Right in the Middle!

Yesterday was one of those days that I think I got more of Piper’s Chocolate Boost Plus, coffee, Ovaltine and vanilla, all topped with marshmallows breakfast drink down her front or on my hands than she actually swallowed!  Thank God for Bounty Quilted napkins!

Growing up my Dad had a favorite saying that he used whenever us kids left a room and didn’t turn the lights out, ate all the peanut butter soon after my Mom went shopping or any other such (what he considered) an extravagant usage of a product… I can see him now calling out down the hall from the kitchen table where he was correcting his student’s papers… “Turn off the lights… we don’t own stock in PG&E* (or in Skippy’s or in whatever the product was) you know!”  After a while that saying got to be a family joke, but you know… I surprised myself a few times when our kids were growing up by saying the same thing to them!  I’ve thought about that saying of his almost every time we go grocery shopping.

Over the last few years since Piper has been on a liquid diet, I have tried just about every brand of napkins sold at Walmart, Target, CVS, Kroger’s or Food Lion (the stores we shop at out here).  Most are too thin while a few others are too thick and are cumbersome to the daily task I endeavor to complete without making a mess.  I finally settled on the Bounty brand of napkins.  They tend to cost a bit more but are well worth it as they seem to have the right consistency, feel and absorbability.  It took awhile with plenty of experimentation, but it is nice to finally have a product that works well with the intended task I need to perform.

Finding the right napkins for Piper may seem like a silly example, but it typifies the way I tend to approach most things in life.  I like to go for it and do my best, using the best tools and process, whenever I accept a responsibility.  Working at Home Depot really opened my eyes to the availability of quality tools to help me to do many of the jobs I fumbled through in the past, by using whatever I had on hand.  I’ve probably bought more new tools or equipment over the three years that we have been in this house than I have in past years combined!  I’ve come to the point that I figure that if I am going to do something, that I might as well do it right… using the right tools for the job.

That is also the way that I have operated within my Christian faith since Piper and I got together in high school.  I don’t necessarily know what drives me, but when I start studying the Word I want to know all I can about the subject that the Spirit is instructing me in.  As most of you know, I love to do word studies back to their original languages, I enjoy investigating multiple commentaries on the Bible verses I am studying, look at Bible dictionaries as well as Biblical maps of the particular time the scriptures were written.  And on top of all that, I have been a student of revivals spanning from the 1400’s to modern times and tend to gobble up autobiographies and teachings of the great Generals of the Christian faith.

Like I have said many times, from day one, Piper and I have not been content to simply hear about the Word, but have desired to be right smack in the middle of what was happening… That’s why we were part of a group that pioneered three different churches in our home town.

If you think about all this, as I was doing last night while preparing dinner, you’ll find out that Jesus was saying the same thing when He shared the parable of the sower sowing the seed of the Word.  In Luke 6:47-48 He said: “Whoever comes to Me and hears My Words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like.  He is like a man who built a house and dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock; and a flood occurring, the stream burst against that house and could not shake it; for it was founded on a rock.” (World English Bible) 

Jesus makes it pretty clear here that the sincere Christian walk takes WORK!  It takes dedication, consistency and the desire to get out and jump into the middle of the action… God’s action!  In verse 47 He defines three all-important steps.  First you have to COME to Him through prayer and especially in His Word.  Second you have to HEAR and thereby understand the gospel message and thirdly you gotta DO it… by taking action and putting feet to your faith.

Verse 48 highlights the dedication and consistency of the Christian walk.  He likens it to the man who sets out to build a house on the beach near what I would picture as a scenic river countryside.  But to build there, one has to do some extra work by digging down deep through the sand until you hit the bedrock in order to set the foundation upon the solid rock.  Then when the expected storms of life come, the water may beat on your home but when all is said and done, your house will still be standing.

I was telling Piper while thinking on all this as I prepared dinner, that in some respects I should have expected the accusations and what some called persecution against us when we returned from Bible School in Oklahoma.  For it would seem that our being obedient to God and His call to us might have made an unpleasant splash in the face of the enemy of our souls.  It made me smile when I considered that what we did and the way we tried to live our Christian life through the years might have been the basis for the trails and tribulations we have incurred.

COME, HEAR, and DO… well, that’s the way we’ve always done it.  We’ve never liked the idea of being bench warmers!  How about you?

Have a wonderful week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Have I COME to God, do I really HEAR what His Word is saying to me and am I expecting to DO what it takes to be right in the middle of His action today?”

*It’s funny for after my Dad passed, I could have sworn that I saw some PG&E stock listed in his investment portfolio!  No Skippy Peanut Butter though.  I guess he finally gave in and figured he might as well profit off our habit of not turning off the lights…

Keep It Positive!

Have you ever thought or maybe even said critical things about YOURSELF?  I know that I have… but it kind of came to a head the other day as I was absent-mindedly moving around the kitchen while making an omelet for breakfast.  While I whisked the eggs, graded parmesan & cheddar cheeses, onion flakes, freshly ground black pepper and a dash of turmeric, I replayed in my memory an incident from years past at my job at Agilent Technologies… which did not go as I had originally planned and ended with some negative consequences.

From that remembrance my memory shifted gears and my thoughts switched to some advice that I had given a youth way back in 1977 or so, that I now know better of and realize that I should never have opened my mouth!  Then the condemnation set in for both regrettable incidents and I wallowed in it while I poured the yellow concoction into the frying pan sizzling on the hot stove.

But as I stared a little transfixed at the bubbles that started to pop up as the omelet cooked, I heard that gentle, soft and sweet voice that I’ve become very familiar with over the last ten years saying, “What about all the good things you’ve said and accomplished at your secular jobs as-well-as for those while working in Christian ministry over the years… Why not concentrate on those instead of the negative events?”

Any you know?  As I considered what I would count as the positive things that I’ve accomplished wherever the Lord has put me, I realized that the good most likely far outnumbered the negative.  Wow, He’s got a point there, thank you Lord!

So, as I grabbed the spatula and folded the omelet and then pushed back the liquid that tried to escape across the pan, I began to see how much of the time I think about the not so successful things that I have done rather than being encouraged by the accomplishments which did go well! 

Do you ever find yourself in the same predicament?  With the Lord’s help in the kitchen the other day, I think that I am beginning to see some things in a new light… in particular, that it is a lot easier to dwell on the negative in your life than the positive!  I also am starting to understand that when we think on the failures of our past that the enemy of our souls is right there and more than willing to stir up the flames of self-condemnation.

One lesson that both Piper and I learned many years ago though, was that so-called bad things don’t always happen to you because you’ve done something wrong or made an incorrect decision or followed a course of action that was not the right one!  Sometimes negative things happen because you followed the RIGHT course of action, trusted the Lord and stepped out with Him in the face of the open and condemning skepticism of others around you.

Recently I was reading to Piper from a book that contains a compilation of sermons by Smith Wigglesworth that spanned the time of his worldwide ministry from the mid-nineteen twenties into the early 1940’s.*  In the course of one of these sermons first given in Sweden, I believe, the evangelist quoted from a portion of Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the Word in Luke 6:47-48.

A couple of truths struck me strongly as we read: “Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” (World English Bible, KJV) 

First of all, the main principle of this section of scripture is predicated on the man or women who “hears” the Word of God and then puts it into action in his or her life.  Again we find out that the word “hears” is our old friend listed as G191 in Strong’s and Thayer’s Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and it speaks of the one “who understands or perceives the sense of what is being said”  So therefore it describes a person who has spiritually discerned the Word and has taken the time and consistent effort to make it to become a part of who they are in their daily lives.

Secondly you can’t help but noticed that Jesus made the point to talk about what happens after the above is accomplished.  Once the house is strongly built He calmly continued with what we can expect next declaring, “and WHEN the flood arose…”   Yikes, you mean that even though we’ve done everything right, followed through and went to great lengths to obey the Lord, that we are still going to get hit with a storm? YES!  But it will be a gentle quick storm, right?  Well… simply said: NO!  In fact, if you read on you’ll see that sometimes the storms of life will be a real "Nor'easter" as they describe the macro-scale cyclones that we occasionally get out here on the East Coast of America.  The King James Version says that “the stream beat vehemently upon that house…”

BUT… it continues with the encouraging promise that although the storms of life can be very difficult, the end result for those who faithfully trust in Him is that they won’t  be shaken down to destruction for “it was (or our lives are) founded upon a rock.” 

You see the enemy of our souls doesn’t like it one bit when we step out and do things for God, and he’ll do any and everything he can to get us to give up and doubt God, or even turn our back on Him.  That’s why the devil loves it when we start listening to negative thoughts about our past, present or even into our futures!

And you’ll notice that he especially likes to push the negative thoughts when we are down and/or facing an especially rough life-challenge.  I’ve already told of many of the seemingly innumerable attacks that came against Piper and I during the early years of our battle against this disease that has attacked my wife.  It felt like everything that was near and dear to us was open game for the enemy.  But I am sooo thankful that He prevailed in us… the personal “hearing” or understanding and doing of the Word is the best defense against the propagation of lies flowing from the mouth of the devourer.

So, what will it be?  Will you yield to the negative thoughts about your past actions, words or feelings, or open yourself up to the positive you’ve accomplished in your life and the vibrant future that lies ahead of you as you faithfully hook your personal faith to the truth and power of God and His Word?  Okay… Okay… the answer is really obvious, but hopefully it gets you thinking this weekend!

And speaking of weekends… have a great one, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What positive thoughts based on the truth of God and His Word am I going to dwell on today?”

*Smith Wigglesworth, On Prayer, Power, and Miracles, compiled by Roberts Liardon, copyright 2005, Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.

It Does What?

I have been told over the years of this journey with the attack on my wife’s health, that I am doing a good job at taking care of her.  Some have even told me that they don’t know of many other husbands who would so dedicate themselves to the care of their wives the way that I have with Piper.  I really don’t know about that, but I can’t think of any other way to watch over the love of my life except for the way that I do!

I tend to want to shake my head when people tell me these things.  I mentioned to one of the hospice team members the other day that I just want to be able to do more for her.  Sometimes I just feel so helpless when I see and/or sense the things that she is going through.  There are many occasions when I’ll sit down on the floor in the dining room with my back to the wall (and the dog licking my hands, as he always seems to sense when I’m down!), or when I lay down in bed at night in the dark and cry out to the Lord asking Him what else I can or should be doing.  Well, I may or may not be doing more than others would do… but all I know is that I want to do more!  And each and every time I have done this, I always get the same reply… “just keep filling her with My Word!”

So, I do!  As I’ve mentioned in other posts, we start the day confessing healing scriptures while Piper is still in bed.  After breakfast we read from a Christian teaching book on healing or the miraculous power of God and His Word and do the same after lunch.  Before we go to bed we usually watch a teaching from one of the various Christian evangelists that I record throughout the day and then I’ll confess our healing scriptures over Piper after she is tucked in bed for the night.  And in-between all of that… well, we talk a lot more about God, the truths found in His Word and of His proven miraculous powers available to those who believe.

I was lost in thought about the “whys” of this “saturation process” as the Lord once described it to me, the other day while we were listening to the dean of the Bible school I graduated from as he spoke on Sunday morning during the live-streaming that we were participating in, and was suddenly jolted awake when in the course of his sermon he stated that: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”  (I John 5:4 KJV)

In a moments time it all started to come together for me!  With his proclamation of that verse, that had become a standard for Piper and I over the years, my senses jumped up a notch and I thought, “Faith is the VICTORY that overcomes the world… and how do we get faith?  According to Hebrews 10:17 it is through HEARING the Word!  And what has Papa God instructed me to do for Piper… SATURATE HER WITH HIS WORD… so that her faith and mine is developed, increased and strengthened!” 

Then it all made sense!  Papa God wants us to have the VICTORY… His Victory… which can only come through our strong, relentless and consistent faith and its inherent dependence on the Spirit, power and life that only comes through the daily, fresh and powerful doses of the Word!  (See: John 6:63 and John 10:10)

Then I literally jumped off my seat when Dean Tad pulled my attention back to his sermon when he stated that “Jesus found Himself in the Word!” and then read from Luke 4:16-21 where it documents Jesus’ first sermon after receiving the Holy Ghost and spending 40 days in the wilderness at the very beginning of His earthly ministry.  The Bible says:

“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias (Isaiah). And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:17-19 KJV)

The next Verse says that He closed the book and handed it back to the attendant while everyone in the church had their eyes glued on Him.  I wish I could have been there to see the sparkle of excitement in Jesus’ eyes as He looked over the crowd and then gloriously declared, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.”  (God’s Word ©)

So, with my lightning quick comprehension, I immediately reasoned, what better example to follow than the standard that the Son of God established?  If Jesus can find Himself in the Word, then so can I!  When you think about it you can readily see and understand that the Word of God tells us everything that is available to us believers through Christ Jesus.  It literally tells you and me WHO WE ARE!

So… The more I stuff Piper and I with His Word of TRUTH and POWER, the more we become as He, in his Word, says we are… no matter what discouraging things I may see in my wife’s current physical state.  And if it is true for us than it is also true for you, for Saint Peter stated when he witnessed the first Gentile converts in Acts 10:34: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” (KJV)

Like I said: FAITH gives us the VICTORY that overcomes the lies and attacks of the world.  We increase and develop our faith through HEARING THE WORD, and along with all of that, WE FIND OURSELVES in the WORD!  Whew!  Kinda says it all doesn’t it!  This definitely makes me look at my Bible(s) in a new and exciting manner!  How ‘bouts you?

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, pick up your Bible and freely confess the Word over the situations in your life and say… “What am I expecting the life, the power and the Spirit of and in God’s Word to do in my life today?”

Facts vs Truth...

We had a real gully washer blow through our area last night.  High winds were being predicted throughout the day and some of our neighbors without garages moved their vehicles away from the tall trees around their driveways to protect them from falling branches.  When I took Fiver out for his afternoon run in our spacious backyard around five, the wind was gusting pretty good.  I mentioned to Piper who was snuggly wrapped in a warm coat, a beanie cap and a couple of blankets while sitting on the deck, that the sound of the wind rustling through the trees reminded me of our camping adventures in the Sierra’s in northeastern California.

At first, it’s a gentle sound in the distance that slowly gets louder until the trees around the camp or yesterday at our house, begin to actually sway near their tops before moving on.  I must admit that there was a bit more of the trees swaying yesterday afternoon than just the tops!  I have one Oak tree in the back corner near our shed that I’ve had some concern for as it always losses a good number of branches during wind storms.  As I stood under it yesterday and examined its movements, I suddenly had the thought that I might not be standing in the best position in the yard during a wind storm, so I retreated out of the way it was leaning!

The rain began to come down in earnest a few hours later and I made regular checks of the front and back to make sure that everything on our property was okay.  I had no choice but to take Fiver out for his final outing of the night around ten in the midst of a downpour.  I had a raincoat on and weathered the storm without difficulty, but I can’t say the same for the dog!  Even though we weren’t out for long, he was pretty wet when we came back in.  But he’s always a good sport and seems to enjoy it when I towel him down after such an adventure.

I had prayed earlier in the evening over our property and ourselves for God’s protection as well as for that of our neighbors.  But each time I looked outside I had to remind myself that God had everything under control.  My final look out front from the study window showed that our drainage ditch near the road was about ¾ full with rapidly moving water.  As I stared at the scene before me, I began to have visions of the water overflowing the banks and making its way up to our house!

Isn’t it interesting how our minds, if left to their own devices, can play tricks on you in the midst of storm.  I finally had to physically shake my head to rid myself of those worst-case scenarios and then was able to hear that small still voice on the inside of me reassuring me that HE was protecting us… just as we had prayed earlier in the evening!  That TRUTH brought an instant peace to me and I pulled down the blinds and went to bed! 

I heard the current dean of our Bible school say yesterday that facts are constantly changing but the truth always stays the same.  Well, that’s exactly what I saw out the window last night.  The rain and the wind were quickly changing the facts of the storm right before my eyes, but the truth of God’s Word was still the same… however the worse the facts seemed to be getting!

The first place that Piper and I have learned to retreat to at the beginning of any storm that we’ve faced over the years is Psalm 91:10 where the Psalmist boldly and confidently declares “no evil shall befall You, nor shall any plague come near Your dwelling.” (MKJV)  Of course, we always personalize it by substituting “us” and “our” for “you” and “yours”

At times like last night, I often times picture the determination and confidence on my wife’s countenance in the past whenever she would quote that verse.  One look at her and you-knew-that-you-knew that she believed it and NOTHING was going to change her mind.  If I was really honest with myself, then I would probably have to admit that there were a few times in the past where I found myself hooking my faith onto her trust and confidence… because mine wasn’t quite up to level with hers!

Over the last ten years I have had to build up my own confidence, trust and determination so that she can hook her increasing inability to stand on her own faith onto mine!  With my wife’s degenerating brain disease, I am a firm believer in Ephesians 5:31 where Paul declares concerning the marriage of a man and a woman that when “…a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become 'one flesh.'" (The Message)  I know that some will disagree with me, but I have come to see that the oneness of a Christian husband and wife… especially with the close relationship we have always had, has given me the responsibility to stand with and increasingly FOR her in our daily faith life.

But putting that argument aside… The lesson I again learned last night is to trust the TRUTH of God’s Word to stand firm in the face of the ever-changing FACTS that occur in the storms of life!  Once you pray over a situation and claim one or more promises from His owner’s manual… Then BELIEVE it and don’t let the FACTS that your eyes, ears and feelings may be seeing change your mind!

Have a great new week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What TRUTH of God’s Word am I expecting to stand on… in the face of the ever-changing FACTS around me today?”

Faith Alive!

I mentioned in one of my blog posts last week of how the digging that the plumbers were doing in our front yard, in order to replace the water line, reminded me of the tell-tale signs of moles in our backyard. (“Take It!” 4/6/18)  I had never actually seen a mole in the yard, but plenty of the tunneling and open little holes where they can pop out… until a couple of days ago when I saw one… hanging from the talons of our friendly neighborhood hawk.

Piper, Fiver and I had just come in from spending some time in the backyard and I was sitting at the dining room table preparing to transfer that day’s blog post from Word to our online blog site (pjberruto.blogspot.com).  Suddenly, Fiver who was laying on the floor with his nose pressed against the screen door, jumped to his feet and with his ears perked up, looked with great intent off toward our patio.  Since this is an activity that he usually only does at the front door and not the back, I took notice.  As I stood up to move to the window there was a blurred flutter and our hawk friend flew over and landed on a ceramic planter that is seated right next to our deck.

Then before he even folded back his beautiful brown and black with white striped wings he hopped to the ground and in a flash, flapped his outstretched wings and took off in a low arch into the forested area west of our property… with a mole hanging from the grasp of his talons! 

It all happened so fast that all I had time to say was “Look Piper, it’s the hawk,” before he was but a distant object majestically flying between the trees next to our property!  Now I have a good idea of why I haven’t seen any actual moles around the property like we would regularly see in our last home in Oklahoma.

What came to mind as I attempted to settle back in my chair was that the hawk was simply doing one of the things that he was created to do!  When he sits on our fence posts or on the peak of the playset, he isn’t just hanging out for a visit, he’s looking for dinner!  But you know, he could sit on that fence post all day and unless he spots a varmint and then makes the effort to swoop down to pick it off… he’ll never eat.

His job takes two steps.  First, he has to be relatively certain that he is in an area where the pickings are good (and from the amount of tunneling I’ve seen in the yard this year, he’ll be around all summer!), and secondly, he has to take the appropriate action when he spots a meal sneaking out and about our grass.

It is kind of like what James talks about concerning our faith in James 2:17.  The International Standard Version of the Bible puts it this way saying, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.”  The more familiar King James translation uses the word “works” instead of the more modern term “actions.”   Thayer’s Greek Definitions defines “works” as “that which any one is occupied, an act, deed, thing done; (where) the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to that which is less than work.”

So, like our backyard hawk, we Christians have a job to do when it comes to being in active faith in our lives.  First, we do what we were created to do, which is to take God at His Word, and believe in what it says concerning the situations of our lives and secondly, to take the appropriate action that proves that we ARE in faith!

I’ve told the story in past blog posts of the time our guest Pastor was teaching the small group of Believers that had joined together at our home on Thursday nights with the purpose of starting a new church.  Paul who had just graduated from the Bible College that I would eventually graduate from, was recommended to us through a friend and he would drive in from out of town on Thursday nights to be with us

On one of his first visits he spent some time talking about the importance of Christians being in active faith in their daily lives.  I remember him walking around our living room in front of the 10 or so folks gathered that night and asking for a show of hands of those who were currently in the midst of a faith project in their personal lives.  Well, I had recently quit my secular job and was embarking on a new business venture, so Piper’s and my hands bolted straight up! 

But I was surprised when only a few other hands went up from the rest of the individuals, whom I considered to be strong and very mature Christian men and women.  By the end of the evening though, most of the hands went up when Paul asked for another showing after he completed his teaching and all of us realized how important it is to be in active faith every day of our lives!

What I’ve learned since that night in the early 1990’s, was that FAITH TAKES WORK!  It definitely is NOT a casual decision or emotional reaction to a good sermon or sudden need in your life!  It’s like a Pastor we once worked under (previous to that night in our living room) told me one day as we conferred in his office.  While planning some ministry directions and how we would accomplish it all, he looked me in the eyes and said, “You know Jim, one of the first Pastor’s I worked with told me that ‘Ministry is spelled W-O-R-K!’”  And WOW!  I’ve never forgotten that.

I once figured out in the late 1990’s, when that church that started in our living room was probably at the height of ministry, that with all the weekly hours I put in, I was actually making about 6 dollars an hour… which was about 6X less than I made with my secular job that I had gone back to a few years earlier! 

Most of the work that I did at church was behind the scenes as I sat at my computer at home and meticulously planned the children’s and youth activities, wrote curriculum, sermons, puppet skits, songs and dreamed up the many all-church activities that we put on over the twelve years at that church.  And… I loved every moment of our ministry at the church!  I always considered my church position as my main job over the secular management positions I also held.  My youngest daughter once told me after we left that church and moved to Oklahoma, that it seemed to her that I always looked happiest when we were at church!

I’ve also learned through the years and especially since we have been fighting the good fight of faith for Piper’s health, that although it takes a lot of work, I find myself stronger and happier with life when I am in an active stand of faith on God’s Word.  When I work hard at staying focused on God’s Word instead of what I may see unfolding before my physical eyes, I usually surprise myself at all I am able to accomplish toward my wife’s well-being!

When the Nurse Practioner was here the other day, she thought that she heard what might be the potential beginnings of Pneumonia in one of Piper’s lungs.*  As we sat there and talked frankly about what we might expect next, and she explained the “natural” progression of things, I listened to her and noted her eyes tearing up.  I then expressed my honest thoughts that one of the hardest parts in all of this ordeal has been to keep my faith strong in the face of all the contradictory evidence that keeps popping up along the way. 

I told her what we believe the Word tells us concerning God’s will for Piper’s healing, but also discussed the WORK it takes and the toll I’ve taken in order to keep the right Biblical perspective as the symptoms and years have gone on!  But you know, yes it takes hard WORK and yes there is a mental, physical and emotional toll to pay, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It is the same way that I have faced everything in my adult Christian life, and I m not about to change it now!

According to God’s Word, FAITH without ACTION is dead… Faith is meaningless without the appropriate corresponding actions that prove one’s faith.  John Gill described the relationship between FAITH and ACTION when he wrote back in the 1700’s that: “Good works are second acts, necessarily flowing from the life of faith.”

The exciting way that I like to look at it is with the idea that FAITH with ACTION is FAITH ALIVE!  And I like to know that I am living a life that is ALIVE and thrilling through my personal FAITH in God and his Word… What about you?

Have a great and LIVELY weekend by continually asking yourself and then following through with the appropriate corresponding actions saying, “How am I expecting my FAITH to come alive in and through me today?”

* PTL!  Piper's visit and follow up examination with our regular nurse yesterday, showed that her lungs were clear!  I can't tell you how relieved I am!

Flippant Words!

For the vast majority of our adult lives, my wife and I have been part of a Christian denomination that strongly advocates the importance of our words and the power of positive confession… especially when it comes to taking a stand of faith.  I guess that is the main reason that I resisted the thought of engaging the services of Hospice to assist me in the care of my wife for a few years prior to bringing them on board a little over a year ago.

In my minds eye, all they would do is bring a constant reminder of the potential of her passing… which did not agree with the direction of my Bible based stand of faith.  In the months that they have been on board, I have come to understand that while one of their missions is to prepare one for the final step, they are in fact, much more than that!  I have been highly blessed at the Christian foundation within this particular hospice group and delight to see them openly embracing our stand of faith.  I feel many times after they’ve been to our home for a visit that I’ve been to church!

Throughout this ten-year journey that we have been on though, I have also been involved with the interactions of other folks whose words have been… shall we say… less then encouraging… to the point that their words would lean to the “flippant” side instead.

In Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus taught on the subject of the importance of our words and declared: “But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.” (MKJV) 

With my over forty years of being taught about the seriousness of our words, it bothers me when I see people taking such low consideration of what’s coming out of their mouths.  Do you know what I mean?  At times it seems like they are joking, the next minute they are being insensitive and then one hears words of love and Christian affection.  In the midst of my wife’s situation, I have come to take to heart and depend on people’s words and subsequent actions.

Dictionary.com defines the word “flippant” as, “characterized by levity” which means, “lightness of mind, character or behavior; lack of appropriate seriousness or earnestness.”  The seriousness of the life situation that Piper and I face on a daily basis has forced me to take a whole new and eye-opening look at the words that I speak to her, as well as to others that I interact with in her care.

But with the seriousness of our words, I have also come to see that it is not so much our words that make us, but more importantly our actions!  I was getting Piper ready for the day one morning last week when the thought hit me that “Our actions define us!”  Yes, our words are important and according to our scripture verse we will have to address all those “idle words” that we’ve spoken in our lives, but from what I have experienced in our toughest time of need, is how I can easily forget someone’s words, but their actions are definitely pressed into my memory.

I’ve known some who say all kinds of sincere and even very Christian words… but in actions DO NOTHING!  I have to be brutally honest here… their actions tell me that I can’t really believe what I hear in conversations with them!  I like what The Message Bible says about this line of thought in James 2:17, “Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” 

Previous to this verse, James is talking about the individual who comes across an old friend who is in need of food and clothing and responds to the situation by saying: “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and (then) walks off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you?” (James 2: 15-16 The Message)

We’ve been in the place of that needy one… left standing with our empty hands held out and shaking our heads!  It is not a really good feeling to be left hanging like that.  So what do you think?  Words/Actions… Actions/Words… Where does the importance of your words and actions stand in your life?  Do you understand the consequences behind the things you say and do? 

I’ve certainly come to have a better understanding of the seriousness of my words and the subsequent actions I take today… and I can honestly say that I’ve also been quite embarrassed when I consider some of the things I’ve said and then didn’t follow up on in my past!  I guess one is NEVER too old to admit error and correct it… even at 65!  (Who says that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!)  I had a Pastor tell me once that I was the most teachable and humble person he knew… and while I am not too sure about that… I hope and strive to stay that way!  How about you?

Have a wonderful rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I expecting my WORDS and my ACTIONS to be a blessing to others around me today?”

Ooze!

I never know what I am going to see each morning when I push up the blinds in our master bedroom.  It is a western facing window with views of our front lawn, the wooded commons area next to our property, and in the opposite direction, the far side of our backyard.  What I do know though, is that my eyes will almost always be met with a visual treat of mother nature and the many little critters that occupy the land around us.

Many times it is one, two or three brightly colored Cardinals pecking at the grass looking for delightful tidbits for breakfast or padding for their nests.  On other days it could be the sight of a couple of squirrels frolicking with each other as they run across the side picket fence, across the lawn and up into one the many trees around the yard.  Once I was awestruck at the sight of the beautiful hawk that frequents the woods all around us as he sat majestically on one of the fence posts.  When I put up the blinds on that particular day, he just calmly sat there and seem to nod his head in acknowledgement of my presence at the window.

Today as I looked out over the land I didn’t see anything of importance until I sat down on my bed across from Piper’s and began to pray and confess our morning healing scriptures over her.  As I was speaking the Word, I caught a movement in one of the trees near the road in front of our property.  When I focused in, I realized that it was a small colorful woodpecker tapping away near the top of the tree.  I wasn’t close enough to be able to clearly describe the bird and a glance over to Piper’s dresser showed me that the extra pair of binoculars that I normally keep there for times such as these weren’t there… mental note: find the binoculars and put them back where they belong Jim!

But nevertheless, I couldn’t help but take in the morning show and think about the goodness of God in nature as well as His working mightily in the everyday activities of our lives.  One thought that popped into my mind as I watched that little bird today was that although I may not know from day to day what will be outside our bedroom window first thing every morning, I do know that there will be something beautiful for me to cast my eyes upon around this gorgeous piece of property that the good Lord has given to us to enjoy at this time in our lives.  In the almost three years that we have lived here, I guess that I have come to expect it each and every day!

The familiar scripture in Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (God’s Word ©) and like my expectations when I look out that window each day, I’ve come to expect that what He’s done in the past that He’ll do again today and, in the future, as well.  Over the years that truth has just become a part of who Piper and I are.

When Piper and I were given the medical evaluation from those first brain scans back in 2007, we IMMEDIATELY knew that the only choice we had was to trust in God and the truth of His Word.  When we returned home to California we expected our friends and family to fall right in with that line of thought… and as you now know… not all of them did!  But although it was difficult for us, we soon came to realize that the way others thought about Piper’s condition and the steps we were taking to deal with it… really did nothing to change our plans and our chosen course of action.

Piper just had a visit with the Nurse Practitioner from hospice, and to be honest, not all of her examination brought good news, but you know… it still doesn’t affect what we are believing for in line with God’s Word, or with the course of action we are taking.  James 1:22 tells us “to be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas.” (Good News Bible)

This verse says a lot of things and is a very important command for believers to follow.  It’s an action verse that should direct the way we think, speak and act.  It tells us what to do and what happens when you don’t!  In the simplest language possible, it is telling us to not just only read and/or hear the Word of God but to put what you’ve heard into action… or else you blind yourself from the truth and make a fool out of yourself by advocating and following false ideas.  We’ve seen that happen over the years as well as when we returned home after Bible School and believe-you-me it can be quite embarrassing for the one’s involved!

What I particularly like about the directives of this verse is found at the very beginning where the author says  “to be…”  Be what?  A doer of the Word.  According to the original Greek a “doer” is an individual who “performs” what the Word says.  This person is one who “obeys or fulfills” what the Word says to do. (Thayer’s)  Robertson’s Word Pictures describes it as “an old word for ‘agent.’”  So, a Christian is an agent… and not necessarily a ‘secret agent’ for God.  We don’t hide our beliefs from public view but visibly perform them for all our world to see.

The Jamieson-Faucet-Brown commentary says that in order to “Be doers” we must “do the Word… systematically and continually, as if this was your regular business.”  Like I’ve stated many times before, that description paints a very accurate picture of how I came to see my wife during the early days of our relationship while still in High School!  I’d never seen anything like it before.  For all intent and purposes, she would have been one of those “religious” folks who I usually made a point of staying away from.  But she was different. 

Her Christian walk was who she was… you couldn’t separate her Christianity from everything she thought, said and the actions she took.  Every time I squeezed her (and I did that A LOT!) out oozed Jesus… That may be a funny statement, but it was and still is true!  Can you honestly say that about yourself?  It’s like I was saying to the hospice nurse just a few moments ago.  Since this attack on Piper’s health, I’ve seen a lot of people squeezed with their emotions over our situation and what’s come out hasn’t always been nice!

What do you think?  What type of ooze would you emit?  Have a great new week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “If squeezed, am I expecting to be a ‘doer’ of the Word today?”