Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

Atheist No More

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2

One night a man became suicidal and desperately began calling psychiatrists. It's tough to get help at 3:00 A.M., but he found us at New Life. He entered a Christian treatment center that same night. Ironically, he called himself a confirmed atheist.  When he woke the next morning, he lamented that, if there was a God, He'd played a dirty trick by landing him in a Christian treatment center. It strained him to stay, but he managed to make it to the fourth day.

Then something amazing happened. While sitting in a meeting, a man wearing what looked like a turban entered the room. His wife and kids were waiting in the car, but he felt compelled to come in and say something.

"If anyone here's thinking of killing yourself," said the visitor, "I want to encourage you to reconsider. God loves you and wants you to live. This turban on my head is a bandage from where I put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, I survived so I could come here and tell you not to do it. God loves you."

That day our atheist lost his atheism. He'd thought the idea of a personal God was ridiculous. But in his heart, he knew God sent that message directly to him. For the first time, he understood God was personal, loving, and interested in him. Never take this truth for granted. God loves you!

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.." - William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)

[Judy Harder]

Called by Name

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. - John 10:3-4

There's no group discount for the kingdom. Instead, God tugs at your heart as an individual, calling you one by one.  When God calls someone, He calls him or her personally. It's a biblical pattern repeated time and again.

The Lord called young Samuel by name until he responded. - (1 Samuel 3)

Jesus stopped at the fishing boat of Peter and Andrew and said, "Come, follow me...and I will make you fishers of men." - (Matthew 4:19)

Jesus halted Saul of Tarsus in his tracks in the middle of the highway, again calling him by name. (Acts 9:1-9)

And so it's been through all of time. The manner and circumstances of the call are radically diverse, but its personal nature is the same. The Bible compares such a relationship to a shepherd's intimate knowledge of his flock. The shepherd knows the peculiarities and habits of every one of his lambs.

Jesus Christ knows you intimately. He calls you by name. Listen for Him today! When you hear Him—respond to Him!

"A leader takes people where they want to go.  A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter (1927-     )

[Judy Harder]

Family Influence

All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace. - Isaiah 54:13

Our ideas about God are first shaped—and very powerfully so—by our families. So it's little wonder that as relationships within the family have declined, so has the understanding of what it means to have and maintain a relationship with God.

As divorced and overworked parents spend less time with their kids, the concept of a personal God and Savior becomes less clear and less meaningful. An absent father sets the framework for a child who views God as absent too. And a passive father leaves his children wondering if God can or will become involved in their problems and day-to-day struggles.

I'm pointing to the men for two reasons. The first reason is so you men can begin to identify how your family environment growing up has subtly shaped your thoughts and beliefs about God. If your experience has been positive, great! If it hasn't, please let the present, active, loving Father correct your thinking and heal your heart. Turn to Him and see that He is good.

The second reason is that many of you are fathers yourselves or will be. Your children are watching and listening to you more than you think. And you influence them—and their thinking about God—more than you know. I want to encourage you, men, to walk with Jesus Christ! For those of you who've had the blessing of good parenting: pass it on. For those of you who haven't: let the wreckage stop with you!

"Our children give us the opportunity to become the parents we always wished we'd had." - Louise Hart (1881-1950)

[Judy Harder]

Lunch with a Friend

Pray for us.  We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. - Hebrews 13:18

Only the good news of Jesus Christ encourages us to honestly think about who we really are and to address our shortcomings in a way that won't cause us to wrongly rely upon our own efforts.

Let me explain with this example: A while back I had lunch with a non-Christian friend. As we ate, we began discussing spiritual things. I made reference to the prodigal son, and no sign of recognition crossed his face. He'd never heard the story; he knew nothing about the Bible.

As the conversation progressed, he got around to stating his theology: namely, good people make it to heaven. He considered himself a kind, loving, and good person. And without a doubt, he's one of the nicest people I know. But as we talked longer, he discussed his internet relationships with women ready to leave their husbands to live with him.  His "goodness," as he called it, gave these women new hope about men.

I felt compelled to challenge his thinking. "What would these ladies' husbands think of your so-called goodness?" I asked.  "Has this 'goodness' ever prompted you to call one of these men and ask if he minded that you were having an internet relationship with his wife?" As it turned out, his "goodness" wasn't as good as he thought it was.

Rely upon God's goodness. As good as you think you might be, that goodness is nothing next to His.

"Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does." - Josh Billings (1818-1885)

[Judy Harder]

Refocusing

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." - Romans 3:20

When Jesus walked the earth, He directed the focus off of the apparently "good" people doing apparently "good" things, and redirected people's focus on to God. The religious leaders were pointing to the rules; Jesus pointed to Himself, through whom relationships are restored to God.

A healthy, growing faith is always focused on the person of God Himself. A healthy faith begins and ends in God, not in rules, regulations, and sheer duty. Jesus Christ, not religion, is at the core of a robust Christian faith.

Today Jesus Christ offers people like you and me the same opportunity He gave to people in the early church. The choice is ours. We can insist on performing and conforming out of obligation, and we can try to feel good by chalking up good deeds.

Or you can choose Christ's way. You can love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.  You can experience His love and get to know Him intimately. You can stop hiding behind religious facades and meet Him right where you are. You can focus on Him and find sanity, rest, and peace when all hell seems to be breaking loose around you.

Life is not about you. Surrender yourself to Christ's love and acceptance. Grow closer to Him. Make Him—not your "good deeds" or anyone or anything else—the focus of your life. You'll never regret it.

"Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are." - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

[Judy Harder]

Grief Not Allowed

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. - John 16:20

In our culture, it seems more acceptable for us to be angry than sad.  Consequently, many of us stumble through life without understanding our feelings, completely out of touch with our emotions.  We may be deeply grieved by a number of circumstances, but we don't feel safe acknowledging our sadness.  It's socially "okay" for them to vent their anger, but not to explore and discuss the deep hurt beneath it.

When you feel sad, anger seems like a safe retreat.  It causes your adrenaline to rush.  It commands attention and demands respect. It allows you to stay in control, and it keeps uncomfortable feelings and situations at a safe distance.  However your failure to grieve can actually poison you.

The Bible offers no precedent for us to suppress our grief.  The Old Testament depicts many people showing real grief.  The men of Israel would rip their clothes, sprinkle themselves with ashes, wear black armbands, and spend time in mourning.  They would wail before the Lord without feeling shame.

That experience allowed them to express their emotions and then move on without the baggage of repressed feelings.  When we don't grieve, we stuff our disappointments and sadnesses, and compensate for them with other less-threatening emotions, and at the top of the list is anger.  But Scripture gives you liberty to grieve, so when you need to, openly grieve!

"To spare oneself from grief at all cost can be achieved only at the price of total detachment, which excludes the ability to experience happiness." - Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
 

[Judy Harder]

Nothing to Prove

I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, "Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?"  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. - Job 42:2, 3, 5

Here's a paradox for you.  Those of you with a healthy sense of self are in the best position to exercise true humility. Why? Because the person with a healthy sense of self has nothing to prove. No agenda to push.  No ego to shield. And no need to fret over what others think of you. When you encounter a problem that exceeds your knowledge, you admit without pretense that you don't know the answer.

Sometimes we Christians can really fool ourselves. We think that since God is all knowledgeable and wise, and since we have His Holy Spirit within us, we should be able to dispense pearls of wisdom like spiritual gumballs. The truth is, the more we come to know God, the more we realize what we don't know. And that's O.K.!

The more we experience God's grandeur and the more we understand our dignity as his sons and daughters, the lower we'll bow before His throne—with nothing to prove and everything to gain.

"My dad used to say, You wouldn't worry so much about what people thought of you if you knew how seldom they did." - Phillip McGraw (1950-    )

[Judy Harder]

The Perfect-Mate Myth

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

Many of us have fallen for what I call the "Perfect-Mate Myth." This Myth applies to single and married people, and goes something like this: "If I just had the right woman (or the right man), my life would be all right."

Let me be blunt: this belief is incredibly ignorant. First, because it assumes that our problems are all external—that our real problem is an imperfect spouse, or the lack thereof. Second, because it assumes that there's such a thing as a "perfect" spouse.

This delusion keeps us from spiritual maturity. It prevents married men and women from doing the hard work and making the commitment necessary to build and repair their relationship with their spouses. And it tempts single men and women to put their lives on hold until that "perfect" mate appears.

The perfect mate myth is an unhealthy fantasy. Focus your attention on your relationship with God. He wants your attitude to be, "I'm in this for the long haul. I'm going to dedicate myself to and work at making this marriage last." This is how an active and true faith comes alive in a marriage.

Similarly, God wants the attitude of every single person to be, "God, I'm yours, with or without a spouse, and I will focus my attention on my relationship with you."

Remember, whatever your situation, God is sufficient to meet your needs.

"Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle." - Michelangelo (1475-1564)

[Judy Harder]

Defusing the Anger Trap

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. - Philippians 4:11-12

Would you like to hear one of life's great paradoxes? The more we learn to be satisfied with what we have and stop comparing our financial score card and trophies with those around us, the better we feel about ourselves. In other words, the biblical discipline of learning and practicing contentment shows the myth of "I-Am-What-I-Earn" to be a lie.

Learning to be satisfied is a good indication that we've learned that God is God, and that His fatherly care and infinite wisdom can be trusted.

Furthermore, those who learn to be satisfied and thankful for what they've been given will have more time and energy for the kinds of friendships and relationships that will meet their basic needs and honor God. If you think about it, you'll find that your attitude toward money and possessions either fuels or cools your anger. If you have trouble living within your means, you really have two options: you can push harder to make more, or you can promote an atmosphere of contentment for what you have, and in so doing, relieve the pressure on yourself. 

"Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty." - Socrates (470-399 BC)

[Judy Harder]

An Examined Life

He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'" - Luke 8:10

One day a nearsighted elderly man who considered himself an art expert visited a museum.  He'd forgotten his glasses and couldn't see clearly, but that didn't stop him from airing his opinions.

What he thought was a full-length portrait soon caught his attention.  He gazed at it a moment, then began his criticism.  "The frame is altogether out of keeping with the picture," he complained, "The man is too homely and shabbily dressed.  In fact, it was a great mistake for the artist to select such a shoddy subject for his portrait."

He continued until his wife managed to discretely pull him aside. "My dear," she whispered, "you're looking in a mirror."

It's important to examine your life, but be sure you're using the only mirror able to both diagnose and heal–the life and Word of Jesus.

The best mirror is an old friend. - George Herbert (1593-1633)