Tag Archives: Strength

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Dry Bones

Revival

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“‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.  I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”  Ezekiel 37:4-6

Most mornings, the pain in my body wakes me before the alarm goes off.  Laying there a bit irritated that my body has deprived me of sleep, the morning inventory and ponderings begin.  How much pain is there and is it the kind can it be ignored?  How much energy is available and will it improve as I start moving or quickly fade?  How angry is my gut and how well will it cooperate with eating throughout the day?  What is planned for today and will it have to be adjusted due to the responses to the prior queries?  At best, I will encourage my body to get moving and function relatively normally (for me) throughout the day.  At worst, I’ll end up more like a slug accomplishing the bare minimum.  More often than not, it will be somewhere in the middle of the two.  Notice that there is no “This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”, nor is there a mental or spiritual inventory.  In those early moments of the day, it’s usually all about the body.  Short sighted, focused and exhausting.  I long for days when I awaken refreshed and alive.  Whether or not one is ill, this life can be wearying.  Trials and illness most certainly sap the strength from us on every level encouraging us to withdraw and become self-focused.  However, jobs, family, relationships and social obligations are just as capable of draining us of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. Without attention to our souls, we become like the bones in Ezekiel’s vision: dried up, hopeless and cut off.  In those times it’s important to remember who we are, where our strength comes from and where or hope lies.

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Just…

The Proper Estimation of Man and God

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

Just.  It’s a very small but significant word.   On the one hand it can be used to defend actions as reasonable, proper, righteous, deserved and lawful.  On the other, it can be used to express a lack of certainty, low expectation, or a lesser degree than desired.  As Christians we often use “just” inappropriately in our discussions with others and in our prayers.  The problem is that we often use the stronger version of the word in relationship to ourselves and the weaker version in reference to God.  When we do this, we think of ourselves “more highly than we ought to think” and underestimate God.

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Thoughts From the Beach Pt. 3

Riding the Waves

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“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.  Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.  Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.  And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:4-7

Last week I suggested to my wife that we go on a WaveRunner tour which we did.  To understand the significance of that statement, you need to understand that while I love going to the ocean, I’m not a fan of venturing very far out into the ocean.  When I do, I like it to be on a very large boat, e.g. cruise ships, ferries, etc. and I prefer to have land in sight at all times because, in a word, I’m fearful. 

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Point of View

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“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”   2 Corinthians 4:16-18

In 1996 I was evaluated for a pain management clinic.  At the end of our meeting, the doctor stated that he thought that I was depressed.  As my wife and I left his office, I looked at Marie and said something like “Do you think?”  I had been struggling with severe pain for five years and seizures for two with no clear cause or treatment plan for either; eating was a struggle causing me to be significantly underweight; and a few months before, my mother had died.  It was a bit much to handle all at once and I was more than a little depressed.  A few years later as God began to educate me with respect to reconciling my illness to His promised love for me, I had a major hurdle.  I had recently read that a woman with symptoms similar to mine had live to be 89 years old.  I was only 39; the thought of living like this for another 50 years was overwhelming to say the least.  I felt like I was being tortured.  But when I yielded to God and began to open my heart to accept His plan for me, the weight of it all began to lighten.

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I Don’t Feel Like It

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 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James 4:17

For those of us who live with chronic illness and/or pain, it’s often a real balancing act trying to figure out what we can or should do and what we need to avoid.  We must be careful not to exacerbate our problems by being reckless, but we don’t want to stop living either.  Unfortunately, too many times, it’s easy to avoid doing something we are called to by saying that we don’t feel up to it.  However, this isn’t just about our illness.  It goes much deeper to our attitude and what’s important to us.  Whether we are ill or not, we all face life’s challenges, physical limitations and mood swings.  Too often we find an excuse not to do something and that’s what James is referring to in this passage.  Today is one of those days for me.  I need to write to be faithful to God’s calling, but I don’t feel like rising to the occasion.  Between the weather changing and traveling over the weekend, my body has been crashing and I’m just worn out.  It’s not that I am unable to write, I would just rather not do anything…and there’s the rub.  I’m able but would rather not.  To write will not threaten my wellbeing or overall health so there really is no risk.  So here I am, writing, because it is the right thing to do.   In that light, let’s consider overcoming laziness, using discernment, facing risk, and looking for strength.

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Fighting the Chameleon Within

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You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness    2 Peter 3:17

I was blessed with a mother and maternal grandparents who had very strong convictions about not letting people and circumstances move them from what their ethics and beliefs dictated.

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Our Rock, Our Fortress and Our Deliverer

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The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

As I look over my life, there have been many ups and downs.  However, it is my belief that there have been two decidedly tempestuous times in my life that have shaken me to the core.

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Comfort In Affliction

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For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  Romans 8:24-25

I love music.   One of my first memories is being cradled by my father as he sang me to sleep…something I would later do with my own children and occasionally with my grandchildren.  Music energizes me.  It helps me refocus when my thoughts start spiraling out of control.  Aside from God’s handiwork that has brought to my knees in worship, few things stir my soul like great music.  In that light, I’d like focus my discussion around “When My Heart is Torn Asunder” by Phil Wickham.  It is a song that has blessed me on many occasions.

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The Lion and The Lamb

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And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  Revelation 5:5-6

This morning one of the devotionals I read was about God the Father’s joy in Christ as both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.  Later as I was working around our house, my IPod shuffled to “Come Unto to Me” (by Nicole C. Mullen) which is a favorite of mine.  Consequently, throughout the day I pondered these two images of Christ and what they mean for us as Christians.  On the one hand, we have the powerful conquering Lion while on the other we have the meek, yet perfect Lamb of God. 

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Rejoice in the Day

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“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24

As I write this, I am enjoying a lovely day.  The air is clean after a summer rain, it is warm, the sun is shining, there is a nice breeze and the birds are singing.  So far, it is quite easy for me to rejoice and be glad in this day.

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