Turmoil or Peace?

The life of many a Christian in the U.S. is lived at a pace that often incites turmoil within us. Turmoil that comes from the need to get things done. Turmoil that arises when we have to get one kid from school to the doctor and back home in time for the other child to get his nap. Turmoil that arises with the uncertainty of that business deal that may not be completed on time. Turmoil that comes from our “need” for entertainment—the need to watch the Rockies win their playoff game and thus I don’t finish my studies until 1:45 in the morning! Turmoil that comes from the “noise” of so many things around us.

Some turmoil is self-imposed and within our control; some is out of our hands. All of it is subject to the power of God. And what does his word tell us? It tells us not to be anxious about anything. Does your turmoil make you anxious? Is there a sense of peace about you or are you always on the go from one thing to another? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6-7) Whatever it is that makes your life full of turmoil and lacking in peace, pray about it and surrender it to God. Have you ever considered giving your busyness to God? Have you prayed about that business deal? Or just the anxious feeling of getting all the errands run for your kids in time for their naps? The cool part of this verse is what comes next. “…present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Give that which makes you anxious over to God. Pray about it, surrender it to Him in thankfulness that He cares, and let His peace consume you. What is that one thing that looms over you like a dark cloud? That one thing that makes you think, “If I could just get rid of this __________ [fill in the blank], then life would seem better.” Well, whatever that is, surrender it to God and trust Him for its outcome (which may not be what you think). I read a great reminder once that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving! This means He knows what is best for you, is able to do what is best for you, and wants to do what is best for you! Trust Him for that and let his peace guard your heart and mind!

A Christian's Value

Last night at our Bible study we talked about what our value as a person is. As Christians it is important to remember that we are loved by God, we have been justified and declared righteous by God, and we are adopted children of God. All these things mean that we have value and worth apart from anything we do on our own. Just as a $10 bill has its value given to it by the government (otherwise it would just be a green piece of paper with a pretty face on it), we too have value because of what God has done for us. This is important to remember because it frees us from the feelings of needing to please others and gain their approval in order to be valued. Instead, God values us because he loves us, declares us righteous, and has adopted us as his children. Aimee and I love our two boys because they are our boys--not because of all the wonderful things they do. We loved Jacob before he ever smiled. We loved Owen way before he took the butter knife and put egg yoke in his hair this morning! We love them because of who they are (our children) and not because of what they do. In the same way, God loves us because He has chosen to adopt us as His children. This is where our value and worth can be found--in the love of God. We don't have to work to earn it from Him or anyone else which means we can enjoy the peace we have with Him and others.

Remember:

You are loved by God.

You have been justified and are declared righteous.

You have been adopted as a child.

Some Scripture to Consider:
Ephesians 1:4b-5
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 2:4-10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Romans 8:30-31
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Galatians 4:4-7
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Healing and Talking

The good news from the doctor is that I am healing well enough to be off of "voice rest" which pleased both Aimee and me. She has been very supportive through all of this but one-way conversations get old after a while! The swelling in my throat is gone but the vocal cord is still hemmoraged. So while I can talk, I must not yell or do anything to cause further damage. It has been especially nice not having to limit my talking with the boys the last couple of days! Thanks for your prayers. God is answering them!

Doc's Orders: Continued Voice Rest

I went to the doctor this morning and the swelling to my throat has gone down significantly. However, my vocal cord is still 100% hemoraged and so I will be on "voice rest" for another couple of weeks. The doctor did indicate that I am doing well with the healing on my vocal cord and that the limited speaking is helping. My dad (who is an ENT doctor) explained that healing takes longer in this part of the body. So whereas a bruise on your arm will go away in a couple of weeks, a bruise to the vocal cord just takes a lot longer to heal. Some of the best news was that I am free to exercise once again! Please keep praying for the vocal cord to fully heal and that I do well with not talking. It is harder than you would think!! Thanks.

Healing...

I just wanted to provide a quick update and let everyone know that the healing is going well. However, all the damage was internal so it is hard to really know for sure how far along I am. I will go to the doctor on Friday (Aug. 3rd) and will find out more then. Here is a picture of the actual hit that hurt my neck. I am in the middle of the picture on the ground getting run over by the guy in the blue and white jersey!

Bowls, Spoons, and Recovery

Aimee and I noticed this weekend that we went through many more bowls and spoons than normal. Obviously the recovery has required soft food and the result has been a lot of soup, yogurt, and ice cream! I went to the doctor today and he was pleased with the fact that my throat is getting better. However, this was tempered with the fact that I still have a lot of internal swelling. The inflamation also includes my right vocal cord which means I will have a long recovery. He said my voice will be hoarse for several months and that it will start to sound worse before it sounds better. He put a scope through my nose and into my throat and I got to see the swelling on the screen and it was a large purple mass. All this to say, I am on "voice rest" for a month (poor Aimee and the boys!) and I can't exercise for two weeks. As you think of me and read this, please pray that my vocal cords will fully heal in the long-term so that I can use my voice for God's service. Many thanks.

Rugby and the ICU

Many of you may not know, but this summer I took up playing rugby! The picture on the left shows me (the bald guy in blue and orange) tackling and the second photo is me later during my first of two nights in ICU! On Wednesday night during a game I went to tackle a guy who came at me full-speed with his forearm up that caught me in the throat. I immediately came out of the game because I couldn't breath very well or talk at all. After the games I came home and still couldn't breath, talk, or swallow too well. Aimee recommended I go to the ER and a call to my dad (who is an Ear, Nose, and THROAT doctor!) confirmed the same recomendation. They did a CT scan and 10 minutes later about 10 doctors and nurses descended on my room in response to a trauma alert! I actually thought they were there to get me out of the room to bring in someone who was really injured. Turns out the CT scan revealed a significant amount of internal swelling that was pushing my larnyx to the side and was obstructing my breathing.

They had two options at that point: 1. Put me to sleep, insert a breathing tube, and put me on a ventilator for a day or two, or 2. admit me to the ICU for continued observation to make sure the swelling didn't increase. We chose number 2 as my condition did not seem to be worsening. Aimee spent the first night with me in my room not sleeping much as she would wake up for every alarm that would go off or if I began to breath too hard. I thought the ICU was nice once they let me start eating and drinking. I watched more coverage of the first two rounds of the British Open than I ever have in my total life combined.

My first morning there I was reading in Philippians 1:19 where Paul says that his delieverence from jail came about through the prayers of the Philippians and the Spirit of God. I felt both of those had an impact in my condtion as well. My breathing could have been blocked at any point and I didn't even go to the ER for three hours after it occurred and even drove myself home from the rugby game. At any point if my throat has swollen shut I would not have been able to breath. So the Spirit of God did protect me and many prayers continued in my healing. Many, many thanks. Please keep praying that my voice will completely return (it sounds quite raspy now) and that the swelling goes down. I have been out of the hospital 24-hours now and have noticed continued improvement. I am more tired than I thought I would be. Aimee has been taking good care of me; Jacob understands my limited energy and talking; and Owen still enjoys climbing on me!

How do we view God?

“The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17

How do we view God? Is he a loving father or a condemning guardian? A mixture of both or something all together different? I think each of us has a different view of Him that is shaped by our own upbringings and Christian experiences. Personally, I sometimes tend to think that He is disappointed with me and I have discovered that this negatively influences my relationship with Him. I have a professor (Dr. Jim Howard) who has said that he believes God cannot be displeased with a Christian. I have pondered this statement a lot and would encourage you to do the same. If it is true, how would that change the way you relate to God? Look again at the passage above—God delights in you, He rejoices over you with singing! Do you ever picture God singing over you? Another professor of mine writes in his notes on this passage, “One thing is for God’s people to rejoice in him. It is quite another to see how Yahweh rejoices over his people, how he sings over them when they are pure and have been cleansed (3:17)! His final word, and his ultimate desire, is to bless his people.” I would encourage Christians to ponder this aspect of God’s character and allow it to influence your relationship with Him.

(Final quote from online notes on Zephaniah, © M. Daniel Carroll R., Denver Seminary, 2001-2003. All rights reserved. Updated 8/18/2003)

During our recent trip we got to go tubing with our good friends the Dantzlers! All four of us were on the tubes at once--Jacob loved "the bumps!" However, as you can see, Owen didn't last too long. The hum of the boat, warmth of the sun, and "comfort" of a life-jacket quickly put him to sleep!

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was--water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.

THIS IS AN EASY THING IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. The backdrop to this miracle is that the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom had formed an alliance and set out to attack Moab. After seven days of marching through the Desert of Edom they were without water for their men and animals. They called upon Elisha to enquire of the Lord and this was the result. The Lord provided water in the middle of a desert for three armies of men and animals! And it was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord! This encourages me to take heart in my day knowing that God has the power to do whatever He wills in the world today. I can trust in his sovereign power. I remember reading years ago in a book (which I can’t remember the name of) that it is important to remember God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. This means he knows what is best in life, is able to accomplish that which He wills, and has my best interests at heart. I need to trust His sovereignty in these areas on a daily basis as I realize that He knows what is best for me, is able to do what is best for me, and wants what is best for me. This is not a license for me to be complacent or to live a life of sin, in fact the stories of 1 and 2 Kings show us quite the opposite. Nor is this a promise as to how God will respond in every situation. However, it is a license for me to trust in God because it is an easy thing for Him to provide water for three armies in a desert. I can trust that He is able to accomplish that which He wills. I must be like the kings in this specific situation and seek after God when in times of need. What is the “desert situation” in my life that I need to seek after Him for water? What about you?

5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
6Solomon answered…9 “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” (See all of 1 Kings 3:4-15)

As I read this passage this morning it struck me that Solomon could have asked for anything from God and yet he asked for “discernment in administering justice.” God had appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. What if God did the same to me? What would I ask for? Would it be something extremely temporal such as relief from a particular hardship? What is the one thing in your life right now that seems to loom over you like a cloud that never leaves? Would you seek relief from this? Or would it be for financial security and a long life as is alluded to in this passage? (Which by the way, God still contingently promised to him—see verses 13-15.) What is it that we would ask from God if we could ask for anything? I find this an interesting question to ponder.

But Solomon asked for discernment in administering justice which makes sense for a king. I am not a king but I realize that I administer justice quite frequently—mostly as a parent. This is not always an easy task and I don’t want to ever exasperate or frustrate my boys (see Ephesians 6:4). So my prayer this morning, and for the future, is that I have discernment in administering justice in my parenting as well as any other situation in which I am placed and required to do so.

And my prayer is for those who are in positions that require them to do this professionally. Specifically I am praying for my friend Tyler who is a Company Commander in the Army. This position often requires that he administer justice and make decisions regarding the soldiers under him. He has the power and authority to administer various levels of punishment for wrongdoing and I pray that God will provide him with discernment as he does this on a regular basis. Furthermore, he is serving in Iraq right now and I pray that he is discerning in the interactions he has with Iraqi people so that he may justly make the decisions he faces on a daily basis—often regarding the lives of Iraqi people that may or may not have been a part of attacks on coalition forces. These decisions are usually made on incomplete information but they still must be made. May God provide him great discernment.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

It is midnight on a Friday at the Hospitality House at Ft. Bragg, NC. And as I sit and reflect on the night, I can’t help but think about the encouragement we received tonight. It is reflective of our trip as a whole. As the passage above states, our hearts have been encouraged and this has come as a result of the good deeds and words of those we have come in contact with. Every step along the way has brought some form of encouragement and we are grateful to many of you who are a part of that. This has come in your generous giving as you have been faithful to what God has laid upon your hearts. Thank you. It has also come in the words of many prayers. At every stop so far people have prayed for us and what we are doing. And God is answering those prayers as we continue along. He continues to confirm for us His calling on our lives for How He desires for us to minister in His name. We cannot understate the courage we receive from this confirmation. And finally, we have been encouraged by many different people who have spoken to us out of the experiences of their own lives as they have been in the place we are now. We are reminded that this is part of the faith journey we are on and that it is a part of the process of ministry and preparation for ministry. If God wanted to, He could easily provide all the necessary funds we need and do it at this very moment. But because He doesn’t, we know that we should continue to be faithful to ministering to the people we come in contact with. He has confirmed His call for our lives and because of this we know that He will also provide through His people what we need. We are grateful to be able to just share His love and His story and how we fit into it and see Him work from there. Thanks to all of you who have played a role in this season of encouragement. You are an answer to our prayers.