Jesus Wept

  Does God really care for us? Most of us can get our heads around the concept of God as powerful and great.... we look at the universe and its complexity and marvel at the unique genius involved in all that is made.

  But is God really loving? Wouldn't a supreme being be 'too busy' to be concerned with the individual people undergoing tragedy and trial here on the singular planet earth? After all our planet seems so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of the vast cosmos!

  In the gospel of John we are presented with a clear picture of the life of Jesus Christ. The purpose of this portrait of Jesus is that we might really understand who Jesus is. "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book;  but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."  Jesus is a historical figure that people of all faiths and cultures acknowledge and honor in some way. But its when we understand who Jesus said that he was and truly believe that we experience an infusion of a new kind of life.... a second birth.

  In the 11th chapter of John we discover something extremely important about Jesus and how he relates to us as people.  Jesus is just days away from being betrayed, crucified and ultimately resurrected from death to save us from our sins. But in the midst of his mission, he never lost sight of his relationships. Jesus was close to a family living in the village of Bethany.  Lazarus and his two sisters had hosted him in their home and their hospitality and love had made a distinct impression on Jesus. Tragically the story in this chapter opens with the news that Lazarus has become extremely ill. A messenger has been sent to Jesus who is at least a day's journey away, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." (John 11:3)  Let those words sink deeply into your heart and mind as you read this.  Jesus loves you.... yes, he loves you. Jesus is not in any way indifferent to your trials, tragedy and temptations in this life.  In verse 5 we read, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

  Perhaps your circumstances today seem to contradict that God loves you. You 'feel' abandoned, disappointed and broken by life. As this story unfolds it is revealed that God has a bigger plan in  this tragedy than Lazarus, Martha or Mary could have ever imagined. Jesus pointedly delays his travel to the home of the ailing Lazarus. In a dramatic and powerful display of his divinity, Jesus goes on to raise Lazarus from the DEAD! And yet today I want you to look not primarily at the miracle of Jesus but the motivation of his heart.

  In verse 32 we see a dramatic encounter outside the home of Jesus friends who were mourning the death of Lazarus.  "Then , when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord , if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was  troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?"

  They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

  Make no mistake God is moved with compassion in the direction of your pain.  In God's economy, relationship matters above everything else.  Jesus in not an emotionless spiritual being doing what he does without feeling and compassion.  Here we see the connection between empathy and mission. Jesus was MOVED with compassion toward bringing a miracle to bear into his friends lives.

  Even in the midst of our pain and problems we can be assured that Jesus is not indifferent. When his response seems delayed, muted or different than what we expected we can know without a doubt that we are loved by him.  "Jesus wept."..... the shortest verse in the Bible contains perhaps its deepest and most profound revelation to all who are hurting and in need of healing.

  Don't lose hope.  Jesus is moving in your direction.  Don't quit believing.  Don't quit praying.  He loves you and the answer to your cries is on its way. He loves you, he really does.

Jim

The Price of Intimacy: Faithfulness

  In order to develop and maintain intimacy in our relationships we must have a character quality known as fidelity.  Fidelity is defined as faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray. Intimacy demands loyalty and devotion to whom we are committed. 

  Infidelity in relationships between men and women is one of the most frequently cited causes for relational failure. It is important we understand the why behind the necessity of faithfulness and fidelity in our relationships. When we go back to our 'relational roots'  in the book of Genesis we see that intimacy and satisfaction in relationship was a God idea. Men and women were joined in a mutually satisfying unique creation.... the two were united into one. They were completely intimate, vulnerable, satisfied and without shame. ( see Genesis 2:18-25)

  Infidelity is more than an isolated physical act or relationship outside of marriage. Infidelity is rooted in the false belief that we can find 'what we're looking for' in intimacy outside of a committed relationship. It's a lie that plays upon our broken and sinful nature guaranteeing what it can never deliver. The sin trap begins when we look beyond the truth right in front of us to embrace the lie just beyond us. In the context of relational intimacy, infidelity often begins with lust. Lust is defined as unbridled sexual desire. Lust allows  the eyes and heart to wander outside of what is righteous and true. It seeks to take what it wants. It's not rooted in true love...it demands, it grabs. Lust is rooted in selfish desire though it often acts the part of genuine love. Jesus tells us that 'anyone who even looks on a woman with lust in his eye has  already committed adultery with her in his heart'. In a society and culture saturated with sexual imagery, its little wonder we have so few truly committed and intimate relationships. Betrayal is an act that damages all three dimensions of who we are as men and women. (Body, Soul & Spirit)

  Infidelity impacts our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. Once we cross the line of faithfulness in our marriage, we damage both ourselves and those who we claim to love. If you are married and you seek for intimacy outside of a relationship with your husband or wife you are guilty of infidelity and in danger of destroying yourself and your spouse.

  There is something uniquely destructive to human beings when we are guilty of sexual immorality. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6 we read, "But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise our bodies from the dead by his marvelous power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man (or woman) take his body which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don't you know that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the scriptures say, "The two become one." But the person who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body."

  When we sexually unite with another human we become "one" with that person in every conceivable dimension. There is no such thing as 'casual sex'.  What God created for committed relationship is beautiful and satisfying in the right context. When we take our sexuality and spread it around beyond the safe boundaries of committed love, we damage every aspect of our humanity. The intimacy we seek through unbridled sexual relationships often ensures we will never find what we're looking for.

  Real intimacy demands committed and life long relationships which are willing to work through differences, disappointments and disagreements. Intimacy at its core is a spiritual reality that must involve the foundation stones of faith, hope and love. The counterfeits of self, lust and sensuality will never satisfy ultimately. Life long love is built on spiritual substance that will never fail us, never leave us, and never forsake. True intimacy is rooted in the God of love who can make all things new in our relationships. He can heal our broken hearts and give us pure desires. Today I urge you to forsake infidelity and lust for the real deal of committed love.  Intimacy awaits.

Overcoming the Spirit of Confusion

Confused? Wondering where life is taking you? What about that relationship? Just who are you anyway?  Why?

 These are question that haunt our soul and drive us to wonder and frustration. To put it in the simplest terms, when you don't know where you're going..... you're lost!

  Confusion can be defined as being in a state of contradiction.... mixed up, disordered. A confused person is disturbed in mind or purpose.... they are 'jumbled up' on the inside...emotionally, mentally, relationally.

  Confusion at it's deepest root is a fruit of a spiritual disconnect. God is not the author of confusion....but of peace~1 Cor. 14:33. When we try to define who we are....where we are to go.....what we are to do and who we are to be with....apart from the God who made us, we get confused.

  In our search for clarity and a defined purpose we can wrap our lives around, we need to be connected to our maker. Spirituality is not a wasted effort when we realize our design is meant to define and direct us toward our destiny. You are not randomly placed on the planet with your peculiar talents, desires, dreams and personality. You are you, because you were shaped, formed and created for a specific reason. When you're missing the mark (sin) of that defined purpose and destiny, you'll feel it on the inside. You will know. You will feel that empty and burning pain in your gut (your inner person/soul) that something is 'not right'.

  Did you ever feel like there are two of you fighting and struggling for control of your life? When we don't know who we really are, we can be tempted to take on multiple personas. In James ch. 1 and verses 5-6 we get some wise counsel on overcoming confusion, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticising, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man (or woman) is unstable in all his ways.

  We are confused because we stubbornly refuse to ask for help. We drive on the interstate of life with no internal GPS to guide our wavering and doubting souls. We are pilgrims without a plan. Trekkers without a map.  Wanderers with no home. Confusion is deeply spiritual. When you know who you are, you'll know where to go...and what to do....and who to be with.

  We educate our minds, train our bodies, soothe our emotions and starve our spirits. No wonder we're confused! Your 'inside' person is who you really are. Instead of being mishaped, distorted, manipulated and controlled by external and ever changing trends, we need to discover and nurture our spiritual lives on absolute truth.

  Proverbs 4:23 instructs us, "Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life". When was the last time you were quiet enough to hear your heart reflect and guide your life? Your conscience is a gift from God and you ignore it at your own peril. When we ignore the truth of God's word and violate our consciense we 'go dark' and wind up in a place of deep confusion and lostness. The way home often requires a U-turn in the middle of a dark and difficult place. Humility is often found at the end of a long and painful ride in the wrong direction. Perhaps its time to admit you're lost...and begin the journey home to love, relationship and the true you. Your loving God is waiting .... it's time to come home. The journey begins with a simple and heartfelt cry, "Help!". It's a prayer that never goes unanswered.

Jim

Insecurity

 Insecurity can be defined as, lack of confidence or assurance; self-doubt. In order for our souls to be healthy we need to have an understanding of the root causes of insecurity. Insecurity is a symptom of a deeper wound in the soul of a man or woman. We were born to be loved. God's original purpose for us all is that we know we were created by him for a specific purpose. We were meant to love and be loved. But in a broken and sin stained world we lose our relational center. We don't know who we are. We don't know how we got here.  We don't know where we're going. To put it simply, we're lost.

  The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah gives us some unique insight into how God plans us for significance. Our security is meant to be rooted in God's original design and call upon us as his unique creation. Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 4 proclaims God's intimate knowledge of us , "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world." God's knowledge, care and call upon our lives predate our physical conception! 

  How we define ourselves as people..... and how we allow others to define us often leads to attacks on our sense of security. Feeling secure......"safe from harm" is an absolute essential need for a healthy life. Insecurity leads to a constant sense of 'danger' which leads to the soul feeling under attack. When we feel insecure our body and mind go on 'full alert' and we release chemicals into our bloodstream designed to get us ready to run for our lives. When the danger is not something that can be evaded by our fight or flight reflexes, our souls become vexed and we feel constantly exhausted and emotionally drained. There is an underlying sense that we are not measuring up to who we should be. We feel like a failure when compared to others. Perhaps it is an issue of our physical appearance. For women there is intense pressure to achieve a standard of beauty that is virtually unattainable in real life.  For those approaching college or the work world, the competition for grades or a particular job is intense. People define themselves by their field of study, income, ownership of homes and cars etc..... There is a sense that security lies in a set of variables often outside our control. This is a breeding ground for insecurity.  You cannot buy or sell security. Security is a gift you were given before you were born. Your significance and value are rooted somewhere more stable and deep. God made you, he formed you, he shaped and he created you for a specific masterpiece of purpose. Your physical appearance, your intelligence, your talents and your desires and dreams flow out of a grand design. You are created out of love. God is passionate about you!

  Listen to how the Psalmist David describes God's intimate knowledge of you,  "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was being woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." (Psalm 139:13-16)

  God was intimately involved in making you who you are. Security is rooted in knowing this in the deepest recesses of your heart and mind. When you know that you are not an accident. When you know you're who you are .... on purpose. That every aspect of you is precious, important and loved perfectly.... you're able to become secure.....safe from harm. Healed.

  We are all on the way to somewhere. We are all becoming someone. God's design and ultimate purpose for all of us is that we would be so rooted and secure in his love that we would discover his purposes for us and achieve a significance and satisfaction that surpasses anything that money alone could possibly buy. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10 says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

  Feeling insecure? Are fear, uncertainty or anxiety gripping your soul? Is there an underlying sense that something is missing on the inside? You were not meant to live this way. These feeling are symptoms of an insecure soul longing to come home to a perfectly loving Heavenly Father.... who created, made you, shaped and formed you....beautifully and wonderfully made for significance.

  Security isn't an achievement..... security isn't a retirement fund or the perfect spouse, home or job.Security is a relationship with the one who made you, who loved you and who is waiting to pour out his love upon you right now wherever you are. He has a lot to say, and you need to hear it.  Open your heart.... and let the healing begin.

Jim

The Long Surrender

The word surrender is not a concept that engages a people or a society that embraces freedom. We don't want to yield control to anyone or anything. We want to 'call the shots' and control our destinies. When we encounter Jesus in the Bible we shudder when we hear his calls to surrender and service. Jesus has the gall to call us to full surrender. Hear it in his bold command, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." In our church culture we have reduced the cross to a well designed piece of jewelry. But in the historical reality of Jesus day the cross was an instrument of death.

What was Jesus really saying to those who would follow him? When is a "Christian" really a follower of the Christ? Have we reduced the meaning of being a Christian so far that is no longer has any real meaning in line with what Jesus was saying? Self denial? To live on behalf of another? To live for another King & his kingdom (purposes and plan)?

When we reduce Christ followers entry point to a momentary decision based on a formulaic prayer we create a man made 'believer' and not a true disciple. Surrender in the terms that Jesus commanded involves a long surrender....until we leave this life and enter the forever world we call heaven.

Surrender truly does mean to yield control to another. It's a scary word when we don't know the character and person of the one to whom you're yielding your very life. The reason why we have so many superficial 'Christians' is that you cannot yield full control to anyone you don't really know. Before we can follow anyone, we must first know them. 

Perhaps in our desire to 'make disciples' we cause people to miss the Christ they so desperately need to know. When we hurry the process of leading people to the great lover who is God, we abort the process of new life. What a tragedy to train people to 'be a Christian' apart from knowing Jesus Christ. When we push and cajole people insteady of listening and loving them, we do more harm than we imagine. God isn't hiring people to work for him....his call is first to know and love him.... and in the knowing we yield, we surrender, we become.... and we bear fruit.

The long surrender only makes sense when we know to whom we are yielding full control. When we know the love of the One who calls us to surrender, we're more free than we have ever been. When we lift our hands in full surrender, we find ourselves in a place we were created for.....Home.
Jim

The Land Called Love

There's a healing coming

To that place within

There's a lightning bolt

About to strike that pain

That hunger and that deep desire

Were placed there as a living sign

Healing begins

When we reach the end

And find ourselves

At a place called pain

It's when we turn

That we see the way

Hidden from our eyes

In a world gone stray

The first step back

And I feel his hand

Reaching out to Me

In that Land called Love

The Transparent Soul

To love....and to be loved... There is no more fundamental and basic life need than the need for love. We were created, shaped and formed for love. There are many obstacles to achieving the love we so desperately need and crave. Humans have a deep need for connection in the 'soulish' realm. The soul is that part of us that involves our thoughts, our desires, our emotions and our sense of meaning/purpose. We want to share ourselves and connect to others who respect, admire and draw strength and even inspiration from a relationship with us. We are searching for 'soul mates' with whom we can share on a deeper level. We are hungry for true intimacy.

  In the midst of seeking for a deeper connection with another person we often stumble over many land mines along the journey toward real intimacy. The ability to reveal ourselves and know others demands much. We need to be willing to lay aside masks and hypocrisy. Often we are too familiar with our own 'act' of personal hide and seek. Today, I would like to talk about one key to finding satisfaction in life's relationships. That key is transparency.

Transparency can be defined as, "the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance.... so that bodies situated beyond it or behind it can be seen.

  As a personal quality, transparency involves the ability to let others see who we really are.Transparency demands deliverance from insecurity. A transparent soul is so over play acting and deception that 'what you see is what you get' is an every day reality in their relationships. A transparent person breathes trust into every personal interaction. There is no guile, no masks, no uncertainties or verbal jousting.

  How can we become more transparent in our lives? First of all we have to reject all the counterfeits of false intimacy. We are thrilled and enslaved with the guile and deception of lust and a sexuality stripped of commitment. But that sensual thrill has a huge price tag with a diminishing return. There is a beauty of the exterior that stripped of an internal lasting commitment never satisfies for long.  

The transparent soul is unafraid to reveal the interior.... to share the real self....knowing that love differs from lust is one foundational reality: it's real. Lust is based on deceptions of 'enhancement', covering up the real with whatever trickery and falsehood that society demands.

  When we play games trying to be someone we aren't, we ensure frustration and failure in achieving intimate relationships. Intimacy is achieved only when we let people see who we really are.... and choose to allow others to be who they really are. We are all flawed and imperfect people in need of acceptance and love. The ability to love others is rooted in the gospel of love that heals wounded and broken hearts. It's when we gaze into the mirror of God's word and find the message of his unconditional love that we are empowered to strip off falsehoods and masks. No one can truly be loved for who they really are until they let go of pretension, deception and cover ups. You are who you are.... and God says you are worthy to be loved....right now.....as you are. Conditional love can never achieve intimacy. When you hear the phrase, "I will love you if......" you are not receiving the God kind of love which is the womb of intimacy and secure love. The best lovers are always the best forgivers.And God forgives us in Christ right now, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

  We are all sinners. We all falter and fail one another in relationship. The ability to forgive and to move forward in the midst of ongoing imperfection lays the ground work for deeper intimacy. Lust demands instant gratification. Intimacy requires patience and honesty.... and commitment.

  Wearing masks and trying to hide from others who you really are is an act of sabotage against yourself. You are worthy of love right now....no matter your personality, physical appearance, IQ, job status or educational achievement. You were created by a perfect loving Father who proved his love for you by sending Jesus to heal you from the inside out. When you open yourself up to that reality you become freed from the bondage of 'working' to achieve love. You need to receive the God kind of love for what it is.... a magnificent, unfathomable gift of grace and blessing. You truly are loved perfectly and forever for who you are right now.... for real....forever. Welcome home.

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 

Mobile: A City in Transition

I am proud to call Mobile, Alabama my home. I came to live in Mobile in the summer of 1998. Mobile is a beautiful city with so many features that make it a wonderful place to live. Like many other cities in America and around the globe, Mobile is at a crossroad in its long history. In the fall of 2008, a storm surge of economic catastrophe washed up into the port city and revealed the need for both reform and belt tightening. It's very difficult for major changes to be made quickly and they are often resisted by those who stand the most to gain from the status quo. Mobile is a city that depends greatly on sales tax to fund basic services and an economic downturn was sure to cut into the projected budgets.

   In 2010 we had a major debate about what to do as a city. Mayor Sam Jones wanted to increase the sales tax from 9 percent to 10 percent. There was some resistance initially but Gina Gregory and others on the council eventually agreed to a time limited increase to allow for other cuts and changes to city spending and practices. Within days of the tax rolling off the books, our Mayor called for a reinstatement of the sales tax as the only fix to solve the cities fiscal problems. Taxes and spending in government are constantly up for debate depending on your politics. There are completely different visions and beliefs depending on your viewpoint.

 The challenge facing Mobile goes farther than the issue of balancing the budget and a possible increase in the sales tax. At present Mobile is facing serious problems such as an increase in violent crime. We would be foolish to believe that simply gaining more income would solve the root causes of violence much of which is committed by teenagers. We need to pay our bills but we also need to look deeper at the type of society we are becoming.

  How we spend our money shows our priorities and our vision for our lives as individuals, families and as a community.  Over the last few years we have seen that we can do much better in terms of management and decision making over the limited funds we have. Much of the resistance to our Mayor's call for an increase in the sales tax has little to do with the money. The real issues before us are related to accountability, transparency and respect for a population mired in tough times. Instead of communicating empathy and concern for our city, the communication from city hall has instead created unnecessary fear and division. Leadership is about instilling confidence and rapport with the people. On this front our Mayor has failed the people of Mobile.

  Compromise is often considered a 'dirty' word in our culture. We want a firm adherence to rigid principles. When it comes to issues of clearly revealed moral truths, I am in agreement... no compromise to the truth that God has revealed. When it comes to balancing any budget compromise is needed and vital. I would encourage our Mayor and the City Council to come to the table with a willingness to offer significant cuts not absolutely vital to safety. (Police and Fire Departments)  I would also like to call for an outside audit of city finances over the last few years to help our citizens to regain trust and a full understanding or what is indeed happening with the people's money.  If after further significant and agreed upon cuts are made then there should be a willingness to look at other possible revenue streams to balance the difference in the budget.

  Leaders are imperfect people. They make mistakes. Many of the decisions made prior to the recession in hindsight have proved to not be in the best interest of our city at present. We cannot afford to continually point out the failures of the past while not offering reasonable solutions to find a way forward as a community. We need to come to the table with open and humble hearts and make the significant changes Mobile needs to move into the future we all want for ourselves and future generations.


Jim Mather

How "Self Help" Books Almost Killed Me

  I've always been a big reader. I remember the first book I read to myself. I learned reading literally on my mother's knee. The first book I read without assistance was a historical book about the revolutionary war at age 5... hence a life long love of history!
 Growing up I was considered a shy child. I found solace in reading and I continue to read voraciously up to the present. I often found it difficult ask others for help or assistance. I wanted to solve my own problems and I used books to teach me about life.  If I couldn't find the answers in a book, I was out of luck because I just was too afraid to approach people with my issues and problems. I grew up in a fairly stable home and until the age of 17 I lived at home. I went to school. I participated in sports like track and cross country. I also read so many history books that my teachers were intimidated by me in the classroom. I would often correct them if they got their 'facts' wrong.
  Upon graduation from high school and just prior to my 18th birthday, I joined the United States Air Force. I spent the first 18 months in various training schools to become a Medical Laboratory Technician. Life continued to be fairly simple. I was immersed in books related to the sciences and was thrilled to be studying hours each day. I did well in the Air Force schools graduating 2nd in my class ranking. Finally after my training days were completed, I wound up being stationed far from home in Anchorage, Alaska. (Elmendorf Air force base)
  Now I began to live in the 'real world' of responsibility and hard work... and stress. Being single, low ranking and recently graduated from technical school I was immediately assigned to the 'night shift'. The married lab techs and those who out ranked me rejoiced. I was going to improve the quality of their life... by working when they didn't want to. Eventually I wound up working up to 16 hour days with very little sleep. Very quickly the quality of my life collapsed. Working long hours alone and the responsibility of running a medical laboratory by myself played havoc with my body, soul and spirit.
  I reached out to the only source of comfort I knew....books. I went to the 'self help' section of the bookstores and libraries I had access to.  One book in particular I read at the time sort of summed up my state of mind at the time, "Looking Out For #1" by Robert Ringer. It was a best seller at the time. Reading it almost killed me.
  I don't blame the author. I blame myself. You see what I really needed at the time was not 'self help' but God's help. God's help came eventually as my attempts at practicing 'self help' distanced me from people and made me into a shallow, selfish and dark soul very quickly.  What I learned most of all during that dark and difficult time in my life is that self help can often devolve quickly into a selfish and shallow life that doesn't work at all.
  It's really when we come to the end of ourselves that we find out who we really are.  I was made not to 'look out for #1,  but to love and be loved. When I stopped hanging out in the 'self help' section of bookstores, I finally found the help I really needed. I met the God who made me and loved me enough to help me and save me. I found real life in a different kind of book... a book that tells me I am loved enough that a perfect and sinless Savior died for me... and rose again to give me life...and relationship.

Jim

The Bridge of Trust

 Love builds the bridge that trust learns to walk on. To yield yourself fully to another person is an act of faith. Intimacy and complete satisfaction in relationship are uncommon. No matter how much we seek to rely on outward beauty and techniques of emotional, physical or intellecutal bonding, we still fall far short of achieving true intimacy.

  Love in all its richness and depth is built over a lifetime of quality materials: patience , kindness, selflessness, hope, endurance, forgiveness and a strong foundation of TRUST. Trust is the ability to fully disclose all of who you are to someone without fear of betrayal, deception or denial of affection. Trust is the profound experience of allowing yourself to be known in totality: all your goodness, successes, dreams, failures, weaknesses and fears.

  Trust is something that is built over time. It demands consistency and reliability. The love that satisfies is not built on fantasy or image. No amount of 'makeup' or wardrobe changes can alter a defective character. You don't love the mirror image of a person.... which can be easily manipulated or 'air brushed'. You can only love a real person whose character is revealed by how they treat themselves.... and how they treat you.

  Do you want to experience true love? Do you long to be known and to know another in truth and pure love? Are you worthy of another's complete trust? Are you reliable? Are you a man or woman of your word? Does what you say match up with how you treat those closest to you? A love deficits root cause is most often a character deficit. We attract and draw people to us who are most like us. Are you looking to obtain and 'get what you want' in relationships? Are you a TAKER? Then most likely you are a magnet for other self centered and immature people.

  Satisfaction in love is founded on becoming who you were born to be, before demanding what you think you want. We need to be transformed on the inside ......we must be born from above by God's grace. The bedrock stone of trust is found in knowing our Savior Jesus Christ. He proved worthy of trust by giving everything in dying for our sin....our inner brokenness. Are you a giver? What are you willing to sacrifice on behalf of the one you claim to love?

  When you're changed on the inside, you can become satisfied on the outside. Relational intimacy is rooted in inner transformation. Are you at peace with yourself?  Are you at peace with others?  Are you at peace with God?

Love trusts...... and trust loves. It's time to start believing.... and its time to start loving. That's where life begins and that's the life you know you want. 

Jim

The Reward of Relationship

When we serve and sacrifice in life, there is an expectation of reward. Peter, one of Jesus most ardent followers was not shy about his expectations. Peter's bold desires were laid bare for all to see in the gospel of Matthew. (See chapter 19: 27-30) Peter speaking, "We've given up everything to follow you, What will we get out of it?"

  Within all of us are not so hidden expectations of reward and payback for doing good. If I do the right thing, shouldn't I be recognized and rewarded?  Is it wrong to expect reward?  Jesus answers Peter concerns very clearly in the next few verses.   And Jesus replied, "I assure you that when I, the Son of Man, sit upon my glorious throne in the Kingdom, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who have given up houses or brothers of sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life. But many who seem to be important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then."

  Jesus is describing what I call "the divine reversal".  There will come a day when all things will be made right in the universe. There is very real sacrifice involved in doing the right thing now. Often the cost involved in following God in the way of love will involve being rejected by the power brokers of this world. Jesus was killed for doing the right thing..... and being the righteous One. Can we expect any less as we follow him in the way of love?

  The divine irony is when we lose, we still win....ultimately. But here I want to probe a little deeper. The ultimate reward for following God in the way of sacrificial love is Him. The last book of the Bible is known as the book of Revelation. In it we see the unveiling of the future for those who have ears to ear what God is trying to reveal. The dominant message of this unveiling is the presence of God at the center of everything. In the future that God has prepared, there is a removal of the striving for things, positions or power to prove our significance. God's first call is always to himself.... to relationship.  While we strive even in our religion to 'do something', God' first word to us is always, 'Come to Me'.

  What do you want from God? What are you asking for in prayer? Do you want something or do you want Him?
  Ultimately, the real reward and everything God has for you is meant to flow out of relationship. Until and unless you understand that divine reality,  you'll be worshiping an idol and not the real God. God is love... and love desires relationship. 

Jim 

Moved with Compassion

Throughout the New Testament gospels we read of Jesus being 'moved with compassion' just before he performed a dramatic healing or other miracle related to the needs of the people he encountered. The word translated compassion is the greek word splagchnizomai which literally refers to the intenstines and vital organs from which deep emotions such as anger and love were said to issue from. What we see in the life of Jesus was that compassion always led to corresponding action and intervention. When Jesus felt compassion it literally moved him.... it changed things from what was to what should be. During much of the 1990's I lived in a remote mountainous area in Northern Pakistan. We helped to establish an eye hospital there in a city called Gilgit. We would see patients in an outpatient clinic and also perform surgery on those patients with operable conditions such as cataracts. Unfortunately, we would sometimes see patients with conditions for which we had no medical or surgical cure. Most often those conditions related to severe trauma or retinal diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa.

  One clinic day I was assisting Dr. Stephen Smith in his office when we examined a young woman in her early 30's who was completely blind. She had no ability to perceive light at all. She was married with two young children clinging to her during the examination. Her husband appeared to be completely distraught. He was looking for hope.....what could we do to change the horrible prognosis he deeply feared.... to care for a wife completely blind and his two small children in a poor village? We were honest with him upon our exam. We had no cure for her condition (advanced retinal disease). Dr. Smith and I offered to pray for this family and to be honest it was hard to do so. I felt almost physically weak as I joined in prayer for this young woman who needed a miracle. There was no immediate answer to our prayer. As she struggled to walk away from us I gazed down the hallway in her direction... it was absolutely heartbreaking to see her holding tightly to her husband with the children grasping at her flowing Shalwar Kameez. At that moment I felt a deep inner compassion flowing out of me in her direction and I cried out silently, "Oh, God, have mercy....heal this woman." I continued to pray for her and told Mary about this woman when I arrived home that day. She had come from her village a 3 hour journey and returned that same day.

  A few days later we had a larger than normal crowd in our outpatient waiting area and it was louder than normal. There was lot of commotion and one woman was being pushed forward out of turn. People were pointing at her and said she has something to tell us!  The woman was unrecognizable to me at first. It was the same woman who only days earlier had been completely blind. Now that she could see her facial features and her physical bearing were completely different. Her story was that after we prayed she had started back toward her village and gradually began to to see. She began to tell her story to the village and many of her friends and family wanted to come back to the hospital to tell the story and to find out what had happened. We examined her eyes and found her healed.... though in need a mild prescription for glasses!  She left rejoicing and we were all stunned.  It's not every day you pray for a blind person and they see again...but I felt I learned something on that day I don't soon want to forget. I want to be moved with compassion when I encounter people in great need. I want to feel what God feels when he encounters hurting people. I want to see what God sees when he visualizes people in need.  I want to hear what God hears when he listens to the cries of the hurting, broken and needy people that are in my world.

  Over the past two weeks as I have found out I have a cancerous tumor growing in my right eye I have encountered people moved with compassion. Some people have been moved to pray.  Some people have been moved to give. Some people have been moved to speak words of encouragement. Something else has happened during this time. That same feeling of compassion I felt for that young mother and wife in Pakistan has been renewed, deepened and grown in my own heart. I am looking for opportunities and listening to God for ways he can use me again in helping heal others going forward.  I want to be moved with compassion.

Jim 

The Call

  There comes a time in all our lives when we know we need something outside of ourselves to break in and show us the way forward. Often it comes in times of deep disappointment and pain. It might come after the death of a loved one, a fracture in a critical relationship, a loss of employment, a critical illness. 

Isaiah the prophet (chapter 6) responded to the death of King Uzziah with a new vision of reality. He saw things which he'd never seen....and he became someone he otherwise would have never been.Tragedy can either be an impetus to a life of meaning or lead us to a place of imprisonment. So much depends on our vision of God....and ourselves. 

Isaiah saw God for who he really is. Majestic, on the throne, surrounded by Glory and HOLY. His glory covered the whole earth. In the shadow of who God is, Isaiah also discovered who he really was....a man of unclean lips ( a sinner) surrounded by people just like him. We're all equally lost and equally separated from God until the call comes to our heart and soul. 

We were created for something greater than the soley material realm. Buying and selling... sensual pleasure and carnal desires never totally satisfy someone created in the image of God. All of us were created for relationship with our maker. Until we hear his voice beckoning us.....calling us to himself, we're only living half a life. There is a VOICE crying out to all of us. We seldom hear that voice. Our small distractions and selfish decisions keep us far removed from hearing what really matters. We insist on our own way. We hear the screaming of the selfish hordes rushing on the broad highway of destruction. 

  But God comes and touches us on the inside. He shows us our broken places. We sense our weakness. We slow down our movement on the highway of destruction. We turn our ears heavenward and begin to hear the voice calling us home. Our Father touches us and heals us....and remakes us in his image. His call thrills our soul, "Who should I send? Who will go for us?" And with humility and hope, we reply, "Here am I. Send me." He's calling you right now. Slow down, listen carefully....his call is worth everything. Listen for his voice.

Jim

Why?

When tragedy strikes our first emotional response is to ask the question, Why? Pain and suffering produce a loss of control that we desperately want answers for. When the answers are hard to find and uncertain it breeds an increasing pressure and emotional pain. The prevailing assumption is often that we suffer as a result of wrongs we have done...that there is a direct correlation between our sin and whether or not we suffer in this life.

  In trying to answer the why questions in life we often wind up with more worries and frustration. It seems as if the trials, tragedies and turmoil of life leave us searching for easy answers. There has to be an answer to the problem of suffering....doesn't there?

  I have long struggled with whether or not I should in the midst of a catastrophe or trial to ask the question why. Counselors are almost unanimous with their advice to not ask the question.... at least initially. I tend to agree. But I want to dig a little deeper today. Just because a question is difficult to answer does not mean it should not be asked. I think it's more important to probe a little deeper and ask, "Why, do I need to know why?"

  I think I have an answer for the motivation and consuming desire to know why we are undergoing suffering and tragedy in life. The answer lies at the heart of who we really are. When we look in the mirror we see our physical self (for better or worse) but inside of all of us lies the real person. We are made up of body, soul and spirit. Our spirit and soul connect with an eternal reality that was created to live forever in harmony with God. We can't articulate that eternal consciousness in words but when we are ill or broken in any dimension of our lives we feel a disconnect.... we simply know, "something isn't right."

In the beginning God created us..... and it was good.....all good. Something obviously went wrong somewhere. The Bible clearly tell us what happened but we wax and wane in our actual belief in that revelation. The devastation wrought by sin is immense. We are all being deeply impacted by a cosmic rebellion on earth. So why should that effect me? I want to do the right thing. I believe in God..... I love people......I want peace in the world!

  John Donne the poet put it this way, "No man is an island, entire of itself.....". Our lives are deeply intertwined. Your suffering, your brokenness, your happiness, your blessing, your wealth, your poverty.....are all mine as well. Truly, not a single one of us is an island cut off from the other. No matter how high the walls we build around our castles of prosperity we are all subject to pain and suffering of every conceivable kind. So in the light of this truth, how do we then respond when tragedy strikes?

In the gospel of John chapter 9, Jesus was asked by his followers about a man they saw who had been born blind, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" What a tragedy to walk through life being judged for something we have no control over. In our broken world we have to be careful we don't put people into categories and write them off based upon what we can see with our limited and finite human senses and resources. Jesus answer to this question should bring you great liberty and freedom in dealing with our own faults, trials and uncertainties.... listen carefully to his response. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, Jesus answered.  This came about, so that God's works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

  Jesus then proceeded to heal the man born blind and the rest of the chapter shows him dealing with the deceptions and hardness of heart of the prevailing religious culture of his day. The truth is that God is light. In the midst of a broken world he is wanting to heal, restore and bring hope. Religion keeps people in boxes of guilt, despair and darkness. The religious mind set wants to have an overriding simplistic approach to suffering in this world that is grossly and tragically wrong. The rain, Jesus said, falls on the just and unjust. In our times of brokenness, the only proper response is to allow God to come in and work his will into our lives. When we surrender to God in the midst of the unknown outcomes of tragedy, light begins to dawn in amazing though unpredictable ways.

  In case you haven't realized it yet, we are not in control. No matter how intricate and detailed your preparations and plans, life throws curve balls! In tragedy, the most simple and heart felt prayers produce the best results. I find that crying out, "HELP!" has been quite effective in my life. I know it is not the most profound prayer but it places me in line with the deepest understanding of God and myself I have received thus far, "God is big..... and I am small."

  Are you struggling with a personal tragedy in your life?  Perhaps you or someone you love is ill, depressed or in a serious financial crisis. I have heard it said that we are all either moving in the direction of a trial, in one now, or just coming out of one. May God grant us the faith to understand that when bad things happen to us he has not stopped loving us. Tragedy can either embitter us or make us better. The choice before us is one burrowed deeply into the will of our soul. The one word that determines everything in our times of trial is SURRENDER.  Surrender of control needs to be based upon a revelation that is both profound and deeply moving, God is love. I cannot reveal that to you. But I can tell you that I have known and experienced that love in the midst of dark days and sleepless nights. Weeping may endure for the dark night of our souls.... but joy comes in the morning.

Much love;

Jim

Becoming You

Becoming.... to be in the process of being who we were meant to be. My wife told me she was speaking with a young mother recently who had seen the latest 3-D ultrasound images of her developing child. She was fascinated with the intricate details now visible to her even while the baby was still in the womb. Children's development is utterly fascinating and rewarding to watch. We are drawn to their development of facial features, body types, language, motor skills etc.... And if we know their families we are equally fascinated and careful to make note of the similarities or differences. But there is an aspect of becoming that goes far beyond the visible. Inside of all of us  is the everlasting reality of the real YOU that outlives our frail mortal bodies.


 Our Spiritual self was created to develop and mature in line with our physical body. We were born for love and relationship with one another, but also with God. When our faith life remains undeveloped or lacks nurture and care we become malnourished. While our mother and father give birth to us physically, God almighty deposits in each of us the marks of eternity. God is as fascinated with you as your mother and father are. Look at Psalm 139:17-18, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand."

  All of us are born with both a physical and spiritual DNA that marks our uniqueness....from our fingerprints to our dreams and desires, we are all created by an amazing God to show forth his beauty in creation.  When we are not fostered and developed spiritually our inner core becomes weak and damaged. Our flesh grows and matures but our ability to really know purpose, vision and destiny are hindered. Even when our father and mother fail us we are not removed from divine purpose. Again Psalm 139, 13-16, "For it was you who created my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

  You are remarkable. You are wonderful.... and your days are planned. Have you ever had that spoken into your life? For too many of us we feel a sense of confusion when we think about issues like identity. Who am I really? Those sort of questions become very difficult for those raised in broken or abusive homes where the uncertainties of daily life are so intense.Becoming you is a challenge when you don't have a guide along life's journey. We hit roadblocks like peer pressure and the challenge of conforming to other's expectations and demands. We give up on finding out who we are and 'settle' for becoming like everyone else. Instead of celebrating our uniqueness, we struggle wearing another's 'clothes' and dreams.

  So much of discovering who we really are flows out of walking in the garden of secure and unconditional love. A simple prayer can often help us discover who we really are: "God, open the eyes of my heart!" Your creator longs to unlock the mystery of why you're here, who you are and how much he loves you. The first step on the pilgrimage of self discovery is a conversation with the one who made you. He's ready to listen.

Jim 

Dreaming Backward

Dreaming Backward

  As a child growing up I never wanted to be known as a 'dreamer'. I wanted to be known as someone responsible. Someone who made correct decisions with little risk. I wanted to live my life in the 'sure thing' realm. Get a decent job. Make average or better money. Live somewhere in the middle of 'middle America'. When I heard the word dreamer it conjured up images of irresponsibility. So at the age of 17 with no money for education, I did the responsible thing and joined the military. I would work hard, stay out of trouble, and save money for my education. And about 3 years into my sojourn of responsibility, my world became undone. I found myself in trouble on the inside. I had achieved a measure of success in the military.... graduating with honors in their medical laboratory training schools. I worked hard.... and saved every dime I could. I wanted to be safe. But the safety of a savings account did nothing for my soul. I was flat out empty and going into a danger zone emotionally and spiritually. I needed something more than a respectful safe place. I needed love.

  On August 2nd, 1980 I prayed a prayer that lasted no more than 5 seconds. I cried out to God on the gym floor of a Baptist church for help. I can't recall the words of my prayer but they were probably nothing more than, "Help, I am screwed up!"  Help came. My life has been an ongoing relationship with God who continually challenges me to walk with him to places I would never go alone. By nature I want to hide.... hide from people, hide from danger, hide from myself. But God.... is love... and he won't let me alone!

  Over the last several years I have been dreaming backward.... let me explain. My fears of becoming known as a 'dreamer' stem from observing that many dreamers never seem to amount to anything at all. Their dreams are fanciful, naive and frankly often crazy. But when you walk with God (and this sounds...excuse me...dreamer like) and he speaks to you through scripture it can define your life and change everything. I was reading in the final book of the bible known as Revelation. (Warning.... don't read this book at home alone...it could permanently alter the course of your life) I was specifically reading Revelation chapter 5 and verses 8-10. It describes a magnificent and hard to comprehend scene from heaven. Jesus is at the center of the picture, "When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and four gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; and you redeemed people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth."

  This vision of the future in heaven has defined my reality.... and my dreams for the last 15 years. While praying in December, 1997 in Gilgit, Pakistan, God spoke to me two words, "International Students".  I spent the next several months praying what those two seemingly disconnected words meant to me and my life. Previously I had told God while I enjoyed living and working in Pakistan I wanted to if possible to serve among people "all over the world".  Long story short I wound up in Mobile , Alabama where for over 14 years I have served the international students at the University of South Alabama.  Since the summer of 2009 I have also been developing along with a team of friends an international church known as "All Nations Community Church".  I have become a 'dreamer'. But unlike most dreams I am dreaming backwards. God has revealed the future to me.... well in fact to all of us... who choose to believe it. He has shown me the future and I want all of my decisions, plans, priorities and purposes to be defined by that future reality which I see by faith.

  I am building a house of love that goes beyond ethnic boundaries to cooperate with a future God has promised us all. I am living among a community of people defined by gratitude and worship of a God of love. We are wrapped together in a garment of many colors.... a rainbow of grace. I am no longer able to be that middle of the road man who won't take any risks. I have been transformed by a God who heard my cries for help three decades ago and will never be the same. Where he goes I go.... what he says I say.I'm dreaming backwards.... into a future....filled with love. I would love for you to join me: www.allnationsmobile.org

Jim