Seeing Past the Prison Bars

  Ever find yourself in a place you don't want to be? Life has many unexpected turns leading us to places we didn't know existed and were not on any maps we owned. God is still God when we come to those places. In the Old Testament we read of a man of impeccable character being put through a series of trials and broken relationships to get him to the place God had prepared for him..... a place of difficulty, but also a place of destiny and deliverance.

  God deals with the big picture. He loves people.... individually and also significantly peoples plural. Sometimes that love brings correction and discipline. In Psalm 105 and verses 16-21 we read of how he worked his providence through Joseph and the people of Israel. "When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.

  Obedience and following God does not immunize us from suffering, pain, turmoil or trial. Joseph was God's man but he went through rejection, pain and many dark nights of the soul on his way to victory and ultimate triumph.  It's through faith ....... and patience that we inherit the promises of God. (Hebrews 6:12) God is taking us somewhere.... and he can be trusted that indeed he knows where he is going and who he is making us to become.  History is not just about events and outcomes. History is also about the shaping of men and women's souls. Romans 8:28, 29 informs us about God's ultimate desire for all of us in life's events, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance and he chose them to be like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters."  God first has to 'call us out' before he can call us into himself. Here Joseph experiences suffering and separation so that God can use him in his perfect plan of redemption for his family and the nation of Israel.  The primary cause of the universe is not our comfort but God's glory. For the believer, the blessed assurance is not a life of ease and comfort, but a life of meaning and purpose under God.  The waiting for God's purpose and plan is often referred to as a test.  Tests reveal what we know.... or what we don't know.  The God kind of test reveals much about who we believe God to be and who we think we are.  We often don't know something until the fire of pain, difficulty, uncertainty and darkness envelopes our soul.

  In Psalm 105 vs 20 we see that there does come deliverance, "The king sent and released him; the ruler of the people set him free.  In God's foresight and providence there does come release and provision. The struggle of waiting and trusting and releasing that timing to him is our paramount test in life. On the other side of the test for those who remain faithful is promotion and fulfillment of God's plan for our lives.  In verse 21, " He made him lord of his house and ruler of his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.

  Adversity is a great teacher. When we yield our pain to a sovereign God we gain the fruit of wisdom and preparation necessary to fulfill our purpose in life.  We might not know the future, but we can know the One who holds it firmly in the grip of his will and plan. The character and faith we need to fulfill our destiny is often forged in the hard places of life. We need to hold onto the God who promises to never leave us and never forsake us. He's always on time, never late. He can be trusted.

Jim

Healing Rain

I live in Mobile, Alabama. We are normally one of the rainiest cities in the U.S. There's something about rain that brings a sense of relief in so many ways. Rain brings life, cleansing, growth and refreshing. In a spiritual sense, rain represents the coming of God the Holy Spirit into our lives. When God comes with his presence we are revived, restored and healed. God's Spirit draws near and brings the life we so desperately need. Our daily lives drain us and we all experience times of spiritual dryness and even long standing periods of drought. We lose the sense of freshness that rain brings. Trials produce heat, friction, tension and fatigue. We become worn down....and often worn out. We need to pray for healing rain to pour into our lives. You were meant to be dependent on God for life itself. That thirst your experiencing on the inside is proof that you need a deep and ongoing connection with God. The Holy Spirit is God's great comforter and counselor and he comes to us in the midst of our ongoing struggles and hard times. We need to pray for God to pour out a storm of His presence in our lives.
  After long periods of drought and dryness we can begin to lose hope for rain to come. We need to wait until he comes.... wait in prayer, wait in contemplation, wait in expectancy. We learn much about ourselves when we are not hearing and obeying God actively. Life without God is a barren dessert of progressive danger and distress.
  You were meant to be refreshed by an ongoing revelation of God's love to you. God's rain comes in so many diverse and wonderful ways. A still small voice telling of his love.... an unexpected provision in a time of desperate need.....a kind word from a stranger.....a good report from a Doctor when all seemed lost.  All of these and more are the rain of God coming into your life.  Your body, soul and spirit need a daily 'bath' in God's rain of love and inspiration. God is deeply in love with you. His words tells us that his thoughts about us are innumerable....they can't be counted.....they outnumber the sand! (Psalm 139: 17,18)
  It's time for all of us to cry out in expectancy for God to 'let it rain' with healing refreshing and encouragement for our lives. The world breeds pessimism and death. Heaven breathes life, hope and love. Breathe it in and open your face upward into the rain storm of God's unending love. He loves you, he really does.

Jim

Intimacy and Sexual Purity

  Walk through any bookstore or drug store magazine rack and you are stunned by the multiple publications and articles on the topic of sexuality. But seldom will you see the two words intimacy and sexuality juxtaposed within the same heading. Modern society has increasingly attempted to separate the physical side of sexuality from the relational, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of the topic. Somehow in a "modern" society we are supposed to enjoy our liberated mores and participate in sex regardless of its impact on every other area of the human personality.
Sex was never meant or designed to be enjoyed with such a naive and narrow view. For our sexuality is such a powerful physical, emotional, mental and spiritual experience that when acted upon in the wrong time with the wrong person for the wrong reasons we can destroy ourselves in the process. On the other hand sexuality is one of the most powerfully enjoyable and life giving experiences within the boundaries of the right person, for the right reasons at the right time in life. This introduces a lot of questions such as: How do I know its the right person? What are the right reasons? When is the right time?
God created Sex. And it wasn't just to populate the planet. It was also to enable us to enjoy the pleasure of committed intimacy. Sexuality was never meant to be separated from a deep and meaningful relationship developed out of the context of trust and respect. The whole concept of marriage flows out of a divine revelation: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame." (Genesis 2:24,25)
Sin introduced shame. Selfishness and rebellion (sin) violated and damaged the relationship between men and women and it still does. Separation and confusion in the relationships between men and women that resulted from sin have caused untold misery and disappointment to develop in an area of relationship meant to convey joy, peace, excitement and pure pleasure. We are in deep trouble in the human race and no area is more troubled than sexuality. If knowledge was the answer America would be the most satisfied nation on the planet when it comes to this topic. But clearly knowledge alone is not the answer. The assumption in the modern era is that prudery has kept us in the dark for too long and the way to sexual satisfaction is more education and freedom to "just do it" with whom we will. Sexual disease and death aside the freedom to "do what you want" has neither satisfied nor improved the quality of relationships.
A river without proper boundaries is a flood that kills and destroys. A river flowing along its proper course with secure boundaries gives life and sustenance to a community. God in his mercy and love provides sexuality with boundaries that ensures it brings life and not death. Let's take a look at just a few ways that scripture can instruct.
God created sexual expression as the ultimate act of self giving and revelation to another person with whom we become ONE in every sense of the word.... a mysterious and satisfying sharing of life in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual sense. When we physically unite with someone outside of the committed context of a life long relationship we damage one another instead of giving life to one another.
Right now we live in a society that modern sociologists call a "pornified" culture. Pornography misrepresents and damages intimacy in both our view of ourselves, others and even the concept of marriage. The ability to be satisfied sexually becomes increasingly difficult to the point of obsession, addiction and perversion. The whole concept of monogamy and faithfulness is ridiculed and our heroes are celebrated for the opposite: infidelity and sexual brazenness. But are we really satisfied or has lust created an insatiable appetite and thirst?
Jesus understood this well and confronted his culture as well as ours, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery', but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The issue goes so deep that it is an issue of the heart way before it becomes an action. You will NEVER be satisfied sexually until you are first satisfied spiritually and content and satisfied in a relationship with the very real and righteous God. I am not talking about being religious and weird. If you know the truth about who God is and know his love you will TRUST HIM and be free. Free to enjoy sex with the right person (your husband or wife) at the right time (after marriage) for the right reasons (to give yourself fully to your spouse as an act of love and intimacy). We have not in any way tapped the great reservoir of joy in sexuality as a society. Instead we have weakened and diluted it with our unbelief and lies about the God who created it.
The religious traditions of men have given God a bad name in the area of sexuality. Satan loves to push people to one perverse extreme or another.... sex without boundaries and love or sex stunted by fear and regret. There is a better way. When will we really walk in a relationship with God enough to ensure that we live sexually pure within a life long committed relationship called marriage? "For it is said, the two will become one flesh..... Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man or woman commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.
God is not trying to deprive you of any good thing. In the right time, with the right person, for the right reasons God will satisfy those who will wait and trust him for a sexually satisfying and intimate relationship. When you take your body and give it to another apart from the boundaries of a loving God, you are playing a dangerous game of fantasy. Don't trade pleasure for a season for a lifetime of intimacy without regret.

Jim

Giving and Receiving

Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)  I get that. I have been intensely blessed as I have sought to help others in life. Whether as an R.N. helping to establish an eye hospital in northern Pakistan or in the ministry of Friends of Internationals & All Nations Community Church in Mobile, Al, we have lived a blessed life of service and caring. Nurses and Pastors are shaped, trained and empowered to give and attend to the needs of others. I have seldom been physically ill. I have been in excellent health for my entire life. Several days ago something changed. Last Saturday afternoon an Optometrist and then and Ophthalmologist looked into the back of my eye and told me a sobering truth, I was deeply in need of help. I had gone to get a new pair of glasses or an updated prescription prior to an upcoming missions trip to Nepal. But I left the Doctor's office knowing I had a much deeper need.
  I am beginning to realize that I have developed a weakness of the soul that needs healing. While my right eye has developed diminished vision from a tumor there is something else that needs healing on the inside of me. The ability to put my hands together and receive from others is underdeveloped and lacking. Yesterday while undergoing testing on my right eye the vision in that eye became even more limited through the effects of dilation drops and also the never ending bright lights and probing exams. Mary had to lead me by my hand through the streets of Birmingham, Al toward lunch.  She had to describe the terrain under my feet and the ebb and flow of traffic. I was dependent. I needed to receive. I was not in charge. I was receiving and it wasn't very comfortable at all.
  Paul the apostle had some familiarity with the need of balance in the area of giving and receiving in his life. Paul had a brilliant mind and a strong leadership gifting. Paul also found himself thrown into jail and restricted in his ability to move around freely. In his letter from jail to the church in Philippi he said this about his circumstances, "Yet it was kind of you to share in my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.  Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus, the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
  Life is all about relationships. Healthy relationships are built on mutual giving and receiving.... sharing life together. I need to be more comfortable and open to allow others to give into my life and the life of my family. There is a time and a season and a purpose for everything in life. As I sit here struggling to type this note with one eye hazy and cloudy I know that it's a time to receive. Your love and care for me and my family at this time are an extension of a divine reality.  There are few things that last forever.... but love is one of them.  I open my hands up to you..... all of you.....maybe for the first time. I am ready to receive.
Much love;

Jim

Blind Spots

Too often we take vision for granted. For 5 years I worked in an eye hospital in the mountains of Northern Pakistan. I saw so many tragic situations involving loss of vision through infection, accidents, disease and aging. I've always had good vision. Last Thursday afternoon I noticed a change in vision in my right eye while attending a cross country racing event at Langan Park in Mobile. Everything seemed a little hazy and my eye seemed uncomfortable. Being a nurse I started to do a little 'self exam' when I got home and it made me nervous. I noticed that I had developed a 'blind spot' in my peripheral vision. I simply could not see much on the right nasal field of vision of the right eye. I have studied ophthalmology and I was concerned. I initially didn't tell Mary what was going on. We were both scheduled for a trip to Nepal and I knew that if the symptoms were for real that trip might be cancelled. I quietly mentioned I would go in for an eye exam on Saturday at America's Best on Airport blvd to see if I might need a new glass prescription. When I was being examined by the Optometrist who had dilated my eyes for a look at the retina in the back of the eye, his face grew noticeably pale and he began dialing a number for an on call Ophthalmologist. His first thought was I had suffered a retinal detachment which might require immediate surgery. I called Mary and told her I had a serious problem and she took me over to see the retinal specialist who immediately upon examination told me I had a large tumor in my right eye and that I had probably had for a long time. To be honest I wasn't completely surprised. The symptoms I had been having since Thursday were unusual and not good. That blind spot was a sign that all was not well with my vision and that my life was about to change.

  As I write this I do so with my left eye doing most of the work. God is a good engineer and creator and he has built redundancy into the physical masterpiece of the human body. We have two eyes for a reason! I am awaiting more medical appointments and counsel regarding what to do with the tumor in my right eye. I don't know what is going to happen. I have complete and total peace about it. My faith is that God is in control of my life. There is nothing I have not surrendered to him. I trust in him completely and I will be looking for him in every aspect of what will come going forward. God is good..... all the time.

  Whether your eyes are perfect or not we all still have a tendency to have blind spots in our lives. One of the effects of sin in our life is that we don't see our failures and imperfections very easily. We tend to magnify others failures while minimizing our own. We can have blind spots toward what we say, how we  act and in our attitudes. The ability to see clearly is not just a physical reality...it's often a matter of the heart.  In Jesus greatest sermon he mentioned attributes that illustrated a blessed and meaningful life and one of those involved a vision of the heart. Jesus said this in Matthew 5 and verse 6, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

 I am praying and asking God to heal my physical vision. I recognize the precious gift that physical sight is to my life.  I need to see. But there is a deeper need in my life and your life that we too often don't recognize or acknowledge.  We need to see God. We need to experience that inner transformation that allows us to have his peace, joy and love at work in our souls. God knows our blind spots and he wants to heal them and transform them for our purification and his glory.  Would you pray with me for God to open the eyes of our hearts? Yes, I want a physical healing but I don't want to stop there. I want to see what God sees, feel what he feels and hear what he is speaking.  Life is all about relationships.... and the greatest lover of all, God,  is someone I want to see most of all.

Jim

Wounded Healers

  In a world of broken people, the thought of being used by God to heal others is intimidating and overwhelming. We know too well our own failings and weaknesses. Surely God will find someone who has their act completely together to bring healing and hope to the hurting. We believe the myth of spiritual super heroes whose feet never touch the ground as they sail through life as special delivery agents of God's miracles of power and grace. The reality is that the people God uses to heal and deliver us from evil are made of clay.... that is weak and subject to being broken! We are told in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7, "But this precious treasure---this light and power that now shine within us----is held in perishable containers, that is in our weak bodies. So that everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own."

  In a world desperate for healing and hope it is up to us to recognize that God wants to use wounded people to perform his wonders. When we can fully recognize that every good thing in life is a gift from above, we become less self absorbed and more God dependent. It's all about Him..... and not about us!

  2 Cortinthians chapter 4 and verse 5 remind us, "We don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are you servants because of what Jesus has done for us." When we get out of the way and surrender to the amazing grace and power of a Savior who has conquered death itself, we can be used to heal others.....even while we ourselves are being healed.....from the inside out.

  There is a powerful temptation to wait before we will allow God to use us to help others. And in that hesitation is a powerful and diabolical deception.....that somehow faith is primarily a personal and private expression of belief. If the father of lies can separate and paralyse our 'faith'  to quiet closets of sentimental beliefs, he can keep us wounded forever. The reality is that the things we do for others out of a pure heart heal our own broken places. We should not wait to be healed to love others! God uses the imperfect and the incomplete....we truly are wounded healers.

  Forgiveness and the grace of God in salvation initiate a process of ongoing healing and transformation that are meant to heal not just ourselves but others. God's calling to wholeness is meant to heal not just individuals but communities of people who will walk together in transformative grace.

  In the year 1624, the British poet, John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." By this we understand that our healing and wholeness are interdependent. In order for my own healing and wholeness to be complete, I must not be paralysed by a solely inward gaze. When I cease to care for others, I cease to be fully human and thus healing eludes me. We need God, and we need one another to be whole and well in this life.

  Healing goes so far beyond a particular surgical or medical intervention. While modern medicine offers physical healing there remains a peculiar relational aspect to healing that integrates both soul and spirit. Surgeons can clear clogged arteries and staple fractured bones....but they cannot release forgiveness or restoration to a wounded and abused soul. For that we need both the unconditional love of God displayed so extravagantly by our wounded Savior on the Cross and also jars of clay....people like you and me to carry the message.....while we ourselves are still on the road to complete healing. Will you be a 'wounded healer' to carry the message of God's healing and saving love? It's in the going and dying to self that we truly find healing. Truly, no man is an island..... we need one another so desperately as we travel the road to that forever place we call home, where our healing will be final and complete.

Jim

The Living Dead: My Year of Darkness and Transformation

1979 was the hardest year of my life. I was 20 years old and living in Anchorage, Alaska. I had a challenging job working as a Medical Lab tech for the U.S. Air-force at Elmendorf Air force base. The toughest part was the shift work. I worked from around 3:30 p.m. till 7 a.m. the next morning. That is a long shift. Since I was single, our Senior Master Sergeant had the idea that having me work nights would ensure the married guys had a better quality of life..... I sure hope they did... it was killing me.
Over time I became more and more tired and disgusted by my life. I didn't mind being a lab tech. I just minded not having any thing else in my life. The military doesn't guarantee a 40 hour work week. They "own" you. Yes, there are benefits. They provide housing, food, educational benefits etc.... and 30 days vacation a year.... if they can spare you. Really my problem wasn't with the military. It was with me.
On the inside at the tender young age of 20 was a dead soul. I really had everything that I needed to live. Food, housing, meaningful work( perhaps too much!). But my soul was dead. At one point I remember going to the cafeteria in the hospital where I worked and remarking that I felt like the food was 'killing' me". I was sitting with a bunch of my co-workers and they looked at me with consternation. The main course that night was 'liver' and it tasted like rubber. After a while the food just didn't seem to taste like anything at all. I was dying from the inside out.
I gradually became more and more cynical and rebellious...and arrogant. I was a scary guy to be around. When people saw me heading to work in the evening they would sometimes cross the street to avoid coming face to face with me. If you had access to some old photos of me you would be surprised to see my face. In the summer and fall of 1979 I looked at least 35 and not 20. I was hardened. My heart was stone cold dead.
Once your heart stops beating and your lungs stop breathing you have approximately 4 minutes until your brain begins to suffer irreparable damage. If you are fortunate enough to have someone do CPR and provide advanced life support you might just survive. But there is another kind of death and its far too common. It's a sad reality for many that death is already close at hand. The living dead are those who get up in the morning and move around on the outside but are dead on the inside.
Every single person on the planet lives in 3 dimensions: Body, Soul & Spirit. We are taught to eat right, exercise, search out purpose and meaning in our work etc.... But there's more. We are meant to connect with something eternal... someone eternal. I'ts not about religion. Religion more often than not will kill you before it heals you. Religion lays down rules, regulations and restrictions designed to bind you to others in a prison of control. No, what we need is life itself...which comes through an amazing display of love in Jesus. Grace is something we must embrace before we can really live in this world of the living dead.
To be free on the inside....to be forgiven and to forgive is to come fully alive. That feeling of dissatisfaction and emptiness you're experiencing right now is something I can remember too well. It's a heavy load to carry through life for even one day. For me the backpack of boulders fell off on August 2nd , 1980. On that day I found out about a forever love that accepted me, forgave me and ultimately saved me. It's good to be alive. Jesus is real.

Jim