ILLUSIONS

I had kind of an interesting early morning today.  I was awoken at about 3:15 AM by the sound of rolling thunder* and the pounding of rain on my roof.  I did recall that this storm had been forecasted the previous day and seemed to be right on schedule.  My first thought though, was the dog who does not like loud noises.  So, I jumped out of bed and went across the living room, down the little hallway and into the study where I found him huddled under my desk.

I sat on the floor with him for a short period of time to pet him and make sure that he wasn’t shaking.  He normally does okay with this type of thunder and seemed to be calm and somewhat at rest.  So, I checked my weather radar app and since it looked like we were through the majority of thunder and lightning, I reassured him that I’d check back in a while… and went back to bed!

The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, noticed that my clock on the bedstand read 5:15 AM and realized that all was quiet outside.  Then I heard Fiver shuffling around on his bed against the wall and knew that everything was back to normal and copasetic.

I also figured that this would be a good time to take him outside for a quick backyard duty-call.  So, I rolled out of bed, put on some slip-on hiking shoes, grabbed a light hoodie and followed Fiver into the living room and to the back door.  On the way I stopped at the piano and turned on the piano desk light and stood there for a moment as I found myself captivated (what else is new) by all the framed pictures of Piper that I have hanging on the wall above her Acrosonic built by Baldwin instrument.

I was in a good mood and was softly singing some praise songs when I suddenly stopped, laughed a bit and thought… “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could just slip into each of those pictures behind Piper and give her a hug?”  Each of the various pictures told a story of a special event that Piper and I had shared over the years.  And it gave me a warm feeling to recall and relive the joy of each separate memory associated with each pose.

But alas, my reverie was interrupted when Fiver made a few noises to let me know that he was at the end of his patience and wanted to go outside!  So, with a happy sigh, we went out into the surprisingly cool morning.  I was immediately impressed with the just-rained fresh fragrance that seemed to fill the atmosphere in the peaceful, darkened yard.  It would seem that fall has arrived in earnest!

The Psalmist implored the Lord in Psalm 119:37 to, “Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” (TPT)

The word “illusions” caught my attention as I studied this verse later this morning… especially in light of my early morning activities.  The King James translates this idea as, “Turn my eyes from beholding vanity…”  Strong’s describes “illusions” or “vanity” as the action of “making a place bleakly and depressingly empty or bare.”  Brown-Driver-Briggs calls it “emptiness of speech or worthlessness of conduct.”  From the Greek it’s translated “folly” and is explained as “something that is devoid of truth and appropriateness.”

As I thought about it, I guess you could say that my dreaming about going into a picture on the wall (like in the Chronicles of Narnia’s “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”) and reconnecting with Piper could be likened to an illusion, a fantasy or even a folly.  If I were to spend anymore time in the illusion than the few moments that I did, I could easily fall into feeling sorry for myself, re-ignite measures of grief and be tempted by depression… all things that I’d rather not have to deal with again!

The latter half of Psalm 119:37 talks about pursuing what is true, drenching one’s soul with life and walking in the Lord’s paths.  All sound advice for those dealing with difficulties in life… and for that matter… it’s a tried-and-true recipe for success for just about anyone who is alive and breathing today!

I’ve said it a bunch of times in this blog before… and it’s worth repeating… I have seen and interacted with those who faced life’s dilemmas without keeping God and His Word first, having little to no faith, and being a perfect text book example of the Psalmist’s words in Psalm 119:37.  They became people beholding vanity and illusions, whose lives became bleak and depressing and sadly to say, spoke worthless words that were empty in meaning.  They often exhibited bad conduct and at times, said and did things that were very inappropriate for the situation at hand.

So, while I’ll continue to enjoy looking at the pictures on the wall and enjoyably remember the special event and tones of the occasion that a particular picture reflected, I will keep moving forward by pursing what is true (ie; God’s Word), drenching my soul with the life of Christ and stay focused on the Lord’s path before me.

So… What do ya think?  Will ya join me?

Have a terrific weekend and as you do... keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

 

*As compared to a loud bang of thunder, this variety sounded more like a train rolling down a nearby track… similar to when the occasional train ran down the side track in front of our country neighborhood in NC, while on the way to and from the Fort Bragg US Army Installation.

Cancel Culture

I was thinking about all the things that had happened to me over the last 15 years yesterday morning, as I was taking Fiver on his early walk along the golf course near our home.  It’s been raining with sporadic thunder and lightning today, so we had to forgo our long trek and substitute it with a visit to our own backyard!

But yesterday was beautiful.  It was cool and crisp with bright blue skies and as such… well… it was just an overall wonderful fall day in Oklahoma.  As we trod along the path yesterday, I was mainly mulling over all the ways in which Piper’s and my faith was attacked in the midst of… negatively speaking… the roughest, most emotional and heart-wrenching time in our lives.  Yet on the positive side, it was also the most coordinated and well-prepared adventure in faith that we had ever embarked upon together!

Looking back, I can see how God had been preparing us for this fight for many years.  By the time we returned to our home town in northern California after attending Bible College in Oklahoma, we were totally focused on the logistics of our plan of faith… and even though we did not yet have all the specific facts of Piper’s situation… we knew enough to put all of our faith into God and Word.  We knew that what she was facing was without cure in modern science and that God and His directions to us was the ONLY plausible path that we could afford to follow.

To be perfectly honest, when the various attacks were leveled at us, they did nothing to move our stand of faith… and if anything, they worked to embolden our faith even more!  What they did do though, was to confuse and frustrate me as I was completely surprised when certain folks did not support us in our faith and in fact, tried their best to weaken… or better said, to destroy it!

My quiet thoughts and Fiver’s concentrated sniffing were suddenly broken on yesterday’s walk when out of nowhere it dawned on me and I blurted aloud, that… to use today’s newest buzz phrase… the devil was using unknowing pawns to try and CANCEL our Faith with the way they questioned how we felt that our faith was leading us, my every natural decision for Piper’s welfare, along with many false narratives about us, including the way we raised our family, handled our finances, and many more tales that were definitely not based in reality.

As I stood there and watched a distant golfer line up his tee-shot, I realized that the enemy of our faith was not just trying to steal or CANCEL our faith, but as it turned out, was also wanting to CANCEL our good name, our history, our successes in life and ministry as well as our legacy.  At one point a few years before Piper passed, I also noticed that some folks close to us had stopped asking about her, began to reference her as already gone and hardly ever even mention her name!  In retrospect yesterday, it was almost like the enemy was also attempting to CANCEL her very existence and memory!

I was reminded during my Bible Study time this morning that Jesus warned us of these kinds of assault when He declared in John 10:10 that “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.” (God’s Word ©)  A quick look at the original meanings of the three descriptive adjectives in this verse shows that a more accurate translation of the thief’s job description would read, “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy...” (The Passion Translation)

The more commonly used word translated “kill” actually means to, “sacrifice by fire, to slaughter” (Strong’s/Thayer’s) while the King James Dictionary informs us that “slaughter in the Bible usually denotes great destruction of life by violent means.”

With this information in hand, I am much more able to understand what was being leveled at us back then… and why!  It actually makes sense in that you and I as Christians are part of the family of God and the enemy of our faith likes for nothing better than to make a huge mess of our lives… to the point that what was once thought of as something beautiful is not only taken out… but done so in a terribly sadistic and gruesome way.

For me it was very visible.  I purposely have refrained from posting pictures of my Piper as the symptoms of the Alzheimer’s encroached upon her.  The word slaughter is an accurate term for the way her natural beauty was stolen from her as she went from a trim normal healthy, firm weight of 105 lbs to a barely existing 45lbs at the end.  I am thankful that God’s early on directions to me to saturate us in the Word, helped me to keep my eyes on the life of Christ in her and see past the outside and stay focused on the real Piper on the inside.

So, what’s the answer… the plan of action for you and me?  The answer is staying focused on, confident in and expectant of the Word of God working in, for and through you unto others.  It sounds easy… but takes commitment, effort and a want-to that is stronger than sleeping in for another hour, watching one more TV show, or reading that exciting novel instead of your Bible!

I’ve been in many people’s houses where a nice clean, new looking Bible was prominently displayed in the living room (my parents did that for awhile)… but to be honest… I’d be much more impressed if I saw a well-worn, torn and marked up one instead!  The other day I pulled out my not-so-old NIV Study Bible that I purposely purchased for use when I went to Bible College and I laughed when I noticed how old and worn it looked!  I spent a lot of money on that volume… and it was worth every penny! 

I’ve studied, marked up and worn out its pages enough that my heart knowledge of God’s Word within that book have helped me through many ferocious onslaughts of the enemy trying to CANCEL my faith or my life.  His CANCEL CULTURE mentality and tricks won’t work on me!

Can you say the same?  I hope so!

Keep having a good week while you’re EXPECTING God’s Best in your life!

STORMS

You’ll be happy to know that we made it through the night of severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings with a not too far away touch down and lots of rain and very strong winds!  From what I could see on Fiver’s and my morning walk, our neighborhood seemed to fare very well after the long night’s activities.  I did see one tree down near the cart path on the golf course, but other than that, everything looked normal except for a few more leaves in the street than usual. 

It was a long night though, and the dog and I did spend a little time in our safe room when the weather forecasters suggested it, but the turbulent air that was coming our way dissipated well before it got near us!  The closest touchdown was in the town of Coweta about 20 minutes southeast of us, resulting in roof and window damage to some schools, a gas station and some private residences.  There were also reports of another tornado about 75 miles southeast of us in and around the Tenkiller Lake area.

So, once again, I am thankful for the Lord’s protection and covering over us.  It was interesting to me as I noticed how easy it could become to let go of one’s trust in the Lord and yield your emotions over the TV and radio reports… and especially when the tornado horns go off in your neighborhood!  For me, it was all about my reminding myself (throughout the night…) of whose report was I going to place and keep my trust and subsequent composure in.

In Psalm 91:2 the Psalmist wrote, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (KJV)  As I read this earlier this morning, I was quickly drawn to or smitten* by how the writer states his first action as “I will SAY of the Lord…”  He didn’t write that “I will think of the Lord” or “I will try to remember what He said” but that “I will SAY…”

In the New Testament we also see that the concept of the importance of your words was something that was very important to Jesus as well.  In Mark 11:22-23 we find Jesus teaching on the basics of faith and declaring, “Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that the things which he SAYS are coming to pass, what ever he SAYS shall be his.” (EMTV)

And we see Jesus giving a vivid and practical example of this teaching in Mark 5:21-43 when He is heading to the house of Jairus, the leader of the local synagogue in order to heal the man’s dying child.  On the way Jesus and His disciples are stopped by a woman who was so determined to get healed by Jesus that she crawled through the crowd that surrounded Him, touched Him and was instantly healed.  Well, Jesus felt the power leave Him and called out to the women and spoke with her… all while Jairus was nervously waiting for and wanting Jesus to get a move on to his house!

Then, as the story progresses, we see some servants of Jairus coming up through the crowd and while Jesus is still speaking to the women, they begin to tell Jairus the dreaded news that his daughter has already passed.  This is when and where Jesus proves His point on the importance of our spoken words.  Mark 5:36 tells us that, “When Jesus overheard what they said, he told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid! Just believe." (God’s Word ©)

This portion of scripture always excites me!  Jesus had just finished telling the women that He had healed, that "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace! Be cured from your illness," (Mark 5:34 God’s Word ©) and He wanted the same thing to happen for Jairus and his daughter… but he also knew that Jairus’ words could continue to make it happen or put an immediate STOP to His ability to heal the girl. 

So, before Jairus could compute what his servants were telling him, and before he could say something negative and full of doubt and unbelief… JESUS CUT HIM OFF and told the leader of the synagogue to NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT BEING AFRAID… but to KEEP ON BELIEVING in Jesus and the power in His Words!

In many respects, it was exactly like all the negative reports that I kept hearing last night on the TV, the radio and with the numerous emergency text alerts that I kept receiving on my phone.  Whose report was I going to believe?  Well… I made the decision early on! 

YES, I took precautions for the safety of my dog and I, but I also kept reminding myself to not be afraid by allowing the natural reports to steal my trust, confidence and expectations in the ultimate faithfulness of my God in His protection for me!  I chose to NOT speak words of doubt, unbelief and fear but instead to SPEAK ONLY what the Word of God said about His care for me.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

What are you SAYING when the storms of life come your way?  I always like to SAY what God’s Word says about it!  And you know… It keeps working for me and will for you as well!

Have a great week ahead… and keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

 

*Smitten: See our last blog entitled, “To be Smitten” posted October 9, 2021 http://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2021/10/to-be-smitten.html

To Be Smitten...

I’ve mentioned many times in this blog about how much I enjoyed making my late wife laugh.  There was just something special to me about seeing her burst out laughing… sometimes so hard that she had to stop and bend over and grab her thighs because her funny reaction was so strong that she became weak in the knees!  And without a doubt or moment’s hesitation… she liked to dish it right back!  So much so at times that we’d both find ourselves sitting on the floor, laughing until our sides hurt!

She liked to do sudden things that would surprise me in a very humorous way.  For instance… one day when the whole family was in the living room, she turned to me and said, “You know?  I can pick you up.”  To which I replied, “What?”  And she just gave me that cute daring look of hers and with a glint of mischief in her eyes said, “What… you don’t think that I can’t do it?”  So, with a bit of hesitation, I took the bait, got up and moved our heavy butcher block coffee table out of the way and stood in the middle of the room.  She took a quick look at the kids who were all sitting there with their mouths wide open, smiled, winked at them and then came up to me and said, “Ready?”

I was a little apprehensive with her bragging claims of physical strength… mainly because I probably weighed almost twice as much as she did… but she calmly said “just relax”, squatted down, put her arms around my upper legs and with a grunt… picked me up about a foot off the floor and carried me across the room! 

Following her feat of physical prowess, she set me down, wiped her hands together and bowed to the kids who by this time were laughing at the look on my face and clapping for their mom’s success!  I could go on and on about all the funny things we did with and to each other while we were dating, on our first camping adventure alone at the end of our honeymoon and then throughout the following 43 years of marriage.

Laughter, jokes and funny story telling came easy to us (most likely why we were such a good fit leading Children’s and Youth ministries… since practically day one of our relationship).  Looking back, I would say… and I know that Piper would agree… that the reason it came so easy was because we both possessed what Proverbs 17:22 describes as a “MERRY HEART” or a “CHEERFUL DISPOSITION.”

The traditional and most familiar King James translation says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”  The modern Message Bible paraphrase declares, “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.”  And The Passion Translation states the words of wisdom, most scholars attribute to Solomon, as stating that “A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul. But the one whose heart is crushed struggles with sickness and depression.” 

As one’s who tended to take a literal meaning from the Word of God, Piper and I saw the truth of Solomon’s words as written in this verse, come to fruition throughout the years… especially concerning the after effects of a broken spirit!  Since we normally lived our lives through the eyes and experience of a joyful disposition, I think it was easier for us to discern and want to reach out to individuals dealing with the symptoms associated with an attitude of gloom and doom, sadness, and depression.

I saw it at my secular jobs, in church and in our extended families as well.  It always amazes me to witness the power of a smile, a joyful countenance and an encouraging word to those in the throes of sadness, fear induced worry or a lifestyle of depression.  I did a little word study on the idea of a broken heart and discovered it also described in various translations as being “downcast, stricken, struck, crushed, distressed, sorrowful, sad” and the one that really caught my attention, “to be smitten.”

When Piper was attacked with the Alzheimer’s, we came across all kinds and types of people from various backgrounds, Christian beliefs, financial status, and ethnicities who took one look at her deteriorating physical changes and almost immediately seemed to be “smitten” with or “drawn” to the negative sides of our situation.

I’ve found out in life, that it is a whole lot easier to give into sadness and sorrow when troubles come upon us than it is to make a joyful, dedicated, consistent and Bible-based stand against what our senses are throwing at us!  But the rewards of fighting to stay positive, merry and maintain a cheerful disposition are well worth the effort, as the scriptures tells us that a “merry heart doeth good like a medicine,” and “is good for your health” while it “brings healing to both body and soul.”

Solomon and other writers of the Bible make a clear connection between an individual keeping a joyful heart that is trusting in God and His Word and their physical well-being.

The Bible Illustrator explains that “The connection between the mind and the body, though not to be explained, is so striking as to force itself upon the notice of the least observant” explaining that:

“The Value of a Cheerful Spirit (is such as):

1. It helps bodily health.

2. It is a clarifier and invigorator of the mind.

      3. It lubricates the wearing machinery of business and daily care.”

Then it implores the reader to “Consider the influence of cheerfulness and depression on the duties and the pursuits of life. When the heart is cheerful the duties of a man’s calling are a pleasure to him. How ingenious is the cheerful heart in finding the means of enjoyment and in extending these! On the other hand, when the spirit is broken the duties of a man’s profession are a burden to him.”

Like I’ve said… I’ve seen how important the maintenance of a JOYFUL, CHEERFUL HEART or DISPOSITION is in people’s lives… I’ve lived it and reaped its positive and healthful results… but on the other hand, I’ve also seen good people live sad and unproductive lives, be prone to sickness and then die young and/or seemingly lost and without hope…

All because they allowed themselves to be smitten by fear and unbelief which always tends to lead to sadness and sorry… opening the door to the potential of a “heart that is crushed and struggles with sickness and depression.”

So, which do you choose?  Which do you prefer to be prevalent in your life?  If Solomon was here… He’d encourage you to be smitten with JOYFULNESS every time!

Have a great weekend and keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

History in the Making

As most of you probably know by now, I love to write!  I can think way back to fourth or fifth grade at St Eugene's Parochial School, when we were given an assignment during our penmanship class to copy an entire story in order to practice using our newly learned cursive writing skills.  I remember being enthralled with task set before me as I furiously penned the story into my class notebook, while sitting at the kitchen table at home.  (You know… I still have that notebook somewhere…)

It was also at that time that I gained an affection toward quality writing instruments… in other words… having a nice pen!  And up through today, I still use my favorite pen, that being a Parker Jotter Ballpoint Pen… In fact… if you were to look around my house you would find one on the kitchen table, in my bedroom and two or three in and on my desk in the study.  Oh yeah… I also like their version of the mechanical pencil as well!

As the years went by and I began to apply myself in school, I was finally moved up into an academic English class as a junior in high school.  And wouldn’t you know it, that it was there that I discovered the one special individual with whom I would write the majority of the story of the rest of my life.

At the SRJC I was able to take an English 101 class where we got to spend the entire semester creatively writing our own stories on a variety of subjects.  Then at Sonoma State University I really enjoyed researching and writing many papers in the study of Adolescent and Family Psychology… mostly written from a Christian viewpoint… and whew…  Did I take a lot of heat… but it was good as it helped me to stand up for my beliefs and present the Gospel in a logical way to those who had no concept of the gospel message! 

Then in-between and after those school assignments, I had begun to write Christian music, our Rock Opera and what came to be the fledgling start to a lifetime of original lesson plans, youth retreat study plans, plays, Vacation Bible Schools, Children’s Church curriculum and all-church family fun nights!  I even wrote a few fun-filled activity-based study plans for some of our family camping vacations for the six of us to interact with!

I was watching a Hallmark movie last night where a widower took his two kids to the childhood vacation cabin where his recently deceased wife and the kids Mom had spent her summers.  It seemed that everywhere he looked throughout the little seaside community he would find evidence of his wife’s presence there.  At one point he is standing in the entrance room of the lighthouse that was next to the cabin and spotted his wife’s name scrapped into the wall of the old deserted structure.

With a faraway look on his face (one that I quickly recognized), he stared at her childish hand writing and said, “You really had a HISTORY in this place, didn’t you?”

I happened to be walking over to my kitchen in our open floorplan front room at the time and without thinking, stopped and looked at a picture on the wall of Piper and I, that was taken at our 20^th high school reunion and declared aloud, “Well, we sure had a lot of HISTORY together, didn’t we?”  And then for some reason I began to smile and laugh a bit as I said… “We also had and made a lot of His-Story together too… didn’t we!”

On this subject, Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:10 that, “He (God) planned to bring all of HISTORY to its goal in Christ…” (God’s Word ©)  Later on in Ephesians 3:11 he reiterated his point that God’s plan for HISTORY was to be carried out though Jesus Christ.  While speaking for God, the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah declared, “Who has determined the course of HISTORY from the beginning? I, the LORD, was there first, and I will be there to the end. I am the one!" (God’s Word ©)

All those thoughts flowing through my head at that moment last night made me grab the remote and pause the movie while I sorted through everything!  And while all of His-Story that Piper and I had made during our precious time together was of utmost importance and gave a strong foundation to our family and hopefully to all of those that we were blessed to minister to, what was of more importance to me right then and there… was His-Story that I still have the opportunity to write for today and tomorrow!

In many ways, I am in a very unique situation with a whole new life ahead of me to discover.  Over the last 15 years, life as I knew it took a giant leap… RIGHT OFF A CLIFF… for me!  But while it was hard, it also gave me an extraordinary opportunity to learn a whole bunch of lessons, give me a wealth of actual experience in a wide variety of situations and get closer to God than I EVER thought I would or could!

When I walked away from the self-checkout area at Walmart the other day, I turned to the young cashier overseeing the registers and told him with a chuckle that “My wife would be so proud of me for checking myself out on my own…” to which he burst out laughing!  Well… I want her to also be proud of me for the His-Story that He and I will write in the coming days, months and years!

How about you?  What part of His-Story are you and He writing these days?  Paul told us in Ephesians that God’s plan is to bring all of our HISTORY to its goal in or through Christ.  So, think about this… In Ephesians, Paul also calls Christ the head of the church and us, the church, His body.*  In I Corinthians chapter twelve, he explains how there are many working parts to a body and likens us to those working parts saying that we each have special and/or unique jobs to perform... or stories (or His-Story) to write!”**

When I finally get to heaven… after I stand at awe before Jesus and the throne of All Mighty God, give Piper an AWESOME, tight and L-O-N-G hug, and say “Hi” to all the other family and friends I know up there… I think that it will be exciting to sit in the cool of the day with Jesus and read in the book of His-Story and see just how He penned our story. 

What about YOU?

 

*Ephesians 5:23

**I Corinthians 12:12-31

Division...

Let me start today’s post by asking a very pertinent question.  How many of you like to eat?  Please fill in the circle next to your choice.  YES ○  NO ○

I was thinking in the shower this morning of how much I enjoy eating.  But Gee Whiz… the older I get… the less of the foods that I really enjoy… like deserts… can I eat.  Or maybe better said, the older I get… the less AMOUNTS of those sweet, trans-fat loaded, and refined carb filled delights can I handle… without showing and feeling the negative results!  Any-body (pun intended) out there know what I am talking about?

For some strange reason, I can’t just eat everything that I want… like I could do a few years back.  Nowadays I have to watch my daily food intake, make sure that I am eating the right kinds of foods, show GREAT self-control when it comes to desert after dinner and make sure that I get my daily walks in and maintain my corresponding step count up in the higher ranges… Thank God for Fiver.  If it wasn’t for his need for exercise, I am not so sure that I would get my daily mileage count in!

But… thanks also be to God!  For there are other things in my life that I can hunger for without overloading my negative calorie count.  In the familiar story of the Beatitudes, Jesus taught us that, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Mark 5:6 EMTV)  

In thinking back of my wonderful 46 years with Piper, I can honestly say that Piper and I always seemed to have a craving appetite for more of God.  I realized today as I read from Luke 12:51, that our continual hunger for the things of God drew us to certain family and friends over the years and later on… also served to pull us apart from them.

Jesus kind of shocked His audience in Luke 12:51 when He revealed a eye-opening aspect of His teachings by declaring, “Do you think I came to bring peace to earth? No! I can guarantee that I came to bring nothing but division.” (God’s Word ©)  And in the next couple of verses He describes how divisions in families were likely to occur due to the individual way in which their members received and matured in the truths of the gospel message.  Robertson’s Word Pictures explains this by saying how “family feuds are inevitable where only part cleave to Christ.”

According to John Gill, Matthew likens the gospel to a sword stating Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34 as, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (KJV)  Gill explains,

“By the ‘sword’* may be meant the Gospel, which is the means of dividing and separating the people of Christ from the men of the world, and from their principles and practices, and one relation from another; as also of divisions, discords, and persecutions arising from it…”

This was one of… if not the most difficult of the many experiences, lessons and divisions that I was forced to grapple with when I had my eyes opened to this reality in our family support system during Piper's last years.  Many of the differences in what or how strongly we believed in portions of the gospel message were suddenly too wide to traverse.

But as I think about all that today, I can’t help but to be GLAD and REJOICE as I marvel in the personal and intimate knowledge of just how smart, all-knowing and faithful God is.  Many of you are probably thinking, “Well Duh, Jim!”  But again… I just can’t help to be amazed and celebrate how good God is to us His children… EVERYTIME I see it happen… over and over again!

I am glad that God gave Piper and I the fortitude and tenacity to stay focused on Him throughout all the battles we fought along the way in Piper’s final earthly battle.  We fought the good fight the way I believe that He wanted us to… and in the end… Piper received the greatest award and benefit of our fight of faith.

I suddenly burst out laughing last night just before I turned the light out, when I gave a final glance to one of my favorite pictures of Piper on the wall next to my bed and thought… “Well, if she had to leave me for someone else… it can’t get any better than knowing that I lost out to The King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s!”

And now let me close this in a positive vein… by saying that I have come to believe that Piper’s and my stick-to-it-ness in our faith in God and the truth of His Word, ended up being a great example for those who were formally divided from us.  Sticking with Him and His truth always wins out in the long run!

Have a great week and keep EXPECTING God’s best in your life… and I hope that you are enjoying the cooler fall weather just as much as I am!

 

 

*This is collaborated in the epistles where Ephesians 6:17 describes the Word as “The sword of the Spirit” while Hebrews 4:12 says that “God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.”

A Good Thing!

I came across a very familiar scripture verse this morning written in a different translation that really caught my fancy!  In John 10:9 Jesus told His audience that,

“I am the Gateway. To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction.”*

I like the way this translation brings out the full meaning to the original language in which this discussion of Jesus’ was written down by the Apostle John.  The much more familiar translation of this verse from the King James Version reads, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” 

The word “find” denotes a continuous action on the part of the one who enters into the gateway of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  It means “to find a thing sought for, to find through enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny or by practice and experience.”  It also connotates the idea of “being present.” (Strong's/Thayer’s)  That tells me that Jesus wants us to be “present” in the now - with our attention of Him. 

A good example of this from my past, would be like my wife and I sitting on the couch watching a football game when she started telling me something special that she and the kids had done that day during homeschool… and me not hearing a thing because I was wrapped up in the pass reception that just happened during the game… and Piper would say, “Ah… hello!  Is anyone there?”

I know that this is something that was just common with me… but in this verse, Jesus is telling us about the rewards and benefits of staying “present” with Him.  I mean who knows… Piper and the kids might have made a fresh apple pie from scratch and she could have been offering me a piece… and I missed it!  (You might have guessed that I was thinking about her homemade apple pies last night!)

The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary also defines “Find” as “to devise something as feasible.”  In other words… when you are examining, practicing and experiencing the Gospel… you do so with the preconceived idea that whatever God says in His Word… is feasible in, for and through you unto others!

Besides the common definition of “pasture” in our verse denoting a place of “feeding or finding food” (Strong’s), the word also includes the provision of “growth and increase” and the ability “to not want the needful supplies for true life.” (Thayer’s)

Like I said before, I really like the way in which this translation brings out the fuller picture that Jesus was truly desiring to bring out to all of us who seek after Him!  Being a Christian… a follower of Christ… is meant to be a GOOD thing!  It is meant and designed to be an enjoyable and very beneficial part of our earthly existence!  In the next verse in Jesus’ discourse, He clearly tells us the source of the evil in this world… and then makes the startling comment… that many times seems to skip our attention… saying,

“But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!” 

I mean to tell you… WOW!

Is that your experience of your Christian faith?  My hope is that today’s post would open up a whole new understanding to your faith and ignite a new preconceived idea in which you seek, study, experience and live your faith… both privately and in front of others!

Consider this a personal challenge that will enable you to live and experience life, freedom, and satisfaction in a new and better way… with the EXPECTATION of having:

“…life in its fullness until you overflow!” 

 

*The Passion Translation