Christianity

How many of us would like to be indestructible?  To know that no matter what happens, no matter what comes against us, we cannot be destroyed or killed?  It would be pretty cool, right?

Well, here’s a newsflash, given to me courtesy of Pastor Greg Laurie on the radio yesterday on my way to Charlotte, NC for a meeting:  for Christian believers, we are indestructible.

That’s right, we’re indestructible.  To paraphrase what Pastor Greg had to say:  Until God is ready for us to come home to Heaven, we are indestructible.  No plots schemed against us, no attacks targeted at us, no lies told about us—nothing—can destroy us.  Why?  Because it’s not God’s will!  When God is ready for us to leave here and go to Heaven (i.e., when our time is up), we’ll go.  Until that time, we won’t.  It’s as simple as that.  Until God is ready for us to be with Him in Heaven, we are indestructible.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should test God, and Pastor Greg pointed that out.  But what it does mean is that we don’t have to live in constant fear.  Should we take reasonable steps to protect ourselves, our families, and our friends?  Of course.  God gave us a brain so that we would use it.  But after taking reasonable steps, we don’t have to live in fear.  Why?  You’ve got it—because we’re indestructible!

So, if you’re facing a challenge, facing a mountain ahead of you, if your opponents are lining up against you (and believe me, I’ve been there before), take heart and be encouraged.  You, my Christian friend and believer, are indestructible.

A week ago, I posted a call for prayer for my family.  I appreciate the many responses that I received, and I am happy to report that the Lord has answered our prayers.  Although the answer did not come in the form that I had hoped, I am still thanking God for deliverance and I am praising God for his wondrous works.

Things could have gone much, much worse in this situation, but God’s power carried my family and I through this trial and I believe that our faith and our belief is stronger for it.  Again, thanks to everyone who responded, and thanks to all those who lifted their voices in prayer for my family.  I hope that God richly blesses each and every one of you for your compassion and concern.

I know that my weblog defies the “normal rules” of how one should run a weblog in that I freely mix both personal and professional topics on the same site.  As I said in my very first post, I can’t hide who I am, and I am a Christian.  If that means that my Christianity bleeds into everything else, so be it.

I don’t know if you read my site for my technical articles, or for my occasional personal post, and I don’t know if any of you reading out there are indeed Christians.  If you are a follower of Christ, then I’d like to make a simple request of you: please pray for my family.

My family is going through a rough time right now.  The details of the specific situation aren’t important; what’s important is that I—we—continue to lean upon the Lord and His strength in order to make it through the storm.  To do that, we’ve already enlisted the help of many prayer warriors that we know personally.  Now I seek the help of prayer warriors that I don’t know personally.

This situation that we are going through will come to a head sometime next week.  If you could, please remember my family in your prayers throughout the remainder of this week.  My wife and I are praying together with the family nightly, and praying with each other every day.  Our friends, our pastors (past and present), Christian co-workers, and fellow church members also have us on their prayer lists.  Will you pray as well?  I know that through the combined prayer and faith of the believers that my family can emerge through this situation with a powerful testimony to share with others.

Approximately 11 minutes ago I started my first 30 Hour Famine, an event sponsored by World Vision.  Our youth group is participating in the 30 Hour Famine this year to raise money and awareness of hunger around the world; all our proceeds go to World Vision to fund their efforts.

A lot of people think that they can’t make any difference against a problem like world hunger or starvation; the reality is that $1 can care and feed a child for a day.  That’s the message I’ve been trying to get across to the kids in my youth group:  everyone can make a difference.  We’ll spend the entire day today fasting from food and participating in service projects to help others in need.  The idea is that while helping those in need—homeless, orphans, etc.—we will ourselves be experiencing the effects of hunger.  We’re hoping that God will reveal Himself to us in a new way and open our eyes to His will and His purpose for us as individuals and us as a youth group.

Pray for us as we lead the youth group through the 30 Hour Famine, which runs from 7:00AM this morning to 1:00PM tomorrow afternoon (just after church), when we’ll “break the fast” and reflect upon what God has shown us during our time of service and fasting.

I won’t go into all the details that led to my posting “Joy in the Morning?” other than to say it wasn’t (and isn’t) pleasant.  It was a very difficult and very trying time, and while things aren’t completely over now, God did give me a different perspective on times like this.

Later that same evening (after I posted that message), I had to drive down to a local supermarket to pick up a few items.  I had the radio turned to a local Christian radio station (as I almost always do), and this advertisement came on for Key Life Network, a Christian radio program.  Specifically, it was one of these “You think about that” little spots that come on between songs.  If you’ve listened to a Christian radio station, you’ve probably heard Steve Brown and Key Life and one of those little spots.

Anyway, I can’t remember exactly what he had to say that night (and I tried searching the Key Life web site but couldn’t find it), but the basic gist of the thought was that while going through the night is difficult, it is only at night that we can see the stars.

Wow…what a difference one phrase can make in your outlook.  He’s right, of course, and God used him to remind me that there is always a purpose in His plan—we may not know what that purpose is, but rest assured there is a purpose.  While I was in the darkness, waiting for the joy that comes in the morning, all I had to do was remember that some of God’s greatest blessings can only be seen at night.  Some of God’s most beautiful creations can’t be seen during the light of day; only during the darkness of night.  And while they don’t take away the darkness, the stars that God created remind us that we aren’t alone—even in the darkness.

For what it’s worth, try to keep that in mind next time you are in a time of spiritual darkness.  I know I will.

Have you ever been in a situation so dire, so serious, so—I’m not sure which word to use here—that you couldn’t see your way out of it?  Ever been in darkness so deep that you couldn’t even see your hands in front of your face?  (Side note here:  if you’ve ever been on a tour of an underground cavern, you’ll know what I’m talking about.)  We’ve probably all been there, and according to the Bible this is only a temporary thing:

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5, KJV)

Right now in my life, it is the middle of the night.  Weeping abounds.  I have lost someone near and dear to my heart, and I don’t know what comes next.  When will the morning come?  When will the night end?  How long will this last?

In my head, I can hear the Scriptures that talk about trial and tribulation.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:2-3, KJV)

Patience?  I didn’t ask for patience.  I don’t want patience.  I just want this to end.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, KJV)

Work together for good?  I don’t think so.  How can this be good?  How can this be part of God’s plan?  I’d like to know that.

Longtime readers of this site (if any such people actually exist!) will recall that quite some time ago I was feeling called by the Lord to serve in youth ministry (described here).  Even before these events in January, I’d felt led into some form of ministry with young people.  Then, about a month or so ago, some stuff happened that caused me to leave my current church and start seeking a new church.  Since that time, my wife and I have been attending a couple of different churches and seeking the Lord’s direction in prayer.

This past Wednesday night, as we were finishing up church, my wife went to talk with a lady that we knew who had also been attending the old church (we’ll just call her “Linda,” which is not her real name).  Linda had previously attended the same church with us, but had left before the series of events occurred that led us to leave.

That night, Linda had shaken my hand quickly as she hurriedly exited the building, and my wife just barely managed to catch her in the parking lot.  It turns out that she had been wrestling with a message that the Lord had laid upon her heart to give us.  She had been “arguing” with the Lord, not wanting to speak the message He’d given her, until finally she couldn’t stand it any longer.

<aside>Belive me, I know how she feels.  I’ve had the Lord lay things on my heart before and I’ve just plain argued with the Lord about it until I finally surrendered to His will.  You’d think that after a while I’d learn that the Lord knows best.</aside>

“I know that you guys have been struggling with the decision of where to go to church,” Linda told my wife, “and I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to affect your decision.”

“No, it’s OK,” my wife said.  “We’ve been seeking direction from the Lord.”  Keep in mind we hadn’t said anything to Linda about what had happened, or when, or how we were feeling.

“Well,” Linda said, “I have been asking the Lord why he called me away from The Previous Church, and away from all my friends and family members to come here, and I just didn’t understand why and what was going on.  Finally, this past week, the Lord revealed to me that he hadn’t called me away alone—he called you away with me.”

Linda continued.  “And there’s something else, too.  Don’t be scared or anything, and rest assured that the Lord will provide everything you need, but I feel like the Lord is also calling you to be youth ministers here at this church.”

Wow.  How had she known?  Had someone said something to her?

“Don’t be scared, and don’t worry,” Linda assured my wife.  “I know it’s strange to hear this, but I really do feel that the Lord has a work for you here with the youth.”

My wife smiled and said, “It’s OK, Linda—the Lord called us into youth ministry about a year ago.  This is just a confirmation of what He wants for us.”

The conversation continued on for a few minutes, then Linda bid my wife farewell and left.  Later that night my wife shared the conversation with me, and we talked and prayed about it.  Was this the Lord speaking to us through Linda?  Was this the answer to the prayers we’d lifted for His guidance and His direction?

I can’t see how it could be anything else.  We hadn’t said anything to Linda or her family about our calling.  How could she have known if it wasn’t the Lord?  It all seems a bit too coincidental for me.  For now, we are believing that it was the Lord, and preparing to get started with what He’s called us to do.  Keep us in your prayers.

I won’t go into all the gory details, because I don’t want to speak ill of any person.  Suffice it to say that events transpired in my church that led to the departure of a respected member, someone who had shown Christ in his/her actions every step of the way.  If you’re a Christian, you know the kind of person I’m talking about—he/she is the one that you really respect, that you can just tell His Presence is with him/her.  He/she is the one that you can always trust to be honest with you, even when the truth is not what you want to hear.  He or she is that person that always speaks respectfully of others, even when in strong disagreement with those others.  This was the kind of person that left our church, and in my humble opinion our church is lessened by his/her departure.

This person shared with me his/her account of the events leading up to the departure, well before that departure was ever a possibility.  They knew that something was amiss, and months before these events ever came to light, I knew about them.  I have no reason not to believe that the information shared with me was anything other than the truth; this person’s character speaks for him/her.  Again, this was the kind of person whose integrity and character was borne out in every aspect of their life and their personality.  So, here I have one story, from a godly person I trust and can clearly see God’s work in his/her life.

However, others in the church have a very different view of what happened, and their story is very, very different.  Not just different as in a few changed details, but different as in drastically and dramatically different.  (Sorry, a few too many instances of the word “different” there.)  These people also claim to be Christians, and they’re typically there every Sunday, singing and worshipping in church.  But you don’t get the same feeling from them.  You don’t get the same sense of God’s Presence in their lives, and you don’t see their impeccable character in the words and in their deeds.  Yes, they work hard in the church, and yes, they give off the appearance of being a Christian.  But deeper down, does Christ really live?  When rumors are spread behind your back, is Christ in that?  When hurtful words are spoken and no remorse is shown, is Christ in that?  When hatred shows in your eyes, is Christ in that?  Yes, I know that we all slip up and let Satan get the best of us.  I know that.  Even then, God’s convicting Holy Spirit is there, to speak to us, to tell us that we shouldn’t have said the hurtful things we said.

Sorry, I digress.  Anyway, there was a meeting tonight at the church, to try to reconcile these two very different stories of how this event (the departure of this respected member) came to pass.  People were hurt, people were offended, people were insulted by the way this event transpired, and the idea behind this meeting was to clear up those misconceptions.  Unfortunately, the meeting devolved into a smear session, many people seeking to somehow tear down and hurt others instead of seeking to find the truth.  My wife was insulted and hurt, deeply, by the comments of others—where is Christ in that?  Where is the love of Christ in that?  And again, there were these two different stories, two different accounts, two different histories presented by two different people, both claiming to be telling the truth and both claiming to be Christians.  It was impossible for them both to be telling the truth; one of them had to be a liar.  But which one? Who should be believed?

In the end, the choice was far easier than I thought it would be.  It’s easy to talk the talk, but it’s not so easy to walk the walk.  There’s a saying my kids are so tired of hearing me say—“Actions speak louder than words.”  When I tossed aside the words, when I tossed aside the appearances, and when I really looked down inside, in whom did I see Christ?  In whom did I see the love of Christ?  In whom did I see respect and courtesy for others, even in the midst of disagreement?  In whom did I see restraint of the tongue?  Most of all, in whom did I see compassion?  That is the person to be believed, for their actions speak far, far louder than their words.

This posting may not make any sense to you; that’s OK, because I mainly wrote it for myself.  Consider it my donation to the many pages on the Internet that appear to be written in selfish vanity.  Mainly I needed to get it out, to work through the events, to work through the spiteful words and the hateful looks, to work through the self-righteous indignation, and find Christ in one of these two people.

If you are not a Christian, you’re probably reading this thinking, “Ha!  I knew all those Christians were phony hypocrites.”  No, not all of us.  Many, but not all.  Please, don’t let the actions of a few turn you away.  There are some of us who put aside the fancy words, who put aside the phony appearance, and instead seek to be Christian—“Christ-like”—in our actions, in our character, in our speech.  Then, when you look deeper, you’ll know who to believe, and you’ll find Christ, too.