Good Thing I Have a Hard Head!

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a very unusual situation. I know that many of you have heard the story, but I felt like it’d be fun to share the lessons I learned from that experience. For those of you that don’t know what happened, I had finished having lunch and was headed back to my office but needed to stop to get some gas. When I got out of the car I felt fine, but when I started putting gas into the car I started to feel light headed. Thinking I could just tough it out, I decided to lean against the pump and check my mail on my phone. The next thing I remember, I was dreaming, but not one of those pleasant, “I don’t want to wake up” dreams; instead, my dream was saying, “You’re not supposed to be asleep, wake up!” When I opened my eyes, I was lying flat on my back, with my car on my left and the gas pump on my right. I sat up and looked, and there was blood on my hands, and when I felt the back of my head I found a big cut that was bleeding. I stood up and assured everyone around me that I was OK. That seemed odd to them because of all the blood, but, again, my mind was telling me to just get out of there. Not the smartest move, but I drove to my office and made it safely. Ignoring the pleas of Tami, Pastor John Cruz, and Lisa, I decided to drive to my primary physician’s office to be patched up. They all tried to stop me, but in my stubborn state (and being the boss), they didn’t have much of a chance. Plus, I passed the ‘John Cruz eye test’! LOL

Once at the doctor’s office, they ran a few tests but told me I really needed to go to the hospital. Again, against the doctor’s recommendation and Tami’s urging, I drove to the hospital, which was only a few miles away. I assured her that I didn’t have a concussion and there was no problem with me driving. After several tests, they concluded that I was fine other than being a little dehydrated, and they figured my blood pressure had dropped. And when Tami asked if I had a concussion, they assured her that I did. They stapled me up and sent me on my way with instructions that I shouldn’t be driving…but I had to get my car home. Once home, I did rest for a few days and quickly ended up feeling back to my old self. All other testing came back great, so I’m good to go!

Now, lessons I learned: First, when you start to feel like you are losing control, get help. If I’d been smart, I would have sat down and let someone around me know that I was not doing very good. Find a strong Christian you can share with, and allow this person to help when you feel as if you are losing your direction.

Second, don’t be so stubborn, but listen to what others say. God placed several people in my path who wanted to help me, but in my stubborn ways I kept refusing. I didn’t want to put my problem on someone else and thought I could handle it. Not exactly the smartest thing I’ve ever done. How often, though, do we try to do that in our spiritual walk and then find ourselves regretting decisions we’ve made? Learn to trust God and those he will place in your path to help you.

Last of all, all wounds heal. My head wound and hand scrapes are almost totally healed and soon nobody will be able to tell I ever fell. We are all going to face situations in our spiritual journey, and we may even get hurt. But if we follow these three steps—get help, don’t think you can do it on your own, and know that you will heal—then we will be able to face any situation that comes our way in life. 

Walking in the Spirit and blooming?

During the last few weeks, it’s been fun to watch as all of the plants in our backyard have been coming to life. Just a few months ago, as spring approached, I looked at some of them and thought that they were dead and didn’t stand a chance of coming back. In fact, while I was cleaning up some of the flower beds one day, I debated just getting rid of the plants because they looked so hopeless. But, as if to say to me, “You don’t know much about plant life,” the plants began blooming and coming back to life. I was out working in the yard yesterday afternoon and had to stop for a few moments to gaze at the beauty of those flowers and rejoice that I didn’t just rip them out of the ground and toss them into the trash.

There are areas in my life that I know with God’s help I can change. I do struggle with aspects of life, and at times I think I will never change so I should give up and just work on the aspects I can control. But here’s what we need to understand: when I accepted Christ into my life, the Holy Spirit was now God living inside of me. The Holy Spirit can help me separate the weeds (things I don’t need in my life) from the good things that are there but in a dormant stage. And if I allow the Holy Spirit to continue to work in my life, those things that may appear to be dead and impossible will start to bloom, and soon I will be able to see beautiful fruit being produced. That’s one of my greatest joys in being allowed to serve in full-time ministry—not only seeing lives come to accept Christ, but then watching as the Holy Spirit begins bringing life through the Fruit of the Spirit into those individuals’ daily journeys. Be sensitive and open to what God has promised to do in your life and the lives of those around you. 

What's a Christian to Do?

I’m still dealing with the shock of yesterday’s events that unfolded in Boston. The shock is not that something happened, because the world we live in today has taught us that there are a lot of demented sinners out there who don’t care about life. Instead, my shock is for the families who woke up on a beautiful day, excited to celebrate the training and hard work of thousands taking part in the Boston Marathon. What was meant to be a time of great joy quickly turned to shock and sorrow that left many asking, “Why?”

There are a lot of things I don’t understand and never will, but there are things I do understand because of my studies in the word of God. We are living in the last days before we see the return of the Lord, and the Bible teaches us that there are signs that will show us this is happening. We are seeing the unfolding of these signs on a daily basis, as described in several books of the Bible. These things, even though they shock us, shouldn’t take us by surprise; instead, they should serve notice that more than ever before we need to proclaim the Gospel message to a lost world. These are the days when our churches should be full because the lost don’t understand and they need to hear a message of hope. Our churches should be full because believers understand that we need to be encouraged in our faith, because the fight that we are fighting is not physical but spiritual. If ever there was a time that I needed to know how to walk in the Spirit, it’s today.

We have a message that the world needs to hear, and I encourage every believer to open his or her mouth and invite someone to church this weekend. I encourage all believers to share what God has done for them with someone else this week. The church is not discouraged or defeated but instead the church is alive because God sent his Son to die on a cross for our sins. We have victory today, and it’s time we start living daily in that victory. When the world says, “Be quiet,” we should be proclaiming even louder that Jesus saves! By faith, I’m believing that our church is going to be full of people passionate about God. Don’t allow the fears of this world to discourage you, but rather use them to embolden you to be a witness for Christ. Be in prayer for the families that were affected by this tragedy in Boston.

Patient...not always easy!

Patience is the Fruit of the Spirit that we covered last Sunday morning as we continued our journey down the path of “Walking in the Spirit.” I’m amazed at how easy it is to preach on the Fruit of the Spirit, yet when the time comes to live it there are some real challenges. Last Friday, Tami and I went out to dinner with our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. We had a great time visiting and just being together. At the end of the dinner we discovered that our Explorer had been broken into and robbed. Ugh…what a mess. As we began viewing the damage and trying to figure out what had been stolen, I was not too worried because we have insurance. Insurance—you know, the policy you pay a lot of money to so that you are protected in case anything like this happens to you. Well, I’ve discovered over the last few days that just because you have insurance doesn’t mean that the process of making claims is simple. After spending time creating three reports with the insurance company, I’ve now come to learn that they want us to prove we actually owned the items that were stolen from the vehicle. A part of me understands, but there are several items valued at less than $50…how do I prove I had that item? I know some people are fantastic at keeping receipts for every little thing, but I just never sensed the need. So now I’m stuck in a debate with the insurance company and trying to prove we actually owned what is gone. Patience!

As I reflect upon that situation, I look at my life and the goals and desires I have for my personal life, my family, and the church. There are days when I feel like I’m enjoying a nice dinner and life couldn’t be any better, but then come the days when there is chaos and I feel like I’m fighting just to get where I need to be. Patience…that’s the key. I know what God has promised to me, my family, and Abundant Life. I know God is faithful to fulfill His promises when I’m walking in obedience to His leading, and I know that I will witness those promises fulfilled. Patience…

What are you struggling with today in this area? Is it yourself? Your family? A situation at work or a relationship? Maybe it’s a financial problem or something else that I have not even described, but I want you to know that God is fully aware of your situation and trying to teach you the Fruit of the Spirit called Patience. Keep praying, trusting God, and walking in faith, and you will see the victory. 

I love the story of Caleb found in Joshua 14. We are reminded of the patience he had to display by waiting 40 years to enter the promised land. Then, when the day came to stake his claim, he didn’t sit around waiting but instead took action. I know we need to show patience in many areas of life, but when the day comes to step up, we need to be just like Caleb and go into action so that God’s promises can be fulfilled in our lives.

When a Game Reminds Us of Reality

A few weeks ago, like many of you, I filled out my NCAA Tournament Bracket hoping to see success in picking the winner of the biggest college basketball tournament of the year. And, as always, in the first week my bracket seemed to quickly start falling apart because teams I picked to win ended up losing. I do it every year because it’s always fun and I enjoy bragging if I do well, which I never get to do! But it also makes watching the games a lot more fun because I have a vested interest. So last Sunday, after the family left and the house was empty, I was going to sit down and watch the Louisville/Duke game. I had picked both of these teams to meet in the tournament, so I was really excited to watch a great basketball game. And that’s exactly what was happening until there were about six minutes left in the first half, which is when Louisville player Kevin Ware went up to block a shot. I really wasn’t paying attention to him but instead watched as the Duke player who made the shot headed back to defend his basket. He was messing around with his face and eyes to the point that I thought he’d been poked in the eye, but then the announcer came on saying that Ware had been hurt on the play. Thanks to modern television I was able to back up and watch the play, and after seeing it once I was sick to my stomach. A young man broke his leg while just trying to make a play, and it was horrible to see. Immediately you could see teammates and those in the crowd crying at the trauma of what was happening. All of a sudden, basketball was the last thing anyone cared about. The good news is that he was well taken care of at the arena, the surgery went well to repair his leg, and they say he will recover to play basketball again. And in case you missed it, he called his teammates around before being taken to the hospital and told them not to focus on him but to win, and that’s exactly what they did!

Life is like that for each of us. We can be cruising through life and things are looking good, but then all of a sudden a crisis hits that can derail us if we’re not careful. Yes, taking some time to put ourselves together may be required, but then it’s time to get back into the game. Don’t let setbacks keep you from accomplishing God’s plan for your life!