Through Many Tribulations!

"We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
Acts 14:22b

Recommended Reading Romans 8:18-19

"When seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong became the world's most famous cyclist, his consecutive victories--the most in history--were made sweet by what preceded them: a bout with cancer. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, cancer that had already spread to his brain and lungs, Armstrong dropped out of cycling to fight his disease. He returned to cycling and won the Tour de France for seven straight years (1999-2005).

Armstrong's greatest years as an athlete--and now a worldwide advocate for cancer research--were preceded by the most difficult years of his life. His experience illustrates a universal, and biblical, principle: the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. In fact, the apostle Paul put it this way: entry to the kingdom of God is always accompanied by "many tribulations" (Acts 14:22b). Those who enter the kingdom of God by way of the coming Tribulation will echo Paul's words while praising the God who made their salvation possible (Revelation 7:9-14).

If you're experiencing a trial right now, recognize its ultimate outcome: a deeper dependence upon God and gratefulness for your victory in Christ.

There can be no victory where there is no combat"

Those are not my words........they were in a devotional today by David Jeremiah!!! But they are my words indirectly. By that, I mean AMEN. It is what I was going to say in this blog that has been stirring in my head and heart for a couple of weeks, but then there it was already written out for me.

A small group of wonderful, godly friends and I have been meeting for almost four years now on Monday evenings. We are truly kindred spirits, soul-mates, iron sharpening iron. The trials that have been and are still being endured, just within our small group, have been amazing. It has varied in intensity, in specific uniqueness to each person, in length of time...............but mostly the desired out come has been a depth of trusting God that was not there before the testings came.

I don't mean to hint at all that we weren't trusting God before, but the surety of what that looks like is becoming more and more obvious. We can see it in each other, as well as in ourselves. It is the visible kingdom of God that comes through TRUSTING GOD in tribulations.

Spiritual Growth ....."Hand-crafted"

"Growth is hand-crafted, not mass-produced!" by John Ortberg

Rachel, our youngest daughter, recently shared this statement with us from one of her podcasts she hears when she runs her training for the upcoming marathon.

You know how it is when you get the right words at the right moment............you just want to savor it for awhile and let it soak in. We are in a perfect visual aid of such a statement once again. And it revolves around the Heart Hospital and all that entails for the whole family. If you have read my blog at all for the past couple of years, you are well aware that God hand-crafted some growth in all of us through Monty's 7 heart events in 7 days almost 2 years ago.....February 24, 2008.

Let me bring you up to speed, if you haven't known what has been going on recently. In December, Monty went in for his 6-month check-up, which included the ejection fraction test of the output of his heart..........the efficiency of the beat. Since he had been working out 3-4 times a week and working fulltime and feeling really good, he was so excited to hear a good report that his % had improved from the last one. But, in fact, the very opposite happened............it was worse. Not only that, but they were concerned and were recommending he get a defibrillator and pacemaker with the goal of it saving his life if he began having signs of another heart attack. But, against the advice of all three doctors, that didn't stop Monty from going skiing as planned when we all went to CO for Christmas!! I did mention that he was not feeling badly at all, didn't I?

Talk about "hand-crafted growth"!! God was getting ready to use all of this in each of our lives over the next several weeks. The short version of it all is that after some scheduling and medicine adjustments, the device was put in on January 19.......with an overnight stay and some various restrictions for the following four weeks. Then typical of Monty's "hand-crafted body" he didn't handle it very well and went into atrial flutters where he felt like his heart was pounding and racing all of the time, making him feel as though he had run a marathon every day!! He had no energy and was exhausted all of the time.

So once again, more meds to try to get his blood thin enough to keep him from clotting and having a stroke, which is one of the major dangers with atrial flutter. The decision was made that he needed cardio-version.........shock treatment..........to try to get him into sinus (normal) rhythm. But first they had to go through his esophagus and ultra-sound his heart, looking for any clots in the heart, making sure it was safe to shock his heart. This was done this past Monday, February 15, 2010. Within 2 1/2 hours we were back home with the report that he was in sinus rhythm, but that his heart was trying to pace itself, also, along with the pacemaker. With another medicine (that he had been on before for atrial flutter) the dr. was confident that he would settle down into sinus rhythm.

However, "his hand-crafted" uniquely-made body has not responded "normally" to anything done to him thus far. This was no different. Within a short time, Monty could feel once again the racing heartbeat and was not feeling very well. To complicate matters we had four of our grandchildren spending the night. Around 10:00, he began coughing a lot and getting very wheezy and short of breath. He came to bed and after checking his rhythm and blood pressure, debating for an hour whether we should go in or not, we decided he was getting worse quickly. By 11:30, our son Philip, had come over to stay with the children and Monty and I were in the ER. Sure enough, his lungs had filled up and he had pulmonary edema, commonly known as congestive heart failure.

So, after finally getting to a room about 1:00, the long night had begun of pulling the fluid off of him. The Father's "hand-crafted-growth" was taking place in all of us as this week has progressed and Monty's flutters have persisted, despite the variations in types and amounts of medications. The fluid is clearing up and so he is feeling much better. As of now (Thursday night), if he has not converted by the morning, the doctors are thinking of shocking him again. We each find that God is doing much in each one of us to show Himself to us and remind us that He is our peace.

Monty and I know that we are here for reasons far beyond the obvious.........his physical condition.................and that He is giving many around us the opportunity to see how we, His uniquely-hand-crafted-children, handle the hard things in life. All of us are experiencing the same trial, but from different stages of spiritual growth. So, learning afresh the truth of Ortberg's statement.....one trial, but the growth is not mass-produced......but rather hand-crafted!!

A New Year 2010

It may be a New Year to us, but to God, there are no surprises!! It is not "new" to Him!! It is kind of like there is no new water............it is all just recycled!!

Sometimes I think New Year resolutions are like that!! They are the same ones just recycled!! I was thinking about a lot of things from the past years of "New" things I wanted to do or old things I wanted to improve...........recycle, if you will!! And I wondered if posting blogs are a thing of the past for me.

Halfway through the year, this past year, I stopped journaling............for the first time in probably 40+ years!!! I just stopped! Cold turkey!! And now that it is January 1st, I am wondering if I am going to recycle and start in again with a "habit" or a "discipline" I felt called to do many years ago and continued to do for decades.

Everyone is talking about decades right now.......probably because we are entering today the end of the first decade of the new millenium and people are searching for ways to define the past 9 years actually, even though many are calling it a decade!! Is it because we live such fast paced lives now with iPods, iPhones, iTouch, etc. that did not even exist 10 years ago? Possibly!! ???

Or, I am wondering if it isn't more than that............deeper than that. I just put up my new favorite calendar made by Cindy Grubb which I have bought for the past 16 years (at least that is how many I have in my cabinet). As I read through the verses for this year and wrote in the special birthdays, anniversaries of weddings, deaths, memorable events, I was struck by how fleeting life is. It is but a vapor.................a dash on a tombstone between the year of birth and the year of death. BUT the GIFT of God is ETERNAL!!!!

So, whether or not I recycle my discipline of writing my prayers in a journal every day, whether or not I keep in touch with others on Facebook, iPhones, email, snail mail............or face to face ........I need to make sure it is about something that has eternal value!! It must be something that lasts!! Only two things on this earth will last beyond this earth: The Word of God and the souls of people!! It's pretty clear to me what will be my recycled resolution: His Word and people and doing my part to see that those two things intersect whenever and wherever I can!!

Have a Blessed New Year!!

Faith-Rest

Last week-end I attended a conference here in OKC called Deeper Still, featuring Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer along with Travis Cottrell, who was the worship leader in music. My first response is that I remember that I am not "1-of-a-9,000-women-conference-person". Not that they weren't all great..........just I guess I am not that crazy about crowds and finding parking when the Thunder was playing Celtics right across the street!!! YUCK!!!

But, with that said, I have been thinking about much that was said there. And just this week, I have been able to share it or pray about it with so many in difficult situations: no job, possibility of a growth being malignant, infertility issues, tragic murder of a close friend's family members, possible divorce, elderly parents, step-parenting issues.........to name a few!!

This is such a fallen world........the whole system and all of its influences. The wonder of all of this is that God does care, does listen, is full of lovingkindnesses to us that are new every morning...... not leftovers from some other day, goes through the fires with us, never leaving nor forsaking us. I am often blown away when I reflect on how blessed we are as His beloved children to have His very life within us to grant us the power and the peace that truly does surpass comprehension ........yes, and even apprehension.

One thing Kay Arthur said at the conference that I have pondered is "Rest is the activity of faith"!! I am thinking about the many times, when in a difficult situation, the first response is to fret not rest..........to resist not rest.........to complain not rest.........to get angry not rest. It is usually everything but rest that we do.

So, in actuality, that means, according to the inspired writer to the Hebrews, we do not believe God!! So, dear ones, based upon that fresh "refresher", I want to encourage you to put your faith to action and rest!!! Believe Him and rest!! As a group of us, who have been studying Jerry Bridges' Trusting God, have said many times to each other, it is all about His glory..........not our convenience nor our comfort.

We can help those who are hurting by interceding on their behalf that he or she can rest in His peace. We can fight the battles for each other at the feet of Jesus, on our knees, praying that their hearts and minds will be flooded with His peace, which Ephesians 2:14 tells us is Him...... HE is our Peace!! I just want to keep encouraging you to look to Jesus..........gaze not glance at Jesus.........allowing Him to give you that rest.

What To Do?

I have just in the last 12 hours read/heard about the Manhattan Declaration. When it comes to me so forthrightly in two separate ways, I really try to pay attention. The first time was enough, I thought, and has made me prayerful about my place in it all. But, just now, I happened to have 30 minutes free in the car and listened to Chuck Colson on Focus on the Family with James Dobson.

So, I put this on Facebook just now, but I realized some of you are not on it and might want to know. Many of us are really concerned about the direction our country is heading and yet wonder "What can I do?"....."What should I do?".....which is really "God, what do You want me to do, if anything?" For me, this new information has given me food for thought, especially after listening to Chuck clarify some things.

I invite you to read through this document and listen to the discussion. Then talk to God about what He would have you to do.

Amazing Life

"Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it."

I remember this quote from a book I read last summer. When I was preparing for teaching my Bible study this week, I realized that my living recently could be described that way. It was not an "Aha!" moment as much as an "Oh no!" moment. How could I have let myself forget what an amazing life I am privileged to live??!!

What I was studying was Eph 2:11-22. My overwhelming wonder was in the phrase Paul wanted those Ephesian Gentile believers to "know about the exceeding greatness of God's power toward them" (1:15-23) was that "HE (Jesus) IS our peace"!!

We never really truly realize the greatness of God's power until we realize the greatness of the obstacles which that power has overcome. Many people today are not amazed at the Christian salvation. They see nothing at all in it; nothing astonishing!! Why? because they have never realized the problem, because they are ignorant of sin, and know nothing about the wrath. of God. They do not realize the nature of these obstacles and problems. Not only was there the obstacle of their sin, which separated them from God, but also their "state" of being excluded and strangers from the covenant of promise and were without God in the world and without hope (Eph2). Honestly, is that not the condition of all of us?

The long and short of it: Ephesians 2:14...For He Himself is our peace.

"For" connects this statement to what has gone on before. This One by whose blood we have been made nigh IS OUR PEACE!! This is one of the most glorious things that is said about the LORD Jesus Christ anywhere. Of all the terms and titles applied to Him there is none more wonderful than this. HE is our Peace.

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now that God of peace, who brought up from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

There it is!! God is the 'God of peace'. That is a very good way of thinking of salvation; we are saved, we are Christians, simply because God is a 'God of peace'. Everything is really the result of that.

I have been reading through the Gospels the past few days. Remember when one day someone came to Him and said, 'Master, which is the first, the greatest of all the commandments:' And this was His reply: 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. That is the first and the greatest commandment. And the 2nd is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The important thing to notice is the order: First, the relationship to God; second, the relationship to your fellow man. The whole tragedy of the modern world is due to the fact that the first is entirely left out and men think you can start with the second. Man is not recognizing God, not starting with God, not submitting to God and is trying to reconcile himself to his fellow man. And of course he is not succeeding; he never can succeed.

That is the background to Paul's statement here! 'He is our peace!' Christ alone is our peace. There is no peace apart from Him. we must be in Christ before we can enjoy the blessings of God as the God of peace.

And so, after pondering the wonderful message Paul wrote to those Ephesian Gentile believers who had probably gotten bogged down in the details of life and needed a lift to the "Alps of the NT", and pouring over the writings of D. Martin Lloyd Jones on this passage.........I asked myself.......... "How could I have let myself forget what an amazing life I am privileged to live??!!

Out of the Blue

Do you wonder where a saying like...."out of the blue" comes from? Well, this is not that explanation, but more an example of what it might mean. It is that I received a call recently from somewhere out there from a long-ago friend who is coming "back here" and would like to see Monty and me.

I am just so excited that we were still on the radar for them to call us........"out of the blue"!! We just hung up after finally being able to talk voice to voice.......... you know what that means.......not on email, not on voicemail, not even snail mail!!! What a pleasant time of reunion. In fact, we are going to have a party when they come so others can enjoy them as much as we will.

Our connection goes back over 20 years ago when they were here raising their family and we were the children's youth leaders. And it has probably been over 10 years since we last saw each other. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity for us to share the goodness of the LORD and how He has graciously carried us through the inevitable trials of life.

So now.....back to "out of the blue"!! This is a reminder that one day we will be out in the blue and sharing all sorts of stories about the gracious, lovingkindness of the LORD, praising Him for He is worthy.