No More Stupid

Don't Practice Inoffensive Facial Expressions in Front of The Mirror

2011-10-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

Before I could even talk, my mother instilled within me a passion for reading. She read books to me and my two sisters and instilled a sense of adventure from the stories and information found in the books we read. We made weekly trips to the public library where I always checked out my limit of books. I often finished reading those books before the next library trip, so I would then resort to reading the set of encyclopedias that my parents kept on the book shelves in our living room.

As a result of all this reading activity, my reading skills progressed beyond those of my classmates. In second grade, I became so bored during classroom reading sessions that I was advanced to the third grade for reading. When I was told that I would be advanced, I was thrilled because I had become weary of the second-grade reading material and my classmates' painful stumbling and sounding out of words that I deemed simplistic in our out loud reading sessions. Yet, my thrill suddenly turned to fear when I learned that the third grade class I was to report to was commanded by the the dreaded Mrs. Starek.

Mrs. Starek was not only the oldest teacher at Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School, but she was also reputed to be the strictest and meanest teacher in the district. I was advised by my "all-knowing" fellow students that she yelled at kids without cause and sent kids to the principals office to be whacked with a paddle simply for looking at her the "wrong way." Since I had no idea what looking at her in the "wrong way" entailed, I was sure I was bound to transgress with one of my many facial expressions.

As the day approached for my scheduled "advancement," I could think of nothing else. I practiced inoffensive and neutral facial expressions in the bathroom mirror before school. I was unusually quiet on the bus ride to school with thoughts of how I could make myself virtually invisible to a teacher bent on inflicting wrath on all of her students. When it was time for reading at school, I remained in my seat, hoping that my teacher would miraculously forget that I was scheduled to go to the third grade reading group. My hopes were dashed when she asked a teacher's aide to watch the class while she walked me to the third grade classroom area. And to think, I was actually fond of my teacher and thought she was fond of me. Apparently, my judgement was lacking because my formerly beloved second-grade teacher was now walking me to my impending doom.

When we reached Mrs. Starek's classroom, I pasted on my best inoffensive facial expression and was rewarded with a strange look from Mrs. Starek as my teacher introduced me. So I decided my best course of action was not to look at her at all. When my teacher left, she asked me to step into the teacher's cubicle. "Oh no," I said to myself, "I must have looked at her wrong." I was sure she was going to send me to the principal's office. Instead she asked me if I was feeling ok. Apparently, my inoffensive look must have instead looked as if I was going to lose my breakfast all over the classroom floor. I looked up at her then and saw genuine concern on her face. I told her I was fine. She then pointed to an empty seat in the classroom and told me to sit down. It seemed my impending doom was delayed.

As the year of reading sessions in Mrs. Starek's classroom progressed, I was not only never sent to the principal's office, but my reading progressed with new challenges and ideas that she taught. My fear of impending doom transformed into a healthy respect for Mrs. Starek. I still thought she was the oldest and strictest teacher in the district, but instead of being afraid of the wrath and judgment of Mrs. Starek, I respected her and feared disappointing her. This caused me to focus my thoughts on her lessons and the work she assigned, which in turn, increased my knowledge.

In Psalm 25:14, David writes:

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.

When we fear something, our thoughts focus upon that fear. For instance, if I found myself on a sinking ship, my thoughts would focus on locating a life boat or a life preserver to keep me afloat. If there was no life boat or life preserver to keep me afloat, my thoughts would then focus on treading water to prevent myself from drowning. If the water was cold, my thoughts would then focus on how to stay warm. If I observed that dreaded black fin approaching me in the water, my thoughts would then focus on how to avoid being eaten by a shark. My thoughts would be focused on survival.

This is how we must think about the Lord. We must be focused on the Lord all the time in order to survive. As believers, fear of the Lord does not mean we are to be afraid of His judgement or wrath because Jesus already took the wrath of God upon Himself when He died for our sins on the cross. Rather, fear of the Lord, is a fear of displeasing God.

God is all powerful and awe inspiring. God commands reverence and respect. As a result, we should aim to please God with all of our body, soul, and spirit. This means we are to be in mind of God with everything we think, everything we say, and everything we do. Don't practice inoffensive facial expressions in front of the mirror. Instead, stay focused on the Word of God and go to God with all things in prayer. The more you fellowship with God, the more your knowledge and intimacy with Him will increase. The more your knowledge and intimacy of God increases, the more His will be made known to you. This will not only stave off impending doom, but guarantee your survival.

Don't Leave The House in Your Pajamas

2011-08-19T13:12:00.001-07:00

Like my grandmother and mother before me, I have always been a sound sleeper. This was even more pronounced when I was a kid. I have slept through major earthquakes, telephone calls and noisy neighbors. This is something I have had to fight as an adult in law enforcement when I am on call through the night. Many times, while on 24-hour on-call duty, my work cell phone ( or work leash, as I like to refer to it) has rang to voicemail because it failed to arouse me from a deep sleep.

When I was in junior high, my family lived in a neighborhood that was within a few blocks of train tracks that were used by both freight trains and Amtrak passenger trains on their way to destinations unknown to my junior high mind. One fall night I was aroused from a very deep sleep by my panicked older sister standing in the doorway of my bedroom shouting that we had to leave the house immediately because there was going to be an explosion. At first I was not sure if I was awake or was just dreaming a very annoying dream in which my sister woke me up in the middle of the night with wild stories of fire and explosions. Then she turned on the light and told me and my younger sister to get up because the police said we had to leave. I squinted my eyes at the sudden brightness of the light rudely switched on by my sister and grunted a one word question that summed up my total confusion, "What?"

My sister gestured for me to follow her to the front door. I reluctantly arose from my warm bed and slowly shuffled to the front door of the house with my eyes half-open in protest of all the lights that were on in the house. When I reached the open front door and glanced out, my eyes were suddenly wide open. Behind the houses across the street towards the railroad tracks was a bright orange and red flame that to my junior-high eyes seemed to rise one thousand feet into the sky. It was an astounding sight. I was now fully awake and became aware of the sound of the sirens of the responding emergency vehicles.

As I stood in the front door marveling at the ultimate night light, my mom rushed from the front sidewalk and told us to all get in the car. Apparently, the police had advised everyone on my street to evacuate their houses because of the risk of flying debris in the event the fire from the derailed train caused the fuel tank cars on the train to explode. I immediately headed back to my room to get clothes since I was standing at the door in my raggedy, skimpy, torn, and not-made-for-outdoors pajamas. However, before I could make it to the hallway that led to my room, my Dad who had just exited his bedroom said "Get in the car!"

I noticed that my Dad was not in his pajamas, but had changed into street clothes. (I later learned that he had rushed to the scene with his camera to take pictures.) When I replied that I wanted to get some clothes, he said no and again told me to get in the car. When I looked to my Mom for support, she also told me to get in the car. So my family left our house clad in our pajamas except for my Dad who had changed clothes amidst the chaos. We drove to the house of a family friend who lived on the other side of the railroad tracks. When we got out of the car in their driveway, I wondered why this neighborhood was not evacuated since the giant flame was also visible from this street. It seemed that this house was just as close to the train wreckage as our house on the other side of the tracks. When I voiced my concern, I was told that our house was in a direct line of a possible explosion while our friends' house was not. As a federal law enforcement officer trained in bombs and explosions, I still question that assertion since there was no way to know which way the debris would be hurled if there was an explosion or multiple explosions as a result of the out of control fire.

I slept fitfully on the floor of our friends' house because even though I have always been a deep sleeper, I never usually sleep well in any bed other than my own. In the morning my Dad told us to get in the car since it appeared that the train fire was out and we could return to our home. However, once we reached the major cross street to our neighborhood, we were stopped by a police blockade and told we could not continue in our car. If we wanted to return to our house we would have to walk. I was horrified, because I was still in my not-for-outdoors pajamas. What if my junior high cohorts observed me walking down the street in my raggedy pajamas? To my junior high aged mind, this was tantamount to walking down the street naked.

As I walked several blocks to our house, I vowed never to leave my house in my pajamas again. For years afterwards I wore nothing but t-shirts and shorts to bed in the event that I would be forced to leave with only the clothes I was wearing. I went to bed clothed and prepared. Are you clothed when your head hits the pillow at night? That is, are you clothed in the salvation of Jesus Christ? We read in Revelation 16:15:

"Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

As believers in Jesus we are to look for signs of His return. While we can not predict the day or the hour, we can see signs that His return is ever closer. In these days, it is imperative that we remain watchful and tell others about Jesus so that they are not left walking the street without their clothes.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, you are not watching for His return. As a result, His return will be a surprise like that of a thief who sneaks into your house and takes your belongings while you are asleep. You will not be watchful and you will not be waiting. You will not be ready. Torn and tattered pajamas will seem a luxury as you find yourself wandering the street without any clothes at all. Any pain or suffering that you have experienced in this world will seem insignificant to the torment of spending eternity in hell.
Don't leave your house in your pajamas. Get ready. Become watchful. Ask Jesus to become your Lord and Savior right now. He is waiting for you and wants to clothe you in His salvation. If you would like to ask Jesus into your life, pray a prayer like the short one listed here:

Lord, I know that I am a sinner and have sinned against You. I am sorry for my sins and turn from my sins. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died for my sins, rose from the dead, is alive and hears my prayer. I ask Jesus to come into my life and rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Don't Live Your Life to Win Approval From Others

2011-03-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

I recently attended a funeral of a family friend. Jean was survived by her husband to whom she was married for 63 years. She had children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many friends. Jean was a very close friend of my Mom for the past 30 years. Jean will be missed by many, but I know she is no longer suffering because she was a believer in Jesus Christ.

At the funeral the priest at the Catholic Church spoke about Jean's life from an obituary that was published in the local newspaper. He spoke of Jean's charitable work, including her work in establishing a food bank in the community to feed those who were in need. He correctly stated that Jesus would tell Jean that you fed Me in that you fed My children who were hungry. He said Jean lived a good life and was now with those loved ones who went before her. Yet, he stopped short of stating that Jean was now residing in heaven. This priest then stated that no one really knew who was actually in heaven except for the Pope because the Pope had the authority to canonize saints and grant them the assurance of spending eternity in heaven.

I was inwardly shocked at these words. Well, I should not say inwardly, because I looked down the pew towards my parents and sister with I'm sure, was a disapproving look on my face. However, they did not look at me, so I turned back with that same disapproving look on my face directed at the priest speaking such untruth. I wanted to stand up and proclaim the words of Jesus recorded for us in John 5:24:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

I wanted to stand up and shout the truth of God written by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8:

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If this is not heaven, I don't know what is. This is a hope. This is a promise from God Himself. Since God does not lie, I, as a believer have the assurance of heaven when my earthly body dies. Jean had this assurance. The priest was correct in that Jean lived a good life. Yet, Jean was still a sinner like you and me. Since God demands holiness and purity, we are separated from Him by our sin. The punishment for sin is death. But God gave us a bridge that spanned that separation in the form of his son, Jesus. He sent Jesus to suffer and die for all of ours sins so that those who believe may spend eternity with the One for whom we were created for, our Creator.

While it is true that only one person really knows who is in heaven; it is untrue that the only person with this knowledge is the Pope. Just like you and me, the Pope may see evidence of Christ living inside a believer and thereby, have a Holy Spirit led belief that a believer has left this world to reside in heaven with our Lord. The only One that knows who is in heaven, is the same One who created us. He is the same One who saved us from our sinful selves. He is the same One who is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He is my Lord, my God, my Savior.

While I wanted to stand up and shout, "Liar!" to the priest in the midst of the funeral, I held my tongue at the direction of God. Instead, as I looked over at my Mom who was crying at the fact that she was going to miss her dear friend, I was directed to quietly whisper into her ear as well as into the ears of any other mourners who would stop to listen, "You know that to be absent from the body is to present with the Lord. Jean is now in heaven with Jesus."

Do you have the assurance of heaven? I do. Don't live your life to win approval from others, including the Pope. Rather, live your life to please the only One who can grant you the assurance of heaven. The Pope does not decide who is worthy to be named a saint. Rather, we become saints once we admit that we are sinners, turn from our sins, ask Jesus to forgive us our sins, and allow Jesus to rule and reign in our lives as our Savior and Lord. Because we are saints in Jesus Christ, we now have the assurance of heaven. So call out to Jesus as we are reminded in Romans 10:13:

For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.

Don't Lose Your Way in The Rabbit Hole

2011-01-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, my orthopedic surgeon requested an MRI as a diagnostic tool for the chronic pain in my left shoulder and neck area. Although I have undergone numerous x-rays and CT scans throughout my life, I never experienced the unparalleled encounter with the dreaded tube of the Magnetic Resonance Imager. When I dressed in the morning before my appointment, I was sure to avoid any metal in my clothes so I would not have to wear the hospital gown that is not really known for covering, but rather exposing, especially the rear end.

When I arrived at the radiology office, I was asked to sign a myriad of paperwork, which included warnings about metal in my body from a variety of sources. By the time I read all these warnings, I began to doubt my own assertion that my body did not contain any metal such as shrapnel, metal rods, pins and screws. But since I was fairly certain I would remember being nearly blown up in a war or breaking a bone that required rods, pins or screws to repair, I signed the paperwork.

I was taken to a building where the MRI was located. I was advised to remove the heavy sweatshirt that I wore over my t-shirt because the temperature could be too warm during the procedure. After I removed my watch and placed my car keys, wallet and sweatshirt in a locker, I was asked to lay down on a table with my left shoulder immobilized in a plastic holder. Then the technician strapped me down and handed me a "panic" button, which was a little unnerving in itself. She then asked me what kind of music I wanted to listen to as she placed a set of headphones over my ears. What I really wanted to hear was worship music, but then I wondered what the definition of worship music was at this radiology office. While I would expect to hear praise to Jesus, I might instead be bombarded with praise to some weird God of diversity in the medical office's quest to be politically correct. So to be on the safe side, I chose classical music.

As the technician pressed the button to slide the table into the tube, she said, "It is best if you keep your eyes closed, so don't open your eyes." I don't like to admit this, but very often the word "don't" means "do" to Teri, which is actually ironic considering that the title of each entry of my blog begins with the word "don't." So now you know why "don't" is figured so prominently in my blog titles. It is not necessarily for the benefit of the readers of my blog, but for myself in my continual struggle with disobedience.

Because I heard "do" when the technician said, "don't", I opened my already closed eyes as the table slid to the back of the extremely narrow tube. The ceiling of the tube was within an inch of my face and my right arm that I was told to hold over my chest area so I could clear the sides of the tube was jammed against the top. It was at that moment that the classical music that I had requested was piped through the headphones covering my ears. Now this particular piece of classical music was not soothing or relaxing, but more like something that I heard many times while watching Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid. I experienced a moment of panic as I stared at the ceiling of the tube while the MRI machine began to make really loud noises, the oxygen level seemed to diminish, and the classical music brought images of being trapped in a rabbit hole with Elmer Fudd pointing a shotgun at me. I glanced backwards and noticed a small light behind me. I then closed my eyes and began to pray and the words from John 1:1-5 leaped into my head and heart:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

You see the momentary panic I experienced when I disobeyed the instructions of the MRI technician by opening my eyes and finding myself trapped in a "rabbit hole", was a slip towards darkness, which is the world of unbelief, death and judgment. My sin of fear, anxiety and worry obscured my view of the Light that shines in the darkness. This light is the Word that became flesh. This light is Jesus who entered a dark world and is the light of the world. In John 12:46 Jesus says:

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

Believers no longer live in darkness. Rather, they enter the light and become children of the light. We become children of God. As children of God, we must obey His Word. We must trust our Father and not allow fear, anxiety and worry to diminish this trust. Light is victorious over darkness. Jesus has defeated sin so that we too, may be victorious over sin. So don't lose your way in the rabbit hole. Instead allow the light of Jesus to shine over the darkness of sin and circumstances in your life.

I have since been informed by my orthopedic surgeon that I will have to undergo a second MRI since the source of my pain is actually emanating from my neck and not my shoulder. As I enter that "rabbit hole" for a second time, I will focus on the light of Jesus and remember the words of Paul from Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.

Don't Be Just a Hearer

2010-12-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Since I was a very young child, I have always been a slow gift opener. I think it may be a result of a series of questions that pop into my brain as I open a gift, such as: "I wonder what is inside?" then, "I wonder if I am going to like what is inside?" and finally, "I wonder if I can pretend to like what is inside even if I don't like it?" To make matters worse, as a kid, I would often stop and play with an opened gift even though I still had other unopened gifts to open.

Now I don't know if these questions really popped into my head as a young child one Christmas as I sat among a pile of torn wrapping paper and cardboard boxes flung aside by my older sister who looked upon Christmas gifts as a quest to become a world record holder in the most gifts opened in two minutes. My sister found my slow gift opening annoying in that I did not provide any competition to perfecting her gift-opening prowess.

As I painstakingly opened each of my Christmas gifts this particular Christmas, I remember becoming excited as I opened a gift that contained something I did not have to pretend to like. Among a pile of coloring books inside this wrapped gift, was the crown jewel of Christmas gifts, a jump rope. Now I know as an adult in the age of iPods, video games and other technological wonders, it may be hard to believe that I became excited over a jump rope. But from the time I could crawl, I always gravitated towards play that was best conducted outside and away from breakable items in the house. I would choose a ball over a doll on any day and even today, I would choose a game of sandlot baseball over a boring board game such as Monopoly. A jump rope was a conglomeration of many gifts in one. It could be used to train like the boxers I saw on TV. It could be used as a lasso like the cowboys in the westerns. It could be used to tie up criminals who were bent on robbing my family. It could be used to swing from a tree like Tarzan of the Jungle. A jump rope was nearly as versatile as duct tape in that its uses were infinite.

As I pondered the versatility of this magical jump rope, my Mom looked over to see what gift I had opened. She then moved closer to me and abruptly ended my jump rope fantasies by advising me that I had opened a gift that did not belong to me. In the midst of the storm of frenzied gift opening by my older sister, a gift tag had fallen off one of my sister's gifts and that tag-less gift had then been mistakenly placed in the pile of my unopened gifts. I was told that I would have to return this gift to the rightful owner, my older sister, who I was sure did not envision such glorious uses of a jump rope as I did. I gathered up the coloring books and the jump rope and reluctantly handed them to my sister for whom they were originally intended.

This story inspired my best friend to give me a jump rope for Christmas several years ago. While visions of boxing, lassos, and crime fighting did not pop into my head as when I was a young child, visions of the love and thought of my friend did pop into my head. Even though we both knew that it was very unlikely that I would be using my jump rope to swing from trees as a forty-something adult, I knew that I would look upon that jump-rope as a symbol of a friendship that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. You see, my friend is not just a hearer, but she is also a doer as she has demonstrated numerous times in even greater acts of friendship than a gift of a jump rope.

Are you a doer? That is, do you act upon your relationship with Jesus or do you just listen and talk? In James 1:22-25 we are instructed:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

While it is vital for us as followers of Jesus to diligently read, study, and listen to God's Word, it is imperative that we also use the truth of God's Word to examine ourselves and allow it to make changes in our lives. God's Word is a mirror that reflects us and not the "sinner" next door. Doers know that the Word of God is about them. Doers know that God's Word is to be lived out and not just looked at and listened to. We find that Jesus explains this so clearly in John 15:14-15:

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jesus has made God's Word known to us by living among us and dying upon the cross for our sins. Jesus rose from the dead to become the living God. Jesus is the living Word. Don't be a mere hearer of His Word. Become a doer of His Word. Read, study and listen to His Word so that your friendship with Jesus can be expressed with not only a gift of a jump rope, but in your active service in whatever Jesus commands of you.

Don't Leave Your Shoes Unused in the Closet

2010-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago all personnel from the Los Angeles division of my agency were required to attend a division meeting in Los Angeles. We are required to wear business attire at these meetings and not my usual business-casual clothing that I wear to work on a daily basis. In other words, I had to dress in attire that I put aside for those times that I am required to testify in court on one of my investigations. The choice of shoes is always a chore because nearly all my dress shoes are uncomfortable in one way or another. So I chose a pair of shoes that I had not worn for a while because they matched the clothes I was wearing and they seemed the less evil of all my dress shoes.

I stopped along the route to Los Angeles to pick up a co-worker so that we could travel the dreaded Southern California freeways in the carpool lane, which is marginally faster than the regular lanes. When we reached the meeting site in Los Angeles, I stepped out of the car and noticed that my right shoe felt vastly different than when I had put in on nearly three hours ago. I lifted up my foot to better see the bottom of my shoe and observed that a large chunk of the heel was gone. I looked around the parking lot where I exited the car and did not notice a chunk of my sole on the ground. Since we were already late because of the horrible traffic on the way, I walked as normally as someone who is missing the right heel of their shoe can walk, and entered the meeting room. I sat in an empty seat in the back of the room.

After two hours of excruciating boredom, not only was my alertness vastly disintegrating, but my shoes were literally disintegrating. As I headed to the restroom during a break in the meeting, I noticed that the heel on my left shoe was now gone. As I returned to the meeting room, I noticed a black trail leading to my chair in the back of the room. It was as if I feared the dullness of the meeting had caused irreparable harm to my brain so that I needed to lay down breadcrumbs so I would not forget where I was seated. Since I did not have any breadcrumbs handy, my shoes sacrificed themselves for the cause.

By the end of the day, I was literally walking on the nails that originally held the soles of my shoes together. The rubber soles had completely disintegrated and black crumbs told of everywhere I had been that day. These were perfectly good shoes when I put them on in the morning, but by the end of the day, they were useless and destined for the trash. The problem with these shoes was that I had not worn them for a while and they sat unused in my closet for a long period of time. As a result, the rubber of the soles became hard and brittle and ultimately crumbled when finally put to use.

Have you left your shoes unused in the closet? Are your soles hard, brittle and ready to crumble? What of your faith? Do you make use of your faith on a daily basis or do you stash it away in a drawer with your Bible for use only on Sundays and special occasions?

Let me remind you that disuse brings about decay. If a car is left unused in a garage for a long period of time, the battery will discharge, the tires will go flat and rot, the gasoline will go bad, the carburetor may clog, the brakes can seize, and the car could rust. An idle car becomes a useless car because cars were built to be driven and not stored. Your faith is no different. In 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul writes:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Fight the good fight of faith. To win a fight you must be in better shape than your opponent. To get in shape, you must exercise. So in order to fight the good fight of faith, you must exercise. Take your faith out of the drawer with your Bible and become immersed in the Word of God. When you read, hear, and mediate on God's Word on a daily basis, you will be able to claim God's promises. When you are able to claim God's promises and hold them in your heart, you will find that you are in better shape to fight the opponents of worry, anxiety, fear, temptation, and sin. You will put all your cares and concerns in God's hands. You will depend on God for everything. You will know that everything you have, including yourself, belongs to God. As a result, you will allow God to lead and direct you.

So don't leave your shoes unused in the closet so that they become hard and brittle and simply crumble when put to use. Instead, put on those shoes and step out in complete trust of God. Step out in complete obedience to God. Fight the good fight of faith and hold on to the ultimate promise of eternal life that God has promised to all who place their faith in Jesus.

Don't Hit a Home Run When God Tells You to Bunt

2010-08-05T00:26:00.001-07:00

Even though I was known as a power hitter on my high school softball team, I was placed first in the batting order. If you know anything about softball or baseball, then you know that power hitters are normally placed fourth in the batting order. My placement as the first hitter in the batting order was due to a skill taught to a young left-handed batter by a former coach. When my current coach discovered this skill, I was placed first in the batting order. So nearly every time I came up to bat, my coach flashed the sign to not only bunt, but to drag bunt. You see, left-handed hitters have an advantage when it comes to a drag bunt because we are several steps ahead to first base in the final motion of the drag bunt. I had so perfected this skill, that I almost always made it to first base when I executed the drag bunt.

Although I was successful with the drag bunt, it did not mean that I liked it. I liked to hit the ball over the fence. When I finally received a signal to hit away, I had to be careful to hide my joy from the opposing team so that they could not decipher the signal from my coach.

During one game my team was losing by two runs in the bottom of the last inning. It was my turn at bat with no outs. As I approached the batter's box, my coach was distracted with something in the dugout. I waited outside the batter's box for her sign, but the umpire became impatient and said "batter up." As I stepped into the batter's box, I knew that my coach would have probably given me the drag bunt signal if she was not distracted. Yet, I also knew that I could swing for the fences since I had not received any signal from my coach. The temptation to swing at that first pitch was very strong and had it not been a low and outside corner strike, I may have given in to that temptation.

After that first pitch, I stepped outside the batter's box and looked down the third base line towards my coach awaiting my sign. Once again, I received the sign to drag bunt. I dutifully obeyed the sign and laid down a perfect drag bunt and made it to first base safely. I was given the sign to steal second base while the next batter took the first pitch. This same batter ended up taking the next two pitches and struck out. The third batter grounded out, but hit me over to third base. So now I was in scoring position representing the tying run while our number four batter was up with two outs representing the winning run. This batter swung and connected with the very first pitch. I began my sprint to home plate hoping for at least a base hit so we could send the game into extra innings.

As I neared home plate, my dugout erupted in cheering. I looked over my shoulder and saw that our number four hitter had hit a home run, thereby winning the game. As this player crossed home plate as the winning run, my team mobbed her in excitement. I was part of this mob, but remembered thinking that I too, could have hit a home run if I was not always instructed to drag bunt. While I knew that my drag bunt was important in that it allowed me to ultimately score as the tying run, I also knew that no one remembers the tying run scored by a drag bunter, but everyone remembers the winning run hit by a home run hitter.

As my team returned to the locker room in triumph, my coach called me aside. She thanked me for taking that first pitch as a strike since she had not given me a sign. I did not tell her that I was tempted to swing away at the pitch since I was always tired of drag bunting. She told me that she knew I was capable of hitting home runs, but I was the only one on the team who was capable of making it safely to first base nearly every time at bat. She said the odds of me hitting a home run were not as good as the odds of me getting on base with a drag bunt and my consistency and sacrifice helped the team to win.

I remember thinking that this complement from my coach would have been nice to hear at the beginning of the season and not near the end of a season consisting of endless drag bunts. Yet, it should not have mattered whether I ever received any complements. My coach was the commander of the team. She saw the big picture of the entire game and not my individual turn at bat. The decisions she made were for the benefit of the entire team, not for the benefit of Teri's selfish desire to hit home runs.

Are you serving in ministry with selfish desires in your heart? That is, are you truly serving God or are you serving yourself? Do you serve where God asks you to serve or do you serve where you may be seen and appreciated? Do you truly serve others or do do you serve to gain something for yourself? Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3-4:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

It is important to have the correct heart attitude when you serve in ministry. While in service, you must put others before yourself. You must look out for the interests of others before the interests of yourself. While you will experience blessings beyond all comparison while in the service of God, this should not be the motivation for your service. You serve only for the glory of God.

We must always remember that Christ is our Lord and we are His servants. Yet, we are not only His servants, but we are His slaves. We are to carry out His every command. We are to obey God without question.

While God's commands and directions most often come via His Word in the Bible and in prayer to Him, His directions and commands can also be heard from others. God often uses people like you and me to accomplish His purpose and to deliver His commands. Sometimes, that still small voice of God that you heard in your prayers will be confirmed by someone God has placed in your life. It might be a pastor, it might be a friend, it might be a stranger.

Like my dislike of the endless drag bunt commands from my coach, you may not necessarily like what God is asking you to do. You may think God's command is not making use of your skills and abilities. You may think that God's command is unfair because no one recognizes your unseen service. But God recognizes your obedience. So don't hit a home run when God tells you to bunt. He is not only the commander of the team, but He is the commander of everything. He sees the big picture and not just our individual wants. The decisions God makes are for the benefit of His entire kingdom and not just for the benefit of our selfish individual desires. Obedience to God will reap far more everlasting rewards because His plans are far greater than our own. Remember the words in Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Don’t Look Up For Flying Easter Eggs

2010-03-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have not been fond of eggs because soon after consuming one, I often feel nauseated. To this day, I cannot stomach eggs and often find that the mere scent of a freshly peeled hard-boiled egg is enough to cause me to deposit my non-egg breakfast in the nearest toilet. As a result, you may be able to understand my lack of enthusiasm as a four-year-old egg-hater, after my older sister and I were directed to our backyard Easter egg hunt following church on Easter Sunday. Besides, even at this early age, I did not quite grasp how, or why, a rabbit could, or would, deliver brightly colored chicken eggs to our backyard on Easter. My confusion was intensified the previous night after I glimpsed my Mom actually coloring eggs that suspiciously appeared similar to the eggs left in our backyard by the “Easter bunny.”

Even though my Dad would deny it, he has a slight flair for the dramatic. This Easter was no exception. As I reluctantly picked up eggs to place in my Easter basket, I heard a shout from the front yard. The only words I managed to decipher from this rush of unintelligible English were “Easter bunny.”

For reasons known only to God, I looked up. My four-year-old eyes locked on to what appeared to be a bright green rock falling from the sky. I thought of Martian rocks. Then my befuddled brain recalled the words of that nervous character, Chicken Little, from one of my storybooks, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

Well, this green object hurtling towards me was neither a rock from Mars nor a piece of moss-covered sky. Instead, it was a bright green chicken egg lovingly dyed by my Mom the previous night. I tracked this egg with my four-year-old eyes like a radar man would track an incoming missile on his backlit screen. But unlike a radar man, I did not sound the alarm of an incoming projectile as I watched this egg fall to the patio mere inches from where I stood. The green-colored shell of this Easter egg was no match for the effects of gravity combined with a concrete surface. It cracked much like Humpty Dumpty who tragically fell off the wall. Neither my Mom nor all the king’s horses and all the king’s men were going to put this egg back together again. When the odor of this violently peeled hard-boiled egg reached my egg-sensitive nose, I suddenly felt my breakfast begin to protest inside my stomach.

Just as I begin to feel as if I needed to run to the nearest toilet, my Dad ran from the front of the house towards me shouting, “Did you see the Easter bunny? He threw an egg into the backyard!”

I not only saw the “Easter bunny,” but was nearly taken out by the “Easter bunny’s” dramatic attempt to impress his four-year-old daughter. My confusion over how, or why, a rabbit could deliver brightly colored chicken eggs to my backyard was suddenly made clear after I looked up and saw that egg descending upon me like a revelation from the sky.

Is an egg-wielding rabbit creating confusion in your life? Or a better question would be, is the concern-wielding world creating confusion in your life? I know that everyday circumstances and concerns such as family, work, money, relationships, and even “Easter bunnies” have sometimes caused me to take my eyes off of the One who makes all things clear. Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-4:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Since Satan roams free in this world, we become more like him, common, earthly and evil, if we set our minds on things on the earth. Likewise, since Jesus sits at the right hand of God in heaven, we become more like Him, precious, heavenly, and good, if we set our minds on things above. When we asked Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior, our old selves died. But we did not stay dead. Instead, we are raised from the dead with Jesus free from our common, earthly and evil sins encouraged by Satan. We are no longer straining under the overwhelming weight of our sins.

Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead to save us from our sins. He saved us from our sins so that the glory of God’s grace would be revealed. The glory of God’s grace and love for us as undeserving sinners should not only cause us to fall to our faces in worship, but it should also cause us to constantly seek the will of God by fixing our eyes upon Jesus. While it is true that we will continue to experience suffering in this world, we can remain joyful with the knowledge that both our suffering and joy are unworthy compared to the coming glory. In Romans 8:18 Paul tells us:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Jesus is coming back and He is going to allow us to share His glory. His glory will be revealed in us. Our present joy in the Lord is only a small taste of what is to come. Our present suffering will seem insignificant and forgotten. Our confusion and concerns of this world will not only be clear, but will be erased from our brains as the glory of the Lord seeps from our pores. So don’t look up for flying Easter eggs that only end up as a smashed and stinky mess on your concrete patio. Rather, look up at Jesus with the promise in your heart that the very glory of God will shine from you as a light brighter than any star in the universe for all of eternity.

Don’t Refuse a Foot Washing

2010-03-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

During the week of my birthday, my friend, Kim, and I try to spend a week at a hotel or timeshare within walking distance of the ocean. We both share affection for the vastness and power of the ocean, which is only a microscopic example of the vastness and power of God. My birthday week at the beach has been spent in other states and even other countries. Sometimes, Kim’s husband accompanies us, but most of our beach weeks are spent together at one of our local Southern California Beaches.

One such birthday week closely followed the surgery I underwent to remove a tumor from my right kidney. The surgeon told me I would need six weeks to recover from the surgery so I was not allowed to return to work. After the surgery, I asked my surgeon if I could walk or engage in any type of exercise to stay in shape once I was released from the hospital. He replied, “You can walk to the kitchen to get something to eat.”

Upon my release from the hospital, I was told not to engage in any strenuous activities (so my softball season ended early), or to lift or carry anything over a few pounds. My surgeon did say I could walk at a very slow pace for distances further than my kitchen as the weeks passed during my recovery at home.

When Kim and I arrived at our beach hotel several weeks after my surgery, Kim told me to sit in the room while she unloaded the car that was in the parking garage. We planned to spend a relaxing day at the beach the following day. The next morning Kim began to gather the necessary items for our relaxing beach day, such as beach towels, a blanket, beach chairs, sunscreen, reading material, and an ice chest containing cold drinks and food. Kim was aware of my lifting and carrying restriction so she did not allow me to help gather these items.

As we made our way out of our room to the warm sands of the beach across the street, I told Kim that I should carry something. So she draped my beach towel over my arm while she carried everything else. Once we found the spot on the sand in which we chose to settle, Kim spread out the blanket, set up the beach chairs and helped me sit down in my chair since my abdomen area was still sore from the effects of open surgery.

Now, if you really know Kim and I, you know that we are related in that we are sisters in the Lord. However, if you merely look at our physical characteristics you would think it unlikely that we are related. While I don’t consider myself tall, next to Kim I am a giant. While my skin tone could be compared to that friendly cartoon ghost, Casper; Kim’s skin tone is more similar to that quick little cartoon mouse, Speedy Gonzales. While Kim’s hair is dark, my hair is blond, and so on. It was these very physical differences I had in mind when I broke into laughter as Kim handed me a bottle of cold water from the ice chest she lugged to the beach. As often happens with Kim and I, she was thinking the same thing and also broke into laughter. You see, from outward appearances, it looked as though I was some spoiled white girl who ordered my short little Mexican maid to see to my every need at the beach. It was actually kind of embarrassing when I thought about the image of Kim struggling to carry all our beach paraphernalia like some kind of pack mule, while I strolled to the beach with only a beach towel draped over my arm.

While the outward appearance may have been a humiliating picture of arrogance and pride on my part, and lowliness and servitude on Kim’s part, in reality it was a small glimpse of an act of love that Jesus provides to us on a daily basis. This love was not only love on the part of Kim, but also love on the part of Teri. “What?” you may ask. “How can my role of being served by my sister in the Lord be an act of love?” You see, sometimes it is difficult to allow others to serve you. While it might take an act of humility to serve, it may also take an act of humility to be served. If I love God, then I have to allow Jesus to serve me through others. By serving me, Kim glorified God because she relied not on her own strength, but on the strength given to her by Jesus.

If I was slightly embarrassed about the image of Kim’s act of service that I was in need of, just think of how the disciple Peter felt when Jesus prepared to wash his feet. While Peter’s feet were certainly in need of washing after walking a dusty and dirty road, this was not something that he thought he could allow Jesus to do for him. How would it look? After all, this was the same Jesus whom Peter had declared to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” in Caesarea Philippi. Now his God, who was the creator of all things, wanted to serve Peter, a being that He created. In John 13:6-8 we find the exchange of dialogue between Peter and Jesus after Jesus prepared to wash Peter’s feet:

Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are you washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Peter had to allow Jesus to serve so that Peter would understand how to serve God in the correct manner. By washing Peter’s feet, Jesus was demonstrating that even though Peter was forgiven of his sins, he was still a sinner who needed to come to Jesus daily to be cleansed and supplied with the forgiveness and strength to serve God in a worthy manner. God does not want to be served in a manner that suggests that we are supplying His needs or giving Him things that He already owns. The apostle Paul remind us of this in Acts 17: 24-25 when he says:

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

Our purpose is to serve and glorify God. But God only wants to be served by people who are being served by Jesus. Our service is meaningless without the help of Jesus. God does not need us, but we need Him. When Jesus serves us, or serves through us, God gets the glory, not us. We must allow Jesus to serve us so that we may glorify God. You see, the ones in need, that is Peter, Teri, Kim, and all of you reading this, do not get the glory. Rather, the One who gets the glory is the One who serves. So don’t refuse a foot washing from Jesus. Don’t be embarrassed by an act of service from a fellow believer who serves only with the strength provided by Christ, despite how it may appear to the world. Rather, allow Jesus to wash your feet daily so that you may be supplied with the forgiveness, love and strength that only Jesus can provide to serve and glorify God.

Don’t Wear a Disguise

2010-02-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, my parents celebrated their fifty-first wedding anniversary. I also have friends who recently celebrated their forty-first anniversary. My best friend and her husband celebrated their thirtieth anniversary last month. I too, recently had an anniversary. While it was not a wedding anniversary (whew!!!), it was an anniversary of my career in law enforcement. I have been employed as a law enforcement officer for nineteen years. Although my identity lies solely in Jesus, I must admit that after nineteen years, my career has influenced my behavior despite my attempts to leave my job at work.

While I was volunteering as a member of the Event Team at a Harvest Crusade in New York City, I met an older gentleman who was working as a paid usher for Madison Square Garden where the Crusade was held. His assignment was in a hallway behind the stage area to deter unauthorized persons from entering the area. I passed him many times in this hallway while preoccupied in my “Event Team duties.” As the Crusade progressed and I passed him for the ninth or tenth time, he stopped me and asked, “Are you on the job?”

I hesitated for a moment wondering why this man asked me such a question. After all, I was on “the job” serving God, but I thought I had disguised my “cop-mode” so that it would not be recognized. I knew what this man was really asking because in “cop-speak,” the question is meant to identify one cop to another. However, with the deluge of police programs on television, many people other than cops know what this question means. So I briefly pondered this man’s motivation for wanting to know if I was a cop. After quickly sizing him up and determining that the odds that I had arrested either him or one of his family members was minimal, I asked, “How did you know?”

He answered, “It’s the way you carry yourself.”

I introduced myself and discovered that this man was a retired officer from the New York City Police Department. This man had an impact on me, not because he was a retired New York Police Officer, but because of what he told me, “It’s the way you carry yourself.” He identified me as a fellow law enforcement officer by observing my demeanor. I asked myself, “If this man could identify me as a cop, can the world identify me as a Christian?” On “good” days my identity as a Christian might not be in doubt. On other days, it might not be so evident.

Are you disguising your demeanor? Do your characteristics demonstrate that you are a disciple? That is, does your behavior identify you as a follower of Jesus? In John 13:34-35, Jesus said:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

As Christians, we say that we want to be disciples of Jesus. However, do we really want everyone to recognize us as disciples of Jesus? Sometimes for whatever reason, we don’t want to call attention to ourselves. We simply want to blend in with the crowd. Peter wanted to be a disciple of Jesus, yet while he was in the courtyard of the high priest following the arrest of Jesus, he wanted to blend in. Peter spent a lot of time with Jesus. As a result, he was recognized as a disciple of Jesus even though he attempted to disguise it. When confronted in that courtyard by those that identified him as a follower of Christ, Peter denied it.

If you are a true disciple of Jesus you will not blend in no matter what the situation might be. Rather, you will stand out in the crowd. Does this mean that you need to shout the gospel message from the rooftops? If that is what Jesus has called you to do, then so be it. But be prepared to suffer the consequences as you are cited for local noise violations. What it means is that as disciples of Jesus, we are not only to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we are to love one another as Jesus loves us. This love is a sacrificial love. In John 13:17, Jesus said,

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus spoke these words after he had just demonstrated His love for His disciples by washing their feet. The washing of His disciples’ feet symbolized His coming sacrifice on the cross that would cleanse us all from our sins. He gave the disciples an example to follow and told them that true happiness, that is joy and blessedness, can only be obtained by allowing Jesus to cleanse you by asking Him to forgive your sins, turning from those sins, and following Him in all you do and say. That is, to love each other sacrificially without regard to status or position in this world. We are to love one another as Jesus loves us.

Don’t wear a disguise in an effort to cover up your identity. Instead allow your true identity to shine a light into this dark world. Your demeanor should reflect that of Jesus. It should reflect love. Stand out in the crowd and allow others to see that you are a follower of Christ.

Don’t Install a Burglar Alarm After You Have Already Allowed The Burglar In The House

2010-02-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

Although I am by no means a computer expert, among many of my friends and family I am a computer pro. One such couple who look upon me as a computer pro, are two of my dearest friends who would agree that their gifts and strengths do not lie in the technological realm. I love them and have found that their strengths and gifts in other areas have blessed me in so many ways. So I jump at the opportunity to return a small blessing in comparison by using my above average computer skills to assist them.

Recently, this couple contacted me because their computer had contracted a virus that made it virtually unusable. When I began to describe steps they could take that might create a virus-free computer, my words were met with blank stares. I realized that my friends did not understand what I was suggesting that they do. So I told them I would stop by their house to see if I could remedy their computer problem.

When I arrived at their house I was told that they had allowed the virus protection software on their computer to lapse so that it was no longer current. I was also told that after their computer contracted the virus, they purchased virus protection software, installed it on their computer, and ran a virus scan. However, the software did not detect or remove the virus so it was continuing to wreak havoc on their computer.

The virus was a vicious malware program that directed the user of the computer to a web site where a credit card number was demanded to rid the computer of the virus. Numerous pop-up windows appeared as any attempts to use the computer were made, thereby slowing the computer down and creating a desire to throw the entire computer out the window. After quashing that desire, I restarted the computer in safe mode, downloaded a fix to the malware, and rid the computer of the virus. I must admit that this process took some time because the virus was diabolical and widespread.

After ridding the computer of the virus, I told this couple that it was important to keep their virus protection software current by re-subscribing each year. I also told them that installing virus protection after the computer was already infected was like installing a burglar alarm in your house after you have already allowed the burglar entry through your front door. Like the computer virus, the burglar is already inside running amok among your personal property and files.

Are you planning to install a burglar alarm after you have already allowed the burglar into your house? Are you planning to install virus protection after your computer has already been held hostage by a ferocious malware program? Are you planning to call upon God after you have lived a life ruled by sin? In Hebrews 9:27 we are told:

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…

While it is never too late in this life to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances to repent of your sins, ask God for forgiveness and allow Jesus to rule and reign in your life. We are all going to die. We have no control over the day or hour that this will occur. Our time is in God’s hands, not ours. If you die after a lifetime spent in unbelief and sin, it will be too late. You will be judged and your entry into heaven will be denied. Instead, you will spend eternity in hell. The verse following the one listed above is Hebrews 9:28:

So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Christ died on the cross for one purpose: To save us from that final judgment by taking all of our sins upon Himself and sacrificing His life for ours. While it is impossible to do anything to earn a spot in heaven, it is necessary to repent of your sins, ask God for forgiveness and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. If you continue to reject Jesus and continue on a persistent path of rebellion and sin, God warns that He will harden your heart so that you can no longer choose Him. In Hebrews 3:7-13 we are reminded:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.’” Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

This verse is referring to the time the Israelites refused to trust God after He had rescued them from Egypt. God punished them by not allowing them entry into the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb who believed and trusted God, and the next generation of children born during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness in search of the Promised Land were allowed entry.

This also happened to the Jewish nation after they rejected Jesus. Because of their persistence in refusing to believe, God hardened their hearts so that they were not saved. God offered salvation to the Gentile world. Of course there were, and still are true Jewish believers who are saved, but as a whole, Israel has continued in unbelief of Jesus as their Messiah to this day.

We live in a time of Grace. This means that God has offered his loving and free gift of salvation to everyone who will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This time, like our lives, could end suddenly and without warning. We do not know what tomorrow will bring or whether we even have a tomorrow in our futures. Don’t download virus protection after you have already contracted a virus. Don’t install a burglar alarm after you have already allowed the burglar in the house. While it may be possible to remove the virus with the help of a computer savvy friend, or to rid your house of the burglar by calling the police, it is impossible to ask God to rid your life of sin after your death. Your sin can only be abolished by accepting Jesus before it is too late. In order to escape judgment and assure your place in heaven, you must make the most important decision in your life. That decision is to turn from your sins, ask Jesus to forgive you and allow Him to rule and reign in your life as your Lord and Savior.

If you would like to escape judgment and spend an eternity in heaven rather than in hell, admit that you are a sinner and ask God for forgiveness in prayer:

“Lord, I know that I am a sinner and have sinned against You. I am sorry for my sins and turn from my sins. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died for my sins, rose from the dead, is alive and hears my prayer. I ask Jesus to come into my life and rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Don’t Break Other Kids’ Toys

2009-10-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

When my sisters and I were kids, my parents were friends with a couple who had boys near the ages of my sisters and me. While our parents visited and talked about boring adult matters, we played with these boys. I especially enjoyed our friendship with this family because I always gravitated towards play and games that were stereotypically considered “boy” activities. With these boys I was free to engage in typical “boy” activities such as boxing, baseball, tackle football, dirt clod fights, and blowing up avocados with firecrackers. This family had an avocado tree in their yard. For a long time, my younger sister did not know avocados were edible since we never ate them, but instead, watched them explode as we lobbed our homemade grenades into the empty field across the street.

One of the lessons my mother taught my sisters and I was that we should share our toys with our friends. We were also taught that if our friends shared their toys with us, that we were to be careful with these toys and return them in as good as or better condition than when the toys were first shared with us. I know these boys were told the same thing by their mother, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as we witnessed the destruction of many of our toys that we shared with them.

Since we were required to share our toys with these boys when they asked, we began to hide our unbroken toys so they would not ask to play with them. Only the broken or seemingly indestructible toys were left in plain view. One day one of the boys wondered aloud why all our toys were broken. In my quiet and reserved way, I told him that it was because he broke all of them. He simply shrugged and went back to his destructive play.

Do other kids hide toys from you? Do you return borrowed items in as good as or better condition than when you first borrowed the items? When I examine myself through the lens of scripture, I must admit that like these boys, this lesson often falls on deaf ears. While I am always careful with property that belongs to other people, I am not always as careful with property that belongs to God. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We do not own our bodies. Our bodies were purchased by God with the suffering and death of His beloved Son, Jesus, on the cross. Now that we belong to God as His forgiven children, our bodies are essentially on loan to us. We must be careful with God’s property and use our bodies according to His will and not our own. For if we are living for ourselves, then we are denying that we were bought for a price. We are denying Jesus.

Paul tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Since a temple is a place where people connected with God, then people should be able to connect to God through us. It is difficult for people to see God in us if we are engaged in sin. God did not purchase our bodies for sin. As a result, we should not employ God’s property to lie, steal, murder or utter profanity. We should not offend God’s property with idolatry or unbiblical divorce. We should not poison God’s property with alcohol, or drugs. We should not sour God’s property with selfishness, jealousy, bitterness, revenge, or unforgiveness. We should not soil God’s property with pornography, sex outside of marriage, adultery, prostitution, or homosexuality.

Don’t break other kids’ toys so that you are left to play with only damaged items. That is, don’t break your body with sin so that you are left with only a damaged soul. You are not merely a toy that belongs to God, but rather a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. While the outside of our temples will decay with age, the inside of our temples should be returned to God in better condition than when He gave them to us. Protect God’s temple by living according to His will and not your own. Cultivate God’s temple with prayer, reading His Word, fellowshipping with other believers and telling others about His Son. Illuminate God’s temple by serving and glorifying Him. Remember that God purchased you with something more valuable than silver or gold. He purchased you with the blood of Jesus.

Don’t Leave Your Coat Behind

2009-09-02T14:25:00.001-07:00

When I was a young adult, I rode the train from Southern California to the Midwest to visit relatives. When the train reached Kansas City, Missouri, I had to disembark to await another train bound for St. Louis. Since my train was not due for another 12 hours, I placed my luggage in a locker and walked approximately one mile to the Hallmark factory to take a tour in order to kill some time. The weather was nice and the sun was out. After I finished the tour, I consulted my watch and found that I still had many hours to wait for my next train. As a result, I walked to a nearby mall to get something to eat and to watch a movie.

After the movie ended, I only had a short time to make my way back to the train station to retrieve my luggage and board my train to St. Louis. When I emerged from the darkened movie theater, I was shocked at the sudden change in climate conditions. Being born and raised in Southern California, sudden climate change might mean a bad hair day as the Santa Ana winds kicked in. However, sudden climate change in Kansas City in the middle of February meant a blizzard.

I stood at the door staring at the blowing snow wondering if it would stop any time soon. I was not prepared for rain, let alone freezing and blowing snow in my skimpy and inadequate Southern California clothing. One mile did not seem very far to walk while the sun was out, but one mile in blowing snow may as well have been 100 miles to my sun-soaked California thinking.

Realizing that my time was running short, I cautiously stepped outside the door, only to jump right back inside when a large gust of wind and snow took my breath away. Since I was young and inexperienced, the possibility of calling a taxi did not even cross my mind. I had never been in a taxi and rarely even saw a taxi in the suburbs in which I spent my childhood in Southern California. All I knew was that I needed to get to the train station soon, so I braced myself for the cold and walked out the door.

As I trudged towards the train station getting both colder and wetter with every step, I remember thinking that I should have removed my coat from my luggage before I placed it in the locker. Instead of protecting me from the elements, my coat was uselessly protecting my packed clothes from those unpredictable locker storms. By the time I made it to the train station, I was literally shaking from the cold. My clothes were soaked so I retrieved my luggage from the locker and was able to change into dry clothes prior to boarding the train to St. Louis. As I sat on the train watching the frozen landscape go by, I vowed not to leave my coat behind while I was visiting the Midwest in February.

Have you left your coat behind? Now if you live in Southern California, you may not have to worry too much about lugging around a heavy coat for the next sunny day. However, my friends and relatives in other parts of the country often take a coat along for unexpected climate change. While we may not have to think about blizzards and ice storms in Southern California, what about the storms that are not related to the weather? You may go to work one day and find out that your job is being eliminated or your company is closing. You may get a phone call informing you of the death of a parent, a child, a sibling, a spouse, a close friend or other loved one. You may visit the doctor for a routine health exam only to discover that you have cancer. You may board an airplane that is suddenly commandeered by gunmen bent on death and destruction. How will you get through such shocking and sudden climate changes? Do you have your coat on? Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13:

I can do all things through Christwho strengthens me.

What does Paul mean? Prior to making this statement in Philippians Paul stated that he could make it through any state he might find himself in, whether it be fullness or hunger, abundance or nothing. Paul said that he could endure all conditions with the power that Jesus offers. Paul based his confident statement not on his own abilities, but on God’s absolute promise of salvation through the power of Jesus. God’s power allows us to do whatever He asks of us.

God allows sudden climate changes. God allows both success and failure. God allows both triumph and tragedy. Even though we may not like the climate we suddenly find ourselves in, it is comforting to know that God does not leave us in the cold without a coat. We only have to accept the coat that God offers. This coat is Jesus. Don’t leave your coat behind. Rather, take Jesus with you wherever you go and rely upon His strength to carry you through all circumstances.

Don’t Fail to Sweep

2009-08-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

When I traveled to Israel last year, I lost my temper with my best friend in an incident at the Dead Sea. While the details of the incident are not important, the fact that I was forgiven by my friend for behaving like anything other than a friend is important. We laugh about it now, but I still cringe when I remember how I acted.

Several months ago, I unknowingly hurt my friend’s feelings. When I realized later that she was upset with me, she would not talk about it. I was sure I said something insensitive and stupid, but without knowing the details, I was not sure which of my many remarks was truly the offensive one. I apologized, but the apology sounded hollow and empty since I did not understand my offense. The incident was overlooked and we continued with our friendship.

Several days ago the incident from several months ago resurfaced. Remarks I made brought this incident back to the mind of my friend. We both got angry and actually offended each other. But we worked it out. Our friendship was too valuable to discard merely for carelessly uttered remarks that each of us found insensitive. Offenses are a reality of life, even in friendships. No one is beyond being offended or above offending. We may offend others both intentionally and unintentionally. We may be offended directly or indirectly. Often we are offended only in our own minds.

Far too often, people discard relationships over words carelessly uttered. The person that offended either cannot ask for forgiveness, or the person that that was offended refuses to forgive. We are all going to say stupid things. In James 3:2 we are told:

For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

We are not perfect. We are sinners. The difference as a follower of Christ is that I recognize my sin and ask forgiveness from the person that I offended. I also ask Jesus for forgiveness, for when I offend others, I also offend Him.

My friend is a sister in the Lord. While we have only been friends for seven years, I have often told her that we were always friends but did not always know it. Yet, God always knew it. He knew we were friends, but in His infinite wisdom, He held back this friendship from each of us until we were ready for it. He held it back until He prepared us for it. Our friendship is a priceless gift from God. I do not have to weigh my thoughts or measure my words with my friend. Rather, I can pour them out just as they are because I know my friend will hold on to the ones worth keeping and kindly sweep the others away. There are times when it is necessary for me to assist in the sweeping by asking for forgiveness, and there are other times when my friend assists me in the sweeping by asking for forgiveness.

Don’t throw away your friendships over carelessly uttered words. Rather, take up a broom and start sweeping. Acknowledge how truly blessed you are simply to be the other person’s friend. A true friend is not accepted for the value they add, but rather for the value of who they are. Think about it. Is this not how Christ accepts us?

For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

Don’t Bounce Your Superball on Uneven Surfaces

2009-06-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

On the day I turned seven-years-old, my name was announced on the Los Angeles based children’s television program, “Sheriff John,” as the winner of a birthday prize. When the announcement was made on the program, I was playing outside awaiting the arrival of my friends for my birthday party. I learned of my prize winning fortune from my older sister who ran outside to shout the news. My sister was more excited than I was. I returned to my outdoor activity and completely missed the “Put Another Candle on My Birthday Cake” song by Sheriff John.

Several days later, the mailman delivered a box addressed to me. This box contained my birthday prize. Since I rarely received anything in the mail at the age of seven, I was excited to receive a package addressed to me. I opened the box with great anticipation and excitement as to the contents. My excitement quickly evaporated when I discovered that the contents consisted of a dollhouse.

I seldom played with dolls unless using them as targets counted. Since I did not really play with dolls I could not see any useful purpose for a dollhouse. I remember thinking that Sheriff John had no clue when it came to birthday gifts. But Sheriff John was slightly redeemed after the dollhouse was removed from the box and I found a giant superball at the bottom. I grabbed the superball and ran outside leaving my older sister to play with the dollhouse.

Even as a toddler, my toy of choice was always a ball. It did not matter what type of ball it was. It could be a baseball, a basketball or just a simple rubber ball. I especially enjoyed the superball because of the ability to achieve super high bounces. I played with this giant superball for days.

One day I was bouncing the superball off the back patio high into the air. I had to be careful with the bounces because the back patio consisted of an uneven surface of flagstones. My arm began to tire as I repeatedly threw the ball at the patio so it would bounce to new and greater heights. I challenged myself with new altitudes with each subsequent throw. With these new heights in mind, I slammed the superball off of the patio as hard as my seven-year-old arm was capable of. Unfortunately, power does not always equal accuracy as my superball struck a particularly uneven flagstone which caused it to fly to not only new heights, but to new houses. I stood and watched as my superball soared towards the house behind us, bounced off the roof of that house, and then flew towards the street one block behind my house. I ran around the block in search of my giant superball, but it was nowhere to be found. My birthday prize was gone and I was left with only a useless dollhouse.

Have you lost your giant birthday superball only to be left with an unwanted dollhouse? In other words, have you lost Jesus only to be left with empty and unfulfilling relationships, possessions or careers? When I ask if you have lost Jesus, I am not asking if you have lost your salvation. Rather, I am asking if you have lost your fellowship with the Lord. I am asking if you have lost that closeness or intimacy that you had with Jesus.

When I think of the moment that I asked Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior, I remember my yearning to get to know Him better. I fervently read my Bible, I constantly prayed, and I eagerly attended church services and Bible study. As time passed, I must admit that I have sometimes allowed the cares and concerns of my daily life to diminish this eagerness. Like my birthday superball, I sometimes allow my relationship with Jesus to be foolishly bounced around so much that I lose sight of Him and find myself left with meaningless and worldly things. This can happen to all of us and when it does, it is hard to admit.

In Luke 2:41-49, we learn that Mary and Joseph lost their twelve-year-old child, Jesus, when they traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When they journeyed home, they unknowingly left Jesus behind. When they realized He was not with them, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. They were fearful, anxious, and miserable as they searched for Jesus. They eventually found Jesus in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers. Mary and Joseph were relieved to find Him and asked Him why He did this to them. In Luke 2:49 we find the response by Jesus:

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Jesus was telling Mary and Joseph that He was in the same place all the time. He was saying that it was not He that was lost, but them. You see, unlike my forever-lost birthday superball, Jesus is not lost. He is where He has always been doing what He has always done, which is to be about His Father’s business saving us from our sin. We lose sight of Jesus because of our own neglect and our own sin. Don’t carelessly bounce your relationship with Jesus off the uneven surface of the desires, cares and temptations of this world. Instead, cling tightly to your intimacy with Jesus on the smooth surface of His will for your life. That is, to glorify and serve Him as your Lord and Savior.

Don’t Lose Your Focus

2009-06-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

During the early part of my career, I responded to a residence with my supervisor regarding a report of an alleged threat made by a man living there. After we knocked on the door, someone opened it wide and stood in the open doorway. In response to the sight before us in the doorway, my supervisor asked, “Teri, do you see what I see?”

Without hesitation I replied, “If you see a big fat naked black woman, then yes, I see what you see.”

Framed in the open doorway for us and the entire street to gawk at was a huge African-American woman who apparently believed that clothing was optional when answering her front door. My supervisor told her, “Put some clothes on.”

The woman then turned and walked into the interior of her house and returned to the open doorway wrapped in a white sheet. However, the sheet had seen better days because it was so worn that all of her nakedness was visible through the very thin material. My supervisor became flustered and simply stood at the doorway in disbelief. I, too, was shocked at the apparent unconcern of this woman regarding her nakedness, but once I looked at her face and not the spectacle under the sheet, I quickly remembered the reason we were at the residence in the first place. So I asked for the man we wanted to question regarding the alleged threat. The naked woman pointed down the street at a man who was mowing a neighbor’s lawn.

Once we turned away from the curious display before us in the doorway, we were no longer distracted and we were able to continue our investigation. The large naked woman diverted our attention and we temporarily forgot why we were there. We only needed to take our eyes off the distraction to redirect our attention back to our original purpose.

Is a huge naked woman distracting you from your original purpose? While your distraction may not be as large, odd, disconcerting or obvious as an obese unclothed woman, it may be just as effective in diverting your attention from your original purpose. Hebrews 12:1-2 states:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Sometimes we allow something to distract us from something more important. In law enforcement, this can be deadly. But it is no less deadly to all Christians. Satan uses the concerns and problems of this world to distract us. Satan uses the temptations of this world to lead us astray. Satan can even use our relationships, careers and ministries to divert our attention from our true purpose. We become so focused on ourselves that the reason we are here becomes blurred. Don’t lose your focus. It is not about us. It is only about Jesus. Jesus is Lord and we are here to serve and glorify Him. To lose sight of this is deadly. True life is given when we focus our eyes upon Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Don’t Be Self-Absorbed

2009-05-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

While I was in the hospital during my kidney stone adventure, I was hooked to an IV unit that was plugged into a power outlet in the wall. This outlet was located on the wall behind my bed that I could not reach when I needed to get up to go to the bathroom. Since I was being given medication to encourage my kidney stones to pass, I made frequent trips to the bathroom during my hospital stay.

Since I could not reach the outlet to unplug my IV unit, I pushed the call button for a nurse to assist me. Since the nurses always seemed to be busy, it often took an hour or more for someone to respond to my call. Several times I was able to yank the cord from the wall in my urgent need to get to the bathroom. But sometimes the cord would not budge even after my frantic attempts to yank it from the wall. My visitors were recruited to assist in unplugging me and I once even enlisted the assistance of a flower delivery man.

During my struggles to meet a basic and urgent need, I wondered how I was going to manage through the long night when all my visitors went home and flower deliveries ceased. Well, I need not have wondered or worried because of a best friend that God has blessed me with. Although I have only known this friend for seven years, it is as if we have known each other forever. When I was a new Christian marveling at my less than two year relationship with Jesus, she was the mature Christian that took me under her wing and provided much needed guidance. Over the last seven years I can truly say that our friendship has grown and we are not merely friends, but sisters in the Lord.

My friend stayed with me that first night in the hospital and slept on a hard chair next to my bed. Each time I needed to use the bathroom she got up and assisted me. After a brief trip home to take a shower in the morning, she took the day off work to return to the hospital to stay with me all day. As if that was not enough, my friend stayed with me again the second night knowing that she had to get up early the next morning to go to work. My friend traded two nights of comfort in her warm Tempurpedic bed with her husband for two nights of agony in a hard chair in a cold hospital room. Why? She saw that her friend had a need and she made a sacrifice to meet that need. I am thankful for the sacrifice of my friend and pray that I may be able to not only meet needs she may have, but to be so selfless that I can see those needs in the first place.

You see we are often so self-absorbed in our own little problems and needs that we fail to see the needs of those around us. We become so busy with our families, jobs, and even ministries that we justify a lack of time to sacrifice for the individual needs of others. My friend did not allow her busyness or her own discomfort to prevent her from reaching out to meet a need of her friend.

Jesus did not allow even his pain and suffering on the cross to prevent Him from reaching out to those in need. Consider two of the statements Jesus made from the cross. After being beaten and nailed to a cross to hang and die, Jesus said in Luke 23:34:

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

When the thief on the cross next to Jesus asked Him to remember him when He came into his kingdom, Jesus replied in Luke 23:43:

Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.

It is incredible to me that while in the midst of enormous physical pain; Jesus was able to think of the needs of others. My kidney stone pain paled in comparison, but yet during the height of my pain I was so self-absorbed in that pain that I could not think straight enough to get myself to an emergency room in a reasonable amount of time, let alone see or reach out to the needs of those around me. Don’t be self-absorbed. Believe me; I know it is difficult because we are sinners living in a fallen world. My friend would be the first to say that her sacrifice for me was nothing in comparison to the sacrifice Jesus made for me on the cross when He died for my sins. Yet, her sacrifice should not be tossed away as nothing because it is a reflection of the love of Jesus that we are to provide to not only our best friends, but to all who are in need.

Don’t Shut Your Eyes and Your Ears

2009-05-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

After the emergency room doctor decided to admit me to the hospital following the tortuous 10 hours of kidney stone pain, I was moved to a room containing four beds. I was told that this was a temporary stop until my permanent room was assigned. Sitting on the bed next to mine was a very large woman who was eating. She was very loud and began to complain about pain on her right side. However, she continued to eat. She called out to the nurse that she needed more morphine.

I was extremely tired after a night of pain and just wanted to close my eyes to sleep. This woman began to moan and said she was thirsty. After the nurse gave her water, she said she was in pain and needed more morphine. She said she thought she had appendicitis. She was given a dose of morphine in her IV and then she complained that she was hungry. I was doubtful of her claim of appendicitis because of the people I have known to suffer through appendicitis, eating was not a top priority. In fact, keeping the food down that they had ate prior to the appendicitis attack was a difficult prospect in itself.

The complaints from this woman continued. I closed my eyes and my ears in an attempt to ignore her and get some sleep. When this woman could not convince the nurse to give her even more morphine she turned her attention to me. Now anyone with any observation skills could see that I was exhausted and needed sleep, but this woman either did not care or was simply unobservant. She continued to talk at me even though I refused to open my eyes or acknowledge her comments.

Earlier in the emergency room, I was visited by a friend who is also the wife of one of the pastors at my church. During this visit, she prayed with me. In her prayer, she prayed for patience and longsuffering on my part. (Patience is not one of my gifts). Longsuffering was a recent topic at our Women’s Bible study. It was this prayer that I remembered when the loud woman in the bed next to me screeched, “I guess you are trying to sleep. Do you want me to be quiet?”

Instead of a typical sarcastic remark, I simply said, “Yes, I would like to get some sleep.”

Yet, this woman continued to talk at me and complain very loudly to the nurse about her pain and lack of food. I listened as best as I could with my morphine addled brain until finally, my nurse pulled the curtain separating our beds closed. I silently mouthed, “Thank you.” I was then moved to my permanent room which I had to myself during the duration of my hospital stay.

I must admit that the urge to reply to the loud and complaining woman in a typical Teri fashion (rude and sarcastic) was very strong. But my friend’s prayer was stronger. God placed that prayer on her heart because He knew what I needed. Reacting with sarcasm would not have been very beneficial or very Christ-like. I am not commanded to be rude and sarcastic so that others may come to know Teri. Rather, I am commanded to be an example of the love of Jesus so that others may come to know Him.

God knew that I would be tested in my trial in the hospital and I needed to ask for longsuffering. Because I was addled with pain and morphine He used my friend to ask Him for what I needed. The loud woman was just the tip of the iceberg in the need for longsuffering during my kidney stone adventure.

Do you ever find that you are prompted to pray for a need for someone else? Don’t ignore this prompting. This need may be the Holy Spirit asking you to pray for someone who is too addled with pain and morphine to pray for themselves. This may be the Holy Spirit asking you to pray for someone so immersed in their sin that they can not find their way back to God. This may be the Holy Spirit asking you to pray for that unsaved and antagonistic family member who is actually seeking Jesus. Paul knew the importance of praying for others. In Romans 15:30 he asks for prayer:

Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.

Paul not only asks for prayer, but begs for it. We all need prayer. Sometimes we may not even know what we need to pray for, so God uses others to pray for those needs. When we pray for others, we are responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit living within us to bring the needs of others to the feet of our almighty God. Don’t shut your eyes and your ears to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as I attempted to do so to the loud woman in my room. Listen, obey and pray. You may be the tool that God used to provide someone like me the God-given grace, strength, and longsuffering to endure my trial without trampling my witness.

Don’t Blame the Goldfish

2009-04-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I have not updated my blog for a while. About one month ago, I was watching T.V. one evening while eating a few cheddar Goldfish crackers. Suddenly and without warning I experienced a sharp pain in my left side. My immediate thought was, “Those stinking Goldfish made me sick. They must be bad!”

As I thought about it more rationally, I realized that it was unlikely that those innocuous Goldfish had caused that severe pain in my side. So I began to review in my mind all that I had consumed that day. But nothing popped into my head as the likely culprit for such extreme pain.

As the night went on, I lost all the Goldfish in the toilet as the pain caused me to vomit repeatedly throughout the night. I attempted to swallow some Gas-X thinking the pain was caused by trapped gas inside my body. Those little Gas-X tablets ended their journey, not in my stomach, but in the toilet bowl. I also attempted to swallow ibuprofen for the pain but the toilet bowl claimed those tablets as well. I knew the repeated vomiting was causing me to become dehydrated, but I could not keep even water from making its way from my stomach into the toilet bowl. Yet, I still believed that the pain would pass. I thought if I could stick it out until 8 a.m., I could see my own doctor when he opened in the morning. After a completely sleepless night of the worst pain I have ever experienced, I finally admitted at 4 a.m. that I needed to go to the emergency room.

Once at the emergency room, I was hydrated with an IV and subjected to tests, including a CT scan. The CT scan revealed that I had kidney stones in my left kidney. Because the pain returned so quickly even after I was injected with morphine, and because of my severe dehydration, I was admitted to the hospital where I spent the next two days. I did not pass the stones in the hospital and this was only the beginning of my kidney stone adventure.

As I reflected on that pain-riddled night, I marvel at my reluctance to wait so long before I admitted that I needed immediate medical attention. The ER doctor told me that most people visit the emergency room within 10-20 minutes of the onset of kidney stone pain. I waited 10 hours. Granted, I do have a very high pain tolerance, but this was undoubtedly the most severe pain I have ever experienced. I could not gain any sort of relief no matter if I stood, sat or lay down on my bed. I did not want to admit that something was wrong. I wanted to control my pain. I wanted to control my care. All that control would be taken away as soon as I stepped into the emergency room and gave over my care to nurses and doctors.

Do you attempt to maintain a grip on that elusive control even as it slips from your grasp and causes you damage? Do you futilely hold on to that tenuous control when Jesus wants you to open your hands and give it all to Him? I must admit that while I turn over control of most areas of my life to Jesus, I maintain a white knuckled grip on control over certain areas of my life. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 37:5:

Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

While I cried out to the Lord in my pain, I did not fully commit or trust Him because I was too busy attempting to control my pain. I was so consumed in grasping on to that intangible control that I did not hear His voice. You see, the Lord gave me the pain to let me know that something was wrong. The Lord gave me the pain to let me know that I needed medical attention from nurses and doctors to whom he gave the knowledge, skills and calling to care for the sick. I only needed to stop blaming the Goldfish and attempting to control the pain with my self-prescribed over-the-counter medications and give the pain over to God. I must give over all my burdens to the Lord and trust Him to bring them to pass. While my kidney stones have not yet passed, I have committed my way to the Lord and trust Him to take care of these stones in His own time and in His own way.

Don’t Create a Sense of Dread

2009-03-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

I had a great grandmother on my Dad’s side who immigrated to the Midwest area of the United States from Hungary. She settled in an area with her husband surrounded by other Hungarian immigrants where she raised her family. As a result of living in a mini-Hungarian community, my great grandmother never learned to speak English. My Dad himself, spoke Hungarian until the age of five when he begin to forget the language after his parents moved to another neighborhood and he became immersed in English at school surrounded by English speaking friends.

When I was a kid, we frequently traveled from California to the Midwest to visit relatives. My great grandmother still lived in the same house and neighborhood long after her children were grown, her husband had died, and her neighbors no longer spoke her language. Yet, she stubbornly refused to learn English.

As a small child, I dreaded these visits to my great grandmother because she scared my sisters and me. It is not that she did anything horrible or mean, but it was the manner in which she approached us when we arrived at her house. Just imagine the thoughts flying through my head as a toddler when a stocky, babushka-like woman wearing strange peasant-like clothes came running towards me with her arms outstretched babbling in a never before heard foreign tongue. Then she would scoop me up and slobber me with unwanted kisses while squeezing the breath out of me in a vise like hug. My sisters and I cried in horror the first time we experienced this trauma and shuddered with each announcement of subsequent visits.

What my great grandmother meant in love seemed horrific in the eyes of a toddler. If she had taken into consideration the view of the world from the eyes of a child, she may have reconsidered her approach. Instead, she plowed ahead with her own agenda, without any consideration of the toddlers she was scaring. Instead of an attitude of love, she managed to create a sense of dread. Instead of winning the hearts of these toddlers she managed to turn away the hearts of these toddlers.

As you share your Christian faith are you turning hearts away from Christ? Are you causing non believers to shudder in horror as you babble at them in a foreign tongue? While it is important to share your faith with non-believers, we must do so in a manner in which they not only understand, but in a manner that is loving and gentle. Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:15:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, the people who were around me everyday saw a change. While this change was not radical as far as my outward behavior, it was still a change that others observed. I now had a hope within me that others noticed. When asked about this change, I found that I needed to be ready to explain it. Not only did I need to explain it, but I needed to do so in meekness and fear. I was now called to not only share my faith, but to share it humbly and reverentially. We must share our faith in a loving and gentle manner.

While the person who approaches a non-believer and shouts, “You are going to hell!” is an example of anything but loving and gentle, what about the person who approaches a non-believer and tells them that their sins can be washed away by the blood of Jesus. While this may be true, it can be horrific and confusing in the mind of someone who does not understand the Gospel. We must understand that each person with whom we share our faith has different life experiences. While a direct approach will work with some people, it will not work with most. We must establish some type of rapport with them that leads to a discussion about our faith.

For example, before I interrogate a suspect, I often ask them personal questions about themselves such as their name, where they were born, marital status, number of children, where they went to school, where they work and so on. While this information may be important in conducting further investigation of their criminal activity, I find that these questions are more valuable in eliciting a confession. You see, these questions lead to discussions about subjects that have nothing to do with the crime I am investigating. As a result, the suspect feels more at ease in talking with me. I learn where they are at in their lives and what motivates them. As the conversation progresses, I look for the opportunity to shift the subject to the crime I am investigating. Since they are already at ease in carrying on a conversation with me, it becomes easier for them to talk about their crime.

Similarly, when we talk to non-believers about our faith, we should attempt to find out where they are at in their lives and what motivates them. As we learn more about the person we are speaking with, we should look for an opportunity to shift the conversation to our faith and our own personal testimony. We should never have our own agenda in mind but rather, heed God and allow Him to speak through us. Don’t sprint towards non-believers with outstretched arms babbling in a foreign tongue creating a sense of dread of Christians. Instead, approach non-believers in a loving, meek manner that gives all the glory of the hope within us to Jesus.

Don’t Run On Your Alternator

2009-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

I had a friend in high school that drove a car in which the battery always seemed to die. Sometimes it would die simply because she forgot to turn off her headlights, but it often died without any warning. One night I made the mistake of allowing her to drive to the library. On our way home, we stopped at a convenience store for a soft drink. When we returned to the car, we heard the dreaded clicking sound that meant the battery did not have enough power to start the car.

When I asked my friend if she had jumper cables, she immediately exited the car and began to ask patrons of the convenience store for “jumping cables.” When she asked a young couple for “jumping cables,” they stared at her as if she was speaking a foreign language. In essence, she was speaking a foreign language since this couple was deaf and did not understand a word she was saying. Once I pointed out their hearing impairment, my friend began to pantomime her need to them. I stood laughing as she began jumping up and down and moving her hands from left to right in front of her body while shouting, “Do you have jumping cables?” She appeared to be imitating a deranged rabbit. We finally found someone to jump start the car and went home.

The incident that finally led to my friend getting a new battery for her car occurred one day after school. She asked me if I would jump start her car that was stuck at the supermarket down the street from the high school. She knew that I carried jumper cables in the old Ford truck I drove to school. After we arrived in my truck, I told her to open the hood of her car. However, when I proceeded to hook up the jumper cables to her battery, I noticed a huge problem. There was no battery. When I pointed this out to my friend, she said, “So that’s what that noise was when I turned the corner.”

Apparently her battery had fallen out onto the street. We looked for the battery in the street, but it was gone. To my astonishment, my friend asked if I could still jump start the car. I knew that once the engine was started, a car could run without the battery. I guess I could have removed the battery from my truck, hooked it up to her car to start it and then replaced it back into my truck. The alternator in her car would have kept it running but once she turned off the engine, she would once again be without a source of power to start the engine. Besides, I did not have the proper tools to complete such a project in the supermarket parking lot and told her she needed a new battery.

Have you lost your battery? Are you running only on your alternator? Do you know where the source of your power is? In other words, have you misplaced the power of the cross? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

As sinners we are separated from God. As a result, we are perishing and are unable to come into God’s presence in heaven. We are destined for eternity in hell. As Christians, we know that Jesus took all our sins upon Himself as He was crucified upon the cross. He did this because he loves us and does not want any of us to perish. He wants all of us to join Him in heaven. Yet, as Christians, we sometimes behave as if we don’t know this astonishing truth. It’s not that we forget the power of the cross, but we misplace it.

The cross has the power to cause us to live for Jesus and not for ourselves. We are not here in this world to do as we please. We are here to serve and glorify God. The cross should be the center of your life. You are fooling yourself if you claim the power of the cross but continue to live in sin. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior all of our sins are not only forgiven, but they are forgotten. Will we sin again? Yes, but the difference as a person who has experienced the power of the cross is that I can not enjoy the love of Jesus and enjoy my sin at the same time. The two are not compatible. Any attempts to mix the two, cause discontent and misery.

I know that sin is alluring. I know that sin seems difficult to shed. So we must remember that the only reason we stray from God and find ourselves in sin is because we take our eyes off of the cross. The cross is the power of God. It is only by the power of God that we can be cleansed from the seductiveness of sin and experience a life of pure joy in serving Him. If you don’t allow the cross to be the power of God in your life, then you will find that you are running on your alternator without a battery. You have no power to start when your engine is turned off. You are perishing. Don’t be bound by the temporary pleasure of sin. Instead, keep your eyes on the cross and you will never again have to buy another battery.

Don’t Make Room for the Lies

2009-02-13T15:41:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school, I had to ride a school bus to school every day. I hated the school bus and considered it a form of torture. Even then I tended to be grumpy in the morning and the hubbub of dozens of kids energized from breakfasts consisting of sugary cereals and pop tarts tended to amplify this grumpiness. All the kids in my neighborhood waited for the school bus each morning near the intersection of two streets about one block from my house. This was a residential area and there was not much traffic near the school bus stop.

One morning while I was waiting for the school bus to haul me off to another endless day of first grade instruction, my daydream of the next kid I was going to nail at recess in dodge ball was cut short by a loud crash. All the kids at the bus stop ceased what they were doing and looked towards the sound of the crash. Since the source of the crash was not visible from our vantage point on the sidewalk, we ran to the street to better see the intersection where the crash occurred. We observed that two milk delivery trucks had been involved in a traffic collision.

At this time, many people still received home delivery of milk. In my neighborhood there were two options for delivery of milk to your residence. Some households chose to receive delivery of their milk in traditional glass bottles while some chose to receive delivery of their milk in the new-fangled cardboard cartons. Each delivery option was delivered by two different milk delivery trucks from two different dairies.

We were enthralled with the traffic collision which began an immediate chatter regarding the cause of the accident. Several kids claimed that the driver of the milk delivery truck with the cardboard cartons deliberately crashed into the milk truck containing the glass bottles of milk in a malicious conspiracy to destroy the inventory of milk in glass bottles so that he could steal all the milk delivery customers in the neighborhood. This actually seemed plausible to my limited first grade mind as I watched the milk from the broken glass bottles flow in a white stream towards the storm drain.

By the time the school bus arrived, the story of the evil takeover plot by the crazed delivery driver of the cardboard milk containers had grown and become a consensus among most of the kids. Several of the kids excitedly passed this story on to the bus driver. As the school bus drove by the accident scene, I looked at the two drivers of the milk delivery trucks who were calmly talking to one another outside their wrecked trucks. I must admit that I searched the face of the delivery driver of the cardboard cartons for signs of triumph in the successful completion of his nefarious plot. Once we arrived at school, the story grew as it was passed on to other kids eager to hear the news of the wicked milk truck driver.

It’s curious that I can vividly recall this accident many years later, not because of the factual details of the accident itself, but because of the story of the accident as told by a bunch of elementary school kids with overactive imaginations. While not one of my fellow bus stop cohorts actually witnessed the accident, many claimed knowledge of the cause. They came to a conclusion without knowing all of the essential facts and passed on their false conclusions to others. Worse yet, the false story ran rampant throughout the school and became truth in the hearts of many who heard the story told over and over again.

Has falsehood taken root in your heart? Sometimes we hear something repeated so many times that we begin to believe it ourselves. So many urban legends, such as the story of the daft woman who tried to dry her poodle in the microwave, have become truth in the minds of many who both repeatedly hear and pass on the story. How many of you remember the Y2K stories of computer meltdowns and the impending doomsday scenarios as the year 2000 approached? I actually knew people who stocked up with food and supplies and took shelter in a cellar resembling a 1960’s bomb shelter in anticipation of this myth that became truth in their hearts. How many people secretly hid anxiety in their hearts during the waning minutes of the year 1999 because of the repeated doomsday messages perpetuated in the media? I am sure there are more than we care to admit.

Untruth spreads like cancer and takes root in our hearts. Need I remind you that our hearts are deceitful and tend to stray? Satan is a master at filling our heads with human reasoning and lies. We repeatedly see and hear these lies in the newspaper, on the radio, on television and on the internet until they even permeate the church. A few examples include so-called Christians who support abortion; So-called Christians who allow women to lead their churches; So-called Christians who support homosexuality and allow homosexuals to pastor their churches; So-called Christians who advocate divorce for unbiblical reasons with the support of their church; So-called Christian churches who pray to Mary and the Saints rather than directing their prayers to Jesus; So-called Christians who deny that Jesus is the only way to heaven.

As Christians we must guard ourselves from false teachings and from those who seek to add to or take away from the truth of Jesus. As Christians we must also be careful to tell others the truth of Jesus in the same manner. In Paul’s letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15-17 we are reminded:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer.

The best way to detect a lie is to know the truth. When I interrogate a suspect, it is easier to elicit a confession when I already know the truth. The confession becomes more difficult when the truth is murky. While I don’t always have the advantage of knowing the truth before I begin every interrogation, I do have the advantage of knowing the truth when I am confronted with false teachings. I have the advantage of knowing the truth when I tell others about Jesus. This truth can be found in the Word of God. We need to hear the truth over and over, and again and again. We should never stop hearing the truth as given to us in the Bible. Read it! Study it! Memorize it! Then read it again! Never stop reading it. Never stop listening to the truth. Don’t make room for the lies. For once we stop hearing the truth we allow the lies to take residency in our hearts.

Don’t Lose Sight of Your Master

2009-02-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

When my dog, Cisco, was a puppy, I took him to the dog beach. Despite his small stature, he confidently ran with the bigger dogs on the beach. As an adult dog, he only weighs seven pounds, but he still runs with the big dogs when we go to the dog beach. When the owners of the big dogs throw balls into the ocean for their dogs to retrieve, Cisco runs with these much bigger dogs until the water gets too deep. He then turns and runs back toward the beach. He is not a stupid dog (which would really annoy me) and realizes that he is unable to negotiate the pounding surf that the bigger dogs swim through to retrieve the thrown balls. So he returns to higher ground and waits for the big dogs to return.

Even though Cisco likes to run free with the big dogs, he constantly keeps an eye out for me to determine my location. If I move, he adjusts his play area accordingly. If he loses sight of me, he suddenly stops what he is doing and seeks me out. Once he has determined my whereabouts, he feels free to resume his business of running with the big dogs and sniffing dog butts. It is as if he intuitively knows that despite the freedom I allow him to run on the beach, his safety and protection lie with me if things should turn bad. As a result, he does not lose sight of his master.

When you find yourself running free on the beach with the big dogs, do you ever lose sight of your Master? Sometimes when things seem to be running smoothly in our lives, we take our eyes off of Jesus. Then when things suddenly turn sour, we desperately seek Him out. Sometimes we find ourselves in difficult circumstances simply because we lost our focus. Don’t wait until you are in trouble to seek Jesus. Instead, look to Him at all times. He wants our focus. In Psalm 123:1-2 the Psalmist writes:

Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He has mercy on us.

In this Psalm we are reminded to keep our eyes on the Lord who dwells in heaven. We are reminded to keep our focus off of ourselves and the world. We are reminded that as Christians, we must not forget that we are servants and Jesus is our Master. He is a loving Master who does not force us to serve Him. Instead, He allows us the freedom to choose whom we serve. If we choose to serve Jesus, we must remember that all servants must anticipate the commands of their masters.

The Psalmist states that we must focus on the hands of our Master. Sometimes I simply have to give Cisco a subtle hand motion in order to communicate a command to him. If his attention is not focused on me, he misses this command. Just like Cisco, I must be focused on my Master, so that I don’t miss His commands. If I am focused on myself or the things of the world, I miss the signs from Jesus and then wonder why I find myself in difficult circumstances. If I don’t keep my eyes upon Jesus at all times, I miss His signals and then wonder why He is not using me. If I look to anyone other than Jesus, I wonder why I can no longer see His merciful protection and safety. Don’t lose sight of your Master. Instead, keep your eyes upon Jesus at all times and anticipate His commands. As faithful servants, we will find that Jesus is a faithful Master.

Don’t Just Hope For Mercy

2009-01-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

When I first began my career in law enforcement, I decided to learn a martial art. My agency taught basic defensive tactics to all agents with the operative word being “basic.” I wanted to improve my defensive tactics beyond “basic” and thought I could get some needed extra exercise in the process. So I enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do school located near my home.

My Tae Kwon Do instructor was a seventh degree black belt from South Korea where he practiced Tae Kwon Do from the moment he could walk as a toddler. He was definitely an expert in this martial art and even though his English was limited, he was a very good teacher. I eventually earned my black belt under this highly skilled Master of Tae Kwon Do.

Since my instructor knew I worked in law enforcement, he often provided me individual and specialized lessons. One day he provided instructions on the techniques used to disarm a gunman. I knew he was skilled in this area because he had recently disarmed a gunman who had entered his Tae Kwon Do school to rob him. I wondered if the suspect sat in prison marveling at his own stupidity at entering a martial arts school in an attempt to rob a Tae Kwon Do Master.

During my individual lesson this day, my instructor gave me a toy gun and told me to stand close to him with the gun pointed so close that it touched his back. Suddenly I found myself flat on my back with the toy gun I was holding pointed at me by my instructor. He showed me the technique in slow motion and allowed me to practice disarming him. When I felt as if I had a good understanding of this technique he told me to back up three steps and point the toy gun at him from that distance. Again, he disarmed me and then allowed me to practice the technique on him. Then I backed up about ten feet, pointed the toy gun at him and asked, “Now what will you do?”

My instructor looked at me, raised his hands above his head and said, “Oh poop!” only he did not use the word poop. With those two words he was telling me that there was nothing he could do to save himself. As a result, he raised his hands in submission and hoped for mercy.

Is a gunman pointing a gun at you from ten feet away so that you have no choice but to submit to his demands and hope for mercy? While the gunman’s mercy may result in the sparing of your life, you may find yourself short a wallet. When you submit to God and call upon His mercy, you will not only retain your life and wallet, but your wallet will contain more than what you originally put inside it. Now I am not saying that God will necessarily make you fat with cash, but He will provide for your every need and bless you in ways your finite mind could never conceive. In Psalm 86:5 we are taught:

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

As Christians we know that we are condemned sinners saved from eternity in hell by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. However, sometimes we lose sight of this when we find ourselves immersed in sin with dirty hands and unclean hearts. We can lose sight of this when we find ourselves backed against a wall with nowhere to turn within sight of our limited vision. We forget that God is good. We forget that God is great. We forget that God is always ready to forgive. We forget that unlike the gunman who may spare our lives but take our wallet, God’s mercy is abundant. We need to give up our futile attempts to control our own lives. We need to call upon God. We need to ask Him for forgiveness every day. We need to hold our hands up in the air in surrender to Him. We need to submit to His authority. Don’t just hope for mercy, but instead rest assured that God’s mercy towards you knows no end. Instead of crying out “Oh poop,” cry out “Oh Lord!”

Don’t Suffer an Identity Crisis

2009-01-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

I had an uncle who went to the same restaurant everyday for years on his way to work in the morning. Even after he retired, he continued eating breakfast at this same restaurant every Monday through Friday. Since he was on a restricted diet, he ordered the same meal every day. This was such a regular pattern in his daily activities, the waitress usually had his food ready as he entered the restaurant and sat at his table.

As a young adult, I traveled to the Midwest to visit relatives. While I was there, I decided to meet my uncle for breakfast at his usual restaurant. As we sat down, the waitress said, “Good morning Al,” while placing his plate of food on the table. Since my uncle’s name was nothing that sounded like Al, I thought the waitress was rude because it seemed as though she was talking to someone at another table while she was serving my uncle. My uncle did not seem to mind as he introduced me to the waitress before she took my order.

During breakfast, many people in the restaurant recognized my uncle and greeted him. I briefly wondered if my uncle was leading a double life because everyone who greeted him called him Al. I never called him Uncle Al and had never heard my mother, grandmother, or any other relative or friend call him Al before. I wondered what the story was so I asked him why everyone in the restaurant called him Al.

My uncle told me that one day his employer decided to provide work shirts for all the employees. My uncle’s name was not a common name so that when the representative from the uniform company arrived, he did not have any shirts with my uncle’s name. So my uncle took a shirt with the name Al on it. When the uniform representative returned to collect the dirty shirts in exchange for clean shirts, he forgot that he had provided my uncle with a shirt that had the wrong name. So my uncle again just used a shirt with the name Al.

Since my uncle did not make a fuss over the shirt, the uniform representative forgot about the wrong name on the shirt each time he returned. So my uncle continued to wear the shirt with the name Al. Soon, everyone at his workplace was calling him Al and the waitress and restaurant patrons assumed his name was Al since he wore the Al shirt daily to the restaurant on his way to work. When he retired, the words, “Congratulations Al,” were written in icing on the top of his retirement cake. My uncle told me that as long as his paycheck was issued in his correct name, it did not matter that his work shirt contained a different name. He knew what his real name was so he did not worry or fuss about what some people called him. He never suffered an identity crisis as a result of wearing a shirt with a name other than his own.

Are you suffering an identity crisis? The dictionary defines an identity crisis as “distress and disorientation resulting from conflicting pressures and uncertainty about one’s self and one’s role in society.” Before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior I suffered from an identity crisis. I was uncertain about myself and what my role was in this world. Like most people, I associated my identity with action. I was a daughter; I was a college graduate; I was a basketball player; I was a teacher; I was a single woman; I was an artist; I was a law enforcement officer. What I did not realize at the time, was that sinner was included in my identity. I knew I was not perfect so I suspected I was a sinner. Since I also realized that I could never be perfect, it made me even more uncertain about myself and my role in this world. When I began to see myself the way God saw me, my identity changed drastically. I am a sinner in need of a savior. Through the writing of John, God tells us in John 1:12-13:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I did not understand that I was separated from God by my sin. I did not fully grasp that because of my sin, God sent His Son, Jesus, to bear the penalty for my sin. I did not acknowledge that by asking for forgiveness, turning from my sins, believing that Jesus died because of my sins, trusting that Jesus was alive again, and asking Jesus to take residency within my heart, that I could become a child of God destined for an eternity in heaven rather than hell. When I died to my old sinful self and was born again by asking Jesus to rule and reign my life, my identity changed. I would never again suffer an identity crisis. I am certain of whom I am; I am a child of God. I am no longer confused about my role in this world; I am a willing servant of Jesus here to do His will and glorify Him. My identity is secure because my identity is in Christ.

Do you want to secure your identity? Do you want to experience the pure joy of understanding who you truly are and what your real purpose is? Do you want to become a child of God? Do you want to spend an eternity in heaven rather than in hell? If so, admit that sinner is included in your identity and ask God for forgiveness in prayer:

Lord, I know that I am a sinner and have sinned against You. I am sorry for my sins and turn from my sins. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died for my sins, rose from the dead, is alive and hears my prayer. I ask Jesus to come into my life and rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Don’t Leave the Window Open to Escape the Heat

2009-01-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

When I played basketball in college our team traveled from Southern California to Alaska during December of my sophomore year to play in a tournament. We had some free time while we were there, so our team went to see a glacier. While at the glacier, it began to snow causing us to shiver in our inadequate Southern California clothing. Most of us were from the Southern California area and did not own any severe cold weather clothing. As college students attending school on basketball scholarships, most of us did not have extra money to purchase clothing for a short trip to Alaska. So we stood shaking from the cold, not in wonder of the beauty of the enormous glacier looming in front of us, but wondering instead about when we were going to return to our heated hotel.

When we returned to our hotel, we found that it was not only warm, but oppressively hot in our hotel room. There were four players assigned to my room with only enough beds for three players. As a result, a small cot-like bed was rolled into our room by the hotel staff. This elfin bed was pushed to the only available floor space under the small window in our room. Fortunately, one of the players assigned to our room was a point guard with a small stature that matched the small bed.

As we prepared to go to sleep for the night, we complained about the excessive heat in our room as we futilely attempted to lower the temperature with the non-working thermostat. Since the hotel staff did not seem to take our request to turn down the heat seriously, we took matters into our own hands. We opened the small screen-less window in an effort to escape the heat. We fell asleep with the window open.

The following morning we discovered that the snowfall under which we had shivered the previous day had grown dramatically during the night. This nighttime snowfall must have been accompanied by wind because our point guard sleeping in the elfin bed under the open window was covered in white powdery snow. Everyone thought it was hilarious, especially when our player covered in snow became so outraged at our laughter that she resembled a miniature and angry abominable snowman.

Since the atmosphere in our room was comparable to that of a sauna, the snow melted quickly and our point guard did not suffer any lasting ill-effects. However, the bed had to be exchanged for another because it was soaked from the melted snow. The hotel staff was not pleased with the mess and we were told to keep the window closed.

When we decided to deal with the heat by opening our window that night, we did not consider the possibility of snow blowing inside our room. We only wanted to escape the heat. We did not realize how fast blowing snow could accumulate, even through an opening as small as our hotel window.

Have you left a window open to escape the heat? When your Christian walk becomes bumpy do you choose a “smoother” path? When circumstances seem more than you can bear despite your relationship with Christ, do you seek an escape clause from that relationship? When God allows hardship and trials in your life, do you turn to the creator of the universe who literally holds the world in His hands, or do you turn to the allure of a seemingly quick and easy solution offered by the world and endorsed by the current popular celebrity? In Thessalonians 5:22 we are instructed:

Abstain from every form of evil.

This sounds so simple, yet our sinful selves complicate this instruction by justifying the evil we allow into our lives. We tell ourselves that our thoughts, behaviors and actions are justifiable because of the strain and pressure of a hardship we may be experiencing. We tell ourselves its just one joint to help us unwind on our way to drug addiction. We allow ourselves a few drinks to relax on our way to drunkenness. We look at pornographic images to de-stress on our way to adultery. We “borrow” a few dollars from the company till to keep us solvent until payday on our way to embezzlement. We tell a little lie to escape a predicament on our way to perjury. We use profanity to emphasize a point under stress on our way to blasphemy. We skip a Sunday morning church service to catch up on our sleep after a difficult week on our way to separation. We murmur and complain to cope with the “pressure” on our way to distrust of God. We question the authority of God’s Word when we dislike the solution it provides to our trials on our way to Satan.

We must not only keep our window shut, but sealed against all forms of evil. This is especially true when we find ourselves vulnerable in the midst of a trial. As true followers of Christ, we must know that there are places we can not go, activities we can not participate in and people we can not have close relationships with no matter what our external circumstances may be. We often leave our window to worldly solutions open in case we feel that God is not acting quickly enough or in a manner that we approve of in guiding us through difficulties and trials.

Don’t compromise your faith for a quick fix to your trial. We think we can handle a “small” compromise because we forget how one tiny compromise snowballs into increasingly larger compromises until we suddenly realize we have an angry abominable snowman in a wet bed on our hands. Don’t compromise. Instead, abstain from all evil and depend completely on God to lead you through your hardships, difficulties and trials. He does not ignore your cries for help and He will not leave you in the heat longer than you can endure it. Like a sauna, God will use that heat to sweat out our impurities and mold us into His children who desire nothing other than to glorify God according to His good and perfect will.

Don’t Keep Butterflies Locked In Your Lunchbox

2009-01-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

When I attended first grade in elementary school, I carried my lunch in a metal lunchbox. I viewed my lunchbox as a multi-purpose tool. It not only carried my lunch, but also carried treasures I collected from the schoolyard when empty space was created in my lunchbox after I ate my lunch. I would sometimes forget to remove these items before giving my lunchbox to my Mom when I returned home from school. She would often open my lunchbox to discover rocks, bottle caps, marbles, golf balls and various other items I salvaged from the ground. My Mom removed these collections and then proceeded to bleach out the inside of my lunchbox so that it would be clean enough to carry my lunch the following day.

One day when I returned home from school, I gave my Mom my lunchbox and prepared to go outside to play. As I walked through the kitchen to the door that led to the backyard, I saw my Mom preparing to open my lunchbox. It was at that moment that I remembered that I had not removed the treasures that I had collected after lunch.

When my Mom opened my lunchbox, she stepped back in surprise as four or five butterflies flew out. My Mom has never been one to panic or scream at the sight of insects, spiders, mice, or even snakes. She simply said, “Teri, you can’t keep butterflies locked in your lunchbox.”

My Mom helped me catch the butterflies that were flying around the kitchen and we released them outside. I remember that when I first saw the butterflies in the schoolyard, I thought they were beautiful and perhaps the greatest butterflies I had ever seen in my short life. I put them in my lunchbox so that my Mom could see them. However, by the time I returned home from school, I had forgotten about the great beauty locked in my lunchbox and was thinking only of going outside to play.

Do we collect, keep and lock up God’s greatness and promises given to us in His Word? We are to study God’s Word daily so that we know it by heart and fill ourselves with God’s Word so that it seeps from our pores. While we are told in Psalm 119:11 to hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him, we are not to keep God’s witness locked in our hearts and forget that it is there. After proclaiming his deliverance by God and God’s plan of salvation, David says in Psalm 40:10:

I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

David knew that God was great. God saved him. David was thankful for the greatness of God. We read of David proclaiming God’s greatness throughout the Book of Psalms. We should not be ashamed to proclaim the greatness of God. Because the blood of Jesus has saved me from an eternity separated from God, the greatness of God should be obvious to me. Yet, I must admit, I sometimes need a reminder. We all need reminders at times. And what of those who do not know Jesus? They know nothing of the greatness of God. Tell them. Proclaim it. Don’t keep God’s greatness locked up and forgotten like the butterflies in my lunchbox. Instead, let the greatness of God not only seep from your pores, but gush from your pores, so that you, and everyone around you are drenched it.

Don’t Lose All Hope of Graduating

2009-01-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

When I graduated from college, I taught high school history and social studies for a couple of years. I often joke that public education drove me into law enforcement, but I was being called to law enforcement long before I entered the teaching profession. What I didn’t understand at that time was that the calling was coming from God, so I ignored it for a few years after graduation from college.

One of the classes I taught my first year was world cultures during sixth period which was the last period of the day. There was one girl who showed up on the first day of the semester that I never saw again. I sent daily attendance records to the school office indicating that she was not attending my class. Since she was never officially dropped from my roll sheet, I was required to send notices to her parents indicating that she was failing my class for failure to attend and failure to complete the required assignments and tests.

The last day of school arrived and I was looking forward to a summer off. I had already completed grading the final tests for the class and informed all of the students of their final grades for the course. The last day of classes was basically a day for students to sit around and talk.

When my sixth period class arrived, I noticed a girl standing at my desk that I did not recognize. At first I thought she was from the office with a message, but I did not see a note in her hand. I asked her who she was and what she needed. When she told me her name, I recognized her as the girl who showed up the first day that I never saw again the entire semester. I asked her where she had been the entire semester. She did not answer my question but instead said, “I was wondering if I could do some extra credit to pass your class.”

I was amazed that in the waning minutes of the school year, she thought that she could complete enough extra credit to make up for an entire semester of work and tests. I wondered if she even thought she had a chance of a positive answer when she asked me this question.

I wonder if those who have not asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior after denying Him for years think that there is no chance of a positive answer if they ask Him into their lives now. Do they think that it is too late? Do they think they have not completed the required assignments and tests to gain admittance to heaven? Is this fear of rejection keeping them from asking Him to be their Lord?

The thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus appeared to have wasted his life. He was being executed for his life of crime. Was it too late for him? No. He admitted his sins and then asked Jesus to remember him. Did Jesus say it is too late because you have wasted your life until the last possible moment? No. In Luke 23:43 Jesus says:

Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

While it would have been unethical and unfair to the other students in my class to pass this girl when she did not complete any of the work or even bothered to attend my class, I did direct her to enroll in summer school so that she could remain on track to graduate with her class in two years. While she still failed my class, all hope of graduation from high school was not lost. However, while the rest of us were enjoying our summer vacations, she was hitting the books in summer school.

Jesus promises eternal life to all who confess their sins, repent from their sins and ask Him for forgiveness. As long as you have life left in this world it is never too late to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. All hope is not lost. Don’t wait. While it is true that it is never too late, you do not know when your last breath may come in this world. Don’t waste your life in meaningless and unfulfilling sin. Join me and the rest of Christ’s followers in something even better than a summer vacation; a meaningful and fulfilled life directed by the ultimate Teacher, the ultimate Father and the One who loves you most, Jesus.

Don’t Throw Out the Tree with the Wasps

2008-12-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

For one Christmas when I was a kid, we picked a Christmas tree from a local Christmas tree farm. This was the type of Christmas tree farm at which you cut down your own tree once you picked it out. We picked out a tree as a family and then we all stood around and watched my Dad cut it down with his saw. When we got home my Dad put the tree in the Christmas tree stand and left the decorating to my Mom and my sisters and I.

Normally, when we purchased a tree from the Christmas tree farm, my Dad hosed it off in the backyard and then let it sit for a day or two to dry. Apparently he was in sort of a rush this particular year because the tree was never hosed off. It went directly into our house from the farm.

Once we strung the lights on the tree we began to hang the ornaments. I was distracted by something else at this time because I found that with every Christmas I became increasingly bored with hanging Christmas ornaments on the tree. To this day my enthusiasm for decorating the tree ends with putting the lights on the tree. During this particular Christmas tree decorating session, I was reading a book when I suddenly heard my younger sister let out an ear piercing scream. I looked up and saw her paralyzed with fear staring at a swarm of wasps flying around the Christmas tree. You see there was a reason that my Dad usually hosed off the Christmas trees from the Christmas tree farm. The washing not only rid the tree of dirt and dust from the farm, but it also cleansed it of any living beings that made their home in the tree. I’m sure these wasps were snuggled in their nest while the tree was outside in the cool December air, but when we brought the tree into our centrally heated home, they woke up thinking it was spring.

Once my sister was calmed down, and the wasps were captured, we took off the ornaments and lights that were already on the tree so my Dad could hose it off in the backyard. My younger sister did not want him to bring the tree back into the house once it was dry, and she refused to participate in the redecorating. She wanted to throw out the tree and get a new one even though the wasp nests were removed by my Dad. My younger sister was so traumatized by this event that she only uses artificial trees in her house to this day. She did not believe that the Christmas tree was washed clean of all the wasps.

Do we do this as Christians? Do we truly believe that sinners are washed clean by the blood of Jesus? Do we truly believe we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus? Or do we dwell on our past? It is important to remember at Christmas what we are told in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God gave up His Son for the world. The world is a lot of people. The term, “the world” sometimes seems so broad and impersonal when I read this scripture. But when I replace the words, “the world,” and “whoever” with my own name, it sounds like this:

For God so loved Teri, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if Teri believes in Him, Teri will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Does this make me feel valuable? Does it encourage me? Of course it does. God sent His Son to die for me because of my sins. He did this not because of anything I did, but simply because He loves me. However, just as I placed my own name in the scripture, I must also remember to place the names of those that I don’t particularly like, or those who have “wronged” me in the scripture. For some this includes former spouses or even parents who may have been abusive. What if I replaced the term, “the world” with the name Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden? While history seems to indicate that Hitler was evil and did not repent from his sins, what about Osama Bin Laden? Do we dismiss him as evil? Is it too late for him to repent if he is still alive? What if you were a parent of a young child killed by a serial killer who repented in prison?

We must remember that God gave His Son for the world. The world includes everyone past, present and future. While there are consequences to our sins such as life in prison or even execution for murder, God does not see that sin when we believe in His Son. Jesus promised paradise for the thief on the cross next to Him. When we confess our sin, turn from that sin, and place our faith in Jesus, we are washed clean by His blood shed for us on the cross and promised eternal life with Jesus in Heaven.

Don’t throw out your Christmas tree because of a few wasps nests. Rather hose it off so it is clean enough to be placed in your living room. Likewise, don’t throw out the sinner with the sin. Rather, tell others about the greatest Christmas gift of all, Jesus. Allow yourself and others to be washed by the blood of Jesus so that you will be clean enough to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Don’t Be Bubbly When You’re Flat

2008-12-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, if I did not have anything to say I did not say anything. I have never been one to talk just to talk. I am comfortable in silence. This is evident in tape recordings made by my Dad when I was about three years old. My answers to my Dad’s questions consisted of one word responses. I did not elaborate, I just answered the questions. This trait has served me well when I am required to testify as a witness in court. As Joe Friday from that old T.V. show, Dragnet, used to say, “Just the facts ma’am.”

There are some women I know from church who are not comfortable in my silences. These same women always seem to be trying to “fix” me. I don’t exactly fit their idea of what a “happy” Christian woman should be. In other words, I’m single (which actually makes me extremely happy, but that’s a subject for another day); I have no children (which is a good thing since I have never been married); I have a career in which the workforce is dominated by men; I prefer jeans and t-shirts; I don’t cook (unless microwaving cold pizza counts); I don’t sew; I don’t bake; and I have been called bold-mouthed by some (even though I am comfortable in silence, I don’t sugarcoat the truth when I have something to say).

While I am the first to admit that I am in need of repair and I am definitely a work in progress, I don’t believe any of my characteristics that I listed above disqualify me from happiness. I know these women have good intentions, but I must leave any repair and remodeling work in the hands of the Master Craftsman, Jesus Christ.

At a recent church dinner, I was approached by one of these “repair” women and asked, “Teri, what’s wrong?”

I wanted to answer, “You,” but I bit my tongue and told her that nothing was wrong. Admittedly, I was in a somewhat somber mood since I had just written a blog in which God told me not to be a loudmouth. I was simply attempting to obey Him. But I guess my answer was not believed because this woman then asked, “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

I must have rolled my eyes in annoyance because she then said, “You just aren’t your usual bubbly self.”

Now if you truly know me, I don’t think bubbly would be an adjective that you would use to describe me unless you mistakenly believe bubbly is another word for sarcastic. Sure, I like to laugh and joke around at times, but bubbly? So I asked this woman, “When have you ever known me to be bubbly?”

She told me I was bubbly on the softball field. I guess coaching, instructing and encouraging my teammates defined bubbly for this woman. But since I was not on the softball field, I don’t know how she expected that same “bubbly” behavior at a church dinner. Perhaps I should have shouted to her across the room, “Way to butter that roll. Now let’s see if you can polish off that chicken in the next 30 seconds!”

I thought about that “bubbly” remark afterwards. I know that these women assume that I must be depressed, unhappy or experiencing a major life crisis because I don’t talk just to talk and I don’t walk around with a phony smile plastered on my face 24 hours a day. I don’t walk around with a frown on my face 24 hours a day either. Sometimes I am just neutral. Sometimes I am thinking. Sometimes I am praying. Sometimes I am day-dreaming. Sometimes I am wondering what I am going to have for lunch. Sometimes I am simply just “zoning out.” I have no idea what expression may be on my face during these times. One woman even expressed concern that I did not have the joy of the Lord. I am joyful despite the misinterpretations of my facial expressions.

True joy is not based on fleeting emotions. We are to rejoice in the Lord. Paul says in Philippians 3:1:

Finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord. He does not tell us to be bubbly. He does not tell us to walk around with phony smiles 24 hours a day. After all, Jesus wept. Jesus provides inner peace, comfort and courage in times of sadness and in times of happiness. Joy is not about external circumstances. Joy is the confidence we have in God and the relationship we have with Jesus. When Paul told the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, he was telling them that their joy should not be based on what they were doing to please God, but on what Jesus had already accomplished for all of us on the cross.

Rejoice in the Lord. Now if this causes you to be bubbly and to smile, that’s great. But don’t assume that you or anyone else lacks joy simply because they are not talking all the time, they are not bubbly all the time and they are not smiling all the time. Don’t paste a fake smile on your face only because you want others to believe you are a “happy” Christian. Don’t be bubbly when you are flat just to impress others. Rather, allow the joy of Christ living within you to dictate your thoughts, your emotions and ultimately your behavior.

Don’t Lose Your Salt

2008-12-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

You only need to turn on the evening news to realize society as we know it, is rotting. The stench is apparent to even small children from whom we futilely attempt to shelter from the horrors of the world. Yet, sometimes we tell ourselves that the reporters only show the bad and sensational so that we will watch the news. We love sensationalism as our television programs reflect.

As a law enforcement officer, I not only see the horrors on the nightly news, but I am often a first-hand observer and investigator of these horrors. There is so much more decay and rot in this world than you will ever see on the nightly news. I don’t say this to depress you or scare you, but to sensitize you to a society in which it is easy to become desensitized to the evil in the world.

It is often said that law enforcement officers walk a fine line between the so-called “good guys” and the so-called “bad guys.” We are held to a higher standard because we are entrusted with so much. Sometimes this seems unfair to my fellow law enforcement officers, but it is a necessity. You see we are often forced to think like the “bad guys” in order to catch the “bad guys.” If you are thinking like a “bad guy,” it is very easy for that fine line separating the “good guys” from the “bad guys” to become blurred. The higher standards set for law enforcement help keep that line in focus, just as the higher standards expected of followers of Christ help keep that line between good and evil in focus.

Several years ago, a District Attorney Investigator killed his wife, his mother, and his three children before killing himself in a murder-suicide that made national news. I do not know why this law enforcement officer lost focus of that line and proceeded to kill his family and then himself. This news was a blow to all law enforcement, no matter what agency you worked for.

Later that same day, the news hit closer to home in my own agency, in my own office in my own circle of friends. Another agent in my office shot and killed himself in the parking lot outside our office after he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by our internal affairs division. I was in the office at the time and when I heard that there was a shooting, I immediately ran outside as my training and past experience dictated. I have been trained in this type of response and have responded to shootings and violence as part of my job. However, my training and experience never prepared me for the scene of a fellow officer that has taken his own life. My job never prepared me for that image seared into my brain of my friend and co-worker sprawled dead on the ground with a bullet in his brain. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

Before refrigeration, salt was used to keep meat from rotting. There is an urgent need for Christian salt in our rotting world. Was I salt for my co-worker? Or did my salt lose its flavor? Was my salt good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men? I struggled with these questions following my co-worker’s suicide.

You see, another Christian co-worker and I had been working on this co-worker who took his own life. I spoke to him about God’s love, God’s mercy and God’s forgiveness. I told him that the wages of sin was death, but he could repent and turn from those sins with God’s help. We began to see subtle changes in this co-worker. He stopped cursing, at least in front of us. He began to listen to Christian rock music. He even got another non-believer in our office interested in Christian rock music. He was witnessing without realizing it.

However, in the 13 years I had known this particular co-worker; I have noticed that he was a very emotional person that changed with the tides. I sensed his foundation was weak and not built on the rock of Jesus Christ. He acknowledged that he needed Jesus. When I asked him what was stopping him from embracing Jesus, he said God did not want to have anything to do with him because of the things he had done. I reiterated God’s love, mercy and forgiveness and the need for him to repent and turn from his sins. Did he listen? It did not seem so when I looked upon his lifeless body. It did not seem so when I learned more details of the Internal Affairs investigation.

So was my salt good for nothing and trampled upon? My first thought was yes. But as I prayed and spent time in God’s Word, I realized that this is what Satan would have me believe. The truth of Christ does not rise or fall upon my claims, or the claims of any believer, but on Jesus himself. Satan would use my co-worker’s suicide to convince me that I am an ineffective Christian, that my salt has lost its flavor. Satan would have me use this tragic event as an excuse to give up and isolate myself in a Christian bubble.

God has not called me to turn away from the world, but to be salt in the world. I can not bring about change in society or in a single person. Only God can bring about lasting change in society or a person if that society or person so chooses to change. I am merely a vessel used by God to bring about change. God will bring about the change in His way and in His time. God tells us in Isaiah 55:11:

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

I may not see the change I expect to see, but God has guaranteed that sowers of His Word will not labor in vain.

I don’t know what impact God’s Word spoken through me may have had on my co-worker. I don’t know if God’s Word spoken through me reached others through him. I don’t know what his thoughts were just before he pulled that trigger. However, I do know that God’s Word does not return void. I know that as long as I remain obedient to God, my salt will retain its flavor.

Don’t Leave Your Wash Machine Unused

2008-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

When my Mom was in the hospital following the birth of my younger sister, I was not quite three years old. My Dad telephoned my Mom at the hospital and allowed me and my older sister to talk to her. My Mom later told me that as soon as I got on the phone, I asked in a serious tone, “Mom, do you know what Dad did?”

My Mom replied, “No, Teri. What did Dad do?”

I reported, “He used the stove.”

My Mom answered, “It’s alright Teri. Dad can use the stove.”

Then I said, “But Mom, he also used the wash machine.”

My Mom reassured me that my Dad was allowed to use the appliances in our house. Since I had never seen my Dad use these appliances, I was surprised when he did use them. I thought he did not now how to use them or was not allowed to use them. I’m sure part of my amazement was due to the fact that I was admonished to never play with or use these appliances. I assumed my Dad was under the same restriction. What I didn’t know was that my Dad knew how to use these appliances, but he never made use of them.

As Christians do we have an appliance that we know how to use but never make use of? Or maybe I should ask; when is the last time you opened your Bible outside of a church service? Psalm 1:1-2 tells us:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

True knowledge of God is the only way that we will have a full life. We can only have a true knowledge of God when we read and study the Bible. The Bible is God’s letter to all of us. It tells us who God is and what His will is for us. Without knowledge of God’s Word, we have no real direction or guidance in life. Without God’s Word, we will have no true joy or peace in life.

Don’t let your Bible sit on your shelf collecting dust. Open it daily. Read it daily. Study it daily. Meditate on it daily. Quote it daily. Apply it to your life daily. As Psalm 1 tells us, “Blessed is the man who meditates on His law day and night.” People around you should not be surprised when you open your Bible and apply it to your daily life. Make use of this essential appliance that God authored so that you and I could truly know Him and live a blessed life according to His will.

Don’t Miss the Leftovers

2008-11-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

Of the forty six Thanksgiving days in my lifetime, I have only been away from home to celebrate with my immediate family a total of five times. During my four years of playing college basketball, I missed Thanksgiving at home each of those four years because my college team participated in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament each year in which we traveled on Thanksgiving Day in order to begin play on Friday.

One year my team was scheduled to play in a tournament in the hometown of one of the players on our team. This player’s married sister planned a Thanksgiving meal for our team upon our arrival on Thanksgiving Day. When our team arrived at the airport to leave, we discovered that our flight had been cancelled. There was not another flight until late Thanksgiving night. As a result, we missed the Thanksgiving dinner prepared by my teammate’s sister. I’m sure she had an abundance of leftovers that year. As for my team, we spent Thanksgiving at a movie theater near the airport watching some inane movie in an attempt to kill time until our flight left late that night. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of stale popcorn and rubbery hotdogs.

Although I missed Thanksgiving dinner with my family, I sat in the movie theater chewing on my rubbery hotdog with the reassurance that my Mom would save leftovers for me upon my return home on Sunday. I did not have to phone her to ask her to do this, I just knew she would. My mom has always been the one in my family to organize schedules, events and dinners so that my sisters and I each felt loved and cared for. My Mom is the glue that kept my family close even as my sisters and I became adults with our own careers, responsibilities and families.

Although my family does not always see eye to eye on many issues, we always make efforts to be together in times of trouble and in times of celebration. Each member of my family has different strengths, gifts and abilities to sustain and help one another in our own unique ways. Without my family realizing it, they are a model of what the church should be. We are told in Romans 12:4-5:

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Although my family is not large, our identity includes the aspect that we are individual members of one another. We support one another, we look out for one another and we love one another. This is often accomplished through the organization efforts and phone calls of my Mom. Each member of my family has a different function in the support of our family unit. We are a union of family members.

Jesus has called believers to be part of an even larger and more important family or union. Our identity in Christ means that we are individually members of one another as believers. We are a union of believers in Christ. Jesus is the glue that keeps this union together. Jesus is the head of this union. Jesus is Lord and as members of this union we are to obey Him. This should affect our daily lives. We can not ignore our union with other believers and still call Jesus Lord. We each have unique God-given strengths, gifts and abilities in which we are called to serve God and serve one another. Jesus is always there for us and He orchestrates schedules, events and even dinners so that believers can minister to other believers in times of trouble and in times of celebration. When you obey Jesus and heed His call to serve your family in Christ, you can rest assured that you will be blessed not with mere Thanksgiving leftovers, but with the peace and joy that comes from serving your Lord.

Don’t Be a Loudmouth

2008-11-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

My hospital stay following the removal of the tumor from my right kidney was not what I would describe as a peaceful or even restful experience. I am amazed that people actually recover from illnesses, accidents and surgeries in a hospital. Whatever happened to hospital quiet zones?

During the second night of my hospital stay I was extremely tired. When I do not get enough sleep, nearly everyone around me is aware of it because lack of sleep equals a cranky Teri. (Even more cranky than normal). As I settled for a night’s sleep, the night nurse entered my room in a very talkative mood. He was wide awake because he had just reported to work after sleeping during the part of the day most everyone else was awake. I was sleepy and became impatient when he told story after story until I could not take it anymore. I simply told him that I wanted to sleep. To his credit, he quietly exited the room and left me alone the rest of the night. I fell asleep immediately.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. I was abruptly aroused from my much needed sleep by loud voices in the hallway. I was disoriented and it took me a few minutes to remember that I was in a hospital. The loud voices belonged to hospital employees emptying the trash throughout the floor. I waited, thinking they would move on so I could get back to sleep. Unfortunately, they decided to take a break from their work and remained outside my door joking and laughing. I simply got fed up and shouted, “Shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!”

It suddenly became quiet and then a female voice asked, “Honey, can you hear us?”

In typical Teri fashion, I sarcastically replied, “The man in the coma down the hall can hear you!”

I did not hear anything from this group again and I was able to go back to sleep for another hour until I was rudely awakened by a malfunctioning alarm inside the hospital. I was relieved to be released from the hospital two days later so that I could go home and recover from my hospital stay.

You may have noticed that I titled this blog entry, “Don’t Be a Loudmouth.” The obvious loudmouths in my story are the trash-emptying hospital employees. I must admit that when I began writing this, my intention was to point at the hospital employees as the loudmouths. Often as I begin to write, I think I am going to say one thing, but then God speaks to me as my writing progresses and I begin to see things in a different light. In this instance, God asked me, “Who was really the loudmouth in this story?”

I pondered this question and concluded that I was the true loudmouth. Yes, I was tired and recovering from major surgery, but sadly, I probably would have responded to the loud hospital employees in a similar manner even if I was rested and well. I could have dealt with this situation in a more positive manner. I knew that God placed me in the hospital situation for a purpose. He was teaching me patience and to rely totally on Him for peace and rest. Well, looking back on it over three years later, I realize I failed this lesson. While I was at peace with the fact that I had a tumor on my kidney, I was not totally accepting of the consequences of that tumor. While I had accepted the possible long term consequences of that tumor such as cancer, I had not accepted the immediate consequences of that tumor such as a difficult hospital stay. I did not give that part over to God.

Instead of responding in anger and exasperation towards the loud hospital employees, I should have appealed to them in love. Maybe these employees were non-believers and by simply talking to them in a more civilized manner, I may have been able to begin a conversation about Christ. Whether they were believers or non-believers, speaking to them in gentleness and love may have served as a witness of the work of Christ in me. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1-3:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I am a sinner forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I bear His name. I am called to follow Him. I need to walk worthy of this call. This requires me to be gentle and longsuffering. I am called to maintain a gracious and loving tolerance of the faults of others. I am to keep unity. I am to keep peace. I am not to be a loudmouth.

Don’t Push the Button

2008-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

During my surgery to remove a tumor from my right kidney, my surgeon recommended that I be given an epidural for pain management rather than a pain medication via my I.V. drip. After I was wheeled into my room following surgery, the nurse placed a sign on the wall behind my bed that read “Spinal Narcotics.” This was done so that the night shift would not give me pain medication via my I.V.

My family and friends visited with me following my surgery and asked if I wanted someone to stay with me through the night. I knew that whoever stayed would be subjected to a sleepless night in an uncomfortable hospital chair. So I told everyone to go home. I was tired and I just wanted to sleep.

I fell asleep almost immediately after everyone left as the effects of both major surgery and anesthesia took hold of me. I vaguely remembered people coming into my room throughout the night to take my blood pressure and other annoying hospital tortures.

When I awoke in the morning a new nurse was in my room. She pointed at my chest and asked, “Who hooked that up?”

I looked down and noticed a tube leading from an I.V. bag that ended in a button pinned to my hospital gown. I don’t know about you, but when I see a button, I often have an overwhelming urge to push it. I examined the button which reminded me of the device contestants use on the game show, Jeopardy, when they have the correct answer or should I say the correct question? The nurse interrupted my thoughts about pushing the Jeopardy button by urgently asking, “You didn’t push that button did you?”

Now since I was doped up throughout the night, I really could not answer that question. Besides, I have been known to both talk and walk in my sleep so sleep button pushing would not have been impossible. Then the nurse immediately began to disconnect my Jeopardy button. There would be no winning or should I say losing answer from Teri, such as “What is an overdose?”

You see, someone ignored the “Spinal Narcotics” sign on the wall behind me and proceeded to introduce a secondary pain killer into my system via my I.V. Maybe that is why I went into my Jeopardy fantasy upon seeing that button. Maybe I was playing Jeopardy in my sleep and pushed that pain killer button. Maybe that was why I still felt out of it in the morning. I regretted not asking one of my family members or friends to stay with me through the night while I was too groggy to realize what was being done. I needed an advocate to speak up for me when I could not.

While it is important to have an advocate in the hospital, it is even more important to have an advocate before God when you sin. The dictionary defines an advocate as one who pleads the cause of another. I see advocates in action in my line of work when defense attorneys plead the cause of their obviously guilty clients. Essentially, we are all guilty clients because we are all guilty of sin. 1 John 2:1-2 tells us:

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

We are all sinners. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior we know that His sacrifice on the cross cleansed us of all our sins. We are forgiven of all our sins. Yet, we still sin. John tells us that if we sin, we have an Advocate with God. This Advocate is Jesus.

Why do we need an advocate if Jesus already achieved forgiveness for us on the cross? It is because we are not sinless. With the conviction of the Holy Spirit we will sin less, but we still sin. God does not accuse us of these sins, but Satan does. He tells us things such as “How can you call yourself a follower of Jesus and think the thoughts you think?” Or he might say, “A true Christian would never have said or done what you have done.” These accusations can wear us down and cause us to stray from our walk with God. However, Jesus covers for us. Jesus speaks up for us. Jesus forgives us. Now this doesn’t mean that you can continue in habitual sin in direct defiance of God. It does mean that when you stumble, Jesus is there to pick you up. Jesus is there to defend you. Jesus is there to shut Satan down. Jesus is there to speak up for you when you are too groggy with sin to do so yourself.

Don’t Shoot the Cat

2008-11-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, I have been allergic to cats. During certain times of the year this allergy is heightened so that I begin to experience allergic symptoms simply by walking into a house in which a cat resides. Needless to say, I am a dog person. But I would be a dog person regardless of my allergies simply because cats are much too aloof for me to feed and shelter as pets.

Years ago I teamed up with a local police department to conduct a search of a suspect residence. As soon as we made entry into the residence, I knew it contained a cat. As we went room by room with our guns drawn in order to clear the house of suspects, I told the officer that I was partnered with that there was a cat in the house. He shrugged and probably thought I was crazy as we did not find signs of any living thing, human or animal, throughout the house.

After clearing the house, we began to conduct the search for evidence listed in the search warrant. That same officer and I were assigned to search the back bedroom. I again told him that I thought there was a cat in the house. He shrugged again and proceeded to the closet to begin looking for evidence. The closet door was already open since we cleared the residence of suspects. When this officer reached up to the closet shelf to move a box to search, a big black cat that was sleeping behind the box suddenly jumped out of the closet and onto the bedroom floor. The officer jumped back and drew his gun in alarm. When I heard the commotion, I too, turned towards the noise with my gun drawn. When I saw the cause of the commotion, I holstered my gun and began to laugh. After the officer recovered from the initial shock, he too, began to laugh.

I’m sure the officer’s initial thought was that the cat was a hiding suspect bent on harm. The officer later told me that because of my assertion that a cat was in the house, he was able to quickly process that the living being that leaped from the closet was not an armed suspect, but a cat on a suicide mission. If not for my insistence that a cat was in the house, there may have been one less cat in the world that day. While that may have been great for my allergies, it would not have been great in the endless paperwork and investigation necessary after the discharge of a firearm.

I was able to determine that a cat was in the house because of the symptoms I experienced when I was in close proximity to the cat. My eyes began to water, my nose began to run, and ultimately I began to sneeze in a full-blown allergy attack. I recognized the symptoms and went into “cat alert” mode.

Do we experience symptoms when we are in close proximity to sin? Do we recognize these symptoms and go into “sin alert” mode? Sin is anything contrary to God’s will. When we are in God’s will, we experience God’s peace. When we are out of God’s will, we experience unrest. Sin resides within in our hearts and is often difficult to recognize because it is very deceptive. In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus says:

What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.

Sin often masquerades as good. For example, when Saul persecuted followers of Jesus, he did so because he thought he was pleasing God. His “good deeds” were actually sins against God. We fool ourselves by looking at our own evil hearts and seeing good. It is easier for us to see sin in others than it is to see sin in ourselves.

So how do we recognize sin? First, we must admit that we are sinners. Then we must thoroughly and accurately examine ourselves through the mirror of God’s Word with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is only when I do this that I can truly see the real Teri. God loves you and I so much that He sacrificed His only Son for our redemption. It is only through the blood of Christ that I can see my own sinful heart. The blood of Christ cleanses my heart. When the Holy Spirit guides us and we hide God’s Word in our blood-cleansed hearts, we are on heightened alert for sin in our lives. It is only through Jesus that I can prevent a full-blown attack and halt sin from ruling my life.

Don’t Jump Off the Bunk Bed in Your Easter Dress

2008-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I dreaded Saturday nights for the preparations necessary for church on Sunday morning. These preparations grew in intensity the night before special church days such as Easter Sunday. After my Mom scrubbed the hair of my sisters and me, she put hard curlers in our hair that we were required to spend an agonizing night sleeping in. Since I was always a restless sleeper half my curlers ended up on the floor so that in the morning only half my hair was curled. This led to even more frantic and painful preparations in the morning.

Before one such Easter Sunday, my Mom stayed up most of the night sewing Easter dresses for my sisters and me. After we were dressed in the morning and subjected to our Sunday morning hair torture, my Mom was left with only a few minutes to get ready. While my Mom was getting ready, my older sister and I began to play in our bedroom. I climbed to the top of the bunk bed and jumped off in imitation of a flying super hero I had seen on T.V.

During my third leap off of the top of the bunk bed, my new Easter dress blossomed out like an umbrella or a parachute. At least this was what I thought at the time. As I came down, I heard a rip and soon found myself hanging off of the bunk bed ladder. My parachuting dress had been caught on the top of the ladder and it ripped just enough to leave me hanging by a few hand sewn threads near the waistline of my dress.

I hung from that ladder not sure how I was going to get down while my sister ran to tell my half-dressed Mom. The Easter dress that my Mom had sewn into the wee hours of the morning was ruined. I was not upset about the dress because I thought it was scratchy and uncomfortable. But my Mom was not real happy about the ruin of her hours of hard work in a matter of minutes by her rambunctious middle daughter. Maybe my Mom should have had second thoughts about putting so much work into an Easter dress for me in light of previous experiences. After a previous Easter church service, we stopped at the home of friends. Shortly after arriving, I was found in the front yard adorned in a lacy Easter dress and boxing gloves taking a swing at one of the boys of the family we were visiting.

Despite my obliviousness to my Mom’s hard work in sewing my clothes and getting me ready for church and school, she continued to do so since she loved and cared for me. I viewed my Mom’s preparations as uncomfortable and annoying distractions to Teri’s fun and Teri’s plans. In my limited kid brain, I did not understand that my Mom suffered through these preparations with me because she loved me. She wanted me to look and behave properly. After all, if left to my own devices, I would have shown up at church and school in soiled and torn clothes with tangled and dirty hair. My Mom was teaching me discipline. I still hate scratchy and uncomfortable dresses and prefer to wear jeans and t-shirts. However, I do know how to dress appropriately when required.

I was ungrateful of the love and care demonstrated by my Mom. Since I was just a kid, I could excuse my behavior as simply childish. But how do I excuse similar behavior now that I am an adult? Even worse, how do I excuse similar behavior when it is directed at God? You see, sometimes God requires preparations that I, in my limited sinner’s brain, feel are uncomfortable and annoying distractions to my fun and my plans. I complain when problems arise or when God asks me to do something that I don’t particularly want to do. I demonstrate ungratefulness for all that God has done and continues to do for me. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

When God gives a command He expects obedience. I must be thankful for God’s commands because He gives these commands out of love for me. When I obey God, His peace resides within me. When I disobey God, I experience distress. I must be thankful to God in all circumstances. What does this mean? While I may not be thankful for my sickness, I should be thankful in my sickness. I may not be thankful for my hunger, but I should be thankful in my hunger. I may not be thankful for persecution, but I should be thankful in persecution. I may not be thankful for scratchy and uncomfortable Easter dresses, but I should be thankful in scratchy and uncomfortable Easter dresses.

Don’t Ignore a Nerd

2008-10-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have had an unswerving sense of justice. I reacted when I saw the weak and defenseless being picked on. Often, this reaction was with my fists. As I grew older, I discovered that words were even more powerful than my fists. I became the queen of sarcasm and insults. I was involved in many elementary and junior high school fights defending some nerdy kid from the school bully. To my consternation, all the nerdy kids were soon flocking around me. Even though I was in denial at the time, I was the biggest nerd. I just happened to be the biggest nerd with a wicked left hook.

I eventually tired of being the pied piper of nerds and began to look the other way when these perpetual victims were being harassed. Soon, the nerds faded from my life. I made a choice. It may have not been the right choice, but God was accomplishing His purpose.

My choices after this were about Teri, not about others, and certainly not about God. I grew weary defending the weak. I ignored God because I thought He ignored me. Because of the legalistic religious doctrine in which I was raised, God seemed distant and moody. I felt that if I didn’t bother Him, He wouldn’t bother me. Yet, God was still accomplishing His purpose.

After I graduated from college and entered a career in teaching and coaching, God orchestrated events in my life that led me to switch gears and choose a new career in law enforcement. At that time, I thought these events were mere coincidence, but I now know that life is not the luck of the draw. My life is not the result of my hard work or talent. Rather, God gave me specific talents, abilities, and gifts in order to place me in circumstances where I can serve Him in specific ways. It is my choice to serve my sinful self or to serve my Holy God.

My life, your life, every life has a divine appointment with a divine destiny and purpose. God said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

What was true for Jeremiah is also true for you and me. While I am not called to be a prophet as Jeremiah was, God still has a plan for me that He knew before I was born. I must choose to follow God’s plan and not Teri’s plan. You see, God gave me that unswerving sense of justice for a purpose. It ultimately led to a career in law enforcement. This God-given career led to my saving relationship with Jesus. This career has provided numerous opportunities to share Christ with others. This same career has provided me the God-given honor of once again defending not the nerds as I used to call them, but God’s people, my people from injustice.

Everyone has a divine destiny. God has a plan. He wants to use your life and my life in His plan. What will be your choice?

Don’t Forget Who You Are Talking To

2008-10-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

When I travel on official duty I am required to carry my firearm. When traveling by commercial airline, I am required to carry my firearm on board the aircraft. On one such trip, I checked in at the ticket counter to complete the required paperwork necessary for boarding the aircraft while armed. The person at the ticket counter reviewed my paperwork, checked my official identification and badge and then asked, “Do you have any liquids in your carry-on baggage?”

I was tempted to answer, “Hmmm, let me see…I have handcuffs, an expandable baton, ammunition, I am carrying a loaded handgun and oh… I nearly forgot…I also have some killer shampoo!”

But I held my tongue and simply looked at the ticket agent with what must have been an astounded look on my face because when she looked up at me, she said. “I guess that is a stupid question.”

You see, the ticket agent forgot who she was talking to. She was monotonously repeating the same thing she says hundreds of times a day without regard to who she was talking to.

Do we do this? Do we forget who we are talking to when we pray? Do we monotonously repeat the same prayers without regard to who we are talking to? For as long as I can remember, my Dad always said grace before a meal. He said the same prayer every night. He said it so fast, that it took many years for me to memorize the prayer because I did not understand the words that flew out of his mouth. When I sit down to eat with him now, he still lets loose with the same prayer so quickly that I don’t even have time to process the words. I don’t know if my Dad is actually thinking about who he is thanking for his meal before he digs in. I suspect that he monotonously repeats the prayer before every meal out of a sense of duty and not out of a sense of truly wanting to thank God. Only God knows his heart.

Jesus warns against praying in order to be seen by men and he warns against vain repetitions. Jesus says in Matthew 6:7:

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

The prayer that my Dad repeated before every meal was not necessarily vain because of the words or even the repetition. Prayer becomes meaningless when we forget who we are talking to and when we pray only to impress others. Don’t be like the ticket counter person at the airport and repeat something without thinking about what you are saying or who you are saying it to. Before we pray, we must remember that we are talking to the Creator of the universe, our King, our Lord and Savior, our Father in Heaven. Only then will our prayers have meaning.

Don’t Fill Your Backyard with Frogs

2008-10-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid we lived in a neighborhood in which a Kmart Store was located less than half a mile away. There was an empty field next to this Kmart. During one particularly rainy winter, the low lying area of the empty field filled with water. As kids, my sisters and I affectionately referred to this rain-filled low depression in the earth as Kmart Lake.

Like most kids, we were drawn to water and were eager to explore Kmart Lake. To our delight we discovered that Kmart Lake was soon swimming with thousands of tadpoles. As spring progressed, these tadpoles metamorphosed into small frogs.

One day my sisters and I trudged to Kmart Lake with buckets in our hands. We filled our buckets with frogs and returned home to release these frogs into our own backyard. We did this numerous times throughout the day so that by the time my Dad returned home from work, our backyard was like one giant moving mass of frogs. It was like when God caused the frogs to cover Egypt in Exodus 8.

I am not really sure what my sisters and I hoped to accomplish with this mass collection of frogs. I remember surveying the sea of frogs in the backyard and thinking it was pretty cool. For years afterwards we had frogs in our backyard that grew into large toads that secreted a foul tasting liquid when our dogs chased them and picked them up in their mouths.

Throughout the years, I often thought about those frogs that my sisters and I had so abruptly displaced from their home. Were these involuntarily transferred frogs homesick for Kmart Lake? Were they trying to find their way home? Most never found their way home because their home was soon destroyed when Kmart Lake was covered over with new apartment homes.

Are you homesick and trying to find your way home? Do you know the way home? Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? Do you ever feel out of place? And I don’t mean out of place because you are wearing jeans and a t-shirt while everyone else is dressed up. What I am talking about is a longing for something beyond this earth. You see, I, too, feel out of place as if I don’t belong. I, too, am homesick. Since I am at home writing this, you may be asking, “Teri, how can you be homesick? Aren’t you already home?’ Well, not really. Although I am home, I am not really home. My home here is temporary. I am homesick for my eternal home. We are told in Ecclesiastes 3:11:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

God placed eternity in our hearts. We have a longing for God and to be home with Him. That place is real. That place is home. Do you know the way? I do. God showed me the way when I admitted that I was a sinner, repented of my sins, asked Jesus for forgiveness and invited Him to reside within me. My eternal life began when I believed.

My home is now within sight. My homesickness is less prevalent because Jesus has given me a glimpse of home by residing within me. Jesus is always with me no matter where I call home on this earth. My purpose here is to glorify and please God in whatever He calls me to do. In the meantime, I can be assured that one day I will be called home to a place that will never be destroyed by new apartment homes, to a place where I will belong, to a place that will truly be home, to a place where everyone will worship God, to a perfect place called heaven.

Don’t Ignore a Thrown Bible (Part 2)

2008-10-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

In my last blog posting, I said that we need to be bold witnesses and that sometimes we are hesitant to tell others about Christ even when God prompts us to do so. Well, I experienced this very thing this last weekend while serving as part of the event team at the Harvest Crusade in Philadelphia.

Part of my assignment on the event team in Philadelphia was to make sure the flow of the people went smoothly during the altar call. On Friday night after Greg Laurie gave the invitation to come forward and everyone prayed, I noticed a person standing in the aisle that seemed to want to go forward but was reluctant. I was unsure of the gender of this person because of the way she looked. She struck up a conversation with someone on the floor that she recognized. I overheard the conversation and was able to determine that she was a Christian 10 years ago and even volunteered in the product booth for the Katinas at the Harvest Crusade at that time. The person she was conversing with attended the same church that she used to attend. It seemed that she wanted to make a commitment, but the person to whom she was talking to was called away.

The Lord told me to talk to her. I was reluctant and justified my reluctance because I was busy with event team duties. But God again told me to talk to this person. Silently I whined to God, “But I don’t want to. I have no idea what to say to her or him and it is obvious this person is part of a lifestyle I don’t understand.” I also justified my reluctance to obey God because I felt it would be inappropriate to talk to this person if she was a male.

All of this went through my head in a matter of seconds. Then I suddenly stopped trying to justify my reluctance and simply approached this person. After all, God would not tell me to do something that was not appropriate. So the first thing I said to this person was, “I could not help overhearing that you were once a believer. So can I ask you what happened?”

This person said she got involved in drugs and alcohol but was currently in recovery. I then introduced myself and asked her name because I was still not sure of her gender. I silently thanked the Lord when she told me her name and it was not one of those ambiguous names like Pat or Terri that could be male or female. I am not going to give her name to protect her privacy, but it was a very female name.

We continued our conversation and she told me she was gay. She said she had earlier left a meeting and found a Harvest Crusade flyer on the ground. She picked it up and decided to go. When I asked her what was holding her back from giving her life back to Jesus, she said her friends were.

I asked her if her friends were more important than God. When she told me that there were no gay Christians, I told her that she spoke truth. She then said that she knew some gay people who say they are Christians. I told her that what we say we are and what we actually are often two very different things. God knows our hearts and God hates sin. Homosexuality is a sin. I told her that God loved her as she was, but He didn’t want to leave her that way. She got teary-eyed and then saw a counselor on the floor that she knew and asked me to get her. I brought the counselor to her and told her that whatever she decided about Jesus tonight, I wanted to see her the following night at the event.

On Saturday night, this person returned to the same area near where we spoke the previous night. She still did not want to make a commitment. We talked and I told her that she was either for God or against God. I told her that heaven and hell were real and asked where she wanted to spend eternity. Although my testimony was nothing like her own background, I shared some of it with her. I told her that I was reluctant to speak to her the night before, but God prompted me to do so. So if God was using me, a discarded flyer left in her path, and the message given by Greg Laurie to get her attention, He must really love her and want her back. She again got teary-eyed and said she did not want to make a phony commitment. Three counselors approached and one of them was someone she knew that she actually brought to church ten years ago. That person subsequently gave her life to Christ as a result. We prayed with her and asked God to protect her while she struggled with her decision.

The last night of the event, I did not see her come forward. I was involved in assisting a person in a wheelchair when she found me on the floor. I asked her if she went forward and she said that she came down to the floor too late. I told her it was never too late and told her to find a counselor while I assisted the person in the wheelchair. She said she wanted to talk to me first so I told her to wait. When I returned I did not know if she would be there or not, but she was waiting. I asked her if she wanted to make a commitment to Christ right now. She said she did.

I led her to a group of women counselors. We led her in the sinner’s prayer and the counselor gave her a New Believers Bible. She told me that while she listened to Greg Laurie speak on Sunday night, she wondered if I had talked to him about her because he said all the same things I had told her the previous nights. She said it was as if I told Greg what she needed to hear. I said that God was speaking to her through Greg and just confirming what she already knew.

I emailed her after I returned home and she said she was going to try to attend the Crusade in New York on October 19 and bring an unsaved friend she knows from Brooklyn. She said she was reading her Bible and spoke to the pastor from her old church as she was leaving on Sunday night. She said she planned to return to that church. I plan to keep in touch with her and pray for her daily.

I don’t know what would have happened if I had not heeded God and ignored her. Perhaps someone else would have talked to her. But God wanted me to talk to her even though we come from completely different backgrounds and lifestyles. God’s plans are always greater than our own plans. He gave me the words to say, I only had to allow Him to do so. Sin is sin no matter what it is. As a sinner washed clean by the blood of Jesus, I am qualified to talk to other sinners about how they too can be cleansed from their sins through a personal relationship with Jesus. God provided me the boldness to do as He asked. It was not anything I said or anything Greg Laurie said that led this person to accept Christ. Rather it was the Holy Sprit speaking to her through us.

Don’t Ignore a Thrown Bible (Part 1)

2008-10-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

I wrote this before I traveled to Philadelphia to serve at the Harvest Crusade this past weekend. However, I never had time to post it to my blog before I left because it got really busy at work and then I had to go to the dentist to have a temporary crown put on one of my teeth right before I left. When I wrote this I did not know that God would put my words to the test in Philadelphia, hence the Part 1 in the title. I will post Part 2 later.

I have said before that interesting things happen in the women’s restroom at my church. Several weeks ago I was in the restroom after a Thursday night women’s Bible study. I had just sat down in my stall when a Bible came sliding across the floor and hit my feet. Now this wasn’t a slimline version of the Bible that you would barely feel. This was a big full-size Bible incased in a thick Bible cover.

I looked down at the Bible that landed at my feet and said, “I know we have been taught to spread the Word, but this is a little ridiculous.” Some people laughed and the poor lady to whom the Bible belonged meekly apologized as I slid it back to her stall.

I thought about my remark later. Why was it ridiculous? We are told to spread the Word, but sometimes we do so in too timid a manner. Now, I don’t mean that we should go out and start throwing Bibles at people, but sometimes throwing a Bible might be a more effective witness tool than what we are currently using. We would sure get people’s attention. Of course, we might also get the attention of the local police who may arrest us for assault, especially if the Bibles we throw are of the size flung at me in the restroom.

We must be bold in our witness. The dictionary defines bold as showing or requiring a fearless daring spirit. The dictionary also defines witness as one who has personal knowledge of something. Paul was a bold witness. He had personal knowledge of Jesus as his Lord and Savior and he showed a fearless and daring spirit in telling others about Him.

I don’t think we should be obnoxious when telling others about Christ, but rather do so in a meek and humble spirit. Even so, sometimes we are afraid to tell others about Christ. Sometimes I am hesitant to tell others about Christ even when God prompts me to do so. Why? I fear that I will not have the right words to say or not have the proper answers to questions that may be asked. “Oh no, I may look stupid!” Even Paul had these fears. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

Paul tells us that he was not an eloquent speaker and that he was weak, fearful and trembling. Wow! This sounds like me. But yet, Paul was still bold in telling others about Jesus because he was not relying on Paul to provide the words, rather he was relying on the Holy Spirit to provide the words. The power of Jesus is absolute and He will provide you the boldness to do what He asks. We must simply allow Him to work through us. It is only through His power that we can spread the Word even when He tells us to do so via a thrown Bible.

Don’t Dial the Wrong Number

2008-09-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

At one time my home telephone number was similar to the telephone number for a popular optometry office in the area. I would come home from work and find my voice mail filled to capacity with requests for appointments with this optometrist. Because of this, I was often unable to receive messages from people who were actually trying to call me. It was very frustrating as well as very annoying. So the first thing I informed callers in my message of greeting was, “This is Teri and I am not a trained optometrist, so if you are trying to call an office of optometry, you have obviously reached the wrong number.” It became apparent that most people do not listen to voice mail greetings when I continued to be deluged with requests for appointments.

One day I stayed home from work because I was ill. Instead of getting rest, my phone rang with requests for appointments. Most callers were apologetic when I informed them that they had the wrong number. However, there was one male caller who insisted that he had dialed the right number. I explained that the number he was trying to reach was similar to my own, but he would not listen. He continued to insist that I make an appointment for him. So I simply hung up on him. Yet, he called right back furious that I had hung up on him. He insisted that I make an appointment for him which I did for 8 a.m. the next morning.

Since I had no authority to make appointments for this optometrist, I wondered what happened when this man showed up at the optometrist office the next morning. I’m sure he was irate when they told him he did not have an appointment. I know I did not handle that call in a loving and Christ-like manner, but I was sick and tired. I know that is not an excuse. The problem was that this man made a request from a person who was not in authority to fulfill his request and then he did not listen when he was told that he was in error. So he was led in a wrong direction.

Do we do this? I’m sure most of us apologize when we have reached a wrong number and then we try to find the correct number. However, I must admit that I don’t always go to God first when I have a request or need. Instead, I sometimes rely on my own ability to solve a problem or “fix” a situation. When I do this, I too, am led in the wrong direction. We are told in Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

I need to consult God about everything. I have dialed the wrong number when I consult myself. Then once I consult God, I must heed His answer. If I ignore His instruction and plow ahead with my own solutions, I too, will find myself led astray by someone too sick and too tired to provide the correct answer.

Don’t Keep Your Testimony to Yourself

2008-09-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

A friend told me that I should tell others on my blog about the circumstances that led to my accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior at the age of 38. I have shared my testimony with others before, but I was hesitant to put it on my blog. But as I sat at my computer thinking about it, I realized that God would want me to do so. In 1 Peter 3:15 we are told,

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

This is the reason for telling others of your personal testimony. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my outlook changed and people could see a hope within me. When asked about this hope, I told them my personal testimony. I did not have a dramatic conversion or radical lifestyle change such as drug addiction, an abusive childhood or a life of crime. Rather, I never used drugs, I had two loving parents and I was working in law enforcement. I thought I was o.k. How wrong I was. My testimony, though not radical, is just as powerful as any testimony because it is the testimony of a life changed by Jesus. So here goes:

I was raised Catholic by two loving parents who as of this date have been married for over 50 years. I questioned the Catholic doctrine for as long as I can remember. Instead of getting satisfactory answers, I was often rebuked for asking the questions. It turned me off and I stopped attending church when I was in college. I attempted to return to the Catholic Church several times during my adult years, but the same questions persisted.

As I aged, I relied totally on myself and I discovered that I was totally lacking. During both my failures and successes in life, I knew that something was missing. I attempted to fill this emptiness with sports, work, hobbies, possessions, and occasional drinking. I knew Jesus was missing, but I didn’t know how to ask Him into my life. You see, I knew about Jesus from my Catholic upbringing, but I did not know Jesus personally.

God knew what I needed. He gave me a Christian partner at work. This partner began to turn the hard rock radio station I continually played in my car to a local Christian station (KWVE 107.9 in Southern California). I remember one instance vividly when we were on surveillance. She turned the radio to KWVE and Greg Laurie was speaking on his radio program, “A New Beginning.” I began to listen, but unfortunately, Greg was interrupted by an arrest.

I knew I needed to fellowship at a church, but did not know where to go. I liked what I heard from Greg Laurie on the radio, even though he was cut short by that arrest. I knew Greg was the pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. However, I remembered driving by Harvest, which was then called Calvary Chapel of Riverside when I was in high school and college. When I drove by, I said, “I’ll never go in there!” I had negative preconceived ideas about those “Born Agains” at Calvary Chapel.

Despite these preconceived ideas, I found myself driving to Harvest on a Sunday morning. I almost turned around and went home as I sat in the long line of cars waiting to get in the parking lot before second service. I am not known for my patience with long lines. But something was pulling me into that parking lot. Besides, I was stuck in the line of cars with no way to get out so I parked and went into the sanctuary.

When I entered the sanctuary, I picked a seat as far back as possible in the balcony. I sat with my arms crossed determined not to be “suckered” in. Then the worship team began to sing and I became a little less tense. My arms began to loosen. Then Greg Laurie began to speak. My arms uncrossed and I leaned forward in rapt attention. Wow! God was speaking to me! The following Sunday I sat near the front row, but I had still not asked Jesus into my heart. I still thought I wasn’t that bad, that I was o.k. “After all,” I told myself, “it’s not like I am a drug addict or a criminal.” I still did not understand that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. I did not know what we are told in James 2:10:

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Shortly after this, I was listening to Greg Laurie speak on the radio on my way to work. He spoke about my sins and how I was separated from God because of these sins. He spoke about my emptiness and that great big hole in my heart because I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. It was as if Greg was speaking directly to me. I now know that it was God speaking directly to me through Greg. I pulled into the office parking lot and asked Jesus into my life as Greg led me in prayer.

I was not “suckered” in as I feared that first time I attended Harvest. Instead, I was loved by God who never gave up on me even though I had basically given up on Him.

My partner and I now make sure KWVE is tuned in when we have a handcuffed prisoner in the back of our car. We know that God speaks to these people through Greg Laurie and others as He did for me. We find that this is often a bridge to meaningful conversations with our somewhat captive audiences.

Don’t keep your testimony to yourself. You never know how God will use your personal testimony to reach others. Sometimes people like me are the hardest people to reach. We think we are o.k. because we live a somewhat moral life, we are successful in our careers, and we are fairly happy. We do not understand that a sin, no matter how small we think it may be, is still a sin in the eyes of God. Once we get over our bruised pride in realizing that we are truly sinners, we are hungry for forgiveness that can only be attained through Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Don’t See Without Knowing

2008-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

One Sunday morning several years ago, I was waiting in line in the women’s restroom at my church prior to the start of first service. I don’t remember exactly what I was thinking at the time, but I’m pretty sure I was annoyed because I am not a patient person when it comes to lines. I often walk out of stores without purchasing items that I intended to buy simply because the line was too long at the cash register. This would save me a lot of money if it were not for the ability to purchase most anything on the internet. However, I could not simply walk away from the line this morning if I wanted to make it through first service with dry pants.

One of the benefits of waiting in line in the women’s restroom at church is that you can often strike up short conversations with the women near you in the line. On this particular morning, I was standing near my Bible study leader.

She said to me, “Teri, I see you here all the time so I must have seen you before I knew you. So I wonder how many people I see now that I don’t know yet.”

When I finally made it out of the restroom and to my seat in the sanctuary, I pondered the words of my Bible study leader.

“Wow!” I said to myself. “Who knew that such a profound statement could be found in the women’s restroom?”

I wondered how many people I see that I don’t know yet. It put me in mind of the two travelers on the road to Emmaus. They were dejected after Jesus was put to death on the cross. When Jesus joined them on their walk, they saw Him, but they did not know Him. How many times did I see Jesus before I knew Him? I saw Him everywhere, but I didn’t know Him.

Only after the two travelers on the road to Emmaus spent time talking and listening to Jesus, was He revealed to them. Luke 24:31 describes this:

Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Suddenly these two travelers were able to see Jesus because the power of His Word gave them spiritual sight. He then vanished from their sight but He was not gone. Although, they could no longer physically see Jesus, He was still walking in their midst. He also walks in our midst. If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in the study of His Word, we will not only see Him everywhere, but we will know Him.

Don’t Neglect to Study Your Map

2008-09-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

I once had a coworker who always got lost. It didn’t matter where he was going or even if he had been there before. If he was supposed to be in Palm Springs, it was just as likely that he would end up in Los Angeles. To this person a map was just a giant piece of paper that once opened was impossible to fold up to its original size. I marveled that this person was not only able to graduate from college and the academy for our agency, but that he had also served in the U.S. Army. I would think that map reading would be a necessary skill. He told me that in his unit, he was only allowed to carry a gun and not a compass.

At one point this coworker was temporarily assigned to escort some out of town VIPs from our agency. Since he always got lost, the VIPs also got lost. During that temporary assignment, the VIPs bought a GPS unit for my coworker to use while he escorted them. Shortly afterwards, we were all assigned our own GPS units. I told my coworker that thanks to his inability to find his way, we were all assigned a piece of equipment that made our jobs easier, especially if you have aging eyes and are trying to read the small print on a Thomas Bros. map.

Prior to the issuance of the GPS units, I asked my coworker why he simply did not use a map when he got lost. He replied, “In order to read a map and figure out where you are going you have to know where you are.”

Do you know where you are? I don’t mean do you know where you are physically. Unlike my coworker, most of us know whether we are in Los Angeles or Palm Springs. Rather, do you know where you are in your walk with God? Are you allowing God to guide your life? Are you reading God’s Word?

You see, I often find that when I make stupid decisions (yes, I make stupid decisions even though I try not to be stupid), and go the opposite direction from God, it is because I have forgotten where I am. I am a sinner living in a fallen world who can not find my way without the saving direction of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why do I sometimes forget this? It is because I begin to rely on Teri’s directions and fail to consult God in His Word and in prayer. In Psalm 119:105 we are told:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

And in Psalm 32:8, God says:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

The Bible is my map. Prayer is consultation with my guide. My coworker failed to find his way because he forgot where he was at, he neglected to study his maps, and he did not consult a guide for directions. We too, can fail to find our way because we forget where we are, we neglect to study scripture and we do not consult the ultimate guide for direction, Jesus Christ.

Don’t Be Reluctant To Ask For Prayer

2008-09-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

“The tumor is benign.” Those were the words I heard from the surgeon shortly after I underwent surgery to remove part of my right kidney from which this tumor grew several years ago. Those four words could be described as a happy conclusion to the six words I had heard three months prior; “A tumor on your right kidney.” You see, 80 to 90 percent of all solid tumors found on the kidneys are cancerous.

When I first heard the news of the tumor, I experienced fear. The fears subsided as I read God’s Word and prayed. God wanted me to give my fears to Him. When I did this, I experienced comfort and peace. When I attempted to take back some of those fears, I experienced turmoil and worry. The Lord tells us in Isaiah 41:10:

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God was upholding me as I awaited each medical test and ultimately surgery. I was willing to accept whatever God had in mind for me because I knew he was with me.

Yet, something was lacking. For as long as I can remember, I have been very reserved with my true feelings. This character trait has only been magnified as a result of my career in law enforcement. This is not necessarily a bad trait unless it begins to interfere with your relationship with Jesus. I openly spoke to God about my fears and worries, but I was reluctant to share these fears with other believers and ask for prayer.

My best friend encouraged me to seek prayer from the pastors and elders at church. She even brought a pastor to me after Wednesday night service where he anointed me with oil and prayed for me. This same pastor’s wife also encouraged me to seek prayer and reminded me that the Lord commands this in James 5:14:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Yet, I remained reluctant. By going to others for prayer, I felt as if I was whining about something for which God had already given me a peace. I feared that by asking for prayer, I was not trusting God. I already knew that God was with me and would see me through whatever came my way. So why did I need to ask others for prayer?

Then I began to think about Moses in Exodus 17. Israel was faced with a great enemy army of Amalekites. Moses told Joshua to choose his men and fight the Amalekites. Then Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield. When Moses raised his hands holding the rod of God, Israel began to prevail, but when he let down his hands, Amalek would begin to prevail. When Moses grew weary, Aaron and Hur helped support his hands. This symbolized their agreement with the actions taken by Moses as directed by God. As a result, Israel prevailed. Moses knew the upheld rod of God was the key to victory, but he could not do it on his own. Aaron and Hur gave him the support he needed.

I knew that my relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior was like the rod of God in the hands of Moses. Jesus is my key to victory. But like Moses, sometimes I grow weary, and the support of other believers becomes a necessity. This support comes in the form of prayer.

Prayer is powerful. The power generated by prayer increases as the number of people praying in agreement increases. One soldier in an army can take out several enemies. But two or more soldiers fighting in agreement can bring about even greater victory. If I have all the power of heaven behind me when I pray, what would it be like to have two, three or even more praying in agreement for the same victory?

So as the prospect of surgery drew closer, I began to ask others for prayer. I not only asked my friends, pastors, and pastor’s wives for prayer, but many others. I even sought out a pastor on my own and asked for prayer prior to my surgery.

I felt the power of all those prayers as I awaited surgery. I felt the power of those prayers when a friend and co-worker killed himself less than two weeks before my scheduled surgery. I felt the power of those prayers when just 30 minutes prior to surgery, the anesthesiologist informed me that my EKG indicated that I had had two previous heart attacks. (It turned out that wonderful bit of news was false following a second EKG performed weeks after my surgery). I felt the power of those prayers as I was wheeled into the operating room after taking last looks at the faces of my Mom and best friend. I felt the power of those prayers as I awoke from surgery and was subjected to four day of torture, oops… I mean recovery in the hospital. And I really felt the power of those prayers when the surgeon called me at home and said, “The tumor is benign.”

Like one of my pastors told me, God may have turned that tumor with an 80 to 90 percent chance of being cancerous into a non-cancerous tumor. The power of prayer does that. But most important, the power of all those prayers prepared me for God’s will, whether it was cancer or complete healing. Prayer is definitely powerful, but it took major surgery for it to really sink into my sometimes, thick skull.

Don’t Have a Split Personality

2008-09-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

One day after transporting someone I had just arrested, I went to the court clerk in order to file the paperwork necessary for the defendant to be placed on the day’s court calendar. The court clerk has two windows; one for civil filings and one for criminal filings. These windows are located right next to each other. On this particular morning, the criminal window was shut and closed, but the civil window was open with a clerk waiting. So rather than stand in front of a closed window, I approached the clerk at the civil window.

After I gave the clerk my paperwork to be filed, she stated, “This is the civil window and you have handed me a criminal filing.”

I replied, “I realize that, but the criminal window is closed.”

The clerk then handed back my paperwork and told me to wait at the criminal window where someone would be with me shortly. So I took a step to my left to stand in front of the criminal window. When the criminal window was opened, I looked at the clerk who opened the window and did a double take. This clerk looked exactly like the clerk I just spoke to at the civil window.

I briefly thought that maybe there was a set of twins that worked at the clerk’s office, but then I realized that this clerk was wearing the exact same outfit as the clerk that I spoke to at the civil window. I began to suspect that the criminal window clerk and the civil window clerk were one and the same.

I chuckled and looked around thinking that maybe I was a hapless victim of some sort of candid camera type joke. I did not see any hidden cameras and then remembered that I was in a federal courthouse where permission to conduct an organized practical joke would not be very likely. I looked at the clerk who was neither laughing nor smiling. Then she asked, “May I help you?”

I placed my hand on the civil window ledge that was right next to where I was standing and asked, “Aren’t you the same person who I just spoke to right here?”

The clerk coldly stated, “That is the civil clerk window. Criminal filings must be done at the criminal clerk window.”

At this point I was incredulous and simply handed my paperwork to the clerk. It was as if she had a split-personality depending on where she was standing. Did her ability to think and behave like the criminal clerk simply vanish when she stood behind the civil clerk window?

Do we have split personalities as Christians? Do I think and act like a Christian only at certain times, certain places and certain situations? Do I behave differently around fellow Christians than I do when I am around non-believers? Do I exhibit Christ-like behavior when someone cuts me off in traffic or “wrongs” me in some other perceived manner? In other words, am I a different person behind my church window, than I am behind my home window or my work window?

Upon truthful examination of all my thoughts, behaviors and actions, I too, am like this clerk with the split-personality taking refuge behind her multiple windows. I try not to be this way, but I fail miserably at times when I put myself above others and take my eyes off of Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-39:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This directive from Jesus seems so simple, yet we complicate it with our selfish wants and desires. We justify our sinful thoughts and behaviors depending on the situation we find ourselves in or the people we are with. However, if we keep our eyes upon Jesus, then we can think, act, and behave like Christians no matter which window we are standing behind.

Don't Be Conformed

2008-09-10T14:40:00.001-07:00

My friend Steve, recently emailed photos he took while visiting Yellowstone National Park with his wife. Steve and I share an avid interest in photography and share our photos whenever we can. His photos were great, but my favorite photo was not my favorite because of any techniques employed while taking the picture, such as the ISO setting, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, or white balance, but because of the still small voice of God that spoke to me while I was looking at it.

So…you may be asking with skepticism, God spoke to you through a picture of a buffalo walking on a road? Now it is not like the buffalo came to life in the picture, looked at me, and then spoke in a big booming God-like voice. Rather, as I looked at the photo, I was reminded of something I read in God’s Word. Romans 12:2 tells us:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

You see, this buffalo is just what he appears to be, a buffalo on some type of buffalo mission. It does not matter that there are motor vehicles fast approaching that may distract him with promises of faster transportation, with dreams of air conditioning, satellite radio, iPod hookups, GPS navigation and Bluetooth hands free phones. He is not conformed to this world, he is continuing steadfastly on his buffalo mission, whatever that may be.

As Christians we also must not be conformed to this world, but rather be conformed to the will of God. You see, Satan is set loose in this world and wields great influence when we allow him into our lives. Satan hates God and wants to distract us from God. One of the ways in which he does this is keeping us busy with the cares and luxuries of this world. Now, does this mean that I should go live in a Christian bubble and ignore the world? No. Does this mean that I should not enjoy the technological advances of motor vehicles, air conditioning, satellite radio, iPod hookups, GPS navigation, and Bluetooth hands free phones? No, as long as I do not allow these things to distract me from God’s will.

As Romans 12:2 tells us, we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How do we renew our minds? We must become immersed in God’s Word. Only then can we know God’s good, acceptable and perfect will and continue steadfastly on our spiritual mission.

Don't Justify Your Lies

2008-09-09T14:52:00.001-07:00

A recent question in one of my Bible studies was:

Do you think a lie is ever justified?

Since lying is a sin, the question should be, do you think sin is ever justified? Before I simplified it in this manner, I went round and round in my head with this question. While some lies are obviously never justified; what about other lies that seem to be for the “greater good.” Lies such as when Corrie Ten Boom and others hid Jews from the Nazis and denied it when questioned. What about the undercover cop who lies about his identity in order to infiltrate a criminal group in order to make arrests. What about the lies I have told as a law enforcement officer when I knock on the hotel door of a suspect and answer housekeeping when they ask who it is? What if your violent neighbor asked you if you were hiding his wife that you were, in fact, hiding after she escaped his violent attack? What about the husband who tells his wife she doesn’t look fat when she asks him after she puts on an outfit that actually makes her look anything but slim and trim?

What about Rahab when she lied about the spies hiding on her roof? What about the Hebrew midwives when they lied to Pharaoh to protect the lives of the Hebrew children? What about Samuel when God told him to tell Saul he was there to make a sacrifice of a heifer when he was there to anoint David as the new king?

Even after considering these things, the question in my mind is not do I think lying is ever justified, but rather, do I think sinning is ever justified. My answer has to be No! It is never justified to sin, so it is never justified to lie. There may be circumstances where I do not necessarily have to say everything that could be said. For example, if I meet a person who is weird looking, I do not have to tell them they are weird looking even if it may be the truth.

There are also times when we do not have to say everything when it comes to the protection and care of others. As for Rahab, she was saved and her household blessed, but I do not read anywhere in the Bible that she was blessed for lying. She was blessed for her faith in the Lord God of Israel, her works of faith in receiving the spies, and sending them out another way as described in Joshua 2:11 and James 2:25. Was it necessary for her to lie or could she simply have been silent? After all, was not God capable of saving the spies without asking Rahab to lie?

What about the midwives? Did they lie or did God shorten the labor of the Hebrew women so that the babies were born before the midwives arrived as they told Pharaoh? If they did lie, they were not blessed of God for lying, but for refusing to take part in Pharaoh’s baby-killing program. Were the midwives forced to lie in order to avoid the alternative of killing babies? No. They simply could have refused to talk. It may have resulted in their deaths, but does the preservation of our lives justify sin? If someone pointed a gun at my head and told me to deny Jesus or die, do I deny Him to preserve my life? Of course not, I lose my life in order to gain my life.

The midwives bring in mind the hiding of Jews from the Nazis. What if you were there? Do you tell the truth to the authorities and betray the Jews or do you lie and save their lives. Are we forced to choose the lesser of two evils? Like the midwives, we could refuse to talk. It may result in our imprisonment and death as well as the Jews, but we did not betray them and we did not lie. We simply obeyed God and left the outcome in His hands. The Nazis often searched the houses no matter what the occupants answered anyway.

And Samuel, did he lie? Did God tell him to lie? God did not tell Samuel to say he was going to Bethlehem to sacrifice and then not actually sacrifice. Samuel did conduct a sacrifice as he usually did. But he also anointed David as the new King of Israel. God told Samuel to conceal truth from someone who did not have a right or a need to know the truth. Sure it may seem deceptive, but do I need to tell my basketball opponent that I am faking right when I am driving left to the basket in order to score two points?

While lying is never justified, the Bible does not require us to reveal the whole truth to everybody. Concealment of the truth is only a sin when there is an obligation to reveal all of the facts or if there is intent to lead someone into immorality. Jesus never lied, but He spoke in parables in order conceal the truth from skeptics and those who refused to believe because they had forfeited their right to know the truth. Jesus tells is in Matthew 7:6:

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

What about David when he was in the enemy palace of the Philistines? He wanted to get out so he acted like he was insane. He scratched on the doors of the gate and drooled in his beard. So they let him go because they thought he was insane. Then David went into a cave and wrote Psalm 34 in which he describes himself as a fool for not trusting God.

So I come back to the personal applications. If my violent neighbor asks me if his wife is in my house, do I need to lie to him, or can I simply not tell him everything? Can I simply ask why he needs to know? Can I ask him why he thinks his wife needs to hide? Can I simply refuse to answer the door and call the police which is what I should have done as soon as his wife ran into my house?

What about the undercover officer? Does he have to reveal all of the truth during his undercover operation? If he is asked if he is a cop, does he answer yes? If he is being asked this question, then perhaps his cover is already blown and he is not as undercover as he thinks he is. There are many ramifications to undercover work and many law enforcement officers have gone astray by getting too close to the enemy. Many sins have been committed in the course of undercover work that go well beyond lying.

What about telling suspects that I am housekeeping in order to get them to answer the door? Is that necessary? I don’t have to tell them I am the police, but at the same time I don’t have to lie. Can I just simply give them my name and tell them Roger sent me which is the name of the judge who signed the arrest warrant? The United States Supreme Court has ruled that as a law enforcement officer, I can lie during an investigation or interrogation to elicit a confession. So does that give me the green light to lie? The United States Supreme Court has also ruled that I can abort a baby, but I would never do that. I have found that lying to suspects often comes back to bite you. I was paid one of the biggest compliments in my career by a defense attorney. He told me that I made a good witness on the stand because I told the truth no matter if it was good for the prosecution or bad for the prosecution. As a result, the jury believed everything I said and his client was convicted.

Finally, what about the husband who is asked if his wife looks fat in a new outfit? If the wife needs to ask this question, then she already knows the answer. It is unfair to ask this type of question, and if you ask the question you should not be upset when you get the truth instead of the answer that you wanted to hear.

We will often find ourselves in difficult and puzzling predicaments because we are sinners living in a fallen world. But God does not put us in situations where we are forced to disobey him. We are not forced to choose the lesser of two evils, except perhaps in the case of a presidential election. But seriously, Jesus came to us in a fallen world. He never sinned because He was forced to choose the lesser of two evils. He always made the right decision no matter how difficult and no matter how unpopular that choice was. He provided us an example. Will I always have the courage and presence of mind to do the right thing in difficult situations? No. Will I continue to lie? Will I continue to sin? Yes. However, I will sin less if I rely on the Holy Spirit for instruction and not rely on my own understanding.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

In this verse God promises us that we will never be in a situation without providing a right way to go and He will always provide the strength to make the right choice. That is a great promise that gives me hope in a world where lying has not only become acceptable but expected.

Don't Leave God at The Border

2008-09-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

During my recent trip to Israel, many of the other Christians I traveled with said they experienced life-changing spiritual encounters with God that they had never experienced before. One person stated that when he went to the Wailing Wall, he felt the physical presence of God that made him fall to his knees and start crying. My experience at the Wailing Wall was nothing like this. Was there something wrong with me? Was I jaded and cynical?

When our bus first went to the Wailing Wall our Israeli guide described the history behind the Wall. He said the Wall was a reminder that the Jews did not yet deserve the rebuilding of their temple because they had not done enough to please God. He became emotional when he described the Israeli soldiers taking the wall in 1967 and said that now when people touch the wall, they feel the presence of God and the miracles God can do. Since our guide was a secular Jew, I wondered how he knew what the presence of God felt like. And what about the part about not doing enough to please God? It sounded like a false doctrine of doing works in order to gain salvation.

So I walked up to the Wailing Wall and touched it. It was a big brick wall. I did not have a big emotional experience as others in my tour group did. Instead, I felt an overwhelming sadness for the Jewish people who feel that they need to touch a wall in order to feel the presence of God. I felt an overwhelming sadness that some Christians in my tour group had to travel 8100 miles and touch a big brick wall in order to feel the physical presence of God. I do not doubt the experiences by my fellow travelers; I only felt sadness that it took 16 hours of flight as well as spending a substantial amount of money in order for them to have this experience.

I felt even more sadness when the same person who told me about his experience at the Wall then stated that Jordan was simply a place to view archeological discoveries and there was nothing spiritual about it. So did this person leave God behind when he crossed the border into Jordan? Granted, Christians only make up 3% of the population in this Muslim country. But does God abandon Jordanians since Christians are only a small minority in a country made up of people following a false god? Did this person not hear the testimony of the Jordanian guide who came back to Christ after his rebellious period like the prodigal son? The presence of God was definitely there as this man shared his personal testimony. What about the reports of Muslims coming to Christ after seeing Him in a dream in which He declares “I am the way.”?

Sure there were archeological sites in Jordan, but there were also archeological sites in Israel. Are archeological sites devoid of God? Did not Peter make his confession of Christ’s deity in the region of Caesarea Philippi which was originally called Panias after the Greek god Pan? If God is present in a city created for a false God, I’m sure he is present at Petra in Jordan. It is not a question of where we feel God’s presence, but rather, where do we allow God’s presence?

I can honestly say that I feel the physical presence of God wherever I am. That is, if I am not caught up in the foolish cares and concerns of my sinful self. I have felt the presence of God while interrogating a suspect in prison; as well as while worshipping in church. I have felt the presence of God at the ocean, in the desert, in the mountains, in the city, on the softball field and even in the bathroom. I felt God’s presence when my friend Kim and I got into an argument after I lost my temper during an incident at the Dead Sea. God is everywhere. In order to feel His presence you only need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior after which He takes residence in your heart and goes everywhere with you. My trip to the Holy Land reinforced the truth that God is present in me, you, and every believer in Christ wherever we are and wherever we go if we only listen for Him and let Him in.

Don't Tell God to Shut Up

2008-09-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I walked downstairs to the lobby of my office building on my way to get a hot dog at the donut shop across the street. Now you may be thinking that a hot dog from a donut shop does not sound very appealing, but this donut shop not only makes great donuts, but they also make great lunch items at even greater prices.

As I walked down the stairs to the lobby with hotdogs consuming my brain, I saw a young woman sitting on a bench with a baby. It appeared as if she was entertaining the baby with a toy while waiting for someone who was in line. The baby smiled and laughed which caused me to also smile and laugh.

My pleasant thoughts of hotdogs and laughing babies were suddenly snatched away by an older man who approached me and shouted, “It’s not right. This is not her bedroom; this is a United States government building!”

Since I had no idea what this man was raving about, I stopped my descent down the stairs, looked at him and then looked at the young woman who just kind of shrugged. Then he yelled even louder, “She changed that baby’s diaper in a United States government building!”

I realized then that this angry man was attempting to report a malfeasance in a government building to a government employee in authority. Yes… as astounding as it may seem, I am considered one of the persons in authority in my building.

I could not recall any specific rules, regulations or violations regarding the servicing of a baby’s diaper in a government building. I also did not witness anyone changing a diaper or see any lingering after effects such as dirty diapers, wipes or smell. So I calmly began to tell this man, “It doesn’t matter, there has been no harm done in the act of taking care of a helpless baby’s needs.”

This enraged man did not like where my answer was going and he rudely cut me off before I finished speaking and yelled, “This is a United States government building and she was changing her baby’s diaper!”

I simply replied, “The United States Government encourages the changing of dirty diapers.”

Well, I guess my answer was not considered or appreciated because this man yelled, “Shut up!” and left the building. It took me a few moments to remember why I was in the lobby in the first place and then remembered my donut shop hot dog mission.

I pondered this incident later, and asked myself, “How like this man’s reaction to the voice of authority is my reaction to the voice of God?” Now I don’t mean that I have literally told God to shut up and walked out of church in a rage, but we can tell God to shut up in other ways.

Like this angry man, we tell God to shut up when we cut off or ignore God’s answer to our prayers because it is not aligned with our wants or our perceived needs. Like this angry man, we tell God to shut up when we fail to become immersed in His word. We need to listen to God and do what He says. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:46:

But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

God answers all of our prayers, but these answers may not be the answers we think God should give us. We need to align our will with God’s will and let Him have complete control of our lives. In order to know God’s will, we need to know God. The way to know God is to read His personal love letter to each of us in the Bible. In John 1:1 God tells us:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So if the Word is God, I need to daily read this Word so that when I go to Him in prayer, God is hidden in my heart through His Word and I will be better prepared to hear His answers to my prayers. I don’t ever want to be like this angry man in the lobby of my building and ignore an answer just because it is not the answer I was expecting, especially if that answer is from God.

Don't Believe in Coincidences

2008-09-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

When I was two or three years old, I told my mother that I wanted to be an angel when I grew up. Well, if you know me now, you know that I’m not an angel. But you see, at age two, I somehow knew that ultimate joy and happiness were a result of a personal relationship with God. The angels seemed to have that.

By the time I reached age five, all aspirations of a career as an angel quickly vanished. It was at this age that I began to lose my childlike wonder of God as I was introduced to the Catholic doctrine in catechism classes. God became angry and mean in my mind as I was taught that I could never do enough good deeds or say enough prayers to get to heaven without first paying my dues in purgatory. I was never taught what Ephesians 2:8-9 says,

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Throughout my childhood, my mother always instilled in me a questioning nature. She taught me to ask questions and not always take someone’s word for the truth. Instead of the old adage, “If all the other kids are jumping off the cliff, it doesn’t mean you have to;” my mother would say something like this, “If all the other kids are jumping off the cliff, find out why, analyze their reasons, and then make your own decision as to whether or not you should jump.”

I know my mother taught me this to keep me out of trouble and become a leader rather than a follower. Little did she know I was leading other kids to jump their bikes off the school roof.

But seriously, I don’t think my mom realized that she was following a plan already devised by God. She also did not realize that she was teaching me to question the Catholic doctrine.

As I progressed through Catholic catechism, I began to ask questions. But I guess the questions were too hard because I never got any satisfactory answers. I was rebuked for asking the questions and I was told that I lacked faith for questioning directives that came from the Vatican. It turned me off and I stopped attending church as an adult. I knew God was there and probably loved me, but He seemed distant and moody.

When I finally came to a saving relationship with Jesus at the age of 38, I marveled at my warped ideas as a nonbeliever. As a nonbeliever, I thought I controlled my life, and what I could not control was due to chance circumstances. I did not believe there was a divine plan for me because my God was distant and moody. How wrong I was.

There were no coincidences in my life. I was guided by God’s hand even when I did not know that it was God’s hand that guided me.

You see it was not by chance that I was raised Catholic by a mother who taught me to question truth. It was these very things that eventually turned me towards a saving relationship with Jesus. It is these very things that help me to grow in my relationship with Jesus on a daily basis.

There are no coincidences or rolling of the dice to determine my destiny. Thankfully, my destiny is not created by a distant and moody god, but by God my Father who thinks of me daily in love, with plans of peace and not of evil, to give me a future and a hope. Although I never became an angel when I grew up, I became something even better, a saint in Jesus Christ.

Don’t Wear Red at Target

2008-08-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today I was in Target killing time while my dog was at the groomer (yes…I occasionally take my dog to the groomer, but that’s a story for another day). I was wandering aimlessly around Target after unsuccessfully trying to pick out a birthday card among the many inane card choices, when I heard a man making that throat clearing sound like “uh hum” as if trying to get someone’s attention. I ignored this figuring it was someone like my Dad attempting to distract and annoy his wife because he was tired of shopping and wanted to go home. Then I heard it again, but it was right behind me. I turned around and there was an older man staring at me. Then he asked, “Where are the bagel splitters?”

Bagel Splitter? I thought to myself. Do they make such a thing? On the few occasions I have eaten a bagel, I split my bagel with a knife. I looked at the man and told him I had no idea where the bagel splitters were. He answered, “Well, you should!”

Now if you know me at all, I am not a big shopper. I usually go to a store and proceed right to what I need, check out and leave. I never understand the organization of many stores and don’t make it a habit of memorizing the layout of any store. So I would be the last person you would ask about the whereabouts of any item in Target or any other store, with the exception of maybe Best Buy.

I looked at the man and thought about making some sarcastic remark, but then I saw a Target employee out of the corner of my eye. Yes, that employee was wearing red, which happened to be the color of the shirt I was wearing. So this misguided man thought I was an employee of Target. At that point the employee approached and assisted the man.

As I walked away, I remembered the numerous times I was thought to have information for those who were seeking something. I have been stopped numerous times on the street by people seeking directions or the location of an address. I have been stopped on my bike for the same reasons. I have been stopped in foreign countries and asked questions in foreign tongues that I can not understand. Many times I am with one or more persons when this happens, but people seem to single me out as the one with the information they need. It is as if I have “INFO” imprinted on my forehead.

One of my friends told me it is because I walk around as if I belong no matter where I am. She said it is as if I always know where I am going and what needs to be done, even when I wander aimlessly around Target killing time. Now, it is true that I often am able to provide the proper information to those that stop me and ask. I was once even able to provide directions to a limited English speaker with my very limited Spanish.

So is it true that I walk around with an air of confidence? And if so, why? I could tell you that I am super intelligent and my big brains just seep out to those who are seeking answers to their questions, but that would be not only untrue, but extremely laughable. I know my outer countenance of confidence comes from my personal relationship with Jesus. I always know where I am going.

What? You may ask. How can you always know where you are going? Well, let me tell you, I am a big picture person. It comes with the job I have, but even before that, I have always looked at things in context of the big picture. The big picture is that I am a sinner just like all of you. I was once lost, but now I am found. I know where I am going! The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see, I am a sinner, but I am a forgiven sinner. Jesus paid for all of our sins on the cross. It was the greatest day of my life when I finally understood this and asked Jesus to rule and reign my life. He provides me my direction.

So even though I may be completely lost in Target or any market bigger than a 7-11, I know the way to my eternal destination of heaven. It is through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I guess the next time I am stopped in a store and asked where the bagel splitters are, I should say, “No, but I know the way to heaven.”

Don't Be Stupid

2008-08-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

For my first posting to this blog, I thought I would explain my thoughts on stupid and why my blog is called "No More Stupid." Here goes:

Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 12:1

Stupid. This is an adjective that I use frequently. The dictionary defines stupid as “without much intelligence.” This word describes so many people, so many things and so many situations. Now, when I refer to a person as stupid, I do not refer to someone’s intelligence, I.Q., or education. Instead, I refer to a stupid person as one who refuses to behave properly, someone who treats others poorly, someone who refuses to listen to wise instruction, and someone who refuses to heed the Word of God even though they claim to be a Christian.

The wisest people I know are those that not only listen for God’s instruction, but also follow God’s instruction. If everyone would listen to God’s Word and then follow God’s Word, then “stupid” could be wiped from our vocabulary. There would be no stupid people, no stupid things, no stupid circumstances, and yes, not even any stupid T.V. programs. Everything would have purpose. Everything and everyone would glorify God. It would be heaven.