Facing Anxiety With God's Help

This is a little piece I wrote about two years ago to help some of my clients who were struggling with anxiety. The dilemma they faced wasn't just about the anxiety but the unspoken "law" that it's somehow wrong for a Christian to struggle with fear and anxiety. The truth is that many believers do struggle with this problem as well as many more. Pretending it's not there doesn't help in the least. Seeking God's help though is the remedy and with God there is no shame or condemnation.

FACING ANXIETY WITH GOD’S HELP

 Jack Heinicke B.A. Christian Counseling

One of the most common themes of instruction found throughout the Bible is for man not to worry and not to fear. God is our Maker and our Creator who formed every single one of us in our mothers’ wombs.  He formed the innermost parts of our being. Obviously God knows us far better than we know ourselves. So why would our Maker instruct His creation over and over again to not worry and to not fear? It’s because He knows that this is our general tendency when experiencing the daily stresses and difficulties of life, not to mention the more severe trials, tribulations, disappointments, frustrations, aggravations and tragedies that occur in every life. I don’t know of any person who doesn’t have a story to tel.  At the very least, we all have numerous disappointments and hurts that have caused us to worry and fear. And in most cases people know what it’s like to experience great difficulties, grief, abuse, being misunderstood, alienation, abandonment, and feelings of being unloved or unlovable.

God firmly knows what life does to us. He also knows what has been done to us and what we have done to others. He knows it is our tendency to go through these difficult experiences and come away filled with fear, anger, resentments, bitterness and NOT BEING ABLE TO TRUST. We have trouble trusting those around us. We have trouble trusting ourselves. Worst of all, it leads our minds to a place where it becomes almost impossible to trust in a God who would allow these events to occur – a God who would allow people to harm one another and experience things in life that cause us to fear, worry, and have anxiety.

The problem is that we have placed our trust in the wrong place. All human beings are fallen. That includes our parents, our spouses, our children, our Pastors, our friends and ourselves. Now it is certainly not an unreasonable request or expectation to want to have people and deep relationships in our lives where we can trust one another. And trust is a vital component in any relationship. One of the signs of a good, healthy and Godly relationship is that there is a large degree of trust between those in the relationship. But even in the best of relationships someone will eventually unintentionally hurt the other’s feelings; someone will do something or not do something that the other sees as hurtful. You could put Gandhi and Mother Theresa in the same home with one another and eventually one of them is going to get annoyed with the other. This is what happens between fallen, flawed humans.

But something entirely different takes place between fallen flawed humans and a pure, perfect, holy God. What takes place in this relationship is that the fallen and flawed can ALWAYS count on the Other in this relationship to be exactly what He says He will be. God is a God who cannot lie. And what God has stated clearly in His word is that we are not to place our complete trust in one another or in our own thoughts and feelings but only in Him for He is the only one who is worthy and capable of being completely trusted.

Deuteronomy 31:8
”And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Joshua 1:5
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

Matthew 28:20
”…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

God promises us that He is with us always. Now I know there are times where we don’t sense God’s presence, where we don’t feel that God is with us. The problem when we trust more in our thoughts and feelings than in God’s word. This is one of the greatest problems in the church today: Christians who trust and rely more on their own thoughts and feelings to determine what is true and real than placing their trust in what God’s word says. Our thoughts and feelings are fleeting. They sway like the wind. But God’s truth is eternal and unchanging. After everything on this planet is long gone, God’s word will remain God’s word.

The truth will set us free and it is of vital importance to understand that our feelings are not truth. They are emotional responses to the multiple events that take place in our lives. FEELINGS ARE NOT FACTS. Feelings are chemical reactions that occur in our brains as a result of how we interpret the events of our lives. There is nothing wrong with our feelings, for God created us to be emotional beings. Emotions have a very important place in our lives. There is rarely anything wrong with what we feel, but when we allow our feelings to guide and direct us we have made a God out of our feelings. And some of the inevitable results will be fear, worry, and anxiety.

If you have yet to do so, it is now time for you to begin placing more trust in God and His word than in your thoughts and feelings. Your thinking leads to your emotional state. We can easily think our way into anxiety and depression. So now we need to find a way to think our way out of it. And the best way is always God’s way. The best way to live, to love, to enjoy life and even to think is to think in the ways that God would have us to think.

The following Scriptures deal with the preceding subjects of thinking, trust, fear, and anxiety. They have clear, easily understood approaches on how to effectively deal with anxiety. As you read through theses verses, ask yourself if the majority of your waking time is spent on trusting in what the truth of God’s word states or rather on your own thoughts and emotions.

Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Proverbs 3:5-8
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones”

Proverbs 12:25

 “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up”

Psalm 34:4   I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
         And delivered me from all my fears.

Philippians 4:6-7 ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:8 Meditate on These Things ⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Psalm 55:22  ²² Cast your burden on the LORD,
         And He shall sustain you;

Luke 12:22-26 Do Not Worry  
²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength”

Hebrews 13:6 “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’

Without knowing it, these verses are actually changing you spiritually. The Bible itself states that God’s word is:

Hebrews 4:12
...living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The best therapy we will EVER receive is to allow the word of God to reach as deep down inside of us as it can possibly go. No medication or counseling technique or therapeutic method performed by man will EVER do for us what these words will do for us. These very words are alive and powerful enough to pierce through everything within us and are more than capable of ministering to our greatest needs. It is a matter of whether you trust in it or not.

I am not advocating eliminating therapeutic methods or the need for medication to deal with anxiety. For some people medication is a necessity and needs to be dealt with by those who are qualified to prescribe and monitor it. Some very helpful ways to deal with anxiety include taking care of yourself physically. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating right? Are you getting exercise? What things do you do to minimize stress? Are you able to allow yourself the time to lighten up, relax and have fun? Do you challenge your thoughts that lead to fear and worry? Are your fears and worries actually realistic? Are there unresolved emotional wounds from the past that you haven’t allowed yourself to emotionally work through and for Christ to bring healing to yet? Once again, with the help of your counselor these issues can be faced and be dealt with.

It is important to deal with the physical and emotional parts of our lives. But just as important is the part that seems to get neglected more than the others and that’s the spiritual side of our lives.

You are here for Christian counseling which operates from the basis of God’s word and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. From that basis we will work together to help you to deal with your anxiety.

PLAN OF ACTION:

1.     Pray daily. Prayer is simply talking to God and giving God time to answer. God will sometimes give us very clear impressions on how to deal with whatever issues we bring before Him in prayer. He will often remind us of Bible verses that apply. Knowing God’s will for our lives is as simple as knowing what His word says. Sometimes God doesn’t give us clear defined answers. That’s okay too because God simply wants us to trust in Him more than answers He provides. Bring your burdens, your hurts, your fears and worries to Him over and over again. What is also very helpful in prayer is to thank God for the multiple blessings you have in your life. This is what it means to praise God. Having a grateful attitude towards God alters us deep within and will change how you think and feel. It also helps to focus in prayer more on God changing YOU than in changing your circumstances or changing other people. God is more interested in developing you into the image of Jesus Christ than He is in anything else. If we are turning to God to help with anxiety, then becoming more like Christ is a wonderful idea because Jesus had no fears or worries at all. And if Jesus had no fears or worries, why should we?

2.     Read your Bible daily. God’s word is the spiritual food that nourishes our soul and spirit. Your physical body can’t survive for very long without food and water, so what happens when our soul and spirit become malnourished? We spiritually wither and die. Not physical death, but spiritual death. Spiritual death is not an option for the Christian. So read your Bible. Allow it to work on you. Ponder and meditate on what you read. For dealing with fear and anxiety, the verses listed above and many more will provide tremendous spiritual benefit to help you to cope with your anxiety. Attend a church where the Bible is being taught and where you are encouraged to fellowship with other believers who can help you to deal with your issues as well.

3.     If you are on medication, take it as prescribed and work on improving the physical and emotional quality of your life through methods listed above. Continue seeing your doctor or psychiatrist for monitoring your mental health. Find godly ways to minimize stress and anxiety. Talk with your counselor if you are unsure and need additional information on how to deal with your anxiety.

So as you can see, there is tremendous hope for those who suffer with anxiety. You are not alone. Approximately 6 million American adults ages 18 and older (or about 2.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year) have panic disorder. Approximately 7.7 million American adults age 18 and older (or about 3.5 percent of people in this age group in a given year) have PTSD. Approximately 6.8 million American adults (or about 3.1 percent of people age 18 and over) have Generalized Anxiety Disorder in a given year. 1,2

Remember that with God all things are possible.

“According to the Bible, there is nothing wrong with realistically acknowledging and trying to deal with the identifiable problems of life. To ignore danger is fooling and wrong. But it is also wrong, as well as unhealthy, to be immobilized by excessive worry. Such worry must be committed to prayer to God, who can release us from paralyzing fear or anxiety, and free us to deal realistically with the needs and welfare both of others and of ourselves.” (Dr. Gary R. Collins, Christian Counseling, p. 66.)

References

1. Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27.

2. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics. Table 2: Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (NC-EST2004-02) Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau Release Date: June 9, 2005. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/

 

The Word Is Not In Them

Jeremiah 5:13
And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.

The importance of whether or not His word is in us cannot be understated. You can basically divide the world into those who His word resides in and those where His word doesn't reside within. Even within the church this distinction of who has it in them and who doesn't speaks volumes about the issues we see taking place within the church as well. This is not at all a call to judgment about who has it in them and who doesn't. Besides, its not like we have the technology to set up some type of security gate so that when someone enters church it lets us know whether His word is in them or not. Plus to do so would be a bit un-Christ-like anyway. The church needs to be a place that welcomes whoever He sends to it because the church is a hospital for those who are ill from the condition of sin than it is a place for perfect Christian people to hang out. But it is of utmost importance that we as individuals see to it that we do what is necessary for His word to be in us.
Jeremiah is a difficult book in that God has reached His breaking point with the back-sliding of Israel and Judah. That says a lot for God is extremely patient and long suffering towards us sinners. But eventually, enough is enough. And God realizes that patience is no longer the virtue needed to get His people to turn back to Him and that He eventually has to resort to drastic measures. In this case God will send armies from the northern nations to overthrow Israel and Judah and take captive His people into a long and agonizing exile from the land He had given to them.
But of course, God being a God of mercy, grace and love doesn't finish the story there for He includes a provision for a remnant of Israel to eventually be spared this exile, and that His people would eventually return to the land of milk and honey in order to restore the nation of Israel and for God to make good on His covenant promise to Abraham.
After this restoration occurs, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son; the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, to save man from sin. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and in His promise came the provision for the indwelling of His Holy Spirit to reside within those who would believe in Christ. That the Word would dwell within human beings. That His word would be in us.
That is the distinction. If you are one who has His word dwelling within you then you are blessed beyond measure.
During the time of Jeremiah and during our time, there are those who claim to be believers and followers of God but unfortunately it appears by their fruit that the word really isn't in them. Once again, this is not about judgement of these people but it does explain a lot about why they don't respond to those around them and to the issues taking place in their lives in much of a Christ like manner. I honestly would wonder about people who attended the same church as I did and would hear the same messages I heard week in and week out and how they seemed to struggle with seeing their own sin and the necessity of going to God on a regular basis for Him to deal with those issues they struggled with. I would notice that it was far easier for them to point the finger of blame at others instead of at themselves. And then I would have to be on guard for my own spiritual pride as if I were somehow a better Christian than they were. If you notice, my focus was on what was wrong with their Christian walk and not as much on my own. And then the word in me would put me in my place by reminding me that I have no right to criticize the Christians around me. Especially if I haven't been praying for the the very issue that was bothering me about them. This is a problem because it is one of the chief tactics of the enemy to divide the church.
It is still an issue. It isn't about memorizing the Bible because Satan obviously has that down.
It's about whether His word is in me and if I am participating with the sanctifying work of His word in me. The words from my mouth, the attitude that comes with those words, how I view and treat those around me, how I see myself in comparison to them and ultimately how I see God all comes down to whether His word in me has any real effect or not. Am I allowing His word to pierce soul and spirit, joints and marrow and do I pay attention when it is discerning the thoughts and intents of my heart? Am I taking responsibility for what it shows me and being real with God about those things the word reveals within me that needs to be cut away by the Surgeons blade?
If not then the substance of my very life; of every word; of every action is wind. Not the wind of the Holy Spirit, but a fruitless wind that amounts to nothing.
But with His word within us, hell itself trembles. Mountains will be cast down. Lives will be changed for eternity. The lost will be found. The hopeless and unloved will know hope and love.
And best of all, we will be more and more like Him.

Holy Father we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ and ask that You would see fit to instruct us in Your ways and in Your word so that it penetrates our very souls and dwells deep within us. If there is anything that stands in the way of this taking place we ask for You to reveal to us what it is we need to do to remove it so that there is no blocking the flow of Your Spirit in our hearts so that we would become fountains of living water to drench those we encounter with You. We thank you for Your word and the power that it has on us and on those around us. You and Your word is our only hope and we look forward to eternity with You in order to adequately thank You; for eternity isn't long enough to thank You for all You have done for us.
In Your holy name,
amen.

Thanksgiving Devotional

Psalm 26:7
That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.

In the life of my wife and I now is a 6 month old granddaughter. Thank you (that's for the congratulations some of you just thought). Her being in our lives really is worthy of congratulations. She is precious to us. I dare say to us she is pretty important to us. She is a BIG priority. She needs lots of attention, affection, protection and most of all lots of love. She's too young right now to understand any of what is going on in her life but even science has realised the great importance of this stage of her life being critical to her overall well being and development. So we have our part to play in doing whatever we can to help her. And as a result, we are immensely blessed. All it takes is a little upturn of the corners of her mouth and for those big blue eyes to grow wider and to brighten up even more and we receive payment of blessings in dividends.

That's all it takes is a moment of being looked at in the eye with a smile on a face and the recipient is blessed in the greatest of all possible ways.

She can't sing a song yet. She can't dance a jig. She can't come home with a good report card yet. She can't wash the car. She can't clean her room. She can't come home on time. She can't get into a good college yet. She can't go to work and get a raise. She can't even say "I love you".

So what has she accomplished that is worthy of congratulations so far in her 6 months? Well shes messed up a whole bunch of diapers so far. She's thrown her toys around enough for it to qualify for an Olympic event. She drank up all kinds of formula. She requires and demands constant attention except for when she's sleeping and even that's a crap shoot (pun intended). She's done absolutely NOTHING that we would consider to be successful or valuable as a contribution to the world. She just is. And she cannot be any more precious or valuable to us than she was on the day she was born. Or on this day. The day before her first Thanksgiving.

Psalm 139 tells us that God Himself forms the innards of every human being. The inner person, the personality, the soul of the person. And since it is God who creates all that we see and creates us in His image and likeness it stands to reason that every human being is fearfully and wonderfully made.

So it's safe to say that being proclaimed in this Thanksgiving devotional is that a voice of thanksgiving is proclaiming the wondrous and most valuable and precious work of God in creating someone in our lives named Brooklynn.

She is most precious to us. But she is no more and no less precious than any other person. To bless us she will never, ever have to perform or do anything to earn our love. Even if she stops smiling and looking back at us with those incredible blue eyes, our love for her will not and cannot ever change. It will always just be.

Today I can find millions of things to be thankful for. Two of them are in my immediate vicinity as I write this. And from what I've come to know of God I find it hard to believe that He doesn't feel the same way about all of us. Every one of us. That all of us need not do a thing to earn His love and acceptance. His love and acceptance of us just is.

Do you ever doubt His love for you? Most of us have from time to time. And there is a wonderful answer to that doubt. The answer can be found 2000 years ago dying on a cross. If that doesn't dispel the doubt about His love I doubt that anything else can.

And all he wants is for us to trust in the love offering of His Son and from time to time, to gaze back at Him with a smile and big wide eyes that simply say, "thank you".

Happy Thanksgiving.

Holy Father we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ and we thank you for blessings too numerous to count. Even if we are struggling with some great difficulty or loss this holiday we can still find something to be thankful for. And if we can't than we know You understand and will help us to work through and to deal with whatever has happened in our lives. Help us to have hearts of gratitude not just on this day but everyday for You are good and worthy to be praised, no matter our circumstances for Your love remains and always is. You give us at least that to count on and that is more than enough.                                        
In Your holy name, amen.

A Kind Of A Devotional (sort of)

Sorry about not getting any devotionals up lately. Busy with packing for our move on Saturday. But I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that life goes on.
It seems like in most peoples lives, they grow up in whatever neighborhood and it's not altogether uncommon for them to live out their lives there. Others move but it's usually not too far from the birthplace. And still others move states away but most people generally settle down and put down roots; raise a family; watch them grow up all and watch it from the comfort of the home they will probably live in until they die. That is what seems to happen to most people.
Sue and I are not most people. I'm not into competing for who has the most problems because we all know of people who would gladly trade their problems for ours. Well, at least a few people anyway. And I'm not at all into the woe is me perspective, looking for sympathy for the plight of the lives we live. That's not what either of us are about. You get past the point of "why me" eventually because you never get any answer to that question anyway. No, where you eventually get to is a place where it just don't matter anymore how you want your life to go. I know this sounds negative; a throwing in the towel, massive resignation scenario but I believe there's more to it than just that. And believe me that internally I have been in a very negative place about all of this, but as my previous posts noted, I don't see my emotional states as being anything real. My emotional states are far too transitory to put any real value into and besides, the God I believe in instructs me to not live my life based on my emotional states but instead on the truth of Him and His word. This is very challenging, especially when my emotions are at a fever pitch and I want to throw my temper tantrum. Now I know that the worlds wisdom tells us our feelings are of paramount importance and that we have to express them and process them and go on Facebook and explain all of it to everyone who will read about it in between of playing Farkle in order to be someone who is understood.
Well I don't really give a rats patootie anymore if anyone understands me. Heck, I don't understand me! Why would I expect anyone else to. Well, God understands me but He's got the capacity to understand all of our foolishness combined. Think about that one for a second. That will blow your mind.
Jesus talked about how He had no place to lay His head. The Bible tells us that we are pilgrims, strangers, that this is Not Our Real Home (get the clue?). It tells us that we are just passing through, that we are on a journey and that how we live our lives here has everything to do with how we live it out in the real home, the place Jesus promises us in John 14, the eternal home.
Paul talks about in Acts 20 about how he doesn't count his life as being important enough to care about what happens to him in this life, as long as he is continuing the journey that the Lord has set for him and that he chooses to not to let anything that happens in this life to move him away from God and from what God has ordered for his life. And if you know anything about Paul's life it was not a life of wealth and worldly success resulting in material prosperity. But Paul was probably one of the most prosperous people you would ever want to meet because his prosperity was in knowing Christ. Jesus also stated that it we really want to follow Him we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and then we get to follow Him. John the Baptist knew what was important was less of me and more of Him.
In other words the message of the Bible is not a feel better about yourself, be all you can be, get rich quick scheme; as many today (Joel Osteen) present the Scriptures to be. It is a message of sacrifice to the point of death of the self that can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit guiding someone internally to put those emotional states into their proper perspective and in their proper place. The proper perspective is to understand that these emotions cannot be my guiding force that instead it must be God. The proper place it to take the emotions along with the flesh that clings to them and nail it to a cross, daily, every second of the day if need be.
There is no way I can call myself a Christian, spend time with the Lord in prayer and encounter Him in the Scriptures and come away from that thinking that I am to be guided by my emotions. Emotions have their place but as a Christian they are never meant to take the place of God and His guidance.
And in order for God to transform us by the renewing of our minds and to mold us into the image of His Son, we must know a little something of what it is like to be Him. Not in what we would consider the more glorious aspects of His being but the parts of His life and being that we would rather do without. I am speaking of course of His suffering. If I am really interested in getting to know Him I need to get to know something of His suffering. And I don't have to get out of bed in the morning looking for it. It just happens. And it seems to happen in ways where it strikes deeply; as in the aspects of it coming into our lives through those who are closest to us.
In order for me to truly love I need to know the pain of rejection and even abuse. I have come to know these things. In order for Christ to dwell in me and for Him to work through me I must know the experience of suffering and not just something I heard in a sermon. And so He has shown me. And then He says, "love them as I have loved you". To which my flesh immediately replies, "you must be kidding". To which He immediately reminds me of a place called Calvary where His Son stares down at me through a bloody and torn face radiating mercy, grace and love to me. And silently He speaks to me about how He is not at all kidding and that this is love. And then He points to the ones who have caused the rejection and the abuse and tells me that if I want to truly follow Him I must be willing to do the same as He has done. To forgive them, to have mercy on them, to bestow grace upon them and to love them.

I thought I was just going to check in but something takes over my fingers as I am typing.
What I'm saying is there is no way I can call myself a Christian, study and teach the word, seek the Lord in prayer and come away from all that thinking that my feelings really matter when it comes to this move or anything else in this life that I'm not too crazy about. And God all along is providing His grace. Which for me is more than sufficient.
Turned out to kind of be a devotional after all.

Devotional Tuesday Nov. 15

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

We awake from sleep. What is the first thing on our mind? It could be a vast number of things. "I wish I could stay in bed" or "I wish I had went to bed earlier" Maybe theres a major issue were worried about. Maybe there some serious illness we have or a loved one has that consumes our attention. These things happen. There are so many things going on in all of our lives. Where are our minds focused throughout most of our waking hours? It's so easy to place most of our focus on whatever seems to be the most pressing of all the issues and make that the meditation of our hearts. Meditation isn't necessarily chanting a mantra in a lotus position while burning incense. From a Biblical definition it's basically what we think about and more precisely what we focus on in our thinking. It's what we're dwelling on in our minds.

And then there's the thousands of words that come out of our mouths everyday. What is the content of our conversations? I love to talk about football with other football fans and impress them with how brilliant I am about football when the truth is there is probably more that I don't know about football than what I do know about it. Maybe we talk about the TV shows we watched last night, the issues going on in our relationships or maybe it's about how messed up the government is. Once again there's a vast ocean of topics to discuss. And what about the tone of our conversations? Are we interested in those we are talking to or do we just use them as sounding boards? Are there some words sprinkled into our conversations that we wouldn't be caught dead saying in church? Are we engaging in gossip? Are we complainers? I remember hearing a pastor call complaining the language of the lost. Ouch!

To be a Christian means to be a follower of Christ. So with Christ as our role model we need to find out about what He meditated on and what He talked about and how He talked.

A pretty good clue is found in John 12:49-50
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

And also again in John 5:19
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Jesus said nothing and did nothing unless it was from the Father. From the Gospel accounts it's pretty certain that the focus of Jesus was primarily on His Father first and then on people next. As far as the cares and concerns of the world they were at best a distant third. Every word He spoke pleased the Father. Every meditation of His heart pleased the Father. Every act He committed pleased the Father.

The Psalm above compels and challenges us to live in the same manner as Christ did. But the verse also reminds us of Who has redeemed us from the slavery of sin and Who is our strength in order to walk, talk, think and act as Christ did. Don't try this on your own power (don't try this at home boys and girls or someone's gonna get hurt!). You'll end up frustrated and wonder if your even saved at all. We easily forget whose power it is that equips us and enables us to follow Him. It's easy to forget these things when the focus of our minds and the focus of our words aren't on and from Him. It is the Lord's strength and redemption which allows us to follow Him and to let His Spirit flow through us in order to reflect the glory of Christ in word and deed to the world around us.

Holy Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you would grant us the ability to focus our minds and the words of our mouths in a manner that would be acceptable and even pleasing to you. Forgive us for when we fail in these endeavors and grant us your grace another day to remind us as often as need be to turn our minds and our mouths over to You. Give us strength in Your redemptive power to reflect Your Son to those we encounter in this world today. In Your Holy name, Amen.

Being A Fan

The Baltimore Ravens (long drawn out, infinite sigh).
I had season tickets in their first year back when they played at Memorial Stadium on 33rd St. It was 1996 and NFL football was finally back in Baltimore. My seats were in the corner of the end zone about 13 rows above the field. Right below me was the former Orioles dugout which the Ravens players used to come on and off the field. I couldn't believe my eyes at the size of Jonathan Ogden the first time I saw him up close. This was the year when they drafted Ogden and Ray Lewis. VinnieTestaverde was the quarterback and Ted Marchibroda was head coach. It felt great to finally have a team but it was bittersweet in that we acquired the team in sort of the same way we lost a team (the Colts). It wasn't exactly the same but I felt bad towards Cleveland Browns fans because I knew what they were going through and no matter how you spin it, it sucks to have your beloved team leave town, no matter the reason.
That first game was a powerful experience. Before game time they had a ceremony where they marched out a bunch of the ex- Colts who had played in this stadium. It was emotional for me because my dad has just died that June and he would have loved to been there. It was through him that I found my love of sports, especially Orioles baseball, Colts football and Clippers hockey. That was one of those moments where missing my dad was pretty hard.
The Ravens played and beat the dreaded Oakland Raiders. The emotion in the stadium was beyond intense. I hadn't been to a pro football game since the early 80's and went to tons of baseball games. I wasn't prepared for the intensity of a crowd that finally got an NFL team after years of anguish and add to it a crowd who was severely liquored up. I had stopped all drug and alcohol use 6 years prior. It wasn't like I'd lived my life in a seminary, far from it. But these people were going nuts. Especially as the team was coming off the field where I was sitting. It seemed like all those years of pent up frustration and anger had all come to a head in one bright and shining moment. I looked at my friend and said, "we got to get the heck out of here". Fights were breaking out everywhere you looked. The sense of violence and danger was palatable. I'm a Dundalk boy who wasn't big on fighting but I'd been in a round or two. Usually these kinds of scenes weren't an issue for me. But as we got to the ramp going down from the seats I look above me and someone has another person held up in the air getting ready to throw said person over the railing right on top of us. Everyone was squeezed together and you could just sense that everyone was going to flip out and just start throwing punches. I seen some stuff go on at Oriole games but nothing like this.
But we made it out alive. And we made it through about 4 really bad seasons of football. I would watch the Ravens at 1:00 p.m. and then watch a "real" NFL team play at 4:00. That's what it felt like. But they were our team, we loved them and we rooted all the way. Finally that 2000 season arrived. Every Ravens fan knows what that was like. Watching your team have such a crazy season (5 games without an offensive touchdown, a defense that was primal) and then go into the playoffs the way they did was incredible. I'll never forget that first playoff game at home against the Denver Broncos. I had watched every game of the season and knew the defense was something really special but this defense on this field on this day played like they were possessed. They had ratcheted up their intensity to a level I had never seen anyone play at. I knew that if they could keep this level of intensity up that no one could beat them. And thats what happened.
This town basked in the afterglow of that for a few years. Even after the Elvis Grbac debacle the team stayed pretty much competitive. Then came Kyle Boller. Could this be the franchise quarterback? Their still looking for some of the balls he fumbled. Then came an old advesary who had beat them in the playoffs, Steve McNair. The team stayed competitive but still couldn't get it done. They had went 13-3 in 2006 but the next year went 5-11. One of the biggest problems seemed to be consistency. at times they would look like the real deal and other times like that team that played here in the first 4 years.
And then came two rookies; one at head coach and another at quarterback: John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco. One was a special teams coach and the other from the University of Delaware. Once again the question lingered in the air, "could this be..."?
I write this after watching yesterdays game at Seattle. A week after watching them at Pittsburgh. Two totally different games. And what seems like two totally different teams. I'm not talking about the opponents.
Here's my problem. The question remains the same question. Granted nothing in pro football can be predicted or taken for granted. Ask the Philadelphia Eagles. Granted, so many teams this year have jumped from mediocrity to brilliance back to mediocrity. And some have gone straight from brilliance to horrible and have stayed there. Only one team has been brilliantly consistent (Green Bay). So maybe I'm asking or wanting too much. Maybe the lockout really did cause some of what were seeing league wide, I don't know. All I know is that I don't know if I can take much more of this. This is nerve wracking. One week it seems like this team is the legitimate real deal and then the next against a scrub team they become the scrub team. I imagine it's got all of them at One Winning Drive banging their heads against the wall too.
Sports is a weird thing. I remember a guy I worked with years ago who could care less about football and the Ravens. When the rest of us were sitting around disecting the teams performances and being better coaches than the real coaches my work mate would say, "well, one teams gonna win and one teams gonna lose". As much as he used to frustrate me, he was obviously right. I know what he said was a given but it kind of rang true with some kind of profound enlightenment.
Because no matter what happens on that field, it's really only football.
As much as it evokes something in me that connects me to my dad and a different time, it's still just a game. We get pretty darned caught up in it but it helps to have someone around who puts it all in perspective.
Especially after a game like yesterday's.

How Near Is The Kingdom?

Luke 21:31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.


For many years I've been hearing many people, Christians and non-Christians say that the end is near. I remember as a kid seeing those comics with the guy standing in the midst of a busy city street with a sign stating that very idea, "the end is near". I guess the comical part of it was the guy was looked upon as an extremist religious fanatic.
I got saved in the early 90's and at that time it seemed like all the Christians I encountered were saying the same thing. I was just beginning to learn about the Bible and had no idea about the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy indicating that we would actually be in those last days. The foremost prophecy being discussed was about Israel becoming a nation again in 1948. I would listen to all of this and even find the Scriptures that referred to these prophecies, such as Isaiah 11:12, 66:8 and Ezekiel 37:21 and wonder if we really were in the end of days. I heard sermons on the above passage and chapter in Luke, especially the following verse; ^32"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place". The belief was that the generation that was alive or born in 1948 would live to see the return of Christ; the Rapture.
I wasn't so sure. I knew from history that people have been saying that the end of the world was coming in just about every moment in history. It seems that the disciples thought it was true for their time as well. I wasn't sceptical about the prophecies, it was just the complexity of the prophecies and I just couldn't see how anyone could be absolutely sure about the timing of these events. And the truth is that I have never really studied the prophecies thoroughly enough on my own to feel secure enough to come to such a determination. I have even looked at the prophecy update web pages to see what others were saying about these things. And there were times when it seemed like we were in those days because of some of the world events taking place such as 9-11, Y2K, the continuing and growing unrest in the Middle East, the frequency and intensity of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. Still for most of my Christian walk, I wasn't sure and remained a sceptic.
Until the last few years.
I don't know if I've somehow gotten caught up in the sense of foreboding and anxiety I see going on around me in so many others or if I am just sensing what is actually happening. All I know is that I'm not as sceptical anymore. Now that doesn't necessarily mean a thing. I'm just some guy from Dundalk, MD. who is feeling the way he is feeling. And I know all about the recent predictions of Harold Camping and many others and how foolish they are and how they make the rest of us look like buffoons. Plus the fact that there have been now how many TV shows and movies about the end of the world in the last decade and the Mayan calendar prophecy that all this end of the world stuff is all the rage now. I know I could just be jumping on the bandwagon. But I can't discount the possibility that God is informing me through His Holy Spirit that He is coming and coming real soon.
The conflicts taking place between Iran and Israel, the nuclear weapon issue with Iran and the Islamic Shia eschatology on the end times which the leaders of Iran are convinced we are in is a reality taking place right now. Iran is certainly moving in the direction of annihilating Israel and they have been vocal about including the United States in that plan as well.
The weather patterns, the intensity and frequency of extreme weather problems certainly appears to be getting worse. I don't know what the statistics say on this but I do know that earthquakes are happening in areas where they hardly ever happen at all. I am no expert on any of these issues but it seems to be getting worse.
The lowering of morality is painfully obvious. What used to called wrong is being called right. The attitudes, especially of many if not most of the younger members of our world is sad. The sense of entitlement, the disrespect for others, for authority is getting worse. The role models for them that I see on MTV and most other television shows and movies are selfish, self-centered and are concerned with pleasure at any cost. Their main objective is hedonism and their god is their entitlement to fleshly pleasure. I am sure there are many youth in this country that thankfully do not fit these descriptions. But they seem to be becoming a dying breed. Unfortunately many of us adults aren't that much better. 
And then there is the looming economic crisis that is world wide. The economic experts don't see a solution. I'm no expert but I know enough to know that when you have more going out than you have coming in that big trouble is around the corner. You pull the false security of stable finances out from peoples feet you will see people becoming increasingly desperate and willing to lower their morals even more. We are already seeing the desperation in the streets with the Occupy movement. People are struggling with so much stress and pressure that it is inevitable that something is going to give.
In my mind as I pray, study Scriptures, teach Bible studies, talk with other believers and think of all these things I just wrote about, I see a stage being set. A stage being set for someone to come in when it seems like everything is going to fall completely apart and have the right look, right attitude, right words and what will seem to be the right solution to get mankind out of this mess. And that person will be the anti-Christ. I have never felt this way in all of my life. I am surprised by my own words. I have never been this dramatic about these matters. But as I sit here and type I can feel it in my bones. I feel it in my soul and in His Spirit within me.
Will it be before I die? I have no idea. All I know is that I have never seen so many Christians crying out to God for Him to return soon or to take them out of here as soon as possible. As a counselor I have seen the faces of those who are frightened and anxious over what they sense as well. I thank God for His word which has brought myself and many others so much comfort in these dark times. That He doesn't want us to let our hearts be troubled. That He wants us to believe in God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and be ready for His imminent return. But before that happens His Spirit is being poured out to let others know that it is not too late, not yet anyway. And His patience in holding off is a manifestation of His grace as well. For there are many who need to know that the solution will not come in the form of a economic advisor who can fix the economy, or a spiritual leader who will have all the right words and have all the religions holding hands singing kumbaya or in a man of peace who will get the nations to sign peace treaties but that the One who is the only solution to the problems is simply waiting for them to turn from everything else and to turn to Him with just a mustard seed of faith. And who is He using to show Himself to them?
I hope you are one.
Is it just me or can you feel it too? Am I the religious extremist fanatic wearing the "end is near" sign now?

The Hour Has Come

John 17:1  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

The hour has come.

Have you ever been falsely accused? Had your reputation and good name slandered about something you were innocent of? Have your words ever been twisted by someone who took them the wrong way? Has anyone ever disliked or hated you so much that your very existence was such a threat that they not only wanted to murder you but actually planned it out and acted on that plan?

We’ve all been falsely accused, been slandered (gossiped about) and had someone twist our words around. But how many of us actually had a hit taken out on us only because someone saw us as a threat to them but we had never done any actual wrong to them? Very few of us.

Jesus was charged by the Jewish authorities for the crime of blasphemy because He claimed to be the Son of God; a title the Jews recognized as Messiah, as King. They refused to receive the truth of His title and instead they saw Him as a threat to their worldly agenda. They simply refused to take Him at His word and felt so strongly about His existence being a threat that they violated the very commandments they were sworn to uphold.

And at the same time it was the plan of God.

Wait a minute. God planned for His Son to be unjustly accused; to be tortured beyond comprehension; to be executed as the worst possible criminal alive when His Son was innocent? God planned for sin to be acted upon in order for salvation to come into the world? Well, yes.

Because there was just no other way. In order for the hour of salvation to come it had to happen in this exact way. Man had to be shown that the only legitimate sacrifice for sin would be an innocent, guiltless, sinless Lamb of God. And man would have to be shown that the best that man can do is to take what is pure and holy and turn it into bloody rags. Man’s part in all of this was to bring his sins to the table. Man could do nothing to accomplish salvation except to play his sinful part in all of this. And all man could do afterward was to hopefully begin to take God at His word and trust in His word and then receive God’s salvation.

It’s not my salvation, it’s His. God does all the work, takes the anguish, the pain, the horror, the degradation of my sin upon Himself. The only proper and fitting response is to worship. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Holy, holy is He.

The hour has come.

You Got To Move

"You got to move."
Mississippi Fred McDowell

This has become the story of my life. Or at least part of the story. It's moving time again. This will be the 4th move in 9 years. Heading back up to the great white (at least in winter) north. Many people ask why. I give them the short, sweet, to the point answer. Family issues. Doing what God has called all of us to do. Love one another sacrificially. All that jazz.
It has been a struggle as it has always been for me. But to be honest that has way more to do with my complacency, not wanting to leave my comfort zone and my selfishness more than anything real. I want to settle in, get rooted, not liking the packing up, the work involved, the saying good-bye (really see ya later for most people I associate with), the CHANGE. I want to stay in my rut. Oops! Did I really type that? Well its true. If you don't believe me ask my wife. And God.
It's kind of funny that my vocation for a few years now has been as a counselor and of course in counseling a major focus is on people's feelings. Too much of a focus if you ask me. If you didn't catch what I just wrote a few sentences back I said that my not wanting to leave was not about anything real. I don't see emotions as necessarily real. As in something concrete that I can sink my teeth into. I'm not discounting or minimizing peoples feelings. God help me if I did. I'd be the next one in line for execution. I'm really talking about my own feelings about what I want, how I want things to be and so on. I'm surely not talking about your feelings (nudge nudge, wink wink). But if the shoe fits then walk around for awhile.
In other words, it doesn't matter how I feel. Of course my "self" objects to this notion as I am writing these words. But my "self" needs to shut the heck up and mind it's own business. You are now probably wondering why am I reading the words of a schizophrenic who calls him "self" as someone other than himself. I'm glad you asked.
I am a Christian. I am a Bible believing Christian. I believe that the bible is God's way of getting our attention on Him. I believe that it is Him communicating what He pleases to communicate to mankind. I believe it is the primary source of communication from God and any other form of godly communication has to line up and not contradict the communications from God found in the Bible. I never heard a tree talk to me (told you I'm not a schizophrenic) and explain anything about God to me. I have heard many say they find God in nature not in church. I agree that nature screams the presence and creation of God but a babbling brook never told me about Jesus Christ. And my need for Him and His salvation. Or how love in it's greatest form is sacrificial; willing to lay it's life down (putting it's feelings where they belong, to the side) when it comes to matters of following Christ and loving those He has seen fit to place in our lives.
That's really why we are moving again. My wife probably sees it in a different perspective because in her there is an automatic response to her closest family to jump up and put everything else to the side when it comes to loving them. Or rescuing them, whatever you want to call it. I greatly admire this trait in her for I find in severely lacking in me. I believe it was one of the many gifts that God formed in her when He created her. When He created me he either left it out or threw like a teaspoon of it in there. For me it takes lots of prayer and effort to be as sacrificial as she is. Remember, I like my comfort zone and the rut of complacency. It's hard to be the kind of person who really likes those things and suddenly be willing to jump up at a moments notice and take charge and change just about everything in order to save someone. Which is kind of what Jesus did. In other words I see more of Him in her (and in a lot of people who aren't as lets say, "churchy" as a lot of church people). Not that those kinds of sacrificial people don't exist in the church because they sure do. I am just in awe of it when I see it in others because of my lack of it.
So I got to move. And in my selfish struggle to be sacrificial, I inevitably encounter Him. He knows what He's got on His hands with me. My responses are never a surprise to Him. He even understands my selfishness and my struggle with not being like Him. And every time what I encounter about Him always boils down to this: "will you trust Me?" With every single little and big aspect of all of this. "Will you trust Me".
And He's never surprised by the answer that inevitably comes from my heart; who else am I going to trust with my life? Me? My feelings? Another person? The government?
It's because He's communicated Himself in that Bible to me over and over and over again that I don't have any choice in any of these matters. And I'm really OK with that. For in that Bible I got to meet Him. And I get to get closer to Him every time I encounter Him in those Scriptures. And my trust in Him strengthens all the more. When He is truly encountered it changes a person, everytime. And in that encounter comes everything you need to be willing to step out of that comfort zone and be willing to put those feelings to the side and love as He loves. 
So when He says you got to move, you got to move.

You got to move
You got to move
You got to move, child
You got to move
But when the Lord gets ready
You got to move

Mississippi Fred McDowell