Closer in 2009

There are those we tend to think of as “very spiritual” or “so close to God”—the ones who seem to have a direct connection to God. You know the type I’m talking about; they’re grounded, mature, filled with wisdom, always able to give sound advice, and they talk to God like a close friend. Have you ever wondered how they came to be that way? Have you ever wished you could be that way? Does God have favorites with whom he chooses to develop a closer relationship?

I know people like the ones I’ve just described, and I’ve figured out their secret. I’ll share the secret with you, but you must promise not to tell where you got this information, OK?

These people are consistently spending quality time with God. They’re filling their minds with His Word—reading the Bible, listening to Christian radio, TV, teaching tapes, etc.; they’re in church and small-group studies; they’re in fellowship with Him through prayer, worship, and friendship with other Christians. They are seekers of God. They’ve made knowing Him their number-one priority in life.

So you see, there is no “secret.” The fact is each of us is exactly as close to God as we choose to be. God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34); He wants an intimate relationship with all His children. If you’ve wished for that closeness you see others have with Him, you can have it . . . if you’re willing to invest the time.

It’s that time of year again: lots of us will be making New Year’s resolutions. My first resolution will be to know God better in 2009 than I did in 2008. How about you?

But from there you will seek the LORD your God,
and you will find Him if you seek Him
with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 4:29).

The Best Gift

I must have been about seven or eight years old the Christmas of the Barbie doll. My older sister had two Barbies, but I had none. I desperately wanted my own Barbie and hoped to receive one for Christmas.

The tradition in my family was to take turns opening gifts one at a time. That way we knew who got what from whom, and we could all ooh and aah over each gift. With four children in our family, the gifts were heaped under the tree, and it took a little while to open each one. As youngest, I went first, opening . . . something that was not a Barbie doll. Then I waited while my two brothers, then my sister, then my dad and stepmom each opened a gift. Finally, it was my turn again. The next gift still was not a Barbie doll. The process was repeated numerous times, but among my gifts, the one thing I wanted most remained elusive, and my heart was beginning to sink.

I could no longer contain my disappointment when my sister opened a gift containing a brown-haired Barbie . . . with bendable legs! The gifts by now were scarce under the tree, and I was convinced that I would be left Barbie-less. The tears that had been threatening behind my eyelids burst forth in angry disappointment as I exclaimed, “It’s no fair! Why did she get a Barbie doll when she already has two, and I don’t have any!”

In utter disgust my stepmother directed me to look at my last package under the tree. . . . Could it be? Yes, it was my very own beautiful, blonde-haired Barbie with bendable legs and at least two outfits. My shame over that emotional outburst hampered the joy of that moment. She’d been there all along! I needed only to look and grab onto that gift waiting there for me.

Thinking of Christmas and the anticipation of receiving a much-desired gift, reminds me of the many who know about God’s great gift to us--His son Jesus, the Christ, who came to give us an abundant life now (John 10:10) and eventually eternal life with Him (John 3:16)--but for some reason this precious gift has eluded you. Dear friend, I just want to remind you that God’s gift is right there for the taking. Have you been too busy opening other gifts that weren’t really at all what you wanted? Have you doubted that anything so wonderful could ever be yours? Have you lost hope that you’ll ever receive this special gift? The gift is already yours. It came wrapped in swaddling clothes in the little town of Bethlehem in Judea. He’s waiting for you to receive Him, and He’ll gladly come into your life. Why don’t you accept God’s gift to you this Christmas? I promise it will be the best gift you have ever received.

Christmas Hope

There’s an irony in receiving Christmas cards and sympathy cards at the same time. One card extols the joys of the season; the next empathizes with your sorrow. The first day it happened (that is, receiving the cards) I thought of it as sardonic humor and felt someone must be having a laugh at my expense. Celebrate Christmas? Now? You must be kidding.

The second day I was somewhat more prepared. I looked at the stack of cards, and with a tinge of bitter sarcasm I thought, Which will it be? We Wish You a Merry Christmas? Or We Sympathize with Your Loss?

Oh Lord, I thought, How do you expect me to do this?

But then I remembered Hebrews 4:15–16; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

It’s generally accepted that Joseph, Jesus’ adopted father, had died by the time Jesus began his ministry. Surely this was a painful loss for Jesus to bear. When Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus, we see him moved by great compassion and love; he wept. He understands our pain. Furthermore, the very reason we celebrate Christmas is because of the HOPE he brought us when he came to Earth as a baby.

This Christmas may not be the “happiest” for me or my family, but surely it will hold a special beauty as we reflect on His promise of eternal life and joyful reunions.

Christmas cards for the grieving? How fitting.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

The End of the Story

Trusting in God is like watching a movie borrowed from a friend who has told you, “There’s lots of drama and tense moments along the way, but don’t worry, it has a happy ending.” So even if you’re on the edge of your seat, gripping the arm of the person next to you in pure terror, or weeping in sorrow while you watch the movie, you’re also anticipating that happy ending.

Sometimes life gets awfully dicey. We get caught up in the moment and think, “Oh no, this is awful! I’ll never survive this!” We tend to forget . . . there’s more to the story.

God has proven His faithfulness in countless ways. We can look in the Bible and see testimony after testimony of how He delivers His people. We can look at examples from our own lives and see the many ways He has taken care of us, protected us, and provided for us.

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, when we remember how GOOD God is, we can find hope in the anticipation that He will make “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). There will be lots of twists and turns, even heartache and pain along the way, but always remember . . . the end of the story will be beautiful.

God bless you.

Bear One Another's Burdens

The tears started on the way to church. I thought I should just turn around and go back home. I didn’t want to make a scene, but something told me “Go.”

By the time I pulled up to the building, I felt I had things under control. I dabbed my eyes with tissue one more time, put a smile on my face, and went inside and made small talk with a couple of people. Then our pastor’s wife called me to her side and asked me “the question” that brought about a fresh torrent of tears. She put her arms around me and waved aside our worship leader who was waiting for me to come up and “do my thing” as part of the worship team.

When the music started, I moved to the back of the room where I wouldn’t be so noticeable. As we sang one beautiful song after another, I tried to practice what I preach about praising God in the midst of trials to overcome feelings of anxiety, despair or anything else. Time after time, my sadness would begin to lift but then descend upon me again.

I guess the Lord knew I needed help, because when the music was done, I heard our pastor instructing everyone to lay hands on me while he prayed.

So much for not making a scene . . .

And then the most amazing thing happened. I was suddenly surrounded by loving concern and compassion. I felt a rush of calming warmth go through my body within seconds after my brothers and sisters in Christ laid their hands on me. As Pastor prayed I felt as if piece by piece my burden was being lifted from me and placed on each of them -- each would carry just a small portion for me.

I was completely set free from my sorrow that morning. I’ve never experienced anything like it. When I shared with a friend what it was like, she said, “While we were praying, I found myself asking God to give me some of your pain so it wouldn't be so hard on you.” Don’t you suppose the Holy Spirit told her to pray that? That’s exactly what happened!

God has been teaching me about why the church is so important. Little by little I’ve been learning, but this experience taught me something I could never have learned from a book or a sermon. This is the church in action. This is the Spirit of Christ at work in us. This is just one example of how we as His body carry out His work on Earth.

Some people say they don’t need the church, but if you need God, you need the church. The Spirit of the Living God lives in each of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and each one of them has the unique potential to minister to your needs through His Spirit. I hope you will invest yourself in a church where God's people will meet your needs while you do the same for them.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

Just Do It

When I was a young girl, my dad used to call me “scatter-brained.” Sadly, it’s true. My thoughts flit about quite randomly, and I forget things far too often. Gladly, I can blame Dad, because he’s the one who gave me the self-fulfilling prophecy! (Just kidding, Dad.)

Some things one just should not forget--like all the times I’ve told people “I’ll pray for you” and then forgotten to do so. I have felt so ashamed when I’ve seen someone I previously promised to pray for and am reminded that I never prayed.

But then I met someone a few years ago, and every time we talked she interspersed our conversations with prayers. She never said, “Oh, I’ll pray about that”; she just prayed right then and there! At first it surprised me--I'd never known anyone who prayed so much!--but I loved being covered in that kind of prayer and decided that, considering my short attention span, it was a practice I should definitely imitate.

I’ve changed my ways. Not all of the time — sometimes I still get shy — but most of the time instead of promising to pray, I just do it.

It’s important for us to pray not just for one another but with one another. When someone puts an arm around me or takes my hands and fills my mind and spirit with encouragement from God’s Word and comfort from their love and concern, it’s far more uplifting than what might be (at least in my case!) an idle promise to pray.

So the next time you talk to someone who needs prayer, don’t say you’ll pray for them – just do it!

Galatians 6:2; Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Above All That We Ask or Think

What are you trusting God for right now in your life?

A friend came up with the idea for our women’s study group that each day we should write down something for which we’re trusting God—no matter how small or how big.

Perhaps on a particular day when you’re exhausted, you might need to trust God for the energy to get through that day.

On another day you might need to trust Him for the patience to deal with a difficult person.

Another day might find you trusting Him for beautiful weather in spite of a rainy forecast.

Right now I’m trusting Him for a miracle in the life of someone I love.

Why shouldn’t I believe for a miracle? Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (emphasis mine).

Wow! That’s an amazing verse! I don’t know about you, but I’d be happy if God did just what I asked for or thought of, but this verse says he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above that.

Let’s not forget the end of that verse: “. . . according to the power that works in us.” When we’re born again and have God’s Holy Spirit living in us, we have the great honor of operating in HIS power to believe and trust for every need and even to be used by Him to help bring about those needs.

Let’s not ever limit Him or His power within us.

What are you trusting Him for?

Who's the Enemy?

When a friend of mine came under attack and was falsely accused, threatened and treated maliciously, I did what any good friend would do—I raised my hackles and plotted revenge! That IS what a good friend would do, isn’t it . . . ?

Fighting back is a natural response to unfair treatment from others, and if I’m defending a friend and not myself, it feels like “righteous indignation”— at least until I remember an important principle from Ephesians 6:12.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

According to this passage, Satan is our enemy, not other people (flesh and blood). He often uses other people to hurt us, to irritate us, or to offend us; but we must remember that’s just one of his diversion tactics to get us off track—to get our minds off the Lord, to get us thinking ungodly thoughts, to destroy our witness for Christ when we lash out at others.

My friend responded to the attack with far more class than what I mustered; but, as with most things in life, it was another opportunity for God to remind me of how unlike my ways are from His and another opportunity for me to grow. Next time I will remember where to direct my anger!

What If I Stumble?

The band DC Talk performs a song called “What If I Stumble?” The song begins with this sobering message:

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

The artist then goes on to discuss his fear of living with the knowledge that the world is watching him, watching his Christian walk (especially as someone in the public eye), and he might stumble, he might fall and let them all down.

Most of us are probably familiar with the saying, “You may be the only Jesus some may ever see.” And that’s true. We all know someone who will never set foot inside a church and will scoff at the idea of reading the Bible. We are Christ’s representatives on Earth. We are His body. The world looks at us and decides whether getting to know Jesus is worth their effort. It’s an awesome responsibility. It makes me sad when my behavior doesn’t line up with who I profess to be in Christ. But it happens.

When I started to write this column, I wanted to say that people shouldn’t look at other people to decide if Christianity is for them; they should look at Jesus and how He lived His life. Only Jesus is perfect; people will let you down every time. This is also true, and I’m struggling to reconcile these paradoxical truths. Unbelievers will watch us and form judgments about Christianity. At the same time, we’re imperfect and we will disappoint them. God does not want us filled with fear or self-condemnation. What should be our attitude here?

What's probably most important is that we're "real" people. If we're willing to admit when we make mistakes, if we acknowledge that we don't always hit the mark, and if we're humble and apologize to others, the world will see that Christians aren't perfect, but we do serve a perfect God.

Believe When You Pray

When my first two sons were little boys, they were part of a kids’ program at church where, among other things, they memorized Bible verses. One evening I helped my oldest son, who was probably about six years old at the time, practice his verses for the week. Among the verses was Matthew 21:22. Because the program used the somewhat antiquated King James Version of “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,” I wanted to make sure my son understood what he was reciting.

This boy was a whiz kid when it came to memorization, and he easily repeated the verse after me. I said, “That’s great, honey! Now can you tell me what that verse means?”

With his bright blue eyes filled with innocence and sincerity, he said, “It means if I pray, and I ask Jesus for a sister, I’ll get one!”

His faith and the sweetness of his request touched my heart. He really understood!

But did I?

I think it was many years before I noticed the key word in that verse: BELIEVING.
There’s a difference in the way we pray when we really believe that God is who He says He is, when we believe that He will never leave us or forsake us, when we believe that He wants good things for us, when we believe that He loves us more than we can fathom, when we believe that He cannot lie, when we believe that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. . . . I could go on and on!

What we believe makes all the difference in how we pray and in the results of those prayers.

Although my son may not have prayed with completely pure motives (I overheard him telling his younger brother he wanted a sister to clean his room!), he did get his little sister a few years later.

And his mother learned to pray with a whole new confidence.

The Depths of Your Heart Only God Can Touch

My husband must have thought I was crazy when I looked at him and said, “I miss you.”
How is it possible to miss someone you live with and see every day?

Most married people know very well how it’s possible. You live in the same house and speak to this person every day, but you’re not really “connecting.”

It’s the same way with God. We’re aware of His presence and have brief chats occasionally, but we don’t make time often enough for the kind of deep conversation required for intimacy. As a result we experience an unexplained sense of loneliness, a feeling that “something’s missing.”

God puts all kinds of people in our lives, and sometimes we’re lucky enough to establish wonderfully close connections with one or a few of them, but only God is fully able to satisfy our craving to be wholly known. We must come to terms with the fact that in some ways life's journey is a solitary one. There are depths of your heart only God can touch because only He is intimately acquainted with your innermost being.

That is why, just as in marriage, we need to protect and nurture our relationship with God. When I told my husband I missed him, we knew it was time to get back on track: put aside work for a while, turn off the TV, ignore the telephone, and talk to one another.

Take time every day for the One who loves you with an everlasting, unconditional, wonderful love; a love that will satisfy your longing for true intimacy.

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jer. 31:3, NLT).

Knowing God

I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself (Jer. 31:3, NLT)

Some time ago I took part in a study called Experiencing Spiritual Intimacy, and the realization that God wants us to know Him really struck home. Sometimes we get stuck in the pattern of thinking of God as mysterious, unknowable, unfathomable—that all we can do is serve Him and hope we’ll find favor with Him in the end. This mindset will surely affect our ability to draw close to Him. How can you have a personal, intimate relationship with someone who’s so mystifying? So distant? But the Lord says, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God. . . .” (Jer. 24:7, NASB).

Why would God want us to know Him, to understand Him better? When I pondered this question, I thought of my own need for intimacy—don’t we all long to be known? And in whose image are we created? Do you suppose our innate need for intimacy is a reflection of our Father’s character? Of course it is.

Just as we long for someone who will know us, understand us, and love us; because of His great love, God also wants that kind of relationship. In 1 Corinthians 2:11–12, Paul explains how it’s possible to know Him: “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit. . . .”

If you’ve accepted Jesus as your savior, His Spirit lives in you and will reveal more and more of God’s nature as you seek intimacy with Him.

What Will Please the King?

Isaiah 61:10: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

After I read Tommy Tenney’s novel of historical fiction, Hadassah: One Night with the King, based on the book of Esther, I was excited to watch what turned out to be a beautiful movie version of the novel.

There was one scene in the movie that especially touched my heart. If you remember the story of Esther, you know that Esther (her Jewish name was Hadassah) was one of many beautiful, young virgins brought to the palace of King Ahasuerus as candidates to replace the former queen, Vashti. After one year of beauty regimens, each young woman would spend one night with the king, and he would choose one of them as his new queen.

In this scene of the movie, all the queen candidates were brought to a room that held the palace treasures. They were told to choose jewelry to wear for their night with the king. They were also told that they could keep whatever jewelry they chose, regardless of whether or not they were picked to be queen. The young women rushed to scoop up as much gold and jewels as they could carry, but Esther didn’t move from her spot. When Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem, noticed her standing there, he asked, “Don’t any of the palace jewels please you, Esther?” And she replied, “What does it matter if they please me? I want to know what will please the king.”

The Lord has given us all we need to stand before Him as pure, holy, and blameless in His sight. We might grab onto everything the world has to offer only to find it’s too heavy for us to carry. Or we might try to do everything in our own power to make ourselves “look good,” but here stands Christ, holding His perfect robe of righteousness. All we have to do is put on Christ, wear His garment, and throw off our own filthy rags to be found pleasing before our King.

Fear Cancels Out Faith

My friend made an interesting observation when she said, “Have you ever noticed people will spend 20 minutes talking about the problem and 30 seconds praying about it?”

Why is that? Why do we love to dwell on all the sordid details, the symptoms, the diagnosis, the prognosis . . .?

I’ll confess I’ve done this in the past and thought nothing of it. What’s wrong with knowing the details? Won’t that help me pray better—more specifically?

There are two reasons I don’t necessarily want to hear all the particulars of a matter before I pray: First of all, oftentimes prayer requests become nothing more than gossip sessions. For example, “Oh, we must pray for so-and-so; her child is in trouble.” And then begins the list of “troubles”—the drinking, the drugs, the run-ins with the law, and so on and so on. Do we need to know all this to pray for brokenhearted parents and their troubled child?

The second reason not to talk to death a prayer request has to do with how it affects our faith. When I hear things like “hopeless,” “terminal,” “awful,” and “really bad,” fear creeps in. Fear cancels out my faith. Before I’ve even begun to pray, I’m wondering if there’s any hope. And I know that when I pray, I must have faith; I must believe in order for my prayer to be effective (Hebrews 11:1, Mark 11:24, Hebrews 11:6).

My faith must be stronger than what I comprehend with my five senses, than what the situation presents. And that’s hard! I don’t need any help not believing! If I’m going to agree with God who “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17), please don’t bombard me with what my carnal mind perceives. Just let me know there’s a need, and let me go to my Father who “knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” He knows the details; that’s good enough for me.

Giving Up to Get It All

Luke 4:18; The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. . . .

Because of Jesus . . .
We were poor, but now we are rich.
We were brokenhearted, now we are healed.
We were prisoners, but we’ve been set free.
We were blind, but now we see.

Too many of us are not living and walking in the freedom Christ intended for us. Why?
You say, “I don’t feel rich; I feel financially, emotionally, spiritually bankrupt.”
You say, “I don’t feel healed; my body still aches with my disease; my heart hurts with the pain of life’s disappointments.”

You say, “I’m supposed to see things clearly? Then why am I so confused?”
You say, “I’ve been set free? Then why am I still struggling under the weight of this guilt, this addiction, all these regrets . . .?”

If you know what Jesus said he did for you, but you’re not experiencing it practically day-to-day, ask yourself if you’re truly letting Him heal and deliver you. Is it possible you’ve never really laid down your burdens at his feet and said, “Here, Lord, take them”?

Before laying down your burdens, try laying down your life. When you come to the end of yourself, and you know that you can do no good thing apart from Him; when you say, “Here’s my life, Lord, take it and do whatever you want with it”; when you bow at His feet and lift your hands in humble surrender, you will begin to understand what it means to be set free.

Pray for Our Country and Its Leaders

DELETE. There goes another negative political e-mail forward.

Do you get tired of all the character assassination that goes along with every election? Why spend time reading something that may not even be true? Sometimes I check the accuracy of a forward I’ve received, and nearly every time I’ve checked, the information has turned out false, so reading it really was a waste of my time. (You can go to a site like snopes.com to see if what you’re sending or receiving is true. Somebody gets paid to check out these things, and you can often get the background of when, where, and how the story originated.)

Out of curiosity, I recently went to the Snopes website and searched for “Sarah Palin.” Just as I suspected, within days of McCain’s announcement of Palin as his running mate, wild stories complete with pictures were circulating on the Internet. It might be somewhat humorous if so many people receiving these emails didn’t believe they were true.

Rumors, especially ugly ones, spread fast. As Christians we need to be careful that we’re not guilty, even unintentionally, of spreading lies about others.

Paul describes what our attitude should be toward our country’s leaders in 1 Timothy 2:1-2; I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

So here’s my plan, and I hope you’ll join me: Every time I receive a forward about a political candidate, I’m going to use the time I would have spent reading that forward to instead pray for our country and its leaders. Regardless of who wins the elections in November, we’re responsible to pray for them, so we might as well start now!

Stop the World!

I told God I wanted one more day a week, and I figured since He’s so very fond of me I should get it (just kidding). I know He made the whole world in six days and had time left over to rest on the seventh, but I can’t even accomplish what I need to in seven days much less six. It’s frustrating, and I keep saying, “It won’t be this way forever. Someday I will cut back.”

I recently heard that the world will end in 2012—it has to do with the end of the Mayan calendar or something like that. I don’t know; I wasn’t paying attention to the details, because I got so excited at the prospect!

Remember the song “Stop the World and Let Me Off”? Yeah, I feel that way sometimes.
The world may or may not end in 2012—I guess we’ve had these predictions before—but I can’t stop thinking about what I would do differently if I truly, truly believed that we had less than four years on this earth. Would I continue to work so frantically?

Sadly, I may never accomplish all that I possibly could in this life.

But maybe life’s not meant to be a to-do list. Micah 6:8 expresses God’s expectation for us:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Once again I’m reminded that God’s ways are not my ways. Maybe He’s telling me, “Relax, would ya? I love you, and we’re going to spend eternity together. For that reason I’m far more concerned with your character than your accomplishments.”
And in that light, I’ll keep plugging away, doing what I have to do but being ever mindful that it’s my heart God cares most about.

Bible Misquotes

Have you ever been misquoted?

Someone says something similar to what you said, but they change it just enough so that it means something entirely different, and you’re left saying, “That’s not what I said!”

Or they repeat something you said, but they leave out the context in which it was said, and again you’re misquoted. Aggravating, isn’t it?

God gets misquoted too. Years ago a coworker told me, “The Bible says sex is a sin.”
Dumbfounded, I asked, “Do you ever read the Bible?”

She said, “No.”

Well, drrrr. Why would you quote from a book you’ve never read?

Much of what people believe is just what they’ve heard someone else say without ever checking for themselves. For instance, how many people are sure the Bible says, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”? Nope. It’s not there. Or how about, "God helps those who help themselves"? You won’t find that one either—Ben Franklin said it.

I’ll bet you’ve heard people say, “Money is the root of all evil.” Money’s an inanimate object; there’s nothing inherently evil about it. The Bible says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). It’s not money that’s the problem; it’s the love of money and pursuing it—along with anything else—above God that is evil.

People often say, “God won’t give you any more than you can handle,” a very loose paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is more accurately paraphrased as “God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to escape.” There’s no implication that He’s “giving you” the trial or temptation. In fact, James 1:13 clearly tells us that God does not tempt nor is he tempted!

The point is, God’s Word is a precious gift to us. Let’s at least be familiar with what it says and be blessed!

Can I Get a Witness?

Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you (1 Peter 3:15)

Sometimes we Christians can get real uptight about how to “witness” to non-Christians. You know, the “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” part of the Bible? Does that part make you nervous? Maybe you’ve decided you’ll just live a good life and lead by example without ever saying a word about Jesus. Well, living the Christian life is important too, but maybe witnessing won’t seem so scary if we simply share our testimony with others.

Sharing your testimony is basically telling others what God has done for you. It might be how He helped you in a specific situation, but today I’m thinking about sharing with others how we came to know him.

When I wanted to write out my personal testimony, I found a helpful Web site online: http://associate.com/faq/About_Your_Testimony.html. There are several such sites on the Internet. You might want to look at others.

This sight directs us to Acts 22:1–16 and 26:9–23. Paul shares his testimony in these passages making four points: (1) I have not always been a Christian, (2) but God showed me my need of Jesus Christ. (3) I committed my life to Jesus, and (4) now my life is different.

Simple, huh?

Your testimony is a genuine, unintimidating way to share Christ with others. Take some time this week to think about your life before Jesus, how you realized you needed Him, how you received Him, and how He has changed your life. Share your testimony first with people close to you, then you’ll feel more comfortable sharing it with others you may not know so well. Write down your testimony to share with future generations. I would love to have the testimonies of ancestors who knew Christ before me!

It’s exciting to hear about how Jesus has changed lives, so consider sharing your testimony for publication in the Faith pages. It’s not exactly “all nations,” but it’s a beginning, and our readers and our Lord will be blessed.

That Which Concerns You

On the campus at Northwestern, I walked behind my son as we headed toward the building where his father and I would attend a meeting for parents of football players while he would join his future teammates for pizza.

I sensed a certain level of anxiety in him: after this meeting we would return home, and he would be left behind to prove himself. The next day the players would be put through a series of physical tests to see how they measured up. He would be expected to bench press an amount that, in spite of faithfully training, he had never been able to achieve. He was concerned about his time in the 40 yard dash; he feared he was too slow. Could he compete at this level?

While I thought about the pressures my son was facing, this verse came strongly into my mind: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns you” (Psalm 138:8).

When our meeting was over, we met our son in the hallway for a final hug and farewell. As I held him close, I said, “The Lord wants you to know that He will perfect that which concerns you. Whatever that means, honey, I’m sure He’ll make it clear to you.”

The following evening my son called, filled with excitement. For the first time ever, he had bench pressed the weight that before had seemed impossible. When he ran the 40, he achieved his fastest time ever. He joyfully exclaimed, “I know God had to have helped me.”

Philippians 4:13 has taken on new meaning: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”—literally!

These experiences, these glimpses of our Father’s faithfulness, need to be remembered. Is there anything too difficult for Him? Is there any area of our life with which we cannot trust Him?

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).