Tag Archives: Philippians 4:7

Beauty everywhere

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White Fireworks – Thayerapy Gardens

 

“Beauty is everywhere when you know where to look for it.”

– Alice Herz-Sommer, 1903-2014

Beloved Pianist and Holocaust Survivor

 

Do you believe beauty is everywhere if you know where to look for it? If you lost loved ones to the Holocaust and were imprisoned yourself, would that still be your view?

 

It seems that few if any escape the prison that suffering brings. Be it for a day or a lifetime, torturous or merely a nagging interruption to a joyful life, be it physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual – we all come to know some degree of suffering and pain, for some a sorrow that enshrouds their entire world. It can become a darkness where little light seems to penetrate. But a holocaust survivor says she finds beauty everywhere. Another shares, “When you come out of Hell, you realize there are only a few important things in life: life itself, relationships, and faith.”

 

Actually, when it comes down to brass tacks, what choice do we have in the crucible of pain, sorrow, and suffering? We can’t escape it. It will demand we attend to it. But do we have to be crushed by it? Is there a way to transcend its vise grip on us? Can we choose to rise above it, to find our “more than a conqueror” spirit we are promised? Can we choose, like Job, to praise God while we scrape away the boils of pain that wrack our bodies and souls?

 

I don’t know of anyone who can do this in their own power, most certainly not me! In the midst of cancer I told God six times, “I give up. Take me home. I’m done with this.” I am convinced that my pain was small compared to what others’ endure and yet it was real enough for me. And each of those times, He held me patiently and lovingly, reminding me that His grace is indeed sufficient, even if I don’t sense it. We don’t have to sense God’s love for it to be real any more than a child who defies you even as you love them dearly.

 

I’ve decided to believe God at His Word even though I’m too feeble to understand it. His supernatural power within us continues to sustain us, no matter what this life throws at us. It is a calming peace that transcends all understanding. It might not calm the storm raging within us. But it is able to calm us in the middle of the storm. I don’t think it is a heroic act to believe this. I think it is a choice of faith if not desperation that in the midst of the darkness, His light will shine and reveal beauty yet to be found. What other choice would you make?

 

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

 

And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

 

 

Guard your mind and heart

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P1020616 Korea is a mountainous country with a long history of territorial wars. And so it is no surprise to find many fortresses wherever you go. This is a part of the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Korea and demonstrates a cunning strategy to defend one of the fortress entrances. Potential intruders would have to navigate an ever narrowing and winding uphill path to reach the gate while becoming targets of archers from many parts of the wall. The expansive wall itself is several feet wide and circumvents a large portion of the city. Rising up hundreds of feet above the city, the fortress provides a good defense against attack. Just climbing the steps of the wall was an arduous task.

 

Walking around modern Suwon, it seemed that people in general were very calm and did not act as if their lives were threatened. Even the persistent threats from a noisy neighbor north of the border doesn’t seem to shake the citizenry. Chances are you and I enter each day with a similar attitude of calm. Yet God reminds us that we are at war with evil and calls on His people to guard their hearts and mind as well as their bodies from attack of the enemy, lest we too be toppled and fall victim to their prey.

 

To be successful in war we must first be aware that we are engaged every day in the battle for our mind. We all know how easily we can be tricked by smooth talking and cunning lines of persuasion if we are not alert. Knowing what you believe – and why – is as important as knowing what you are against. Understanding and focusing on basic truths that are always true and unshakable helps us to stand firm. There can be no moral truth if all morals are accepted as equally true. Some truths are absolute.

 

Studying and meditating on God’s Word will establish these in your heart and mind. Memorizing and applying them to your daily life is like putting on an armor that protects you from enemy attacks. Put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. (Ephesians 6)

 

Above all else, guard the fortress of your heart and your mind so you can stand firm whatever battle arises against you.

 

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

 

And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abundant life

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We went out early to start harvesting the Nanking cherries. Loaded with tasty red berries, they will bring an abundant crop for making jelly. It will take a while to pick them all as the ones in the shade ripen more slowly than the ones in the sunlight.

 

Isn’t that the way it is with us? The more we are exposed to God’s light, the better we develop and mature; the more we mature, the more abundant our life becomes. Jesus says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy but He has come to give us abundant life.

 

What is this abundant life? Is it one filled with the blessings of good health, riches, lots of friends, property, fame, and success? Sometimes, these do come to the faithful; we see plenty of examples of such temporary fruit bestowed upon the unfaithful too. As satirist Mark Twain observed: the rain falls on both the just and the unjust as does the sunshine. So where is the real abundant life found?

 

A Russian engineer discovered this one evening. Marci had been tutoring his wife, a physicist, in speaking English and we had been invited to their home. After supper we started talking about life in Russia and life in the USA. When I asked him about the church in Russia, he proudly announced that he was an atheist scientist and that he believed only in what he could see and touch. I told him how my relationship with Jesus had impacted my daily and eternal life. He responded, “There is one thing you Christians have that we atheists do not have; you have real hope.”

 

In a moment of light, he grasped the essence of truth without clinging to it himself. Real hope in God’s unending love and in the constant peace of His presence is the essence of abundant life.

 

“The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear (respect) Him and those whose hope is in His unfailing love.” Psalm 33:18 This is real hope, fortified by the awareness that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Our hope is in the God who calls us by name and who promises that he will be with us when we pass through the floods; that when we walk through the fire the flames will not destroy us. (Isaiah 43:1-2) This is the same God who promises peace that transcends all understanding and peace at ALL times. (Phil. 4:7, 2 Thess. 3:16)

 

This hope for the moment, day, life now and life eternal – this real hope is the center of abundant life, life lived to the full with purpose and passion. Aren’t you tired of the enemy stealing, killing, and destroying your joy and your hope? Rest in the abundant life Jesus promises today.

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus in John 10:10

Peace Rests Secure

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Peace comes from knowing where you are going.

Corrie Ten Boom is quoted saying, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” She added, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

A friend asked, “Aren’t you afraid (of cancer/death)?” Actually no. The process is sometimes a bit unsettling, for sure. But over the years I have discovered over and over that God’s Word is trustworthy. Romans 14:8 says. “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” However my prognosis goes with this cancer, I win!

There is a battle going on every day and it is a battle for our mind, our thoughts, and our beliefs. Worry, despair, anger, and all kinds of temptation seem to have a way of grabbing our attention. A well respected and elderly Christian man shared with me that he still struggles with controlling his thoughts. We discussed the truth that 2 Corinthians 10:5 offers: “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” It is a daily challenge. But when we discipline ourselves to actually do this, we find a peace that rests secure.

What thoughts plague you and keep you from experiencing real peace? If they don’t agree with what God says about the situation, you can take them captive. Say to yourself, “This is a lie and I’m not going to believe it.” I remember Danny Hodges using the illustration of putting handcuffs on the errant thought and marching it out of your mind and into God’s courtroom. Familiarize yourself with God’s Word. See how many times each day you have opportunity to choose to believe -and act on- what God says. And then rest secure in the power of peace that He offers to guard your heart and mind. . . wherever you are going.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7