Impressed

Impressed

“Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires….”
                                     Isaiah 24:15

It wasn’t the words that were spoken in chapel this week and it wasn’t the eloquence and delivery of his message that stood out. It wasn’t the film clip of his years playing quarterback in the National Football League and it wasn’t his success as a professional athlete that drew my attention to our guest speaker and what he had come to share with the teens in our high school. What impressed me was the life response of a man who had experienced the personal tragedy, many years ago, of his 15 year old son committing suicide.

Facing hurt and overcoming loss, experiencing difficulty and battling disappointment are realities that we will all face, to varying degrees, at some time in our lives. But how we respond, as we seek to glorify the Lord in the fires of life, is what matters most. Some end up caught in the trap of guilt and sorrow, never finding the grace to move on from their crisis moment in life. Others fall victim to bitterness, giving in to the blame game (a game we always lose), blaming God and others for the hardships they have endured. For these, the remedy of trusting in God’s love and providence is too difficult to accept as a foundation for finding healing. But there are those whose response inspires us to live out our faith with a holy determination to make a difference in the lives of others.

Our guest speaker, 25 years after his son’s tragic suicide, was addressing our students, many of whom were the same age his son was, on the subject of depression and the causes of teen suicide. His message was focused on warning signs that we each need to be aware of, on the need for each person to take an active interest in the lives of those around him, and on the fact that depression can be treated early on and overcome. This was not a man holding on to sorrow and loss; this was a man giving his life to help others teenagers not make the same mistake his son did.

And that’s what impressed me; he made a conscious decision to make the very best of his tragic situation. Standing in front of our teenagers, he was willing to share his heart, hoping to turn his loss into another’s gain. Paul Billheimer wrote a book entitled “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows.” Our speaker that day, Eric Hipple was living this out, not wasting the sorrow of his personal loss. And that is our challenge, to find the courage to do the same, to take our own personal life experiences and turn them into opportunities to share the amazing grace of God with others around us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Having Done All

Having Done All

“Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to
  stand your ground, and after you have done all, to stand.”
                                                   Ephesians 6:13

If ever a story was to inspire us to give our all to the things of God, to seasons of committed prayer and fasting, and to going after God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, David’s intercession for his ill child is certainly one. The Bible gives us this account, in II Samuel 12, of what David did when his son became sick:

“David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted…. he spent nights lying on the ground…refused to get up from the ground….and would not eat.”
 

That David was willing to do all that for his child is not the surprising part; we would expect that from a “man after God’s own heart”. But still it stands as an incredible example of how we are called as believers to respond to the deepest and most difficult trials we face. “Having done all” is a phrase taken from Ephesians 6:13 above; it is a place of peace that enables us to stand confidently knowing that we have done all we could on our side of the equation of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, that dividing line between our part and God’s part in dealing with life’s problems. In the face of difficult circumstances and discouraging odds, David prayed and interceded with all his heart for God to be gracious to his little child.

The child died on the seventh day of David’s intercession and David’s “having done all” opened the door for him to see the loss of his child in the light of eternity. His servants were worried about him, saying, “he may do something desperate” but he got up from the ground, changed out of his mourning clothes and worshipped before requesting food and eating. His simple explanation of his actions after the death of the child culminated with “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Having done all, having given his best, David was able to stand again, living in the light of eternity.

In every situation we face today, let’s set right priorities so that we too can say that we have done our all, and from that, find the strength that comes from a life of no regrets, a life that is focused on eternal things.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Patient Continuance

Patient Continuance

“To those who by patient continuance in doing good seek
for glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.”
                                                  Romans 2:7

Earlier today, in a very special memorial service, we paid tribute and said goodbye to my mom who passed away last week at the age of 95. The memories we shared will not soon be forgotten and the legacy she left our family will stand as an inspiration for many years to come. Without a doubt, if one phrase from the scriptures could summarize her life, it would have to be a quote from the above scripture in Romans 2:7 which talks about “patient continuance in doing good.” The consistency of her living out her values is an example that we can all learn from.

We see and hear of many acts of hospitality in the body of Christ and my mom was no exception. Her home was open, to family members and friends alike, every Sunday for brunch. But it wasn’t just for a year or two and it wasn’t in response to a message on the subject preached from a pulpit; it was for as long as I can remember, many decades to be sure, and it continued up until the week before her 95^th birthday this past September. There are acts of hospitality and there is a lifestyle of hospitality where such good works are core values that we practice on our own without reminders or encouragement as an outflow of what we believe is important. Such was my mom.

A pan of soup for someone under the weather, a meal for a family member recovering from surgery, or a birthday card for one of her 22 grandchildren and 44 great-children were the rule not the exception. No visitor was ever sent away without having been fed properly and no request to knit an afghan was ever turned down, a pattern continued until only a few weeks before her passing into eternity. Showing constant concern for everyone from close family members to a young boy in our church with special needs were part of that “patient continuance”, a lifestyle of doing good, of showing love, of caring concern and compassionate kindness.

We can be challenged in our own lives to think of others first, to show the love of Christ to others in practical, sacrificial ways, and to make those values so second nature that no one need remind us of their importance. A legacy of mom and grandma opening her home and her heart, of sharing all she had, and of loving those dearest to her with her whole heart is what our family is so grateful for this evening as we settle back in at home. My prayer is that each of us will find the grace to leave such a wonderful legacy to those who share in our lives.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church