Do You Need Tobacco?

So… I got stumped yesterday!  I was standing in line at cashier station number 7 at my local Super Walmart, quietly minding my own business and praying that management would notice the long line and the obvious absence of other cashiers anywhere in sight… when I noticed a front-end supervisor coming my way.  Suddenly she stopped, looked me in the face and called out, “Sir, do you need tobacco?”

And I have to tell you… I kinda stood there for a prolonged moment trying to figure out if I had heard her correctly and finally blurted out “Ah… No!”  Then she pointed to the empty station next to me and said, “I can help you over here!”  When I caught up to her, I hesitantly said… “You know?  I don’t think that I’ve ever been asked that question before!”  And she just laughed, looked at me like I was a bit strange and then asked me how I was doing and if I had found everything I was looking for.

As I unloaded my cart, I figured out a couple of things that helped me to make sense of what had just occurred.  First, I realized that the line that I had been in was the only station where they sold cigarettes and other tobacco products.  And secondly, I had to remind myself that this is Oklahoma and not California. 

I’ve noticed through local radio and TV advertisements, that Oklahoma is about 20 years behind California when it comes to discovering the adverse effects of regular tobacco use.  They are just now producing the kinds of anti-smoking ads that I recall seeing in the late eighties and early nineties in California.  So, my point being that smoking and tobacco use here, is still a normal part of life.

That incident yesterday morning got me to thinking about how a person can become so comfortable in a certain life style and then get totally stumped when exposed or suddenly switched into another one that differs from that which they are used to… exactly like what has happened to me over the last couple of years!

The little picture that I came across the other day of a young Piper and I, taken soon after our marriage began, really shook me up in a lot of ways.*  Some positive… some not as much!

Positively speaking, it helped me to have a vivid representation of just how much that little gal loved and cared for me, of the fun and spirited times we had through the years together and just how deeply we knew each other.  I got to thinking that it was like the Lord had spent the first 37 years of our relationship putting together all the intricately placed nuts and bolts of our union… in order for us to successfully complete the last eleven years.

It used to confuse and frustrate me when I began making some of the tough decisions for her care in the beginning years after her initial diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, when extended family members would question every move I made and many times say, in not the friendliest manner, “Well, what does Piper think about that?”  After a while I finally realized that they had no idea of the extreme oneness that existed between us.

When one understands that Piper basically lost the ability to speak for the last six to seven years of her life… I am thankful that I knew her so intimately that I could read the other signs in her facial expressions, her eyes and over-all body language in order to quickly and correctly meet her needs… per say, to know what ever she needed or desired when different situations arose.  And you know… I knew that she knew it as well… I could see that same look in her eyes in those last years as I did in that picture taken in our early years together!  Isn’t God Good!

On the negative side, that picture drove home the obvious point that EVERYTHING in my world has changed with her promotion to heaven.  So, everyday when I get up and go to bed… I am faced with the decision to give up and simply do nothing, and in effect, let life go by… or to go forward and keep on living… the life that is still to be written for me. The continuing personal history and story of Jim Berruto that our heavenly Father wants to complete. (See: Ephesians 1:10)

I took the dog out for an early morning backyard jaunt at 5:00 AM this morning and then returned to the warmth of the bedroom feeling very restless and out-of-sorts.  As I sat on the edge of the bed and prayed, I suddenly heard that all familiar voice on the inside of me simply saying, “Choose Life!”  And the more I prayed, the more I heard those two words repeated over and over again… “Choose Life!”  I finally climbed back into bed, but couldn’t seem to shake those words, so I asked the Lord what He meant and found myself drifting off to sleep with the command to “Choose Life!” continually forming on my lips.

I awoke about an hour and a half later with those two words still on my lips, so I made a fresh pot of coffee, went into my study and turned in my Bible to Deuteronomy 30:19.  Here Moses is giving his last words of wisdom to the Children of Israel before they crossed over into the Promised Land.  He encouraged them by boldly declaring, “I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and the curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.” (The Good News Bible)

I’ve always loved this portion of scripture as God gives us a choice… and then tells us the right one to make.  It is like taking a test in school and finding out that the answers are on the back page!

As for me… I’m choosing to take God’s suggestion and to “Choose Life!”  But to be perfectly honest… I don’t really know what that all means to me right now, right here for this new chapter of my life.  Lately I’ve been learning though, that it means looking at things from a little different perspective or outlook on life.  To observe things with fresh new eyes.

And I believe that the Lord is encouraging me “to put on the apron of humility, to serve others; for the scripture says, ‘God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.’  To humble myself, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift me up in his own good time…. And above all, to leave all my worries with him, because he cares for (and about) me.” (I Peter 5:5-7 GNB) 

I was just thinking on Fiver’s and my afternoon walk to the neighborhood park and pond, that the one thing that immediately clicked for Piper and I, way back in high school and continued for the next 48 years, was that we always felt free to be ourselves when in each other’s company.  There was never a need to put on a show, to try and impress the other one or to be anything but totally honest with each other… I’m thinking that this is something that should also be a guiding light for me as I endeavor to re-socialize myself within a new church, making new friends and establishing a fresh new life out here.

I may not have my wonderful Piper at my side… but I am still the same guy today as I was with her for the first 48 years of my adulthood.  And I have a very personal relationship with someone else who hasn’t changed either, for the scripture also tells me that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 – God’s Word ©) 

I can now see how it could be very easy for someone like me who has lost the one who was the focal point of their life, to simply give up and slowly fade away.  But… that would be too easy… and that’s not me!

So… as I found out yesterday… I definitely don’t need TOBACCO… but I definitely do need to do and see things in my life differently… therefore…

I "Choose Life…" what do you choose?

 

*See my blog posts from 2/27/21 and 3/1/21…

What Are You Worth?

 "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'

 Oh, what a beautiful day

 I've got a beautiful feeling

 Everything's going my way…” *   

 

As has happened many times, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from singing that very familiar song this morning as Fiver had stopped to sniff at a particularly interesting patch of grass on our morning walk along the golf course in our neighborhood.  With a sunny, deep blue, cloudless sky, temperatures in the mid-forties and a gentle northeast wind, there was simply no way that I could hold back my contentedness found in the quiet hours of the day near my new home.

My Mom had a love for music and it would be difficult for me to remember a time when the big Hi-Fi in the kitchen, and later the stereo in living room, wasn’t setting the atmosphere in the house with the sounds of everything from the classics of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin, to the up-and-coming singers of the 60’s and ‘70’s that she enjoyed like Perry Como, Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis.  And there were others like the majestic voice of Mario Lanza, and as we kids got older, the rock sounds of The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, The Monkees and of course my favorite band, Creedence Clearwater Revival!

But she also had a special fondness for show tunes, so I therefore got to be very familiar with the lead tunes from many of the popular musicals that were produced during my childhood years.  I may not have seen or even enjoyed the musicals I saw… but I sure did remember the songs from the albums that Mom played and sang along with throughout the day!

After Piper and I moved into my Grandmother’s home, she would laughingly tell me when I returned home from my swing shift job at Hewlett Packard, about our older neighbor who would sing famous showtunes while washing dishes in the evening (with her kitchen window wide open and pointing directly to Josh’s room) and unknowingly regale Piper and our first-born son with her very boisterous Ethel Merman style voice!  And no-matter how tired or burned out I was from my job, Piper’s vivid and comical impersonations of our neighbor ALWAYS got me laughing and quickly forget the stress of my day!

And speaking of Piper… I happened across a picture on Saturday morning that fell out of our wedding photo album when I pulled it out to look for a picture to post with the blog I had just finished writing.  It took me by surprise as I have looked through that book many times over the last year and never remember seeing the 5X7 black and white photo of Piper and I that was taken on an outing soon after we got married.  It was one of the many self-portraits that I had taken over the years with my Minolta SRT101, employing the self-timer and tripod.  I could also tell by the unique formatting of the print, that I had developed it as well, in my personal darkroom.

That funny picture of us on a hike somewhere, captivated me for the rest of the weekend.  I was moved to laughter with the look on Piper’s face and embarrassed at the same time, by the tank top, that were popular at the time, that I had on!  I jokingly sent a copy of the picture to our kids and told them that this picture (because of Piper’s youthfulness) was proof of why the Berruto kids tend to look younger than they actually are (with her pigtails, Piper looked a lot younger than her 22 years) and was also proof of what a stud I was (& therefore the real reason Piper went for me… He! He!).

But all laughter aside… The more I looked at the picture, the more I realized just how much Piper loved and cared for me.  I tend to write a lot in my blog about how special she was to me, but the truth be told… she also shared that same depth of closeness and affection toward me.  We really made quite a good team that included an ever-increasing foundation of love, trust and respect for one another.  To me, the look in her eyes in that photo, said it all.

As I pondered all this throughout the weekend, I came to realize how the devil tried his best, throughout the last years of Piper’s life, to get me to give in to a sense of personal self-worthlessness.  And while I NEVER did yield to his suggestions, I could clearly see how he used different individuals to either knowingly or unknowingly, say and do things behind my back that inferred that I was careless and wrong in many of the decisions and actions I was not only taking in Piper’s care at that time, but also with other activities that I had pursued over the years of our marriage. 

But it dawned on me that I NEVER ever considered questioning what I did for my wife in her time of need.  I NEVER really thought about it.  I knew that she needed me and that was my biggest responsibility as her husband… and I just did whatever God and I thought was best… no matter what it took… or where it took us!  And the look in Piper’s eyes in that picture taken very early in our marriage, confirms the whys of it all!  She was simply worth everything to me… and me to her!

I looked up some verses of scripture this morning to see what the Lord has to say about self-worth and came across Luke 12:6 where Jesus said, “What is the value of your soul to God? Could your worth be defined by an amount of money? God doesn’t abandon or forget even the small sparrow he has made. How then could he forget or abandon you? What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do! So you never need to worry, for you are more valuable to God than anything else in this world. (The Passion Translation)

When we take Jesus’ words to heart, we understand that someone else’s thoughts about our personal self-worth doesn’t really matter at all!  Our self-worth should not be based on our financial stability, the size of our house, the type of car we drive, the job we have, the food we eat or even the clothes that we wear… like my tank top in the picture!  According to Jesus Himself, all that really matters is knowing that we are more valuable to God than anything else in the whole world!  Now, that’s an opinion that I can agree with… wouldn’t you?

In Romans 12:3, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “honestly assess your (self) worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.” (The Passion Translation)  We see here once again, that our personal, active and NOW faith has a lot to do with our own appreciation of just how much we are worth.

In his first letter, Peter tells us that “as believers you know his (Jesus') great worth—indeed, his preciousness is imparted to you.” (The Passion Translation)  That all important statement tells us that Jesus’ own level of self-worth has also been imparted to you and me!  Like WOW!

So, yes… While I got a tremendous boost in my personal self-worth through that funny expression and the loving eyes of Piper, as she looked up to me in demonstration of just how vitally important I was to her, I also realized the special place of personal worth and vital importance that I hold in God’s eyes! 

You know… when push-comes-to-shove, it doesn’t really matter what other people think of us at any given time or place… the only thing that should hold any weight in the matter of our self-worth… is what God thinks of us! 

Wouldn’t you agree?

Have a great week and as you do, keep expecting God’s best for you!  REMEMBER… that after all is said and done… that you are worth your weight in gold to Him!

 

*Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’' | Gordon MacRae | Rodgers & Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA! (1955 Film)

 

 

“GRRRRRREAT!”

I oftentimes joke that going anywhere with Piper made me look good!  Her sparkling personality and precious smile always seemed to draw the attention of others when we walked into a room. And I can’t say that I ever saw anyone’s smile turn upside down when they moved their eyes from her to the guy standing next to her.  I would think that their first, positive impression of her just naturally became their impression of me as well.  I mean let’s face it… I’d imagine that they would think that if she allowed me to walk in with her… and most likely holding hands… that I must be a good guy as well… right?

Okay… all jest aside… I actually did have similar thoughts this morning, about how Piper looked to others whenever she came into their presence.  She did have that sparkling personality, killer smile and innate joy that seemed to encapsulate her entire being.  I can hardly tell of a time when people didn’t go out of their way to extend kindness to her.  But I firmly believe that the drawing card that she possessed went way beyond her physical appearance and uplifting personality.

She was the first person that I had ever met, that wore her faith like a perfectly fit, custom tailored dress.  Simply said… her faith in God was who she was!  It came out with every thought she had, with every word she spoke, and most definitely, with every action she took.

I had been raised as a sincere Catholic and taught that our faith was a very personal and private thing.  And then along comes this freckle faced, enthusiastic, happy and tremendously funny Christian young lady who swept me off my feet.   Like I’ve stated many times before, she talked about Jesus like He was her best friend with whom she interacted with on a consistent basis! 

I had NEVER met anyone like her (nor have since) that lived their faith like that.  I quickly realized that her Christian ways didn’t scare me off, but instead, drew me in with a growing hunger to have whatever she had… and at the same level and depth that she did!  She was a living, breathing, 24 hour a day advertisement for Jesus Christ.

I had to smile and shed a tear or two as I studied my Bible this morning, when I read from Ephesians 1:19 and saw how Piper was the perfect embodiment of Paul’s prayer where he wrote, “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you!” (The Passion Translation) 

You see, Piper’s faith in God not only radiated from her, but it also made her look more attractive to others.  And don’t get me wrong, I am talking about an attraction that went far beyond her physical accoutrements.  I’m describing the love, peace and joy that only Jesus can provide, that tended to flow from her and splash liberally onto others.  I can’t tell you how many times fellow shoppers in the stores we went into, neighbors, new comers to the church or family and friends opened up to her and asked for her counsel and/or encouragement when going through rough times in their lives.  It would not be unusual to find her sitting with someone else after church in the back of the room, or on the corner of the couch at a family gathering, closely listening with loving attentiveness, to the one in need.

Ephesians 1:19 tells us that the immeasurable greatness of God’s power is available to you and me through the active use of our faith, and with that power working in us, we are an attention grabbing, Super Bowl style, multimillion dollar type of advertisement for God!  That is why active, consistent, NOW faith makes us look good to others!  Hebrews 11:1 teaches us that faith is always in the present tense as it gives us the Biblical description of what it means to have a faith that is called “NOW faith…” (KJV)

When I was taking care of Piper during the last ten or more years of her presence on this earth, I pretty much wore my faith on my shirt sleeve… sort-of-speak!  I didn’t push it on anyone, but simply let the various doctors and other health care professionals we went to, as well as family members, friends and the total strangers we met on the street or at the store, where we stood concerning our faith for her healing.

I’ve been asked if her sickness and passing shook my faith, and even if it was worth all the effort… and I continue to immediately reply with a resilient and definitive “NO!”  As far as my faith is concerned, we received exactly what we were believing for as she was healed the moment she went through the veil into her heavenly reward (check out Ephesians 1:4 in the God’s Word © translation!).   Why she wasn’t healed here… I cannot answer that one as Deuteronomy 29:29 informs us that “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God…” (KJV), and that is good enough for me.

Our job was to believe and stand in faith no matter what we faced along the way!  We had decided early on in our marriage, that as far as our lives were concerned… it was either God’s way, according to the truth of His Word… or the highway!  And like I’ve said many times… all along the way we received miracles and blessing that are almost too numerous to tell of! 

I firmly believe that Piper left this world exactly the way she wanted to… on God’s terms and in His perfect timing!  And she made it seem easy, joyful and peaceful through her unshakeable faith in Him and His Word.  Which was the garment of praise that she wore every single day of her life!

So… Most people that I know want to look good when they go out the front door of their house everyday… right?  Well, I can’t think of any better way to look, in faith…  and as my childhood hero Tony the Tiger would say… “GRRRRRREAT!”

Let me ask you then… How well do YOU wear your faith?

Have a great weekend, and as you do, keep expecting God’s best!

BELIEVER or BEGGAR?

I found myself going down a rabbit trail yesterday morning during my Bible Study time.  I had been studying Psalm 91:14 where I personalized the verse and wrote down in my notes as if the Lord was speaking directly to me saying, “Because you hath set your love upon me, therefore will I deliver you: I will set you on high, because you hath known my name.” (KJV) 

I notated amongst other things, that in the Apostolic Bible Polyglot English translation with a Greek interlinear gloss that is keyed to a concordance, the word “known” is the same as used in Ephesians 3:19 when discussing our knowing of God’s love for us, and is defined as being an intimate, experiential and very personal knowledge of someone and is “The Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.” (Thayer’s)

It was the thought of that depth of intimacy in “knowing” God that quickly pulled my attention from the book of Psalms, to the New Testament book of Hebrews, where right near the beginning of the so-called “Roll Call of Faith” the author wrote: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 – KJV) 

I spent the last fifteen minutes of my study time yesterday on this verse and then turned back there immediately upon sitting at my desk early this morning.  The center of my activity today seemed to focus on the utmost importance of our personal faith in our approach to God.

First of all, the verse is based on two basic truths that we as believers have to come to terms with in our Christian walk.  Number one, that we have to go to God with a deeply intimate, experiential and very personal knowledge that He is who He says that He is!

And number two, that when we come into His presence in worship, with a request, a need or in response to a promise of His to us from His Word, that we do so knowing that He will reward our diligent seeking of Him.  Why?  Because we know how intimately He loves us with a love “which goes far beyond any (natural) knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:19 God's Word ©) 

As I studied Hebrews 11:6, I couldn’t help but hear my wife’s sweet voice reminding me, as she did many times through the years in response to something I said concerning a prayer request that we had made, saying in a gently but firm manner, “Jim, remember that, WE ARE BELEVERS and NOT BEGGARS!”

Piper had a clear understanding of this verse’s very clear inference that as Believer’s we have certain rights and privileges when we come to the Father in prayer.  The word “rewarder” in the original Greek is likened to a business owner paying wages to a worker who fulfills the terms of his or her employment.  The reward or wage is an expected result of the worker’s completion of the responsibilities that both the owner and employee agreed to.  Both parties have responsibilities to adhere to.

When Piper got sick, I was always very careful as to whom I would let pray for her and especially when it came to the laying on of hands.  It became pretty easy to see who was in faith for what they were praying and who was simply “a-hope-’in and a-pray-’in” for positive results!  Jesus gave us the correct model of praying in faith in Mark 11:24 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.” (KJV)

I guess it all goes back to the textbook definition of what Faith is as defined at the beginning of Hebrews chapter eleven where the author distinctly declared, “Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.” (God’s Word ©) 

Which brings us back to the overall theme of every blog post that I have written here for the last ten + years… “WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING” in your daily walk with the Lord, when you read His Word and whenever you come to Him with praise, worship, thanksgiving and/or a prayer request?

Are you just “hope-’in and a-pray-‘in” or are you earnestly EXPECTING God’s Word to be true for you?  I especially like the King James Version’s translation of Hebrews 11:6 because it brings out the clear meaning of the word “SEEK” in the statement.  Most other translations seem to miss the full intent of the writer as it strongly infers someone who very diligently and consistently puts everything they’ve got into their seeking of God and His kingdom ways.

The Passion Translation puts it into modern terms that I understand by saying, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we (must) come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.” 

Let me tell you… I’ve seen both extremes.  Those who prayed with little to no faith and ended up depressed, fearful and in the end… totally giving up on Piper… and those who believed and acted in strong faith, stayed positive and supportive and were blessed all the way along the path up to and including Piper’s triumphant entry through the veil to her final promotion to heaven… and my friends… it ain’t over yet!

If you’re anything like me, then every time you go to God in prayer, you’ll remember Piper’s words declaring that “We are Believer’s and NOT Beggars” – Put your faith in BELIEVING mode and pray with full assurance that what you are EXPECTING will (In God’s perfect timing, plan and purpose) come into existence for you.”

Oh! What a Day...

 “This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!”

                                                                               Psalm 118:24 – God’s Word © 

 

As I stepped out the front door early this morning with the very excited dog pulling on his leash, I couldn’t help but to stop and stare at the beauty of the day and rejoice and be glad!  For as silly as it may sound, before my eyes I could see wonderful asphalt, sidewalks and huge patches of brown dormant grass around the neighborhood houses and throughout the golf course just a few feet away.  From everything covered in a thick layer of snow with an incredible windchill low of -18º last week, we stood there today, basking in the high forties with bright blue cloudless skies as far as the eye could see. 

I have to admit that it was just too much for me to contain, so I called out unto the Lord proclaiming, “This is the day that the LORD has made… and I can’t help but to rejoice and be happy today!”  When is the last time you started your day off like that?  Hopefully it was today!

I had started my day off a couple of hours earlier than our walk, thinking about how much God loves you and me.  I took a long look at a particular line in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians chapter three, where he prays “that Christ will live and thrive in us through our CURRENT, ACTIVE faith and that the intimate depth of Christ’s love for each of us will continue to be, the good ground into which we are sinking our roots and is that on which we have our firm foundation.”  (Ephesians 3:17 – God’s Word © personalized) 

As I meditated on that reality this morning, I couldn’t help but think back of the multitude of examples throughout my life… and especially during the last eight years of Piper’s life where I attended to her for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week… when it was only my personal “knowing” of the depths of Christ intimate love for both Piper and I, that got me through those intense periods of time that seemed simply unsurmountable.

Then when I stepped out our front door today, I was once again, overcome with thankfulness, rejoicing and heartfelt happiness for the absolute beauty of that moment where I could see a visual representation of just how much Jesus loves me… and of how far He continues to take me from the hard times in this life and into the continuing plan and purposes that He still has for me to fulfill.  Ephesians 1:10 tells that “God plans to bring all of our history to its goal in Christ... so that Christ would continue to be the head of everything in heaven and on earth... for both you and me!" (God’s Word © - personalized) 

So YEAH!  Today is turning out to be a GREAT day of rejoicing and gladness, just as the Psalmist wrote of in Psalm 118:24.  I would have to believe that David was feeling some of the same awesome feelings that I’ve been experiencing today when he wrote this prose.  In the original Hebrew, the word “rejoice” literally means “to (physically) spin around” while being “glad” is an encouragement “to brighten up, to cheer up or to be gleesome!”

I don’t know what it is about me… but there are times that I have to move and physically demonstrate my feelings of joy and happiness!  I still remember the looks I got the first time I raised my hands in the middle of a very moving group prayer at a watchnight service during the first New Year’s Eve service that Piper and I went to at our Baptist church a few months after we got married.  Being outwardly emotional wasn’t the norm at that church… until then!

Sometimes you just gotta move to express the joy that is exploding inside of you… Do any of you know what I am talking about?  My Pastor once took me aside after I had preached to the adult congregation on a Sunday morning… reminding me that I wasn’t in the youth or Children’s Church services and that I needed to show a little more self-restraint when before the adults!  What can I say… When I get excited about the things of God… it just sort of pops out of me and it is very difficult for me to not let it out!

Well… that’s exactly the way I felt this morning!  So, I sang, smiled, shouted “Halleluiah!” and even joked with the dog all the way to the still frozen pond and back home again!  … But that’s me… that’s the way I have to express my rejoicing and gladness before that Lord. 

How do you do it?  How do you express those moments of rejoicing and gladness that pop up inside of you when He touches your life like He did mine this morning?

If you’re anything like me… then you’ve just got to sing and shout declaring with great emotion and abandonment that:

“This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!”

                                                                             Psalm 118:24 – God’s Word ©

And now… well… just try and stay quiet and calm for the rest of the day!  But whatever you do and however you do it… just keep expecting God’s best for you today!

 

Revisiting the Power!

I found the need to revisit some of the basic scriptures of faith yesterday.  Scriptures that I have learned to hold onto through the thick and thin experiences throughout my adult life.  As the sun began to break through the clouds and the freezing temperatures proceeded to rise, I found that my patience, expectations and levels of faith were going in the opposite direction!

Like I have mentioned before, while I have plenty of the basic supplies to ford this artic vortex, what I am beginning to lack is the ability to not go stir crazy!  I haven’t even been able to take the dog out for his daily walks along the golf course and down to the neighborhood park and pond. 

Today is the first day in over a week that our temperatures are forecasted to get above (barely above I might note) the freezing mark of 32º Fahrenheit.  I am hoping that the sun will melt things enough this afternoon, for us to take a walk further than our backyard or the mailbox out front… and – fingers crossed – be able to maneuver my car down my driveway and into the street without sliding, going sideways or simple spinning my tires... as the very few other cars that have ventured this far down the street have done! This latest Oklahoma weather adventure has pretty much sealed the deal for me to get serious about trading in my little Equinox for a 4X4 Chevy Tahoe.

So, where did I go when I needed to build my personal levels of faith?  Well, without hesitation, I pulled out my trusty King James Bible, turned to the highlighted, underlined and thoroughly notated verses in the book of Mark 11:22-24 and read:

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God (or ‘the faith of God’, or ‘the God kind of faith’).  For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” 

A deeper understanding of this portion of scripture turned Piper’s and my life around at the very beginning of our marriage.  Throughout the years it had been… and continues to be a mainstay in our (my) lives.  The simple truth behind Jesus’ statement to believe that you have received what you are requesting of the Lord WHEN YOU PRAY changed the entire direction of our faith walk.

Robertson’s Word Pictures says, “That is the test of faith, the kind that sees the fulfilment before it happens.”  Wuest’s Word Studies states “The idea is that since faith is the criterion of success in spiritual matters, therefore faith should be the constant attitude of the mind when one prays.” 

Through the study of this and similar verses in the New Testament, we learned of the utmost importance and power of our individual faith in God and His Word for success in our daily lives.  Concerning the word “receive”, Vincent’s Word Studies informs us that the literal Greek translation should be “received” and not receive, and list one of the meanings as “to take by craft” which gives us the connotation of “craftsmanship” or having learned the skills necessary to act out or perform our faith as an expert in the field of faith… Which means there is a right way to exercise our faith and we know it and continually sharpen our skills by consistent practice!

Which is exactly what I did yesterday when I went back to God’s handbook in order to sharpen and refocus my efforts in receiving everything that I am believing for with the absence of my wife… in the midst of a pandemic, combined with a freak snowstorm, while living in a new city, in a new state… all while trying to start a new chapter in life that is totally different from everything I’ve known for the past 50 years! 

Piece of cake, right?  Well… maybe not that simple, but walking in a level of faith that is based on my knowing of the intimate love of Christ for me, in combination with His faithfulness to me and His Word… certainly helps!  And since God is no respecter of people (Acts 10:34)… if it can work for me, it certainly can work for you!

I was thinking today of the common theme throughout the Word which infers that to the faithful in God and His Word… the best is always yet to come.  And while I have a very difficult time believing that theme with Piper’s promotion to heaven and her very noticeable absence from my life… His Word in Ephesians 3:20 does tell us to “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. (for) He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! (and then) He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” (The Passion Translation)

So, if you’re anything like me… then you most likely want to… and NEED to… keep yourself constantly energized with the truth and power of His Word working in, for and through you unto others!  So, again, like me, we need to take the time throughout the day to revisit and reconnect to His truth and power by reviewing and reigniting those special scriptures that each of us have in our hearts!

Ah!  I feel better already… How about you?

Have a great weekend, stay connected to His Word and while your at it... keep expecting His best!

Loss, Dreams and Continuing...

Yesterday we lost a great Christian music legend, icon and trendsetter with the death of Carman Licciardello, known to the Christian world simply as Carman.  I personally believe that he single-handedly expanded and raised the standard and quality of Christian ministry, presentation and entertainment more than just about anyone else in the realm of contemporary Christian music.  While we never had the opportunity to attend one of powerful, action-packed and audio-visual explosive concerts, we owned many of his albums and numerous Videos and DVD’s of his movie and children’s music videos.

When his full-length movie entitled “The Champion” came out in 2001, we immediately ordered a copy with the intention of showing it to our youth group at the church.  I was surprised though, when we were met by a lack of enthusiasm from the youth who all tended to agree that he was “too old” to be relevant to them anymore. 

But I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel as of yet… so I discussed it with my then 21-year-old son who suggested that we approach it from another angle and make it into a fun event.  So, after a period of brainstorming we came up with the idea of having a “I Hate Carman” night where we preceded the movie premier with a free taco dinner, followed by a Carman look-a-like contest and a whole bunch of interactive challenges for the participants to enjoy.

I also wrote a quick script for a video advertisement where our four kids dressed up in extravagant and hilarious costumes and hair-dos and we filmed a supposed interview with Carman (our dark haired, Italian older son dressed as Carman), our oldest daughter as the very 80’s styled, big-hair, sharp tongued cosmetician attending to Carman’s make-up, our younger son as the nerdy TV interviewer and our younger daughter as his goofy assistant.  We then used the video in order to advertise the coming event as well as to build excitement for the night’s activities. 

Needless to say, the planned program turned out to be a big hit and we ended up with many more dressing up to look like Carman than I expected… and the majority of the youth ended up enjoying… and being moved by the movie!  Our heart-felt prayers go out to his wife and family and the thousands of lives that he touched over the many years of his world-wide ministry.

And speaking of other things that we lost yesterday… out here in Oklahoma we finally lost the snowfall!  We got our final frosting of snow last night into this morning and within the last hour, began feasting our eyes on a beautiful blue sky and bright sunlight!  I’m getting ready to dust off my shorts as the temperature has zoomed up to 23º with a potential high of 27º!  Not bad after a low of -18º yesterday morning.  The weather is forecasting continued improvement over the next few days with spring-like weather next week!

This has been a strange week for me for a couple of reasons.  First because I am going stir-crazy not being able to go safely outdoors except for short periods of time in my backyard.  My street and driveway are still covered in snow and I’ve seen a few four-wheel drive vehicles slide around our cul-de-sac.  Which means that I still won’t be going anywhere until the sun does it job and melts the snow! 

And secondly, because I have been having nightly dreams that include the presence of my dearly departed wife.  What’s interesting is that she is not the focal point of these dreams, but merely a normal participant in whatever we are doing in the dream.  In last night’s dream, she and I were packing up our household stuff in preparation for a move and talking to some friends from our former church in California.  The hard part is that I keep awakening while being caught up in the dream… fully expecting her to be… as she always was… smiling at me from her side of the bed!  And then reality catches up, and I realize that it was all a dream and that it’s just me… alone… with the dog in the bedroom.

After I got up early this morning and returned from Fiver’s necessary outside business, I sat on the bed and cried out to the Lord exclaiming “What is going on Lord?”  At times like this it is easy for me to feel a sense of total loss and confusion.  But as with the Carman movie program with the youth many years ago, I wasn’t about to throw in the towel and give in to those feelings.

My initial thought when I reached that decision was that since Piper was continuing on with God’s plan for her in heaven… that I was going to continue doing the only thing I know to do… and that is to “Trust in the Lord completely, and not rely on my own opinions…” (Proverbs 3:5 – TPT)  And right then and there I began speaking out scriptures promises that I have memorized over the years, that talk about all the things that the scriptures declare are mine as part of the death, burial, resurrection, ascension  and then seating at the right hand of God, of Jesus Christ.

I then had the thought of how many times the word “CONTINUE” is used in the New Testament.  A quick check in The Passion Translation lists 76 times the word is used with over 29 directly related to either God or us continuing to perform whatever positive actions are needed to demonstrate our faith and/or grow in our Christian walk.  The majority of the balance have to do with people continuing to not perform negative acts that would hinder or stop our faith and/or Christian growth.

The Apostle’s concluding words in 2 Peter 3:18 seems to perfectly sum up my early morning thoughts when he encouraged us to “continue to grow and increase in God’s grace and intimacy with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

It seems that tough times come and go in our lives on a regular basis, but the best thing that we can do to successfully overcome those times is to CONTINUE being intimate with the Lord by simply seeking, following, speaking and doing the Word of God on a consistent and continual basis in our daily lives!

So, for me, that means pushing past the reoccurring heartbreak, sorrow and occasional confusion and continuing to follow His leading for me in this new day, within this new chapter, in this new season of my life. 

What action does it entail for you?

Have a great day!  Celebrate the Sunshine (or the Son-shine) and keep expecting His best for you today!