Who Is This That Cures The Sick?

Greetings All,

     Today I offer you a true story of healing found in the book, "He Touched Me" by John Powell (a professor of psychology and theology who also had his own counseling practice). The healing of a patient he had diagnosed as "neurotic" (always complaining, always indecisive, very egocentric, and forever absorbed in the memories of her painful past). Yet, much to his surprise she was delivered from that ailment through an encounter with Jesus -- an encounter with Jesus that not only changed her, but him. Much of the small book (95 pages) focuses on learning how to be completely open, honest and transparent with God in prayer. It was a point he learned from the Reformer, Martin Luther, whose first law of successful praying was: "Don't lie to God!"   He also notes that honest "self-disclosure" is imperative to any true praying and is the essence of true love. This story follows the heading in his book entitled: "Who Is This That Cures The Sick?"   Enjoy.

     "At the end of the summer just before our university classes were to begin, I answered the phone to hear the voice of a [woman I had counseled numerous times without any success]. I knew she would want another appointment and would want another to agonize along with her while she resurrected the same old problems...  But how the Spirit loves to surprise us!  The voice I heard on the phone was somehow the same, yet somehow different. My "keen diagnostic ear" said that there was a new peace in her. I had to ask several times, "Who is this?" She quietly and peacefully said that she did NOT want an appointment, that she knew I was busy and did not want to take any more of my time. The only purpose for the call, she said, was to thank me for my time and patience and the help I had given her over the last three years.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

     There was all the resonance of sincerity, but such abrupt personality changes just do not happen in real life. So I said: "You're different, aren't you?" And she replied, "Oh yes!" "What happened? I asked.  "I met Jesus Christ." 'You what?" I queried.  "I met Jesus Christ. Before this I knew about Him, but now I know Him."  "If you tell me you had a vision...," I started to say. "No, no vision. But I did meet Jesus Christ."  Then I told her, "I don't know whether you want to see me, but I want to see you."

     When she came to my office my eye confirmed what my ear had led me to suspect This was a "healed" person. I do not mean to detract one iota from the contribution they make to the lives of wounded human beings, but clinical psychology and psychiatry must not be allowed to pose as saviors or redeemers. Therapy can never be a substitute for a life of faith. I knew, from my training in psychology, that no reputable therapist could ever promise this kind of "cure," this new "wholeness." There is no plastic surgery to remove the psychological scars that all of us bear to some extent. By supportive psychotherapy we can be comforted, and by reconstructive psychotherapy we can be somewhat readjusted and develop new coping mechanisms, but... we cannot be healed or cured. This woman, seated before me, expressing gratitude and claiming to have met Jesus Christ, was "healed." She knew it and I knew it.

     Without overtones of pride or egotism, she told me of her experience. She was invited to a prayer meeting. She told me how she decided to go, not really to pray, but to be able to say later that she had, "tried everything, even prayer meetings."  However she was not prepared for the opening announcement of the leader of the prayer meeting.  He began: "We have come here tonight to pray. And if you can find it in your heart to join us, please stay.  We both need and want you.  But I have a feeling that some of you may have come out of curiosity, like spiritual Peeping Toms to see what goes on at prayer meetings. If this is why you came, and if you cannot find it in your heart to join us in reaching out to God, then I would like to ask you respectfully to leave."  O my God, she thought, decision number one!  She did decide to stay, trying to pry her mind away from the "exit" sign, to turn it to the Lord. Then she heard one of the leaders of the group urge the others to "open" themselves to the Lord. "Open all the doors and windows of your soul to the Lord. Don't keep any rooms locked or closed off to Him. Let Jesus take over. The depth of the faith that releases the power of God is measured by your willingness to let God direct your life... Surrender your life and your heart to Him." 

     She felt helpless to direct her own life successfully, and so, at the exhortation of one of the other people in the prayer group, she sincerely and almost desperately invited Jesus to come into her soul, her life, her world.  She offered God her unconditional surrender and He took her at her word, accepted her gift, became her Lord.  "For so many years," she told me, "there had been a high, hard, impenetrable wall between God and myself. I used to throw my little gifts over the wall and hope that someone was on the other side receiving them. It was impersonal, unsatisfying. But I thought it was the best I could do or even hope for. Somehow, in that moment -- perhaps it was due to all the other people in the room praying for each other -- the wall came down. Somehow Jesus was standing there with arms held out to embrace me. I knew Jesus as real for the first time."  While my friend continued to describe her moment of grace, God was somehow, strangely, having another moment with and in me. I was remembering hungrily all the things that had somehow slipped out of my hands, out of my life.  I was remembering the night He "touched" me...

     In the days that followed, I began to pray with a new intensity. From the early morning shower till the darkened moments while waiting for sleep, I kept inviting Jesus into my house of many rooms. I kept reassuring Him that I was ready to admit my own bankruptcy, my own helplessness to direct my life, to find peace and joy. I constantly invited the Holy Spirit to take down my walls, to destroy the barricades that were so many years in the building. I asked the Spirit to free me from the ingrained habit of competition, from the insatiable hunger for success, from the need for recognition and adulation.  What began to happen in me almost immediately can be compared only to springtime. It seemed as though I had been through a long, hard-frozen wintertime. My heart and soul had suffered all the barrenness, the nakedness of nature in winter. Now in the springtime of the Spirit, it seemed as though the veins of my soul were thawing, as though blood was beginning to course through my soul again, and new beauty began to appear in me and around me." 

     There is something about a person who has truly encountered Jesus, and been changed by the Holy Spirit, that makes us yearn to experience what they have.  In fact, this "thought" is dedicated to such an individual -- a good friend and true man of God from my church who passed away unexpectedly on Saturday -- Steve Reall.  His relationship with God (whom he always referred to as "Abba") was passionate, very real, honest, and transparent. Thank you Steve for your friendship, and prayers, and for being to me an example of a true committed soldier of Christ and lover of Jesus looks like.  Your example will not be forgotten. 

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Gospel Fluency

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" comes from a book entitled "Gospel Fluency" by a man named Jeff Vanderstelt.  It has to do with putting the Gospel into practice, or developing Gospel-like habits in our relationships. Not simply believing the Gospel and leaving it at that, but living in such a way as to help make Gospel-driven people more believable. This selection has to do with drawing out what's deep in the hearts of people. His point is well taken.  Enjoy.

Listen and Learn

     "Proverbs 20:5 says, "The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out."  We need to become people of understanding -- people who seek to understand others before we expect them to understand us and what we believe.  We need to learn how to ask more questions and draw out what is deep inside people's souls. We need to learn to slow down and listen closely to the longings of their hearts. We need to learn their stories. In short, we need to care more about winning people to Jesus than about winning arguments. Gospel fluency isn't just about talking.  It's about listening as well. This requires love, patience and wisdom. Jesus was so good at this.

     Whenever I consider how I can grow in being a person of understanding who listens well, I think of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.  It was high noon, when the sun was at its hottest.  There was a reason this woman was getting her water at this time of day.  She chose a time when no one else would be at the well.  Nobody went there in the heat of the day. But she probably wanted to avoid running into one of the wives of the men with whom she'd been sexually involved. She had five husbands, and the man she was then involved with was not her husband. However, Jesus didn't start with where she was wrong. He actually started in a humble posture of receiving from her.  He asked her for water, and she poured out her soul. 

     I've found that starting with a posture of humility, standing in a place of need, and having a heart that is willing not only to give answers but also receive insight, creates a welcoming place for people to open their hearts. The more open we are to listen and learn, the more likely people are to be open as well.  If you look at the story closely, you discover that Jesus continued to make very short, provocative statements that invited more conversation.  He was drawing out, little by little, the longing of her soul.  He was a master at drawing out the heart... I'm amazed at how often well-intentioned Christians overwhelm people with a barrage of words. We go on and on about what we believe and what they should believe, assuming we know what others think, believe or need.  I often find that we are giving answers to questions people are not even asking, or cramming information into hearts that are longing for love, not just facts.  We fail to listen. We fail to draw out the heart. And we miss opportunities to really love people and share the love of God with them They also miss out on getting to hear what's going on in their own hearts.

     I have found that when people, including myself, are invited to say out loud what they believe, they come to realize something is wrong. This is why counselling is a busy enterprise. People have no one to listen to them  They need to speak out loud what is going on in their hearts, and the only way some can do so is by paying a counselor to listen.  I'm all for counseling, but I've spoken with many counselors, and most of them agree that if God's people would slow down, close their mouths, open their ears, and listen, many people wouldn't need counselors.  Jesus slowed down, drew out the heart and listened. As he did this at the well the Samaritan woman's heart spilled out. And as it did, he guided her in a process of confession -- not just of her behaviors, but also of her beliefs. She had been looking for love in all the wrong places, and had clearly misunderstood God and how he interacts with us as humans. As Jesus engaged and listened, he was able to show her how he could provide what she thirsted for most. He could lead her to a well that would never go dry, providing an unending supply of soul water. He was the water that would deeply satisfy her soul. 

     The love she was looking for was standing right in front of her. And the God she should worship would go with her wherever she went. He wasn't on this mountain or that.  He said he wants to come to human hearts like an unending stream of water that refreshes the soul. She believed Jesus, and then went to tell her whole village about him. That's what you want to do with good news -- share it with others.  When people really grasp the good news of Jesus, satisfying the deep longings of their souls, it's hard for them to keep it to themselves."

     A friend of mine used to enjoy pointing out that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason -- so that we would listen twice as much as we talk.

     He had a point.  Too often we seek to talk when we need to offer people the gift of listening, and nowadays it is a rare and scarce gift.  As the author goes on to point out: "Francis Schaeffer said, 'If I have only an hour with someone, I will spend the first fifty-five minutes asking them questions, and then in the last five minutes I will share something of the truth."  Yet, regardless of the specific ratios or percentages of time, we should in the very least make it our aim to spend more time earnestly listening than talking.  That's how we become people of understanding, as Prov. 20:5 puts it, who aim at drawing out the deep waters in a person's heart.  Maybe we could all give this a shot at one of the upcoming holiday parties or events. Two ears, one mouth.  That's a good ratio.  Let's do it.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Two Important and Needed Reminders Regarding Prayer

Greetings All!

     Today's "thoughts" have to do with prayer. They contain two important and needed reminders regarding prayer. The first is from the daily devotional "Our Daily Bread," and the second is found in the devotional, "Streams in the Desert."  Since I use both in my morning prayer/devotion time, and both entries were related, I thought I would share them in tandem.  If you happen to use those books and have read either of these recently (since one was the entry for October 30, and the other was yesterday, November 6), sorry for the repetition!  Although good reminders deserve repeated consideration! Enjoy.

"The Battle is Not Ours, but God's."

(II Chronicles 20:15)

     "There are times when doing nothing is better than doing something. [Times when doing nothing takes more faith than doing something.] Those are the times when God alone can do what is needed. True faith trusts Him then, and Him alone, to do the miracle.  Moses and Jehosaphat knew this secret. They knew the same Lord and the same divine grace.

     As the pursuing Egyptians trapped the helpless Israelites at the Red Sea, Moses said: "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you... The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still" (Exodus 14:13-14).

     As the Moabites and the Ammonites, a vast multitude, closed in on Judah, King Jehosaphat said to the helpless people: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. The battle is not yours, but God's... You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the deliverance the LORD will give you" (II Chronicles 20:15 and 17). When God alone can win the victory, faith lets God do it all. In such times it is better to trust than to try.  Faith is the victory that overcomes."  

Our Prayers, God’s Timing

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,  according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

     Sometimes God takes His time in answering our prayers, and that isn’t always easy for us to understand.  That was the situation for Zechariah, a priest whom the angel Gabriel appeared to one day near an altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13).  Yet, Zechariah had probably asked God for a child years before and struggled with Gabriel’s message because Elizabeth was now well beyond the expected age for childbirth.  Still, God answered his prayer.

     God’s memory is perfect. He is able to remember our prayers not only for years but also for generations beyond our lifetime. He never forgets them and may move in response to them long after we first brought our requests to Him. Sometimes His answer is “no,” other times it is “wait”— but His response is always measured with love. God’s ways are beyond us, but we can trust that they are good.

     Zechariah learned this. He asked for a son, but God gave him even more. His son John would grow up to be the very prophet who would announce the arrival of the Messiah.  Zechariah’s experience demonstrates a vital truth that should also encourage us as we pray: God’s timing is rarely our own, but it is always worth waiting for.  When we cannot see God’s hand at work, we can still trust His heart. (James Banks)

     Faith is hard for the fearful and impatient.  Prayer, therefore, is also a struggle for the fearful and impatient. Why?  Because once our prayers are offered up to God, whether they are offered once, or numerous times (it does not matter), or offered with great faith or a struggling faith (it does not matter), they are still sifted through the filter of God's goodness and holy love for us.

     Speaking of how the Holy Spirit helps us with our weaknesses, and intercedes for us with groans words cannot express as He carries out His ministry of interceding for the saints in accordance with God's will (Romans 8:26-27), A. B. Simpson once wrote: "We can simply pour from the fullness of our heart the burden of our spirit and the sorrow that seems to crush us. We can know God hears, loves, understands, receives, and separates from our prayers everything that is in error, imperfect, or wrong.  And then He presents the remainder, along with the incense of our great High Priest, before God's throne on high."

     This is such an important truth. God knows what we need. He knows when we need it by.  He knows if it is urgent or not.  And He also knows whether it would be good for us, or hurt us, or ruin the fruit of trust and patience that He's trying to work in us if He were to answer it immediately when we don't need it immediately!  In fact, He knows if getting what we ask for would actually hurt us, and therefore, out of His great love for us refuses to answer some of our prayers -- at least not how we ask them.

     We must remember that true prayer is not a magic formula.  It is not an attempt to use "positive thinking" or "mind power" to get whatever we want as soon as we want it. Prayer is offering our desires, needs, wants and concerns before the God who loves us, knowing that even if we have all the faith in the world God will not give us something that will damage us. Far more than even the best of all earthly parents, God filters our requests through His parental love and concern for our good.

     That's one of the major differences between prayer and positive confession. Positive confession often forgets that in prayer we are addressing an all-wise, all-good, all-knowing and holy God who loves us so much He doesn't care how much faith or confidence we have if we are asking for something that would not be good for us. He doesn't care how passionate or convinced we are that we will get something immediately if we just ask fervently enough. If getting it too soon would hurt our character or make us like impatient or spoiled children, He will, out of love, delay or even refuse to indulge us. After all, just think what our children would grow up to be like if they got everything they asked for (or demanded) the minute they demanded it!

In the Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

The Disappearing Bible

Greetings All,

Today's "thought" comes to you from a section of Shane Hipps book "Flickering Pixels," entitled, "The Disappearing Bible." 
     It's a critique of the dangers of the digital age and the growing aversion to right-brain learning (seeking by linear deductive reasoning to solve complex ideas by in-depth study, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of a topic), in favor of left-brain learning (seeking through art, photos, intuition, emotional stimulation, subliminal impressions, and a short not-so-comprehensive, "throw out a personal opinion and see how people respond" approach to topics). 
     The second, as Hipps points out, is an approach to learning that has made in-depth study of the Bible (to know it well) a thing that is avoided, or even seen as obsolete, in many areas of present-day church culture.  He is not opposed to visual or intuitive learning, but simply advocates what he calls "brain balance" -- seeing the need to retain our ability to reason through complex ideas, while taking advantage of digital technology and all that it has to offer.
     To use a common phrase, the growing popularity of the short, non-comprehensive, opinion-based blog, should not cause us to "throw the baby out with the bathwater."  Believers need both, lest they lose their grip on the truth and fall prey to whatever tweaks their emotions or happens to sit well with their current (but soon passing) preferences.  To help you as you read: right brain = intuitive/artistic/emotive, and left brain = reasoning/logic/science.  Enjoy.

The Disappearing Bible

     "Most books present an extensive, in-depth monologue, a thorough argument carefully crafted in linear, successive paragraphs and pages. This is true of both novels and non-fiction. The left brain is heavily engaged by such activity.  But Internet text presents a nonlinear web of interconnected pages and a vast mosaic of hyperlinks with no fundamental beginning, middle or end.  We are immersed in a boundless, endless, data space. These are conditions specially suited to the right-brain...  The power of intuition, emotion, holistic perception, and pattern recognition are all gifts of the right-brain. The right-brain is the hemisphere that allows us entry into spiritual practices like contemplation, centering prayer and silence. The left-brain is allergic to such practices; it is the dogmatic theologian rather than the intuitive mystic...

     The Internet is stunningly effective at enticing us to open a Pandora's Box of perpetual links, sights, sound, people, places, feelings, and ideas. Our intellects are spread a mile wide and an inch deep. Consider blogs. Their great wonder is their dynamic speed.  We are exposed to many more ideas than previously possible and given a chance to dialogue in near real time. Yet because of their brevity and the constant evolution of content, blogs are forced to stay on the surface. Blogs are ill-suited for deep-level analysis and thoughtful reasoning. The Internet makes a flat stone of the mind and skips it across the surface of the world's information ocean. A book, by contrast, is a sturdy submarine, diving the mind deep into the sea..

     The emerging right-brain culture presents other challenges as well. Protestant Christianity is a by-product of a single medium -- the printed Bible. Without printing, no one could have challenged the authority of the pope. How disconcerting to have a faith yoked so closely to a medium that is now in the dusk of its life, at least as we currently know it. Our culture has a shrinking preference for reading books, especially complex ones, and if the Bible is anything, it is complex. So it should not surprise us to see a growing biblical illiteracy in the electronic age.

     The Bible is an extraordinarily demanding library of books. The stories, letters, and laws are shrouded by the fog of time. The thick dusty languages of ancient Greek and Hebrew convey the message through cumbersome translations. The books were born in civilizations and cultures alien to us, and the assumptions and attitudes of the original authors often escape us entirely.  In many cases, excavating the meaning [of texts] requires the fortitude, patience, and discipline of an archaeological dig.

     In other words, bulging left-brain muscles are an essential tool for understanding the Bible. Unfortunately, our digital diet sedates the left-brain, leaving it in a state of hypnotic stupor.  The left-brain begins acting like our great Uncle Jerry, nodding off in his recliner after Thanksgiving dinner. Large portions of the Bible are growing faint and becoming inaccessible to the lethargic left-brain." 

     Hipps goes on to say these two forms of learning must find a way to co-exist.

     We must never allow the tensions and disagreements (and at times contrary purposes of the one as opposed to the other) prevent us from availing ourselves of the benefits of both. Each has its place, and it is always a danger to, "tear asunder what God has joined together."  If we are to "Love the Lord our God with all our... mind," we must seek to avoid anything that would disparage either the right-brain or left brain approach to truth.

     The Church suffers when the faith is made into something only the scholar and grasp, but it also suffers when people embrace ideas foreign to Scripture, or contrary to Scripture, simply because it came to them in a moment of earnest contemplation or artistic creativity. The two forms of learning balance each other off. After all, God could have created us without dividing the brain into left and right lobes. He could have created the lobes so they functioned identically. But He didn't.  And therefore, to disregard one, simply because we have a preference for the other, is to insult the Creator, and call His all-knowing wisdom into question.

To the end that we may love the Lord our God as we should -- with ALL our mind -- Pastor Jeff

Be Filled With the Spirit

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" comes to you from J. D. Watson's book, "A Word for the Day - Key Words from the New Testament."
     Today's selection is actually a short phrase Paul uses in Eph. 5:18 comprised of three Greek words: "plerousthe en pneumatic" (or in English, "Be Filled With the Spirit." )  It's a phrase frequently used in the Church and yet often misunderstood. His explanation is helpful in guiding us in this regard. I hope you find it helpful. Enjoy.

"plerousthe en pneumati"

Be filled in (or with) the Spirit

     "The word plerousthe (from pleroo) speaks of filling a container and means, "to influence fully, to control." As one authority adds, "To fill up, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to flood, to diffuse throughout." It is used, for example, in Matthew 13:48, to refer to a full fishing net. The chief idea then, is that we are to be permeated with, and therefore controlled by, the Spirit.

     All of that, of course, is fine in theory, but what does it mean in practice? Preachers often say that "filling" means "control," but what exactly does that mean? As theologian Louis Sperry Chafer puts it: "It is not a matter of acquiring more of the Spirit, but rather of the Spirit of God acquiring all of the individual."  It means that we are influenced by Him and nothing else. To put it succinctly: To be filled with the Spirit is to have our thoughts, desires, values, motives, goals, priorities, and all else, set on spiritual things and spiritual growth...

     It is interesting that since some NT Christians are referred to as being "full of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:3), there must have been something about them that was recognizable as evidence.  What did people see? Can there be any doubt that it was Christlikeness of character?  [In terms of Acts 6:3 - wisdom, compassion and graciousness.] That's the point of Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, against which there is no law."

     When such character is present in our lives people will see Holy Spirit control [or filling] in us. They won't have to see some emotional outburst or ecstatic experience; rather, they will see Christlike behavior.

     The construction of the Greek verb for "filled" (plerousthe) is all-important. One of the most prominent misconceptions about Spirit-filling is that it involves some "crisis experience," some "dramatic event," some so-called second blessing, which comes only because we "agonize over it in prayer" for a period of time.  But Scripture says none of that. On the contrary, we need not struggle for it, we simply claim it.

     FIRST, the verb plerousthe is in the present tense, which shows a continuing action. In other words, Spirit-filling is designed to be a continuing reality. A literal translation of the Greek is, "Be being filled." We are to be in the state of constantly being filled with the Spirit [constantly surrendering to His control].

     SECOND, the verb is in the imperative mood, which indicates a military type command and something we control. Spirit-filling is not optional, but rather mandatory. As Ephesians 5:17 declares, this is the will of God. God, therefore, would not give us a command unless we were being put in charge of carrying out the command. So it's up to us to obey.  While "sealing" and "baptism" [regeneration or the initial reception of the Spirit] are done by God, and are therefore in the aorist tense, "filling" is up to us to allow. It has to do with a yieldedness whereby we allow the Holy Spirit to take control.

     THIRD, this is further indicated by the verb being in the passive voice, the subject being acted upon. We allow the Holy Spirit to act upon us and control us. Let us each day renew our yielding to Holy Spirit control.

     And LAST, we come to another question concerning Spirit-filling: "What exactly is the purpose?" All one need do to find the answer is open the book of Acts. There are at least six instances in Acts where people are "filled with the Spirit" (2:4, 4:8 and 31, 7:55, 9:17 and 13:9). In every instance, the purpose of Spirit-filling was an empowering for service, more specifically, an empowering to proclaim the truth of God.

      That is the power spoken of in Acts 1:8: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

     Helpful I hope!  As he makes clear, the "filling with the Spirit" enhances the ripening or maturing of the "Fruit of the Spirit." It equips us for service while also serving to sanctify us. It all goes together and must never be separated, lest the "experience" be sought apart from the purpose for which it is given.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Finish Strong

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes to you from a book entitled, "Finish Strong" by Dan Green.
     It is a book of true stories about people who have overcome immense obstacles, through faith, and have "finished strong."  I found this entry particularly inspiring. I offer it to you with the hope that it might inspire you in the same way.  Enjoy.

A Spirit Forged in Steel

     "On June 23, 1940, Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born prematurely, weighing only four and a half pounds. Wilma was the twentieth of Ed and Blanche Rudolph's twenty-two children. The Rudolph's were African Americans living in a time of segregation. Since the local hospital was for whites only, and since the Rudolph's had little money, Mrs. Rudolph was forced to care for Wilma herself. The early years were rough. Wilma's mother nursed her through one illness after another -- measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, and double pneumonia.

     A few years after Wilma's birth, her parents discovered that her left leg and foot were not developing normally and, consequently, were becoming deformed. Doctors told Blanche that Wilma had polio, and that she would have to wear steel braces on her legs. Refusing to accept this diagnosis, Mrs. Rudolph set out to find a cure. She discovered that Wilma could receive treatment at Meharry Hospital in Nashville.

     The Rudolphs also relied on their faith in God, the Great Physician. When young Wilma would ask if she would ever walk, her parents pointed her to her good God: "Honey, you only have to believe. You have to trust in God because with God all things are possible" (Luke 1:37).

     For the next two years, Mrs. Rudolph drove Wilma fifty miles each way to physical therapy appointments. Eventually, the hospital staff taught Mrs. Rudolph how to do the exercises at home. Everyone in the family worked with Wilma, providing her with encouragement to be strong and get better. Thanks to the patience, support, effort, and the love she received from her family, at the age of twelve Wilma could walk normally without the assistance of crutches, braces, or corrective shoes.

     Having spent a great deal of her life limited by illnesses, Wilma felt a freedom she had never felt before. It was then that Wilma decided to become an athlete. She chose to pursue basketball first, just as her older sister had. For three years she rode the bench, not playing in a single game.  But Wilma's spirit had been forged of steel, and she continued to practice hard, refusing to give up. In her sophomore year she became the starting guard for the team and subsequently led the team to a state championship.

     But Wilma's first love was running. At the age of sixteen (barely four years free of braces) Wilma participated in track at the 1956 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay. However, it was at the state basketball tournament that she was first spotted by Ed Temple, the coach for the women's track team at Tennessee State University. Ed recruited Wilma on a track scholarship and changed the course of her athletic pursuits.

     Wilma's most famous athletic accomplishments happened during the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. The little girl who could hardly walk without the assistance of crutches or braces had completely overcome her physical limitations. At the age of 20, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. (The 100 meter dash in 11.0 seconds, the 200 meter dash in 24.0 seconds, and the 4 x 100 Relay in 44.5 seconds.)"

     Sometimes it helps us in our own struggles to hear the stories of people who had to endure great hardships and overcome great obstacles, by faith, and with the inner strength and determination God provides. Many times we become too quickly discouraged. We give up too easily. We don't persevere and fight on until victory comes.

     A high school student in Honduras once said the following quotes inspired him. I do not know his name, but I'm sure he has pressed on! The first, by Don Juan, states: "The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while the ordinary man takes everything as either a blessing or a curse."

     The second, by Ralph Parlette, says: "Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things make men weak. It is following the lines of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked."

     In the Christian life it's not about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. It's about looking in faith to 'God our Helper' (Psalm 118:7) for that which is necessary to overcome the many obstacles in life.  Sometimes He graciously does miraculous things for us.  But more often what He gives us is increased strength and resolve and determination to press on. After all, were He to do everything for us all the time, He would do us a great disservice by robbing us of the life lessons learned through perseverance, struggle and hardships overcome.

Blessings upon your day, Pastor Jeff

Comforting

Greetings All,

 

     This week's thought comes from Charles Haddon Spurgeon -- a man who is often called, "The Prince of Preachers" and still considered by many to be one of the greatest preachers who ever lived.

     He was a British Baptist of Calvinist persuasion who lived and ministered in London during the last half of the 1800's (born 1832 / converted to Christ 1850 / died 1892).  He preached at the same church for almost 40 years, and did so twice every Sunday to crowds of at least 6000 people.  Nearly 25,000 copies of the printed versions of his sermons sold every week, and for many years they were cabled to New York every Monday morning to be reprinted in leading newspapers across the United States. 

     Were it not for his generous giving to missions, and the pastor's college, and the two orphanages, and the widow's home he started (as well as regular gifts to help pastors struggling in smaller churches), he could have been one of England's wealthiest men. Yet he chose not to be -- dying with little more than a modest home and enough to care for his widowed wife.  

      German preacher and theologian, Helmut Thielicke even goes so far as to say to preachers (and those aspiring to be preachers): "I am almost tempted to shout out to those who are serving the eternal Word as preachers, and to those who are preparing to do so, in what I hope will be productive hyperbole: Sell all that you have (not least of all some of your stock of current sermonic literature) and buy Spurgeon (even if you have to grub through the second-hand bookstores to find it)."  

      This selection has to do with God's grace to help us in our times of struggle, hardship and trial.  And lest you hear it as mere pious advice from a pampered saint, you need to know Spurgeon experienced many disappointments, frequent depressions and the crippling pain of gout for the last 20 years of his life. Yet it is precisely because he did suffer that Russell Conwell (a contemporary of Spurgeon whose own legacy includes Gordon-Conwell Seminary) could write of the effect of his sermons on others: "No man in this (19th) century has ever healed so many people as Mr. Spurgeon." 

      This selection comes from, "C. H. Spurgeon - Beside Still Waters / Words of Comfort for the Soul," an excellent devotional book by Roy H. Clarke.  He has read over 2000 of Spurgeon's sermons and done us the great service of editing and updating many portions into today's language.  Enjoy.

     "Believer, here are four comforts when you face severe trials.

      1.) There is no curse in your cross. It may be as heavy as a ton of sorrow, but there is not a single ounce of curse.  'Whom the LORD loves, He chastens, and punishes every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten' (Heb. 12:6-7). The God of love, who inflicts our sorrows, is as good when He chastens as when He caresses.

      2.) Your trials are assigned by divine wisdom and love.  He who weighs the mountains in the scales (Is. 40:12) measures your troubles, and will not let you endure one grain more than His infinite wisdom determines.  The devil may be turned loose on you (as he was on Job, or Peter in Lk. 22:31-32), but remember, he is a defeated enemy. Everything that you suffer is the appointment of wisdom, ruled by love.

      3.) When you bear the cross, God gives special comforts that He never gives to the healthy. Dark caverns do not keep miners from searching for diamonds.  You need never fear suffering if you remember it will richly bless your soul.  The nightingale only sings at night, and there are promises that only sing when we are in trouble.  It is in the cellar of affliction that the fine wine of the kingdom is aged and stored.  You will never see Christ's face so clearly as when all others turn their back on you. 

      4.) Trials bring you nearer to God.  Yet there are times when our faith staggers and we fail to leave our worldly cares with Him.  Like Martha, we worry about many things (Luke 10:41).  But Jesus says, 'Come My child and trust Me. Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need' (Heb. 4:16)."

                May his words encourage and bring healing to you as well, 

                                 Pastor Jeff