Overcoming the Spirit of Quit

  Ever feel like quitting? Every significant commitment to succeed in life will at one point or another face the temptation to quit before achieving it's goal. As I look back on my life I can specifically recall moments where part of me wanted to give up and another part of me wanted to hold on.

  When I was 14 years old I joined the outdoor track team as a freshman. My father and uncle were both very good runners in school and they had taken me to track meets since my early childhood. I knew I wanted to run but I had no idea how much training and pain were involved! A day or two into the season my legs hurt so badly that I could not walk down the stairwell in our home. I had to go down the steps backward to lessen the excruciating pain in my calf muscles. As I went out the door on my way to school I informed my dad that I would quit the track team that day. My dad had a very serious look on his face as he gave me this advice, "If you quit now you might regret it the rest of your life. The pain is temporary. Hang in there and you'll make it through." The pain spoke very loud but my father's words rang true. I didn't quit and went on to run all 4 years of high school and developed a life long love of running that continues to this day. What if I would have quit?

  When I was 17 years old and fresh out of high school I signed up to join the United States Air- force. At several points during my 4 year commitment I wanted to quit. But the Air-force doesn't just let you quit. I learned through the discipline of the military a lot more about commitment and working through very hard times. After 3 years in the Air-force, I surrendered my life to the gospel of Jesus Christ. What if I had tried to quit the military before that time? I would have lost the opportunity to experience the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ meeting all my needs during some very dark days.

  When I was 34 years of age I was living in Taxila, Pakistan seeking to gain 'hands on' experience working at an eye hospital. Prior to opening the eye hospital in Gilgit, we needed experience and advice from people in Taxila who had been operating their eye hospital for decades. Our experience turned out to be less than ideal and we were not treated well by some of the staff there in Taxila.  During one long dark night of doubt I had tossed and turned unable to sleep. I woke up Mary in the middle of the night and told her I thought we should quit in our efforts to continue to establish the hospital. Mary challenged me to really pray and surrender to God. I needed to face my doubts and surrender afresh to God's strength. I needed to hold onto faith and not surrender to fear and doubt. Over time I have continued to have to face down the overwhelming desire to quit many times and in many places in life.

  What are some keys to overcoming this spirit of quit?  First we need to recognize that as human beings our soul is prone to both emotional highs and lows. There are times when we feel like we can do anything and often at the beginning of a major challenge we are 'high as a kite'. But those times of emotional exuberance and excitement do not last forever.  There are also times when we feel like we can do nothing! The key in dealing with our emotions is to recognize them but not necessarily surrender to them.  There are many reasons why our emotions swing so much.... some of them are physical (lack of sleep, poor health, mental illness etc...) We should not ignore how we feel. We need to own our emotions but not be enslaved by them.

  When we are feeling overwhelmed by our commitments we need to recognize that God calls us to himself in relationship as a way to share our burdens with him. Jesus said this, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28) When you surrender your commitments to God in prayer, you enable a supernatural strength to be activated in your life. The temptation to quit doesn't evaporate but there is a new found internal strength available to those who simply ask for it in faith.

  Along with the unique important empowerment of strength we can receive from God, there is also tremendous help available from people who love us and are called to help us in life. We need help in the journey of life from others who can help us refute the temptation to quit before we achieve our destiny.
  Hebrews chapter 12 offers us some sage advice about the importance of faith and endurance in achievement. In verse 1 we read, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

  Our modern society is shaped by the message that more is better and now is the time. The concept of waiting for fulfillment and enduring suffering to yield a higher call is not something we are comfortable with. We want it all and we want it now! However, the culture of the kingdom of God calls for the surrender of the temporary to obtain the forever. If we are to overcome the spirit of quit we must recognize that the truly valuable things in life are never truly easily obtained. The next time you face the temptation to quit think hard and long before doing so. You might miss what you really want in the temptation to escape temporary pain. Before we arrive at our God ordained destiny you can be assured you must overcome the temptation to quit. You need God's help. You need the help of committed friends. You need to understand that pain and discomfort are part of the cost of getting to where you really want to go.  Count the cost and move in the direction of your destiny! Don't quit.

Jim

Embracing Grace

  Grace is such a beautiful word. It's a word that is spoken by poets, lovers, theologians and the broken. It's meaning though is often misapplied and misunderstood, is the basis for all the virtues of life. The grace of God is as the famous song tells us plainly, 'amazing'.

  God knowing who we are.... and being who he is, knows that apart from his choosing to pour out his favor on our lives, we would have no hope. We desperately need all the unmerited favor that God has to offer us in this often tragic drama we call life.

  For those who have been humbled and broken enough to see their need of grace, there is a deep vein in heaven full of the river of grace. When we cry out from the center of our souls, God meets us with all that he is. Grace is a river fillled with the fullness of God's person and power for life.

  Tragically, grace has its imitators. For many people grace is a 'work' to be imitated and faked by a lifestyle of outward conformity without inward transformation. For the 'grace fakers' it's all about the do.... the actions which can be imitated for exterior show and human rewards. The realites of grace are never known without an inward new birth. We have to 'die' to our own attempts at religiosity and appearances to receive the miracle of new life.... the grace life.

  For many of us the opinions of others rule supreme in our decisions, desires and ultimately our destinies. We are so insecure that we can never fully grasp the liberating freedom of amazing grace. We choose to remain in the 'outer court' of religious conformity.... we know nothing of radical trust, intimacy and healing. If Jesus is not at the center of our soul we ensure our bondage and imprisonment to a cheap imitator....fake grace.

  After Jesus rose from the dead he confronted a wavering disciple, Peter. Peter had always struggled with relationship. He was intensely jealous of John's intimacy with Christ. Jesus didn't scold him for what he hadn't done.... for how he had betrayed and left him..... no, Jesus called Peter back to grace....back to relationship. In John 21: 15-19 we see an amazing interchange between the risen Jesus and Peter. Jesus wanted to know one primary thing from Peter, "Do you love me?"

There is no deeper reality of grace than to experience and relish the love of God. If love is our aim....our center.....our everything, then grace has done its deepest work in our hearts.

  When we fake grace we look for our identity in what we do for God.... we want titles and recognition...more than we want God himself. Jesus wanted Peter not to do for him primarily..... no Jesus wanted Peter to be with him, "Follow Me!" were Jesus final words of this dramatic conversation. The God of the universe.... the God of all grace is calling you and me to himself. We need to stop faking grace.

Jim

Loving Immigrants in Alabama

The state of Alabama has been in the news recently as a new immigration law has been enacted which has been billed as the nations toughest. Immigration has been a controversial issue for many years in our nation. When our economy was good the opportunities for unskilled labor boomed and literally millions of people from Mexico and other nations came to find work to support their families. Over the last few years as our economy in the U.S. has weakened the issue has now become very heated and emotional. Our federal government which legally bares the responsibility for the issue has not addressed  in a systematic way what to do with the issue of legal and illegal immigration. As someone who ministers to international students at a University in Alabama I can assure you that every aspect of immigration in our nation is dysfunctional. You can do everything right and still find yourself waiting for years and expending huge sums of money to work and reside legally within the current system. States including Alabama have grown extremely frustrated and have resorted to unilateral legislation to deal with the issue. It remains to be seen if states can effectively deal with the issue of immigration without meaningful cooperation and assistance from our federal government. While politicians can enact laws and law enforcement seek to uphold them, the reality remains that immigrants are people too.
  How do we treat the immigrant population living in our country? As we move about in daily life, how does one tell if someone is legal or illegal?  Christians are commanded by God to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. How does that play out in a situation like Alabama is experiencing? There is a great deal of complexity in dealing with any situation involving people.... and especially families who are living in America as illegal immigrants. It's not uncommon for some of the family (especially children) to be born here and be legal citizens while their parents are not. If we reflexively respond, "KICK THEM OUT" without understanding what that means to their family dynamics we are not really loving them. We need to find a way to advocate for immigration reform while also understanding the ripple effect in every area of our society. I know some legal immigrants who simply because of the color of their skin are being mistreated and harassed in the environment of fear and anger created by this unresolved issue.
  I respect and support our government. But at the same time I do not support an approach which does not really resolve the issue at large. The immigrant population is on the move in Alabama to neighboring states.  Perhaps this can be viewed as a 'success' by our state legislators and Governor. It might force the hand of our negligent federal government. However, if in the process of driving illegal immigrants from our borders we allow our own hearts to harden that success will be a hollow victory.
  Jesus summed up his entire ethical teaching in the gospel of Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
  What does it look like to love a neighbor who because of poverty has been living in your neighborhood illegally? Do we kick them out?  Do we offer them a meal on the way to their car? Do we view them as our enemy? The teachings of Jesus are simple to teach in a safe, clean, Sunday school classroom. But when we take those teachings out of the classroom into a world that is clearly broken we might just find it harder to live than we realize. Alabama and indeed our nation as a whole is being tested like never before. My prayer is that we will pass that test. May the love of God be our guide.


Jim

The Prison of the Past

  No one wants to lose their freedom and be confined to a prison. A prison is a place of restriction and confinement. In a prison you lose freedom of movement. Someone else makes the decisions for you. You are told when you will eat.....when you will sleep.....what you will eat and with whom you will live.  What you can see, taste, feel and experience is largely outside the ability of your will to choose. Prison is meant to be a punishment for the violation of societies laws and interests. You are placed in prison to protect the welfare of those who choose to live within the lines of moral constraint. Paint outside the lines of society norms, and you risk living in a place where all the lines are painted for you.

  There is another kind of prison that many of us live in that has no physical bars to control us. Many of us live in a prison of our past failures and mistakes. We live in a place of confinement known as 'regret'. We place the handcuffs and shackles on our minds. We forfeit freedom in the name of self punishment. We lose the ability to hope. We chain ourselves to those we have failed and disappointed and cease living forward looking lives.

  To be forgiven for all our failures and sins is a difficult concept to accept and receive. The message of the world is 'someone must pay' and we naturally agree with this to the point of self destruction and abasement. Often the most difficult person to forgive in life is ourselves.  We cry out for forgiveness but our emotions are often overwhelmed by what we've done.... and by what's been done to us. We wonder when we will 'feel' forgiven and obtain peace on the inside.

  Being set free from the chains of our past is a journey of faith and grace. There is a grace walk of transformation of our thought life.  In Paul's letter to the church at Phillipi we hear the heart of someone set free from the prison of his past by a living Savior, "God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection of the dead."

  We need to be raised from the dead many times in this life.  Death is not just a physical event. Death is something we experience every time we come face to face with the results of our own sins..... and the sins of others. The wages of sin is death.... a death of what we expected, wanted or desired from life. Until we experience the life that is in Jesus Christ, the one who conquered death for ever, we will never overcome the inherent crippling power of death. When the storms of life come, we are overcome with despair. We might continue to breath..... to sleep.....to eat.......but we lose any sense of satisfaction and peace. We consign ourselves to the prison of our own discontent. We become a part of the endless train of humanity known as the 'living dead'. How do we come out of the imprisonment of our past?

  It's important we understand that the walk out of the prison of our past is a process.  Paul continues in his letter to the church at Philllipi, "I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize  for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." (see Phillipians ch. 3)

  Grace has the power to heal and transform our memories. The question is not, 'will I ever forget?'. The question is how will I choose to interpret what has happened to me and through me? God's grace  enables us to move past our pain and suffering to see that 'God meant it for good'. Part of our healing is released when we make the decision to lean forward into the future with God. We 'forget' so that we can receive the future marked out for us. This is not mental trickery. You are not obliterating the past by a spiritual lobotomy. You are instead receiving a revelation from God about how indeed he causes, 'all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." The path of Christ followers is not an easy path or one without thorns. Instead it's a path where not a single thorn is wasted in the transformation of our souls.

  Are you living in the prison of the past? Are you 'stuck' in despair, pain and disappointment with how life has treated you? Today, I urge you to allow God to pour out grace into your prison of regret. Jesus has defeated every form of death that exists in our world. When we choose to receive his forgiveness for what we have done..... and to forgive what has been done to us.... the doors of our prison can spring open.

  There is still so much left of life for all of us to experience..... to share and to love. Come out today and be set free from the prison of your past. A new day dawns just beyond the doors of our broken places.  Jesus died for your freedom.  Don't waste another moment of life in torment or despair. Grace is calling......welcome home.

Jim 

Building a Life of Intimacy

 We all want satisfying and intimate relationships. We were born to love and be loved. But the achievement of satisfying relationships often seems elusive and frustrating. What are some of the essential ingredients in building a life of relational satisfaction. If we know how we have been made.... who we are at our core, we can lay the bricks that build a lasting bridge toward relational intimacy. The first book of the Bible reveals something about our inherent nature and personhood that we must understand. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse  26, "Let us make man in our image , after our likeness."
  We are more than our physical bodies. When our heart stops beating it doesn't mean we cease to exist. Our spirit lives on.... the eternal ME, our personhood needs to be understood before we expect to build deep and lasting relationships. Our spiritual self relates to our deepest desires, meaning, love, purpose and worth.
  All of us have two real and profound needs which must be met before we can experience intimacy that lasts. The image of God is reflected upon us through those two needs. God is a personal being who in his essential nature is LOVE. God is also a creator of design and purpose and the author of meaning for all of us.  We too are personal beings....but we are limited, dependent and sinful. God is love..... we need love.  Whatever God produces and empowers is significant. It's in knowing God that we find deep love and significance. Let's take a closer look at our two essential needs as human beings.
1. Security: a deep understanding of being unconditionally loved without needing to change in order to obtain that love.  To be loved by a love freely given, not earned and impossible to lose.
2. Significance: when we realize we are engaged in a life that is truly important, a life whose significance will not evaporate with time... but will last throughout eternity. This life will have a meaningful impact on another person and fit who I am as a person. (Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
  The foundation stone for acheiving intimacy is Truth. In a relationship with God in Christ we can live satisfied.... knowing that we are at every moment eternally loved and genuinely significant. As Watchman Nee says so well in his commentary on Ephesians (Sit, Walk, Stand), "Christianity begins not with a big DO , but with a big DONE." In other words, cease striving..... and begin to really live by grace and love available to you through God's finished work on the cross of Christ.
  When key relationships falter and cause me to feel insecure or less significant, I can continue to hold firmly to the fact that in Christ I am always and forever a worthwhile person. God's first call is not to a religion or system of belief. God's first call is always to himself.... to relationship, to an intimate knowledge of his love and person. That kind of love never disappoints. He's calling you to know him....really know him.  Answer the call to relationship.

Jim

When Dreams Collapse

 We are built to believe, to hope and to dream. All of us universally are created with a capacity to create and shape our futures. Right now, our world is experiencing a world wide recession. We seem to be moving backwards on an escalator out of our control. Our dreams are collapsing personally, nationally and internationally. Just what in the 'world' is going on?
  The concepts of economic and political unity which have forged a European Union and even a United States of America are fraying and faltering. Today, we are hearing of the likely collapse of Greece due to its overwhelming debt. What often starts as a grand vision of hope and excitement often collapses somewhere along the way.
  The concept of unity offers so much to those who will agree to key unifying concepts related to values and goals. But the unification of people is a very difficult thing to achieve without deep commitment and effort. Politicians can't create unity over the long term.  Democratic freedoms are dependent on an inner sense of morality and a commitment to a cause greater than oneself. Selfishness leads to an eventual collapse of a society and economic and moral chaos .
  Dictators and despots arise at times such as this. Adolf Hitler arose in a time of economic disaster and hopelessness. He offered a false sense of national unity and pride and his guns and butter philosophy set the table for the destruction and death of millions. The times in which we live could likewise produce another false hope.
  What or who are you hoping in? What are you dreaming about? There are false messiah's in every realm of life. When you put all your hope on a person or a politician you will inevitably be disappointed. The chaos we are seeing in our world today is at its core a spiritual struggle. There is real evil trying to overcome good through deception and an appeal to our sinful nature.
 The false god of wealth is not doing so well in our current climate of economic uncertainty. Money in and of itself is not evil. Money is an exchange for time.... for life.  What we do with our wealth reveals much about what we worship and what we value. When we recognize that life is about relationships and keep that front and center in our priorities we preserve and honor truth. Jesus told us clearly that a man and woman's life does not consist 'in the abundance of their possessions'.
  There is a time and a season for everything under heaven. At present we are all experiencing an economic recession or contraction. Don't waste this recession! Evaluate your priorities, your dreams and your hopes for the future.  Are your goals too materialistic? How would your dreams fulfillment impact the relationships in your life? Would your dream bring honor and glory to God?
  We are all in a time of change and transition. We're all headed somewhere and now would be a good time to decide where you want to go with the rest of your life.  As for me and my house....we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Jim
  

This Marathon Called Life

In January, 2010, my son Joshua and I completed a 26.2 mile marathon in Mobile, Al. It was a challenging day. The temperature at the start was around 20 degrees Fahrenheit with a lot of wind. We had trained a lot for this race but there are always elements in every challenge in life that we are not in control of. To run for that distance it is critical to stay hydrated and it was amazingly hard to drink the equivalent of 'ice water' in spite of thirst. The cold water seemed to trigger nausea for both of us and from mile 15-19 or so we both felt it. At mile 15 they were "out of water" at the rest stop and I was really upset about that.... I was thinking how can you be out of water at a water stop? So I trudged along and began to feel like I was not going to make it to the finish. I grew increasingly despondent. I was cold and my legs didn't want to move very well. But I continued onward slower and slower. I knew that my friends and family were manning the water stop just past the 20 mile mark and I thought I will make it to there and throw myself into the arms of my merciful wife who would understand if I stopped and did not finish.
As I approached the 20 mile water stop I saw my friend Ben Brenner who was shouting encouragement and began to run alongside me. His words to me and his presence alongside impacted me immediately. I felt my mind and body feeling better. He told me I was going to finish... and I believed him. I had heard many similar voices from people all along the course but none of them impacted me like Ben's. I knew Ben... this wasn't some random voice saying things it didn't mean. Ben knew me... and believed in me. Not only did Ben encourage me with words but he began to lead a cheer for me as we neared the water table... all my friends and my wife began to shout my name and I felt a wave of love hit me on Spring Hill avenue. At that instant I felt better than I had in several miles. I did not ask him too but Ben ran with me for quite a while through the water stop and beyond and illustrated with me that actions are even more powerful than our words. Many will say they are with you in trials, storms and difficulties but those who run or walk with you through those times have an amazing power of influence. I also had many who were praying for me along the journey. Life is a journey of amazing highs and lows and it's easy to get discouraged in the 'middle miles' when the finish line is not yet in sight. That's when we really need our friends and family (community) to believe in us, walk with us and encourage us to live the life that God has planned for us.
Running the marathon in Mobile I learned  a powerful lesson that the power of encouragement is a unique gift that can be exercised by anyone willing to draw alongside people going through the challenges of life. Your words and your presence carry a power that can help others finish and not quit what they have been called to do. Sometimes the most powerful words are simply, "You can make it!"

Jim