey, sort of like a rafting adventure, to get out of the pool and into the river, to get tossed about a bit, to fall overboard a couple of times and experience God lifting you back into the boat, and thus learn that he will not let you sink. It’s an adventure in faith-building. If you are this person, hold tightly to God. If you know someone who is like this, encourage them to go deeper in faith and trust.

And later, when tragedy or death comes along, we will not panic. We will trust. Sadness, yes – destroyed, no.

“…If God is for us, who is against us? … Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31 selections)

I’m living by faith, even in the worst moments!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is GRUMBLE

Mon-Mar-9-2020

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing …” – The Apostle Paul (Philippians 2:14)

I’ve done my share of grumbling, however it’s not very effective in the long run for me. I may end up getting what I “say” I want, but I may also lose some things that I wanted more – like friendship, harmony, and favor.

A very long time ago my wife and I were headed to the car after the church service, being one of the last handful to leave. A long-time church member was standing in the parking lot gazing at the back building, a wooden structure which housed the fellowship hall. He stopped us long enough to point at that there were three dead ex-Christmas trees discarded at the side of the building. (It was now February.) “This,” he said, “is a fire hazard!”

A couple in our Sunday School class was also walking to their car near us and overheard the comment. They paused and the husband looked at me. It was like our minds simultaneously knew what we were going to do. We didn’t miss a beat, as we strode over to the back building, grabbed the 3 trees, and dragged them about 50 yards away to a patch of woods, where we allowed them to join their other dead tree friends that were lying there crumbling away.

We turned back toward the parking lot, not looking at the grumbler, and joined our wives who had watched the scene unfold. We headed to our cars, waved and drove away. The grumbler was still standing there as if this didn’t turn out quite the way he had hoped – which would have been getting some mileage out of a perfectly reasonable grumble.

Was he right to point out the hazard? Yes. The problem he carried with him every Sunday at church was that he had the reputation of being a grumbler. Being friends with a grumbler is difficult, unless you are another grumbler, in which case you seem to feed off of each other. Such a reputation can be fixed – by repentance, seeking God’s help, making a sincere effort to change, and asking others to forgive you. It is my hunch that many Christians don’t start out being grumblers, it just develops over time in certain people. Thus, we should be on our guard.

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” – The Apostle Paul (Colossians 3:14-15a)

The Apostle Paul knew that the grumblers in the church worked against unity. They drive away hungry and sincere people who come to visit looking for a home church, but attract other legalistic people like themselves. The love of Christ softens our hearts and keeps us and our church at peace.

Have a blessed and grumble-free day,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Christmas Word Is … PEACE

Tue-Dec-17-2019

This week I am giving you four key words for Christmas … hope, peace, joy, and love.

Yesterday’s word was hope. Today consider that the message to the shepherds in Luke 2:13-14 was about peace:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Jesus came so that you might have peace. Hope and peace work together. You hope that good things will happen, but while you are waiting, the peace of God can reign in you, because you can trust God that everything will be okay.

Sometimes the issue of control can interfere with our peace. The ability to exercise control is an important human characteristic, but there is an unhealthy extreme at which others begin to think of us as controlling. When things don’t go as we desire, there is a delicate balance by which we must decide whether to try harder or to trust God for outcomes beyond our reach. If trying harder results in a loss of peace, then we must surrender control and our dependence on it and instead exercise trust.

The famous author, Catherine Marshall, told a story about her friend Marge, who was “aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange phenomenon. On one side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky with glorious color. But out of the window next to her, all Marge could see was a sky dark and threatening, with no sign of the sunset.

“As the plane’s engines began to roar, a gentle Voice spoke within her. ‘You have noticed the windows,’ God whispered beneath the roar and thrust of the takeoff. ‘Your life, too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark shadows. Here’s a lesson I want to teach you to save you much heartache and allow you to abide in Me with continual peace and joy. You see, it doesn’t matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to Cleveland. So it is in your life. You have a choice. You can dwell on the gloomy picture. Or you can focus on the bright things and leave the dark, ominous situations to Me. I alone can handle them anyway.’”

In the words of Jesus, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

God’s gift of his son at Christmas reminds us that he wasn’t going to try to convince us from afar that when we arrive at the end, we will finally find peace.

He came as the baby Jesus, born in a manger. He didn’t send us a map, he sent us a trail guide!

He came to accompany us home, so that we might have peace now, and every moment along the way!

Merry Christmas!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … CIRCUMSTANCES

Wed-Nov-27-2019
“my joy doesn’t come and go with good times and bad”

The verse about “I can do all things” by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13 is popular and encouraging. But it means something more than what some people think. Philippians 4:10-14 is about Good Times & Hard Times … and how to thrive in all of them.

To do so we need to overcome what I call “try-harder” theology. You see, Paul was not saying, “I can do all things, if I try hard enough.” But that’s how many people use it.

So, “Here’s the rest of the story” …

First of all … Sometimes we need help. The Apostle Paul earned money making tents, but many times that was not enough. He still needed offerings from churches. It’s OK to ask for help. But it’s not OK to complain if someone can’t help.

  • Paul says (v.10) But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

Also … True contentment is apparently hard to achieve, since so few appear to have it. Learning how to adjust to a wide range of circumstances is not popular. After all, if I go through a drought, what am I going to do about the house and car payments? We want the circumstances to adjust to us. Paul learned to adjust to them. He had a mission that was more important than circumstances.

  • 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Next … Without that passion for a calling or purpose in life, we often resort to bemoaning our misfortunes. When there’s plenty, we’re happy, but when we must do without … well … does our joy leave when difficulty arrives? Paul is our witness that it is possible to be as content in poverty as it is in prosperity. We will endure circumstances when we are on a mission. It could be as a schoolteacher, as a nurse, as a pastor, as a social worker, or any other job, as a parent to our children, loving our spouse, working for a non-profit or a church project. What we are passionate about will help us to disregard certain difficulties.

  • 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

NOW, HERE COMES THE BLESSING …

  • 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Some folks take this to mean that any bad circumstance can turn into a good one simply by believing it can happen, or that God will fix it for me, or that just trying harder is the way to overcome the barrier … and once the circumstance turns good, then I can rest, get the precious joy back, and be thankful that I succeeded.

But Paul is making a deeper point. “Doing all things” might just mean putting up with irritations or lack of amenities in order to accomplish a higher purpose.

Even if things are bad right now, and even if they’re going to stay bad for a while. No matter. I have God and he is enough. And my joy doesn’t come and go with good times and bad. They’re all alike to me in this sense: I am the same ‘me’ and God is the same God, regardless of my circumstances.

He is our strength in good times. He is our strength in hard times.

LAST THOUGHT …

We are not to wallow in our difficulties in order to get mileage or sympathy points out of our suffering. If things are difficult, we stay on course, and give thanks when caring people pitch in and lift us up.

  • 14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

Stay steady in all circumstances, difficult or easy,

Chaplain Mark