Hope!

Posted on July 10, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Hope!
1 Thessalonians 4:13

The other day, I was traveling down a lonely highway on the Colorado plains. It may have been lonely for me, but it was extremely lonely for a certain bird. He was fluttering its wings with all its strength. I was perplexed. Why was this bird flapping and fluttering so hard but not moving upward? The little bird was trying to lift something from off the highway. It was a dead and very flat bird, maybe a friend or a family member.

That sight filled me with sadness and it reminded me of a similar sight but instead of birds, the scene featured humans. It occurred at the funeral of a non-Christian man. Let’s call the man Billy.

A preacher from a local church was called by the funeral home to do the eulogy because Billy’s family had no church affiliation. In interviewing Billy’s family and friends, the preacher was searching for some good things to say about Billy. Every person he interviewed, when asked to state something memorable about Billy, said that he was fun to be around when he was drunk. Everyone said that, and that’s all they said.

A couple days later the funeral took place. After the eulogy, the preacher witnessed a sight he’d never seen. There was hysterical crying from the mother. That isn’t strange. However, while she was crying hysterically, the mother went over to the casket and tried picking Billy up. She wanted to take his body home with her. Through her wailing, she screamed these words, “I want to take him home. I know just the right place to put him. I want to take my Billy home!” People had to grab her and take her away. The utter hopelessness of this woman is tragic. And statistically speaking, this type of hopelessness is found within every other house on your street, and my street too. This should cause a little sadness in each of us.

First Thessalonians 4:13 says: “Our brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope.” (TEV) Paul goes on to describe that the dead will rise and have life again. That is true hope. I feel compelled to help the world, at least my small part of it, find the hope I have in Christ.

I wish I could carpet bomb the hopelessness out of my community but it is a difficult and time consuming task. It can only be done one soul at a time, and in our world of instant gratification, that just doesn’t seem fast enough. But we have to start somewhere don’t we?

In Christ y’all,
Brian

P.S. If you read last week’s devotional about the tree God provided in my front yard. Well, someone cut it down while I was on vacation. 

Hope

God Provides

Posted on July 2, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

God Provides!
Luke 12:22-34

You’ve heard that saying, “Where one tree is cut down, God will provide another.” What? You haven’t heard that saying? It’s true. I’ve witnessed it personally in my own front yard. I had to cut down most of my red maple the other day. I left a stump with some leaves growing out of it. A day later, I noticed in our overgrown yard that what I had thought was a tall weed was really a baby oak tree. God provided another tree for our front yard. It is due to his creation, the squirrels, that we have another tree. I praise God for the wonders of this world. There never was any need for me to be concerned or worried about our barren yard. God takes care of everything. That’s what our scripture verse tells us today.

Sorry this is so short but I will be leaving town soon for the holiday and I didn’t want to miss sending you a devotional tidbit. May God bless you with a wonderful 4th of July and stay safe! 

God's Love

Is there such thing as a sad Christian?

Posted on June 26, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Is There Such a Thing as a Sad Christian?
Psalm 42 (audio) or  Psalm 42 (text)

I think some Christians harbor a hidden desire to make it big on the Hollywood stage. There are some very fine actors gracing the pews of our churches. I am speaking of those who say they are just fine, when their lives are anything but. We often tell people we are doing just fine when they ask how things are going. We do this even if our relationships, careers, hopes, or dreams are breaking into a thousand jagged little pieces. I plead guilty and admit to being one of those with hidden dreams of making it big in Hollywood.  I’ve told people I’m alright or okay even when I’m not. I ask forgiveness for that bit of dishonesty on my part. But really, how many people that ask me or you how things are going, really want to spend the time to listen and find out about our problems.

Nevertheless, there should at least be one or two individuals with whom we can be honest about our feelings. If we don’t have that, we have one last outlet for our true feelings, that outlet is God. We can always cry out to Him. My amazement arises when I find people that have no personal relationship with God and have no humans to whom they can share their honest feelings of despair and brokenness. What do they do? How can they be released from their inner pain? How can anyone exist without an outlet for the bad that naturally creeps into a life? The psalmist says: 

Troubles have come again and again, sounding like waterfalls. Your waves are crashing all around me.

The LORD shows his true love every day. At night I have a song, and I pray to my living God.

I say to God, my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why am I sad and troubled by my enemies?”

My enemies’ insults make me feel as if my bones were broken. They are always saying, “Where is your God?”

Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Savior and my God.

-Psalm 42:7-11 (NCV)

We can reach out to God with our pained hearts and sorrowful souls. Let us not forget about our loving God that cares about us each day. He doesn’t want to see us hurt. He wants to help us and I believe his plan is for us to help one another. But how can we help one another if we never reveal our true feelings when we hurt? Revealing our hearts to others may be difficult, but this idea is worth some serious reflection on our part. Maybe if we just start loving people more than judging them, we will all feel more open to sharing our hurts.

Attributes of God, God's Love, Struggles

Mistaken Identity

Posted on June 19, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Mistaken Identity
2 Peter 1:3-9

At a Noah’s Ark themed Vacation Bible School my son attended a couple years ago, I heard a very interesting conversation. A parent came in the door and saw her teenage daughter dressed in a costume. The first words out of her mouth were, “What are you?” Her daughter answered, “A townsperson.” The mother retorted, “I thought you were going to be a pig.” I believe that was a big case of mistaken identity.

Has there ever been a case of mistaken identity in your life? If you are a Christian, someone should be able to watch an hour of your life and say, “Hey, you’re a Christian.” There should be no doubt about it. I don’t know if anyone would be able to say that about me. I guess it all depends on what hour of my life they decide to watch. If someone decided to watch me while I sleep, they may look around my room and see some books on Christianity, a couple of Bibles, and some ties which have a Christian message on them. But, what about when I’m awake? That may be a different story.

There is a key to being the everyday Christian God wants us to be. I think a lot of it is found in 2 Peter 1:3-9. But before we can do the things mentioned by Peter, we have to be willing to lose control  . . .  of our lives that is. We have to be willing to make Jesus our Lord. That involves submitting our lives to him, all parts of our lives. We need to be an “out of control” people, which means letting someone else have control. That someone else is Jesus. I admit I’m not as out of control as I should be. Can the same be said of you?

A bit of preaching, Christian Graces