Hallway of Hope

Meet John & Rhonda.  It was their first trip to the Cancer Treatment Center of America.  As we all sat in the limo at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, awaiting our departure, they were, to say the least, pensive, apprehensive, wondering and wide-eyed, grasping for hope.  After all...Rhonda has cancer.  

You don't know the impact of that word until it is about you or your spouse or someone you love.  And even then, if it's not about you, your life, your diagnoses, your life-threatening-nemisis, I doubt the full impact can be understood, felt, owned.  

When Marylin was diagnosed and we made our first trip to the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Zion, IL, I can remember those same feelings which could be best described as, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."  Indeed we were not.  And while CTCA may not be the magical land of Oz, it is for all intents and purposes, a very special place and though not magical, blessed.  There is a Hallway of Hope there with pictures of those who have thus far beaten back the monster.  This hallway leads to the cafeteria where all meals, delicious and totally organic, are provided free of charge to patient and caregiver as well.  When we first turned that corner entering this Hallway of Hope on that first day, we held each other's arm tightly and the tears began to flow.  We were here.  IT was here.  This is real.  This is now.  Marylin has cancer.

It's like all of a sudden the full force of, "You have cancer" hit us both in the gut at the  same time, knocking the wind out of us.  There were to be many such moments as we walked through those initial and ensuing stages of treatment.  But none like that first walk down a lonely hallway that was to serve as a reminder of hope but at first, appeared as a solemn reminder that cancer is real, it is life threatening, and it must be met head-on with a voraciousness for life.

Today, as God assuredly orchestrates our moments, our wanderings through this journey of life, caring about each one of His kids as only a loving Father can do, we experienced the Hallway of Hope in a different way.  This time we became the messengers of hope.

Marylin is a consummate encourager and had given such kind words to John and Rhonda as we traveled the forty-five minute trek to our guest quarters.  Rhonda expressed her gratitude as we shared success story after success story, being thankful for kind words of encouragement, just when she needed them most; or so she thought.  As we were leaving the cafeteria this particular morning, about to enter the Hallway, there they were.  John and Rhonda had made their initial voyage and coming out of the Hallway and into the cafeteria, they saw us.  I shook John's hand and Marylin was immediately latched onto by Rhonda as I took her tray so she could hug her newfound friend.  She too, burst into tears.  It was Rhonda and John's first trip and the same surreal feelings had overcome them as well.  Marylin embraced Rhonda, assuring her it would be okay.  It seemed at that moment the love of God was so strong, the bond unbreakable, the connection never to be severed, between these too gladiators, fighting for their very lives in this new arena.

"I can't believe we met you here!  You're here...right now!  I'm so glad!  It had to be God.  I am at peace," Rhonda exclaimed with a newfound courage.  Once again, my wife had proven the fact of God's never-ending comfort.  A comfort that it is not for the recipient only, but for others who need to experience His comfort as well.  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV). 

We've experienced this principle over and over again as we have suited up daily for this battle we are determined to win.

Never, never, think that what you're going through is just for you; what a waste of pain that would be.  I can see my bride come alive every time she shares her hope with those who desperately need it.  And every time comfort is given pain is divided.  Whether in the shadow - you know...the one in the Valley, or down the Hallway of Hope, tears meet tears and hope reigns because after all, "...it had to be God.  It just had to be God."  

Amen Rhonda.  It was. 

What's In YOUR Wallet?

Recently, in a seminary class in Biblical Hermeneutics, we were working on Malachi 3:6-13 and one of my classmates suggested that I should blog my work on the text so here it is!

What are the theological principles in this text?

•  To be faithful to God we must obey His Word.

• When we refuse to honor God with our money, the work of the kingdom suffers and the  worker suffers as well. 

•  A refusal to give back to God in tithes and offerings is a clear indicator of a heart that suffers from a life that is out of balance. 

• When our lives are out of  balance with God, not only do we suffer personally but we jeopardize how others see God through our lives. 

• Unfaithfulness in giving is opposition toward God.  

     These principles have been modified in the New Testament in the following ways: 

Though Jesus didn't directly command the tithe, He did commend it when He told the Pharisees, 

²³  “… For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Matthew 23:23 (NLT) (Emphasis mine). 

     1 Corinthians 16:1-2 gives instructions to each person to, 

“…put something aside and store it up as he may prosper…”  In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul talks about “grace giving…not as a command but to prove the genuineness of their love…”  

Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, spoke of the law of the harvest when he wrote, 

“…sowing bountifully…reaping bountifully.” 

As to the application to the church today, Paul was clear on this point: 

⁷  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV) 

     We are called to be cheerful givers as well!  Given the fact that Jesus was the greatest giver of all time and if we are to be like Jesus, we will be compelled to give also.  The question then is if believers under the Old Covenant gave ten percent (plus other temple taxes), how could believers under the New Covenant do less?  Therefore, ten percent should only be a starting point as a generous giver who loves the Lord Jesus Christ.  That being said, we have challenged people who are strapped financially to trust God and start with some amount, any amount, and see what God will do as they trust Him with their finances.  

“What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket!” SDG

Full Access to Abba Father

This same Spirit...

50 Days of Transformation has begun in the Tennessee Valley...church that is.  We have embarked on a journey that will do just as the title suggests - Transform us.  And I will testify that the transformation is certainly in progress in the one who writes here.  And what a great place to begin!  In the pastor's heart!

Day 2 of our 50 Days devotional (you'd think we could have at least gotten past the first week! But Nooo...day 2!) reads,

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12-13 (NIV)

Simple enough, right?  Right!  Then came what speakers know as the gotcha; you know, the clincher - it seals the deal.  And seal it did as I read, 

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" Romans 8:15 (NIV) 

Did you get it?  Maybe you had already grasp the depth of the reality of those verses.  But honestly, until I read them together I must admit, I'd missed the full impact of what God was trying to get me to see.  First, I am His son.  I knew this, right?  And if you've professed Christ as Lord & Savior of your life, you are His son or daughter too.  But then the full import of this profound truth hit me: The same Spirit...by Him, the selfsame Spirit, The Holy Spirit, is the same Spirit who gives me the right to say and live and breathe, Abba Father.  

I knew this!  And probably do you as well.  However, the power and reality of my standing with and in my Savior, providing me full access to and rights to Abba Father, will never be the same to me again.  I am truly, through and in the Spirit, at one with Christ, my elder brother.  And in Him I have full access!  It is my prayer that you do as well. 

Generational Slavery

Carlton Gerrell & I were blessed this week to be among the first Americans included in a week long leadership training at Willow Creek Community Church as we joined with International Global Leadership Summit pastors & their teams. Leaders from Albania, Brazil, the Congo, Nigeria, South Africa and many more. As always, you get nuggets of truth that are so valuable, they will live with you forever.

One such truth was about Moses and the children of Israel. "Israel lived for 25-30 generations as slaves. Though now free, they cursed Moses in the wilderness. Why? All they had known was life as slaves! Until your memory gets washed of generational slavery, a person or people will never be able to interact differently in their world."

Many of the leaders we were with were celebrating their freedom from slavery or communism and learning to walk in that freedom. Whatever you were a "slave to" whether a people or an addiction, as the speaker said, you'll never be able to experience the freedom of whatever you were or are a slave to until your memory gets washed of generational slavery.

Every person must choose to live today in what is, refusing to remain stuck in the past of yesterday's generational slavery. Paul said it well when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Amen & Amen.

Some Of The Best Marriage Advice You'll Ever Receive

Time is a special commodity in marriage.  Time is when you communicate...or not.  It is when the two of you get to be together, apart from the noise and interruptions of the day.  We all love our children but the best thing you can do for your children is to make time for one another!

I read this article from Time Magazine posted on Pete Wilson's blog entitled, More Sleep Means More Focused, Emotionally Stable Kids. It is great advice for anyone!  Alice Park wrote…

How important is sleep for children? Getting too little could leave them more emotional and impulsive.

As a nation, we don’t get enough sleep. And we’re passing along our night-owl habits to members of the next generation, which could leave them with less control over their emotions and more prone to impulsivity, according to the latest study.

Lead author Reut Gruber, a psychologist at McGill University, and her colleagues describe in the journal Pediatrics a study in which they either added or deprived healthy children ages 7 to 11 of one hour of sleep a night over five nights. Their goal, says Gruber, was to see if such modest changes in the amount of sleep children get could affect their behavior. The children’s teachers were asked to fill out a 10-item standard questionnaire to assess the children’s attention, impulsivity, irritability and emotional reactivity at the end of the study period.

Compared with their same ratings during an initial five days of unmanipulated sleep — in which the researchers asked parents to allow the children to sleep as they normally would to establish a baseline — those who were deprived of an hour’s sleep had worse scores on behavior measures than those who were allowed to sleep an hour more. (The parents were asked to change their children’s bed times, and while they were able to put the kids to bed an hour earlier when needed, the youngsters ended up sleeping only about 30 minutes more.) In terms of how emotionally reactive, or sensitive, and how attentive the children were, teachers rated the sleep-restricted students on average 4 points higher than their baseline, meaning they showed more irritability, frustration and had more problems paying attention. In contrast, the children who slept more showed an average 3-point drop in these problems.

“Nobody became a genius, and nobody became crazy,” says Gruber, “but the findings show that in children small changes can make a big difference, and that is why this is meaningful.”Sleep, it seems, is just as important as diet and exercise in keeping children’s bodies and minds healthy. “We could have really significant positive and negative impacts on children depending on how we choose to prioritize sleep.”