What grips You at Christmas?

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Thankful for Grace

11-12-13

Today is almost over.  As I have been writing down the date numerous times at work during the day I was reminded there will only be one day in history with the date -- 11-12-13 -- being in consecutive order for the month, day, and year.   Similarly, I have been camping in the book of Philippians for part of this year as I study through it with a friend.  These verses in Paul's letter to the church of Philippi come to mind that have 11, 12, and 13 in them.

Philippians 1:11, "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God."


Philippians 2:12, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,"


Philippians 3:12, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Fifty

Today my parents celebrated a milestone, 50 years of marriage.

Rewind: It's Bristol Baby!

In late August I took a road trip to Bristol, TN with my friend, Don.  Now, I am not a big NASCAR fan. But, I have been told that if you can go to one race in the Sprint Cup circuit it is the night race at Bristol.  The race is run on a half mile oval known as "The Last Colosseum".  160,000 fans can view the race from any vantage point.  Bristol is fourth largest sports venue in the United States and the eighth largest in the world.

When we arrived in Bristol early Saturday afternoon, I experienced NASCAR culture for the first time. It is a unique culture.

The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat

Soccer season is in full swing for the Messiah College men's and women's teams.  Last year both teams won Division III national championships.  The men have won nine national championships and the women have won five.  Messiah College is the only college in the NCAA to win both the men's and women's soccer national championship in the same year with their wins in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Here is a shot from last year's men's semi-final game when they scored the goal to win the game, 1-0, over Loras College.

Tebow's Future - Certain

Over the weekend the New England Patriots, in preparation for the regular season and having 53 man team roster, released Tim Tebow from their team.   Tebow had signed with the Patriots in June for a two year deal without any guaranteed money.  Some thought he would make the team, be tutored by future Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady, and his playing skills refined by future Hall of Fame coach, Bill Belichick, but this wasn't the case.

Tim Tebow drew a lot of media attention during the preseason workouts and games.  His New England Patriot game jersey, #5, was a hot seller too. With over 2 million plus Facebook fans and counting, Tebow attracts attention wherever he is.  I think this is great. Why? Because Tebow lives his life for one single purpose -- to glorify the Lord in everything he does whether it is playing football, working with kids through the Tim Tebow Foundation, or simply living life.

Prior to Tebow's release from the Patriots he told reporters, “I’m blessed because of my faith, because you don’t have to worry about the future, because I know who (God) holds my future."  Tebow continued, “A lot of times people use that as a cliche, but it’s something I try to live by. It really gives you a lot of peace in whatever circumstance you’re in.”

Chicago Blackhawks: One Goal

It has been almost two weeks since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.  This is their fifth cup in the club's history and the second one captured in the last four years.  Their 2012-13 season, shortened due to a player lockout and began in January, was a special one.

Here are some of the highlights along with franchise and NHL records from this year's season:

- January 27, 2013, the Blackhawks set a new franchise record for starting the season 6–0–0 with a win against the Red Wings.

- February 19, 2013, against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks tied the NHL record previously set by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2006-07 season for earning points in the first 16 consecutive games of a season, and beat the Ducks record (28 points) by 1 point. 

- February 22 against the San Jose Sharks, the Blackhawks set a new NHL record for earning points in the first 17 consecutive games of a season. 

- March 5 against the Minnesota Wild, the Blackhawks recorded a franchise record of 10 consecutive wins. 

- March 6, the Blackhawks extended the NHL record to 24 games with a record of 21–0–3, and the franchise record for most consecutive wins to 11 games.

The Blackhawks battled through the playoffs.  On the brink of elimination in the quarter finals, they came from behind from a 3 games to 1 deficit to defeat their arch-rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, to advance to the Western Conference Finals.  

In the conference finals, they faced the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Los Angeles Kings.  The Blackhawks eliminated the Kings in Game 5, which extended into double overtime, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.  The game ended at 11:40 of the second overtime period with a goal by Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane.  Kane also scored a hat trick on the game-winning goal, his second NHL career playoff hat trick.

The Blackhawks faced the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup Championship.  It was one of the most exciting and memorable championship series in Stanley Cup history.  Game 1 went in the history books as the longest NHL game ever played at the United Center, as well as the fifth longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history. The Blackhawks then went on to lose the next two games in overtime and in a shutout, giving the Bruins the lead in the series. The Blackhawks then rebounded back in Game 4 with a high scoring 6–5 overtime win, equalizing the series again.  Blackhawks defensemen Brent Seabrook scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 4, his second in the playoff since Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Red Wings. 

The Blackhawks then returned to the Unted Center for Game 5, winning 3–1 in regulation, and giving the Blackhawks a 3–2 lead in the series.  The Blackhawks returned to TD Garden for Game 6, and were down 0–1 after 7:19 of play.  They rallied back to tie the game, 1-1, in the second period with a goal by Jonathan Toews.   In the third period Boston scored again to go up 2-1 with 7 minutes left in the game.  The Blackhawks decided to pull their goalie, Corey Crawford, and that move paid off.  Brian Bickell scored to tie the game, 2-2, with 1:16 remaining.  Everyone, including me, thought we were headed for overtime.  No way.  Dave Bolland scored 17 seconds later to put the Blackhawks up 3-2 and win the Stanley Cup.  It was an amazing win and an exciting Stanley Cup Championship!

Consider The Heavens

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  

You have set your glory above the heavens.  From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, 

which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, 

the son of man that you care for him?"  (Psalm 8:1-4)

A little over a week ago, June 21, the Summer Solstice commenced the first day of summer.  The moon was amazingly big, beautiful, and a sight to be seen.  The Holy Spirit reminded of these verses from Psalm 8 as I photographed a number of shots of the moon.  God has set the heavens and moon in place. He is in complete control of the universe.  And, He is intimately acquainted with all of our ways.  "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all of my ways" (Psalm 139:1,4)  God, you are awesome!

Taxes. Death. Judgment.

Another tax season is officially coming to a close.  You may have heard it said, "The only two certainties in life are death and taxes." Another certainty is that we will all face the creator God as our judge.  "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).  This rocked my world as a kid growing up.  I knew there is heaven and I knew there is hell.

One City, One Gospel

"But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city!" (Jonah 4:11)

The murder rate in Chicago ranks it as one of highest of any city in the nation.  Each day more people are killed in Chicago than in Afghanistan.  The city has been named "Chi-raq" due to the number of people killed.

Last Friday night I attended a worship time and concert of prayer for the city of Chicago with my good friend and dad.  Three pastors from area churches led the time.  It was a great to focus on the need to show the love of Jesus Christ to the people in Chicago and proclaim the hope of the Gospel.  Join me in praying for God to work in the city of Chicago!

10 Lessons from 10 Surgeries

Entering into the tenth surgery in my life causes me to hit the pause button to reflect and remember.  This is good.  It helps me to remember God’s blessings, who He is, what He has done in my life, and my dependence on Him. 

This is the first surgery I will undergo on an outpatient basis to remove a cyst from my right ankle.  The last nine hip or ankle surgeries kept me in the hospital for a week or more to recover after each operation.  So this one should be “pretty simple”, but I am not taking anything for granted.

If you had told me 20 years ago I would have 10 surgeries on my hips and ankles by this time in my life I would say, “No way.”   But God, in His sovereign plan, has used these surgeries in some amazing ways in my life for His glory. 

In John 9, Jesus’ disciples ask Him about a man born blind.  Was it the parents or the blind man’s sin that caused his blindness? Jesus lets them know that neither the man nor his parents sinned, “but this happened that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:4).  I am grateful God uses ordinary people to magnify His infinite worth.

Here are 10 lessons through 10 surgeries I have learned.  There are more, but these are the ones that come to mind.  Some still to be need to be remembered and relearned every day.  I am one of those sheep the Bible talks about that needs a faithful Shepherd to daily guide and direct me in my walk with the Lord.  Praise the Lord that God is patient and long-suffering with His children. Many of these lessons are lessons for life.

1. God is faithful.  “Know that the LORD your God is God; he is a faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep his commandments.”  (Deuteronomy 7:9).

He provides the right physicians.  He heals. He meets the multiple financial bills after each surgery.  He provides the encouragement of cards, prayers, email, and meals through others. 

2. Be unswervingly God dependent.  It’s easy not to fully lean on God.  My pride says, “I can do this on my own.”  Humility calls me to humble myself under God’s mighty hand that He may lift me up in due time (1 Peter 4:6).

The crutches I have used after each recovery every day have taught and reminded me to lean hard into the grace of God and trust Him.  “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

3. God is good, all the time.  “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all of the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).  Even when days are hard, with pain, whether it be after a surgery or as I keep getting older.  God remains a solid rock, a very present help and refuge in my time of need.  He knows me, what I need, and I praise Him for that!

4. Be thankful.  Thankfulness is the dynamite to blow-up a spirit of discontentment, discouragement, anxiety, and depression.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

5. Suffering now is nothing to what lies ahead.  These present sufferings are incomparable to the future eternal weight of glory that awaits one who is in Christ.  I believe that.  Paul reminds us of that in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

6. Heaven.  Heaven and Hell are real places for all eternity.  “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).  It is hard to grasp eternity. But as I see how short life is I am beginning to sense, in a very small way, what eternity will be like.

I am thankful for heaven and look forward to seeing Jesus face to face to worship Him free of sin.  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:1-2).

7. Gospel witness.  Through 10 surgeries I have had opportunities to share the love and hope of Jesus Christ that I would never have had if I were not born with degenerative arthritis.   A. W. Tozer says, “We are left for a season among men, let us faithfully represent Him here.” This is my heartbeat!

8. Prayer.  Prayer is a barometer of my spiritual life and I believe a believer’s spiritual life.  If am not praying, what place does our Heavenly Father have in my life?  I wish I could say my barometer is always steady.  Often it is not, there are highs and lows. 

My desire is to consistently live out Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”  Lord, help me to pray with great expectation and with thanksgiving!

9. He knows.  This truth has encouraged and convicted me. “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me” (Psalm 139:1). The Creator God of this awesome universe we live in KNOWS me. He knows you too!  What a comfort. He is intimately acquainted with all of my and your ways. 

I can relate to what Job said about God and that he knows everything.  “But he knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).   

10. Remember.  Reflecting on what God has done in my life and will do in the future encourages my heart to keep pressing on.  I cannot always see God at work in our lives, but He is (Psalm 121; Philippians 2:12-13).  Every day His mercies are new…remember…”Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I wait on him” (Lamentations 3:21-25).