CHANGE

change ^{[ cheynj ]}

verb (used with object), changed, chang·ing.

to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone:      Dictionary.com

I was reflecting while out on the balcony this morning about how dramatically my life has changed over the last year.  Of how the major foundation piece of my life is no longer present and of how the future looks, at times, to be very precarious without that point of reference.

But I also recognize that life is meant to go on!  I’ve been around too many people over the years who chose to live in the past and miss the new adventures that await them to experience in their present and future.  Well… that’s not me!  And I realized out there in the semi-cool morning environment, that I don’t want to stop living but to be all that God desires me to be until the day I cross that great divide.

I had a revelation of that over the weekend when I took the D.I.S.C. personality test as part of the “Growth Track” class for new members at our church.  It is similar to the Merrill-Wilson Personality Test and class I took as part of my management training at Hewlett Packard in the early-eighties, although not nearly as comprehensive.  As it turned out, I ended up with a similar personality profile as before.  But I noticed as I read through the different descriptions and general traits of the four various personalities that I had CHANGED over the thirty some years between the two tests.

Some of the descriptions just didn’t match me anymore.  Some of the areas of possible improvement and growth didn’t relate to me as they did back in the beginning of my secular and ministry careers.  Life experiences, education, on the job training, God’s Word and lots of prayer helped me to grow into the man I have become today.

Ephesians 4:15-16 in The Message Bible teaches us that “God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.  He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.” 

I want to keep up in step with Him as well as with those around me.  I firmly believe that He still has a plan for me… and for each of you as well.  Just because we might go through a traumatic, intensely painful and life-changing event, it doesn’t mean that He is suddenly through with us!

Once again, the Lord showed me that I need to be open for just about anything… that I need to NOT be looking at my future through the eyes of my past.  I learned that I have changed over the years throughout my past and I believe that much of my future will embrace that change… most likely with a lot more changes to come!  What I don’t want… nor desire is for everything in my future to be a duplicate of my past.  For what’s the FUN in that?  How can someone grow if they keep experiencing the same thing over and over again?  According to our scripture… GROWTH is good for your health!

So, I’m ready for GROWTH that leads to CHANGE that leads to good HEALTH and a good LIFE!  How about you?

If you are… then say after me… “I am expecting to grow through the CHANGES that God continues to place before me each day!”

Live, Grow & Thrive!

“I'm asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit.  Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation.”     (Ephesians 3:16-17 – God’s Word ©)




Every time I read the Ephesians prayers at the beginning of chapters one and three, I am struck with the thought of how much Paul emphasizes the point that our Christian walk all comes together for us “through” Christ.  Much like I wrote in my last post, Christianity is all about our active interactions with Christ.  


When I study my Bible I tend to underline, circle, highlight and/or write additional words or thoughts that help me to better understand the point that I sense the writer of whatever book I am reading was trying to convey.  Piper followed a similar study process and I have enjoyed going back through her personal Bibles as it allows me to get a feeling of how the Lord was directing her when she studied particular verses.  It also helps me to feel close to her.  I’ve learned that someone’s Bible Study notes can be a very personal look into that student of the Word.


The section of Ephesians 3:17 in my well-used God’s Word © Bible that I’ve had since April 16, 2010 (Out of habit, I always write the date on the front page with any book I add to my personal library!), has a good amount of study notations and marks on it.  Today I had to stop and consider the adjectives that I had added next to where Paul wrote about Christ living in us through faith.  I emphasized the point sometime in the past by writing that “Christ will live and ‘GROW and THRIVE’ in you, through ‘AND BY OUR’ faith.”


What grabbed my attention this morning was the reality of what the great apostle was talking about.  I believe that he was trying to point out that Christ is freed to live and grow and thrive in you and me through our active actions of faith in His Word!  I think that this hit home with me today because it seems like almost every step I am taking in this new chapter in my life is to be one of faith.  


I suddenly understood this morning that in order to succeed and be all that God’s wants me to be for the rest of my life… that I have to keep going on the path of faith that Piper and I established in the first chapters of our lives together.  She may have left for more pleasant pastures (sort-of-speak) but the path of life that we established on this side of the veil must continue for me!


I also came to see that I have to re-learn how to open up and trust people around me again!  I realized that with all the surprise and at times vicious personal attacks that we received in our last journey together, that I had gone into “protect mode” when it came to Piper’s care and our stand of faith.  But with that job now complete… it is time to relax and lower the walls!  What do you think?  I guess it is just another area that I’m to be growing in faith over… so that I can free up Christ to continue to live and grow and thrive in, for and through me!


Ah… Isn’t life grand!  But I wouldn’t want it any other way… would you?


Have a great weekend.  I’m planning on going to another Men’s breakfast with many of the men from the church tomorrow and have another “Next Step” class to attend on Sunday morning.  Some times you just gotta run to keep up with God!  And speaking of running with God, say with me… “I am expecting to set Christ free to live and grow and thrive in me, by my active steps of faith today!”

The Definition of Belief

I realized a little over a year ago, that many of us Christian folks have a difficult time taking what we believe in our heads… with our intellect… and physically applying it to our daily lives.  Especially when those things lean toward the impossible or just seem crazy in the eyes of most other people!  As I’ve stated many times before, this was an area that Piper seemed to excel at.  I came to learn early on, that she had three things going for her.


She possessed an unquestionable trust in the Word of God.  She had a humble, unwavering and endearing childlike faith in the things of God and an ever-increasing, personal, intimate “knowing” of just how much God loved her.  If God said it in His Word it was what one might term as “Gospel truth” to her… and she wasn’t afraid to act upon it… or as I’ve been known to say, to “put feet to her faith!”


Our faith was always a very hands-on, jump-into-the-middle-of-the-action type of activity!  So therefore, for us, to actively believe was and is all about taking the corresponding actions in our daily lives that accurately paint the picture of the Biblical truth we hold dear in our hearts and in our heads!


Over the last couple of weeks, I have been re-reading a book entitled “The Authority of the Believer” by John A. MacMillian (1873-1956).  Mr. MacMillian was a missionary in the 1920’s with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in both China and the Philippines and later became the assistant editor of “The Alliance Weekly.”  In a brief section called “Belief” he talks of the meaning behind Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:19 where he speaks of “…the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” (KJV) 


In looking at the original Anglo-Saxon meaning of the word “Belief” he stated that “to believe means literally ‘to live in accordance with’ anything.  We are accustomed to consider ‘belief’ as simple mental acquiescence with some particular truth.  But its root leads us to action; what the mind accepts, the will must obey.  We do not truly believe, therefore, unless our conviction is manifested in our life.”*


When I re-read this section over the weekend while laying on the bed with the dog snuggled at my side, I couldn’t help but yell out “YES!” as I thought “See, that’s exactly what the Lord had been showing me in the midst of Piper’s and my last journey together.”  During that time, when push-came-to-shove, I sorely felt that if Piper and I didn’t step up and step away from any semblance of fear and doubt and physically DO what we believed, that things would have gone miserably bad for us!  


Instead, He filled us with positive expectations of His best for us, gave us miracle connections all along the way, beautiful homes, wonderful care givers, financial security and loads of love from unexpected sources with people who at times, just seemed to come out of the woodwork!  It still hurts me today, to look at the lives of those who failed to act on what they said they believed and simply pulled away from us.


I think that’s what separates Christianity from other religions in the world.  Christianity is all about having an ACTIVE, personal, intimate and constantly growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  I can honestly say that Piper and I never stopped pursing and loving each other.  Ours, like many others, was a continually growing relationship that we constantly worked to improve.  

I think that the same should be said about our relationship with our God!  Just as we love to do new things with our spouses, we should love to do new things with God… but many times that means that we will have to step out of our comfort zones… Very much LIKE ME RIGHT NOW, HERE IN BROKEN ARROW OKLAHOMA!


But if I am believing that the best is yet to come… then I have to ACT like it!  I have to ACT on what I believe His Word is telling me to do!  For in that way, I prove that I BELIEVE Him and His Word by the corresponding actions that I take!  That my dear friends, is what it means for me to “BELIEVE!”


Do you (actively) BELIEVE?


Have a great rest of the week!  I’m getting a little excited as we close on our house in just about a week… Yippee!   You know?  I firmly believe that His best is yet to come for you and me… and if you do as well, say with me… “I am actively taking steps that demonstrate that I believe that God’s best is yet to come for me!”




*The Authority of the Believer, John A MacMillian, Wind Spread Publishers, © 2007, pages 26&27  (originally published as a series of articles in 1932)

Say and then... DO!

Well, if all goes as planned this afternoon, I should be able to complete the final piece of the puzzle of becoming a full-fledged resident of the great state of Oklahoma!  I have a 2:15 pm appointment with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to transfer my drivers license over from North Carolina to Oklahoma!   The only other connection I still have with my former state is my checking and savings accounts, which I should be able to close in a few days… as soon as I receive my new debit card from my Oklahoma credit union.  And like I keep saying… so much continues to happen in a very short period of time!


While I was preparing the dog’s breakfast in the kitchen this morning, my mind drifted back to one year ago today.  Piper had only been gone a few days and my head was simply swirling!  Who knew all the events that would take place within the next 365 days?  If I had taken the time to think about it back then, I most likely wouldn’t have believed it possible!  To do everything that would be needed to replant a life some 1200 miles away would seem virtually impossible!


But then… our God is in the impossible changing business!  If you recall, Jesus Himself said that "The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do." (Luke 18:27 God’s Word ©)  But just how does that work for you and me?  Well, once again, Jesus gave us a key to the puzzle when He stated: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24 KJV) 


I’ve heard A LOT of teaching on this subject over the years.  I’ve seen this verse turned inside out and upside down as various pastors and Bible teachers dissected the various words and themes of this powerful subject.  To me though, the delicate theology of Jesus’ words balances on that one word: “BELIEVE!”


And just what does it mean to BELIEVE?  Well, let me say that this thought is one that I rolled around in my heart and mind over and over again throughout the battle that we fought for Piper’s health.  It’s something that I had to personally settle so that I could get up and face each new day… especially as my lovely wife’s physical symptoms grew worse.  It was also something that I had to face with people around me in the family, in our church, with our medical providers and with most people we met in public.


I discovered that it was very frustrating and confusing for me to see people saying one thing to us and then physically doing something contrary to their spoken words.  Or to utter all the right Christian terminology and then do absolutely nothing about it!  After a while though, I began to make the important connection between what we say and what we do!  


I eventually learned that the two have to match in in order for something positive to happen… in order to release the possibilities of God into our impossible situations!  If you look back over my blog posts over the years, you’ll see that I began to describe certain Biblical terms like “faith” and “love” as ACTION words.  Lately I’ve also added the word “believe” to that list as well.  


For me it is easier to see things this way when I purposely add the descriptive performance verb “actively” in front of the words “faith, love and believe.”  To me Christianity is a very ACTIVE lifestyle.  It is something that we are called to live and demonstrate on a daily basis.  If I really want to BELIEVE God and His word to work within the parameters of my life… then I’ve got to DO something about it!  I’ve got to study it, I’ve got think it, I’ve got to say it and then I have to actively DO it!


I’ll share some teaching I recently re-discovered on the subject of Bible BELIEVING next time… but until then… I would challenge you to consider the ways in which you DO and/or CAN actively BELIEVE God’s Word for your life… Then say with me… “I am expecting the promises in God’s Word to come alive in my life today!”

Different Sources...

I went out to my soon-to-be new house late yesterday afternoon to meet with my realtor, our two daughters and granddaughter to check on the few repairs that our inspector had deemed necessary the previous week.  Everything looked good and it gave me a great opportunity to measure things, look in all the nooks and crannies and dream with my girls about many potential upgrades I could make to the house.  We even discussed some ideas for a new Christmas tradition with our Oklahoma families.


I can’t help but take the time every-so-often to simply look around me here and now and thank God for all of His goodness.  So much has happened in so little amount of time since Piper’s heavenly exit.  In many respects, I feel like the Lord has left my comprehension back in the dust as He continues to move me forward in this new chapter of my life!  Just when I begin to wrap my head around a blessing of His, it seems like two more have occurred.


One thing I have noticed in the midst of all of this though, is that there are still pressures but that the placement of those pressures has changed.  When Piper and I first began to face her declining physical situation, we had certain outside sources that almost immediately started to pressure us against following the course that we whole heartedly believed that the Lord was leading into.  Those pressures increased in the first few years and then began to decline after we moved to the East Coast.


With Piper’s passing last year, those outside sources have become quiet and contact with them is pretty much zilch!  I realized this morning as I sat in my blue recliner studying my Bible and listening to the National Quartet Convention on Sirius satellite radio’s enLighten Southern Gospel channel, that the pressures I now face on a regular basis, are coming from inside of me!  Most of the disagreements I fight today seems to be between my ears!  Have any of you ever experienced anything like that?


I’m discovering that some of these battles are even harder to fight than when there was a flesh and blood combatant speaking against me.  The enemy of our souls is relentless in his attacks against you and me and he’ll use any source… be it outside or inside of us... in his attempts to throw us off course or get us to quit entirely in our stand or fight of faith!

In the midst of all this though, I’ve also discovered that our defense against these different kinds of attacks IS THE SAME!  

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us that “The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people's defenses, that is, their argument and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.” (God’s Word ©)


God’s weapon of choice for us to employ is our working and active use of His Word to combat the attacks of the enemy.  When the source takes a human form, His Word in our hearts and on our lips tends to tear down people’s negative defenses and false arguments while deflating their intellectual arrogance!  When the source emanates in one’s head, we remove the negative and potentially destructive thoughts by taking those words captive and obedient to the truth of God’s Word… in other words… you exchange the lies that the enemy is attempting to insert in your brain with the Word of God that you begin to actively fill your thoughts and mouth with!


And you know, it takes a little work and diligence but is well worth the effort!  It means time set aside to study the Word personally and at church and then taking the corresponding actions to dispel the physical or mental sources and their words that come against you and yours.


I’m not too sure which form of attack is worse… The personal sources can be physically shut out from the peace and security of one’s home, but the mental intrusions aren’t quite that easy!  For me, it just means that I have to up my time in the Word in order to better fortify my inner man from listening to the subtle lies that try to enter in.  What should you do?


Have a wonderful weekend!  I get to spend some time with my granddaughter tonight developing my “Grandpa skills” and tomorrow I begin a two week “Growth Track” class at church.  The class is the church’s next step for learning about the workings of the church and gives opportunities to get involved.  So… I’m getting deeper and deeper into this new chapter of life… and am actually kind of excited about it!  Besides, with God moving so fast around me, I don’t want to fall behind!


So… as I move forward, say with me… “I am expecting God’s victory in my daily life as I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and His Word!”

The Secret...

I have a picture of Piper taped to the side of my entertainment cabinet that is only visible if one is sitting in the La-Z-Boy recliner that is situated in front of the living room windows to the right of the cabinet.  That particular chair has become sort of a refuge from the pressures of life for me.  If the weather isn’t very conducive to having my Bible study on the balcony, the blue chair is normally my second choice.  It’s a comfortable place to read, study, pray or just think!


While seated in that chair in the midst of an early morning Bible study yesterday, I paused while meditating on Ephesians 3:20, looked up at the picture of Piper and couldn’t help but think of her abiding in the realm of God’s “exceedingly, abundantly above all… far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (NKJV-MSG) 

I had caught the backlighting of the sun just perfect in the picture taken on the coast in the late 1990’s.  The sun is brightly reflecting off the pine tree behind her and seems to be gently kissing the back of her hair.  For a moment or two there… I imagined that I was standing in heaven with her.


As I allowed those thoughts to envelope me, I realized that one of Piper’s and my central foundational scriptures for our lives was Philippians 4:13.  In that portion of the epistle, Paul is writing about the provision of God and tells of his own joy and lack of need as he had discovered “how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I've learned the secret of how to live when I'm full or when I'm hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little.” (Philippians 4:12 God’s Word ©) 


Then he goes on to tell what the secret is declaring that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13 KJV)  Piper and I strived to be like Paul as we faced the various situations that arose in our lives.  We strived to follow his advice when feeling led to take a course of action that might not have had a lot of visible financial support or one in which we didn’t necessarily have much background and/or knowledge in.  But we were quick learners and as we obeyed and continued to walk in faith, we tended to learn everything we needed to know and God met our needs... not necessarily right away… but it always came.


And sure… there were times when we experienced both the lows and the highs during the accomplishment of those adventures in faith, but like Paul… we had learned the secret!  We simply continued to focus on the Lord.  After all, our trust was solely in Him!  He was our source, our supply, our peace, our rest and our joy.  There were times that we would quietly giggle amongst ourselves when some around us would panic while we kept the peace and joy of the Lord about us… They just NEVER got it!  They NEVER learned the secret!  Have you?


That secret is what kept us moving forward with a smile and an earnest expectation of God’s best throughout our many years together… up to and including the last eight years of Piper’s earthly story.  For some that secret (which is a well-documented truth that is consistent throughout the whole Bible… in both Old and New Testaments) is simply too unfathomable to believe.  It tends to shake the comfort zone of one’s natural knowledge. 

As I stared at the picture of Piper on the entertainment cabinet with the glow of sunlight behind her, I was overwhelmed, for Piper now resides in the place where there ISN”T any NATURAL knowledge… In heaven it’s all SUPER-NATURAL!  WHOA!  Think on that for a moment!


I wonder if it shocked her when she first stepped into that place where the SUPER-NATURAL is the NATURAL way of life… You know… I kind of doubt it!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say along with me… “I am fully expecting to believe in, depend on and take actions based on the supernatural of God today!”

A Big Dramatic Ending

One of the things that I enjoy about my new church is the way they present the praise and worship music.  While it may be a little on the loud side… which is actually pretty unusual for me to be saying because I always have liked it hot… they are very good at following the anointing within the flow of the music… which brings me to an amusing story.


Many years ago, Piper and I were in our living room on a Saturday afternoon practicing the songs for the praise and worship part of the Sunday service at church that we would be leading.  As we neared the ending of the last song, I stop playing my guitar and motioned to Piper playing on the piano, to pause for a moment.  I then began to share my thoughts on the idea of building up the volume while slowing the tempo in order to provide for a more exuberant conclusion to the music service that, I felt, would more readily open the door to some open congregational worship before the preaching of the Word.


As I looked at my wife with a note of expectancy, she gave me that killer little grin of hers and started laughing.  I was a little perplexed at her reaction and my facial expression must have shown it.  She then said with a twinkle in her eye, in her best homeschool teacher tone, “you know Jim… we don’t always have to have a big dramatic ending every time we lead the music.”  Well, I don’t remember the rest of the conversation, although I do believe that we went with the transition that I had suggested and experienced the results the next day, that I now think the Lord was desiring!


I don’t know… but music done right always moves me and the music at our new church moves me, as it did yesterday morning.  During what was to become the last song, the band was coming to the crescendo of the piece and the anointing in the room was heavy upon us all when I suddenly had a picture of Piper’s last morning on this earth… which was one year ago today.


What I pictured was the attendants from the funeral home caring her across our front lawn to the waiting transport vehicle that was backed in on our long driveway.  The painful memory of that vivid scene caused my eyes to tear up and my knees to grow weak.  At that moment, all I could consider was the shock of the sight of her once beautiful but now totally devastated little body. 


But that picture was suddenly purged from my thoughts as I fully realized that the shell of my wife that they carried across the front of the house was nothing but an empty form as Piper wasn’t there anymore!  She’d left her body behind at around 5:30 that morning and entered into the land of endless light, peace and joy!


My tears and weakness miraculously changed into laughter, heartfelt joy and strength.  Ephesians 1:4 tells us that God “chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in His presence,” while Psalm 16:11 reports that “Complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.” (God’s Word ©)  When you combine the two verses you can’t help but rejoice for you discover that God promises us that HOLINESS, HAPPINESS and PERFECTION await us in the physical presence of the Lord… and you know… that is EXATLY where my lovely Piper is residing right now! WOW!  Hummmm… that’s worth repeating… “WOW!”


So yes, today marks Piper's one year passing from the constraints of earth to the total freedom and joys of heaven.  The Lord’s been clarifying to me over the last few days that my time of caring and protection of her is over.  She now has absolutely no need for my care… I mean, let’s face it.  There is nothing I could do that could ever top the care, protection and perfection that she has in heaven!  


So, I’m learning to let go and move on.  Let me tell you though, it is a lot easier said than done.  I mean… I loved and cared for her for 48 years and in fact… during the last eight years of her life… SHE WAS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE and FOCUS OF MY LIFE!


So, switching gears isn’t easy, but it is possible!  And so many positive things have happened in that regard over the last few months that my hope, expectation and confidence is expanding daily.  What’s ahead… well, I’m not too sure yet, but since my Bible tells me that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 God’s Word ©), I’m rather excited to be a part of His plans for me and mine.


Have a great week, and as you do, say with me… “I am fully expecting God’s best for me today, tomorrow and forever!”