Into the Neighborhood

"Only a suffering God can help."

                                                                                                              - Dietrich Bonhoeffer


When we suffer, we need Immanuel; we need the very presence of God.

It does not matter if the suffering comes in the form of a parent who is spiraling downward into the dark depths of age and Alzheimer's; the death of a child; or some disease, like cancer.
In my personal journey, I've had up's and down's; today I'm on an upswing because I have once again been declared 'cancer free' and the tumors from my spleen were non-malignant. 

The day will come when some other tragedy or trial will come into my life, as it does everyone, and new truths about suffering will be revealed.
Yet, as for now, it is a celebratory mood in my life; but we cannot forget to serve, praise and worship God in the light after we have turned so strongly toward Him in the darkness. 
In our grief, more than anything else, we need God's presence; it is something that is beyond value and worth more than words can express.

Bonhoeffer's quote above is classic.
It is an amazing statement which points straight to the Cross - when we were held captive, He became the ransom, setting us free.

In doing so, Jesus proved once and for all that He is indeed on the side - not of the wealthy, the healthy, the beautiful - but on the side of the sufferer.
The reason is because He suffered for us.

When God chose to enter the world, it was in the most intimate and vulnerable way.
He chose to come as a child; a helpless child.
Presumably, the eternal Son of God could have chosen any manner in which to enter the human world of time and space; yet, He chose the most vulnerable and dependent way - that of a child.

During His life, Jesus endured all types of suffering; including His own.
But when Jesus encountered these instances in His life, He did not espouse philosophical theories or theological lessons; Jesus reached out toward others with healing and compassion.
This gives us an indication as to how Christians should respond to those who suffer in our lives.

Jesus never answered the question as to why there is evil in the world; nor why the innocent suffer and the evil prosper.
Could it be so obvious that He didn't need to speak to the issue?

The one thing Jesus did do was come near.
The fact that God came, God suffered - in our suffering, that helps. 

Somehow, it helps.

In coming, we know that God is not remote anymore; He's willing to experience everything you and I experience.
And this is not experiencing it as a removed party or an unconcerned vicarious notion; no, He was willing to experience the same temptations to sin, the same tragedies suffered and ultimately the tallest limitation we have - death itself.

When Jesus came, He moved into our neighborhood.
Therefore, now, when we suffer it is not alone but with God on our side and at our side.

Yet, this brings up the simple question as to why; in return, it has a simple answer.
He does it simply because God loves us.
God is near and is as upset as we are over the situation in the world.
He is enduring with us; therefore, we can endure.

God is with us, not beyond us, in our suffering.
And no matter how loud our internal screams might be, our how noisy our pain might be, Christ is God whispering in our ears, "I am here."



Regardless of what we endure, that helps.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

In Recovery

As I sit behind this screen of pixels with a keyboard before me, I am reminded that in the morning I will not be preaching from the pulpit at West Ripley Baptist Church.
I am in mourning because it just doesn't feel right not going to bed knowing I will rise and mount the pulpit.

My incisions have not fully healed, I'm not fully prepared and my Associate Pastor is ready to go in the morning.
Still, it as if there is a fire burning in my bones, a flame awaiting to rise and come out of my body; as the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of so long ago.

Therefore, while I cannot preach, I can write; satisfying the urge to share God's grace and message once again..

I have had much time to reflect and think in the last 10 days since the removal of my favorite spleen by my doctors at the Cleveland Clinic.
Prior to my stay, I noticed various news stories, both local and national, contained some hard crimes. I also notice now that there seems to be an invasion of big city crime in nearly every town in my immediate area.
During my stay, I noticed on television, the most popular shows contained violence, injustice and morbid acts.
 I wonder why Americans are increasingly drawn to such shows as 'entertainment.'

Yet, in view of all the injustice and violence in the world, this sin, these evil acts, each one of them offer a back-handed proof of God's existence and His work in the world.

Whether it was 9/11, the Jonestown Tragedy, or the kidnapping of a child seen on the nightly news; these are horrible acts.

WTC Cross

Yet, in them, we also witnessed and continue to witness unbelievable acts of compassion and grace amid the horror and pain.
All the while, whether we are dispersing grace or receiving a compassionate blessing from another, when the tragedy takes place there is always an alarm which goes off in our souls which tells us something is desperately wrong.

When it comes to God, many people run from Him when they have sin prominent in their life; that's the wrong move.
God's image to us should not be of an angry, cosmic police officer, judging every step we make. God isn't an enforcer when it comes to our sin.
Instead, it is God who desires the best for our lives; but the sin we have is an obstacle to the most desirable life possible.

But when we do sin, just like when we experience pain or when we are engulfed by a tragic act of another - these, rather than showing God's absence or anger, they are markers pointing us to the solution who is God.

 I believe that the misconceptions about God have chased many people away from eternal life.
The truth is that the misconceptions of God are man-made creations; usually, no person even has a chance to living up to what the misconception is, for often, it is devoid of grace.

In my lifetime, I have seen women treated as unequal partners in marriage and unequal citizens in the church at times; to some, it says that God doesn't value women as much as He does men.

I have seen racial bigotry by Christians hurt minorities; to them, it says that God likes white people more than any one else.

Then there are those Christians who insist that since they are a little more well-to-do that God approves of them and their life more than of a Christian who lives in a trailer park and works 10 hours a day for a little over minimum wage.
I have seen this and the arrogance and pride it produces is nothing short of a hell-inspired lie to destroy the church from the inside of a believers' heart.

All of these are misconceptions about God; none of them are ultimately true.
And when it comes to our sins or our situations in life, rarely do I see Christians searching out for that one spark of grace which is always present.
God's grace and compassion was rising in the ashes of the World Trade Center, even before the second tower fell.
It was at Columbine; as it was also at Virginia Tech.
Yet, we do not hear people pointing out the instances of grace; I have come to expect that from the media but Christians ought to be on a constant lookout for God's work in the World.

I have noticed that when a national tragedy takes place or even a personal setback, like being diagnosed with cancer, someone inevitably points to the cause as the Original Sin.
Now, I agree, all things do have their roots in the Original Sin because it spread to all mankind; yet, it runs deeper than the Original Sin because we also exercise free will.
In all honesty, we have beat the original sin to death while we have ignored the original grace which followed the sin and then later appeared on the horizon in the form of a Cross.

Maybe we would have a better understanding of God's grace if we didn't sugar coat 'sin' so much.
Being a preacher, I have read and listened to sermons of all styles and eras, stretching back over a thousand years in the history of the Church.
In this generation, the word 'sin' is seldom seen in Christian books, magazines and you will rarely railed against from the pulpit - and it is even more rare to see or hear sin spoken of on so-called 'Christian' television.

While it was once THE dominant topic, the notion of sin has disappeared from among us; which, consequently, means that the meaning of grace and its need has also vanished.

On a side-note, it should also tell us as Christians, if there is not a discussion of personal sin and its effects in our lives, we must ask if God's Word is truly being utilized appropriately.
Any minister worth his salt can see and describe sin as what it is, but he can also display the compassion and grace of God so that the sinner can find the path home to redemption.

Wrong acts which cause guilt are found in every human culture; every culture calls it something and ascribes a penance.
This means, though liberals charge otherwise, Christians did not invent the notion of sin to control people.
The idea of sin and the reality of sin has always existed and it is a universal problem.

In the modern world, we hear of a 'health crisis' taking place; we hear of abject poverty and people not being able to climb out of the projects or ghettos; we see images on the streets of people selling their bodies and the diseases which these acts generate; and we see, even in our schools, a drug culture sucking our youth down to a powdery level.

Well, all thing being equal, has anybody ever considered the idea that these things might just be caused by one root cause - personal sin? 

You see, if you want justice in the world, convert those who oppress.
If you want to eliminate drugs, help the dealer meet Jesus.
If you want to see people stop selling their bodies and get out of the ghettos, show them Jesus who ministered to the same.
Truthfully, it isn't rocket science; Christians just need to be honest with what they are dealing with in others. And while we may name it other things, it is still just sin.

Our society has trouble today even being sure if evil exists; many think we are just a computer that has been programmed wrong.
But the truth is that moral guilt is a light which points to another world and to a Sovereign Lord.

We know something is wrong here.
No amount of victimization or rationalization can ever make what is wrong with the world, make it go away.
The only thing that can take it away is Jesus Christ.

It has been said that character is determined by how we act and what we do when nobody is looking.
Well, friend, God is always looking.

But God is not looking as a policeman looks for a speeder on the road; He is a Spirit within me and about me, guiding me to realize fully who I am.
And in maturity and in time, through surgery and diagnosis, in good times and bad, tragedy and triumph; God is guiding me to become fully who I was created to be in the first place.

By the grace of God, we will become ourselves and then one day, we will be like Him.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Careful Considerations from Cleveland

My favorite quote from D. L. Moody occurred when he was asked if he was filled with the Holy Spirit, to which he replied, "Yes, but I leak."
Maybe we all leak a little.

Throughout this journey of the last 20 months, I have tried to be very careful as to what I said God was doing or what He had done in my body concerning the tumors, diagnosis of cancer, and the various medical issues I have endured.
The reason is because throughout my entire life I have seen people claim "miracles" of God that could easily be attributed to some other reason.
I have witness people say that they "felt" the Lord directing them to do something that was clearly unbiblical.

I did not want to be THE guy who claimed God had done something and then it was clearly proved He did not; thus, God's character suffering because of my high hopes.
I was not going to be the one who placed a stumbling block in front of an unbeliever with my words, claiming what God had done and be wrong.
I'm sure many know THAT guy and I was not going to be him.
No...instead, I have a settled, steady faith; a faith that knows God is capable of anything my mind can conceive and an unlimited number of things of which I have never dreamt.

Recently, my team of doctors at the Cleveland Clinic removed my spleen; at the time of this writing, it has been less than a week and I appropriately feel like someone has sliced my abdomen in four places and removed an organ.
And certainly, I can tell you without a doubt in my body, I feel so much better tonight than last week because I am not in the massive pain I so recently experienced.

I really didn't want to lose my spleen; I'd grown quite attached to it, but it was indeed the best decision - that's why we trust the doctors to do what they do best.

As I began to recover from what I affectionately my 'Alien Removal,' I remembered a blog I had written concerning tumors in my spleen.
In November 2012, 'An Ex-SPLEENation' was written explaining a decision made by my doctors, then reversing themselves, on the removal of my spleen back then.

The doctors had seen a tumor in my spleen and at the time they believed the cancer had 
spread; their solution was to remove it.
Yet, after a CT Scan, their concerns evaporated and reported that they could not find anything in the spleen at that time.
I went back and read that blog once again, attempting to determine what was going on with my body and what has happened recently.

I mean, seriously, I just had my favorite spleen removed, so what gives?

I do not understand everything that has happened to me; I cannot even begin to attempt to do so, for it is mind-boggling when you become the object of an act of God.
Yet, I still believe what I said in that blog; I had claimed the absence of the tumors as a "miracle,' an act of God to suspend the laws of nature on my behalf.
I also stated that I expected even greater movements of God in my body.

So, how an I to explain what has happened now?
Am I to believe that the doctors were wrong in 2012, leaving this situation for doctors in 2014?
I don't think so.
I do think that some of the answer can be found in the verse I quoted in that blog from the Apostle Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus.

The Apostle teaches us that we are:
               '...Predestined according to the purpose of the One
                who works out everything in agreement with the 
                decision of His will, so that we who had already 
                put our hope in Christ might bring praise to His glory.'

                                                                             - Ephesians 1:11

The promise of Paul is still valid; my pain, my suffering - somehow this removal of my spleen, the analyzation of the tumors within it, and the results which will come from this situation - all of it will somehow bring praise to Christ and glorify Him. 

In the past, I claimed the absence of tumors as a miracle; I believe that is still true.
Did Mary and Martha debate the miracle of Christ with their brother when the time came and Lazarus died a second time?
No, they did not; nor should I be ungrateful for what He has already done simply because I cannot fully explain what He's doing now.

You see, grace is not magic; it is a healing balm which is activated by a daily dependence on God Himself. And I am thankful for the grace God has given me in each and every moment.

I saw the images of my spleen in 2012; there were tumors in an earlier one and in a later one they had disappeared.
I again saw the images last week; this time 2012 was compared with 2014 and the tumors were visible and very real.
I don't think God put them back in my spleen because of some sin; I don't think He's using me as an example and I don't think it is a punishment or a test.
But I cannot fully explain what God is doing; I'm not sure I would want to know if I could.

One thing I do know is that my attitude is continuing to change, my faith is continuing to grow and my character is developing; and I know that God values these things in my life more than He values my comfort.

When it is obvious God act or moves, His achievements in and through our lives do not always garner the results we expect.
For example, instead of destroying evil in the world, He allowed His Son to die so that He could live within us and conquer evil through us - one life at a time.
Even after Adam sinned, God judged humanity worth being rescued and in His Son, we can be rescued.

The whole point of Jesus coming to earth was for the redemption of fallen humanity; almost every person on the planet did not understand this fact at the time.
And if they didn't understand this act of God, which is the greatest of all time, I do not think tumors appearing in my spleen are all that necessary to be concerned about.
For I know, God is still moving, acting and doing something even now as I remain thankful for what He has done and what He is continuing to do in my life.

We refer to the day Jesus died as "Good Friday."
The reason we call it that is because the story does not end on a Cross, it ends with the promise of redemption.
And it is through that redemption, where one day we will be made complete.

And I truly look forward to that day and the completeness God alone will provide on that day.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Get Out of the Church

Cleveland, OH

In the morning, I will have yet another body part removed; my spleen.
For the first time this week I was able to see an image of my spleen as it looks now, beside an image that was taken 20 months ago.
Without going into great detail, my spleen either needs to birth the alien carcass which seems to be within it, or it needs to be removed.

But seeing that image brought me back to this blog and what I would say about this journey of the last 20 months and what is to come.
Something a friend told me came to mind.

Several days ago a friend, who had been reading my blog told me that through this blog I was becoming the 'Apostle to the Suffering.'
While this is a very high compliment, I'm not sure I can agree with that title.
In fact, I'm not sure I want that title.

To work and minister to, on behalf of the Creator of the Universe, to those who hurt, are in pain, suffer through diseases, divorces and devastation - it is very difficult.
To be sure, God is always present among us, within us, around us; we just need to make Him visible to those who do not know Him as a Christian might.

Christians are the living fruit of ministry; if you take a piece of real fruit, like a Golden Delicious

Apple, its main goal is to reproduce.
That is the purpose of the Christian as well - seed by seed - we are to reproduce; to reproduce we have to take what we have learned and get out of the church and into the world with God's message of grace.

The place where I learned the most about God was at Seminary; but not just any seminary.
It is the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention and is appropriately named, 'The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.'
It was there that I learned, in leaps and bounds, a vast array of Biblical knowledge, theology,

Norton Hall, Southern Seminary

apologetics and how to form my thoughts into coherent words and place them on paper to convey the meaning which I intend.
For this knowledge and development of ability, I will be forever grateful.

Yet, there was a downside to being a student at Southern.
The Seminary community, like many church communities today, seemed so out of touch with the world taking place around them.

From the beginning, while at seminary I felt like an outsider to some degree; I didn't originate from a strong SBC state nor had I graduated from a Bible college.
I came with an Arts & Sciences background, so I looked at the world differently but it was obvious to me - every person I came into contact with as a student seemed to love the Lord as much or even more than myself.

But I was deeply different.
Most of the students either ministered in a church or worked on campus; I did as well but I also worked for the Louisville Division of Police.
Each night I was out on the streets, wearing a badge clipped to my belt while carrying a Bible at my side, I stepped out of what I called the "Seminary Bubble" and saw the real world. 
And when it came to following in lockstep with the institution, I was kind of a rebel in my younger days.

On campus, there were constant debates about Calvinism and how the Convention should be more centralized; others talked about if we should accept people who had been baptized as infants as members of our churches without being immersed as adults.

What I didn't hear were people who were debating better ways to give to the poor; nor did I ever hear anyone recruiting students to work through the year on a volunteer basis in one of Louisville's soup kitchens or homeless shelters.
No..many were too encapsulated in the 'Bubble.'
That world just didn't exist once crossing onto the campus.

Recently I was reading an author who was discussing this very issue; this "Bubble World" so many Churches and Christians seem to desire to live within.
That author provided a wonderful quote by Marilynne Robinson:

               "People who insist that the sacredness of Scripture depends on belief 

                in Creation in a six literal days seem never to insist on a literal reading 

                of 'to him who asks, give,' or 'sell what you have and give the money to

                the poor.'"

Ouch.
But the woman is right.

Walking the streets of Cleveland, I noticed that when people are left to themselves their mind drifts to their own lives; it's obvious that people are hurting and suffering and dealing with all sorts of issues that we don't know about.
It was written on their faces.
But if you were to ask someone, 'Is everything OK?'
They would falsely, but almost naturally, put on a false face and say they were fine.

At the Cleveland Clinic, you really don't see that reaction. Everyone there knows everyone else is hurting, suffering or even dying.

Cleveland Clinic

Most are severe cases in ongoing treatment or even on the down turn towards death and eternity.

As I was standing in line, waiting to check in and have a procedure done, it didn't escape me that every person I could see either was hurting themselves physically or someone they loved was hurting and they were enduring the emotional toll which comes from suffering.

Yet, the entire place, the entire hospital of doctors, nurses, technicians in various fields, patients, and caregivers - everybody and in every place you went and interacted with others - there is an unmistakable atmosphere of hope which permeates throughout the Cleveland Clinic campus.

Most people that a person would come in contact with seem relatively healthy.
Looking at myself in a mirror in the lobby of one of the areas of the hospital, I look healthy, as if there is nothing wrong with me at all.
Yet, like many others, there is something foreign to my body which is slowly killing me from within; an unstoppable force which I cannot live with forever.
I am not alone.

Walking across the courtyard from one building to the next, with my wife's hand in mine, we saw several people sitting on park benches enjoying the day's sunlight.
Some on them were doctors; others were patients who were finally outside the hospital and welcomed the smells and sounds of spring with smiles on the faces as well as their hearts.

There was a very ill small child, a little girl not more than two years-old, her mother and another woman were playing with her on a blanket as best they could. 
The tubes in her body provided a resistance.
But in that moment, they were all so happy.

Traversing the floors of the hospital, there were no screams of torture coming from the patients; there was no frustration with the hospital's food. 
And it has been my experience that agitation among the patients is always very, very low.

What I have described is rare.
So, what is it that makes this one hospital different than any other place I've ever been?
Most hospitals and nursing homes are depressing, but this one is overshadowed with hope.
How is this possible?

Is it just hope for hope's sake?
Is it the hope at the end of the rope?
Maybe just the power of positive thinking.
But it is something because I have seen more compassion and hope on display at this one hospital than at the Seminary when I was a student, save a few individuals I knew back then.

I asked the man taking blood from my arm, "Why is there so much hope in this place?"
He responded, 'Dude, there is...'
Then he apologized for calling me 'dude;' informing me that he had teenagers.
He also related the experience of his mother's life being extended by several years in this hospital after other hospitals had told her that she was terminal and there was nothing they could do.

When it came right down to it, I found that there is so much hope at the Cleveland Clinic because every person who works there has the attitude of being an intricate part in a patient's healing.
They have confidence in themselves that they will provide the best care they possibly can and when that is combined with the best effort of everyone else, the hope that you feel soon becomes a reality the patient experiences.

They have taken their belief and attitude into the world to people who need hope more now than at any time in their lives.
And the results that are produced, along with the overwhelming sense of hope, is as amazing as it is contagious. 

In my mind, I thought Seminary was to be like this; taking the hope, joy and grace of the Gospel of God and bringing it to a lost world, to people who needed it the most.
I thought it was going to be a spiritual 'Mecca' for the lack of better words.

But I soon discovered that Seminary isn't exactly designed for rebels or free-thinkers; it is designed for the majority who choose to live within the 'Bubble.'
While the 'Bubble' is safe, it is a dangerous place for church people to live because the Kingdom of God is advanced very little from within it.

In the Old Testament book of Second Kings, Samaria was under siege; the people were starving to death because the people were locked up within the city.
Nobody would leave the walls of the city for fear of the invading army.
There were lepers who went outside to forge; once outside they found an abandoned camp and provisions.
As always, God had provided for His people.

As the Body of Christ, the truth is that we are losing the current generation for the Lord because we aren't going outside of the walls of the Church.
We tend to be more of a hotel for the faithful rather than a hospital for the wounded.
The individual members of the Church must embody the hope & grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; we must go outside the walls of the church if we ourselves or others are ever going to experience the greatness of God's gifts.

As time has passed, God has given me the wonderful gift of being able to see grace-in-action, compassion personified, and His hand move in and among people in ways that I would have never experienced otherwise.
If there is any consolation in suffering; it is to see God move through people and through my ministry in ways that truly will have an eternal impact and outlive the weak and failing carcass I now inhabit.

I have learned that God has a soft spot for rebels; but the type that stir the pot in order to bring more of Him into their lives and through their lives.
He had a rebel in David the adulterer, in Jeremiah the manic depressant prophet, in every prophet for that matter because none of them wanted to be prophets; in Peter the traitor and in Saul the murderer.
These men and many, many more were seeking God at times and rebelled against Him at other times; eventually, all of them were harnessed by the Holy Spirit and became great men of the faith.

I have also learned that God scans the horizon for people like me; prodigals whom He knows will return.
He watches. He waits. 
And when He sees us coming, He rushes forward to greet them in compassion, grace, mercy and love.
I believe that we are to do the same. 
Yet, it must be done outside the church with as much passion and vigor as we do it from within.

In short, we must get out of the church in the compassion and love of God to get them in the church to experience the full grace of God.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Static in Cleveland

Cleveland, OH

My father passed away several years ago. 
He had COPD, which I had never heard much about until he was diagnosed; the one memory I carry about that particular condition is the struggle he went through to breathe every time he inhaled and the suffering he must have endured until he passed.
My father never took pain medicine. 
When he died of a heart attack I knew the growing pain and the struggle to stay alive was thankfully and gratefully over.

That's not a pretty image for our minds; yet, what can make this worse or any tragedy worse for the individual Christian is when they experience a death but they have prayed faithfully for a person to be healed.
They prayed rightly.
They believed their loved one would be healed.
And yet, they died.

Often in times of suffering and hurt, we receive conflicting, confusing and sometimes contradicting counsel. 
Sometimes, we as Christians, add more pain to the situation when we're really trying to help.
Some will tell us that if we had more faith, we would not be afflicted.
Others will say that a healing is on the way, just believe.
Still others might say that we must endure because our suffering is the Sovereign will of God.
But I must ask - how in the world do any of these answers help a person in the present while they are enduring their pain?

Back in the old days before high definition and digital networks and radios - some of us remember how it was to have static in the background.
That's what our pain does in our lives.
Pain and Suffering plays in the background of life; it is always there.
We hear it as static.

Some people, even Christians, live with chronic, physical pain; others have the lonely curse of clinical depression.
Others are families who endure suffering - they are hit with the addictions of loved ones who cause all sorts of pain in their lives.
Sometimes even a Christian's child will enter a self-destructive mode; though the parents have done all they know to do.
As unfortunate as it is at times, life happens and we can't always control it - which is why we should strive to trust the One who is in control of all things.

In this world, we experience horrendous murders, abuse of children & elderly, drug induced lives cut short in their prime and people who senselessly die for no apparent reason at the hands of a madman.
How are people supposed to have faith that God will deliver them in their worst time, when you can pick up a newspaper or scan the news websites and see that God hasn't protected everybody; not even those who needed the most protecting?

Many want to have faith, but they see the world or even are in pain themselves, and they simply can't make that step.
In Scripture, we should echo the man who wanted to believe: 'Lord, help my unbelief.'

Over last 18 months or so, I have personally dealt with a lot of pain.
Sometimes it was emotional or mental pain; but mostly it has been physical. 
Now, on this side of it as I approach yet another surgery, I feel some level of pain nearly every day. By the grace of God, I've learned to deal with it.
Pain and suffering at some level is common among us all; when we hurt either physically or emotionally - it's usually a pain that never goes away.
As such, we must learn to deal with it; and it's much better to learn to deal with it by grace than it is to live without grace.

Amid the pain of life, you do wonder what God is doing in the world and why so many are hurting.

In New York, immediately after 9/11, the entire world witnessed a secular city transform in an

9/11 Attack, NYC

instant.
People across the country who rarely have any time whatsoever for God, church or theological questions in their life - in that instant - they thought of little else.
In the most abrupt way, the pain in tragedy causes us to turn our focus where it belongs; on God.



Time has passed and it seems the country has returned to normal.
Some believe that over time we get use to pain and evil; that we stop caring for victims or that we learn to ignore the pain as we would a bag lady on the street.
I don't believe that - I believe that regardless of the cause of pain; we know in our hearts that we must keep on living even as the world around us drastically changes.

When you and I experience a death for example, especially if it is someone close to us, we feel pain. If it is a tragic death, we hurt all the more.
But eventually, we will go to the store, we will learn to return to work with some normalcy, the outside world then begins to take over again and eventually, you and I learn to laugh again.

In December 2012, I was simply thankful to be alive; I had endured one major surgery and a cancerous tumor the size of a softball was removed as well as my adrenal gland.
At that time, in the forefront of my mind was another surgery on the horizon to remove a portion of my lung.

Sandy Hook Elementary

But that December, as I was recovering, it became darker for those of Newtown, Connecticut. It was darker than anything I had experienced. 
If you will remember, that is the place where an elementary school was invaded by a 20-year old lunatic. 
Sandy Hook is the place forever etched in our minds where 20 children and six adult staff members as well as the shooter died senselessly and needlessly.

At the time of that shooting, my situation was dire; but I still hurt for those families.
The great question on the minds of millions was, 'What the heck is wrong with our society and how do we fix it?'

That question still lingers.

I have read, like millions of others, of the proposals to ban firearms, of government conspiracies over the origin of the shooting and of other radical ideas on both extremes.
None of them identify the real problem and all of their answers, as a consequence, supply a wrong answer for society.
The problem isn't a government problem or a gun problem; it is a heart problem. 

In the Spring of 2013, I was privileged to witness the rebirth of nature; an experience that I am pleased to be witnessing once again this year.

Boston Marathon, 2013

But in 2013, while I was rejoicing at the news that I was cancer free; it was darkened and spoiled when two radicals detonated a bomb at the Boston Marathon.

Once again, just like at 9/11 in New York, the Newtown Shooting, or even the Oklahoma City Bombing - we, as a nation and individuals, we were struck again and held our breath awaiting the damage.


Tonight, I am preparing for a week of treatment and surgery at the famed Cleveland Clinic.
Yet, as I write these words, the images of each of those tragedies come back to mind painfully; even as my body hurts - I still hurt and feel compassion for those of those cities and the families effected.
It truly makes you wonder what God is doing in this world and where we are headed as a people and a species.

Well, for me or for you, we must begin where we will end; before God.
We are wounded men and women, physically and mentally; we live in this world, headed toward the One who once created all things.

If there is any hope for the world or for those who are individually enduring this life, while we may be strengthened by one another, our hope, our comfort and our one victory can only begin and be found in God Himself.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Child-like Faith

Over the last 18 to 24 months, the journey I have traveled has had its up's and down's. 
To recap - in October 2012 it began by being diagnosed with Stage 4 adrenal cancer.

The expectation was that I would live for about six months.
In January 2013, after a second major surgery where the upper lobe of my left lung was removed, I was declared cancer free.

Pretty sweet testimony, isn't it.

But now, with numerous tumors growing within and without by inflamed and enlarged spleen, I must return to the Cleveland Clinic and have it removed.
Once removed, the testing will begin to determine if there are cancer cells present; then, the necessary steps will be taken medically to conquer this once again.
Yet, I must say - doctors can only do so much; but in Christ, all things are indeed possible.

During this journey, make no mistake about it - I have known the fullness of God's presence; I have also known the loneliness of His unmistakable absence.
You may not think that is possible for a strong believer, but even Christ was left to Himself on the Cross as He died.
We should expect no less than what Christ experienced.

Along with His presence and absence at various times; I have also experienced God's fullness and an emptiness that is difficult to explain except by describing it as a cold fear.
I have enjoyed times of great spiritual intimacy with the Lord; but I have also suffered from spiritual estrangement as well.

In the early church, as they experienced some of the same emotions and situations with the Lord as they endured, some turned to extreme asceticism - denying themselves of things that brought pleasure, taking on what I call 'suffering mode.'
Others went the other extreme and adopted an extreme legalism, believing if they 'obeyed' more diligently then God would bless them.
Sadly, all legalistic values and practices ever do is lead to great disobedience. 

When the Apostle Paul confronted such attitudes, many of which we see today from well-meaning but misguided Christians, he would respond with phrases like, 'Don't you know...'

Pastor Jack - 1975

It is as if he simply could not comprehend why some Christians could never mature beyond spiritual infancy.
Truthfully, neither can I.

No healthy, right-thinking person would want their child to remain in infancy forever; infancy is a necessary time of growth, not a permanent state.
Spiritually, the same is also true.
As we grow in Christ, whether we receive suffering or jubilation, we must learn appropriate child-like behavior as opposed to childish behavior.
One is a prerequisite for the Kingdom of God; the second is a mark of stunted growth.

A Christian who expects God to solve all their problems - whether it is cancer, tumors, the flu, boyfriend issues, or even difficulty on an exam - that Christian is pursuing childish magic; not a mature faith in Jesus Christ.

Today, we have people who want to raise the average Christian's expectations; they do so through the false 'Health & Wealth Gospel.'
First, there is only one Gospel and that's the blood Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, the things which are promised by the pseudo-teachers of Christianity are the very things which Jesus Himself resisted when He was tempted in the wilderness.

Am I to expect that God will solve any issues I have with my weight simply by believing He will reverse the power of a demonic calorie?
Should I be equally as certain of the seasonal change as I am of God providing all the answers I need in every counseling session with broken couples - or do I need to study the situation and the people?
Can I expect, without preparation, God simply to provide a message through my mind and mouth on Sunday morning by just praying for it and showing up?
Am I to expect God to bless me with great wealth when I grow old because I have been faithful?

Friends, it simply doesn't work this way; nor can I expect to be suddenly healed every time I am sick.
God did indeed heal me once and I am so thankful for that touch; yet, He may not choose me to be healed again. If not, I have received more grace than I ever deserved.
As for now, I have indeed been selected, for whatever reason, to walk this path yet again. 
Honestly, I can't wait to see what God does with this one.

You see, I have found that tragedy often precedes great blessings. 
We have to remember in the time of suffering that before we can experience the resurrection, we must endure the necessary prerequisite of death. 

To those who have a child-like faith, some will pass us by, shaking their heads and saying, "Well, they don't know any better..."
At times, I am glad I don't know any better.
It was child like faith by which the centurion approached Jesus, asking Him to heal his servant.
Child-like faith got Peter out of the boat.

But those who 'did know better' tried to convince a former blind man that he couldn't see, it conspired to kill Lazarus again and it paid hush money to Roman guards after the Resurrection.
That's why I'm glad I don't know any better.

One day the disciples asked among themselves - 'Who is the greatest...'
Jesus showed them a child; a child who probably had no idea of the question's depth but who had the trust and faith all need to enter the Kingdom in the first place.

The one thing children do know how to do is trust.
Maybe this is yet one more thing every Christian needs to learn as the walk the road of trial in their lives.
The more you trust God, the greater He will deliver in a way that glorifies Him.

Until next time, try to win one for the good guys.