This afternoon (at 2:00) I will have the privilege of interviewing Harold J. Chadwick on my blog radio show, "We're Talking Books." I consider Harold to be a personal friend--a brother who possesses great wisdom and compassion. His new book is entitled, "Christ Is God's Everything for You."
Harold writes, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is intended by God to bring joy, peace, righteousness, and rest to all those who believe in His Son. Christ is the fulfillment of the glorious promise made to Abraham--the promise of the Spirit and eternal justification by faith that the Old Covenant prophets and saints looked for in faith but never received. It was the promise whereby those who had struggled to live righteously under the burden of the 613 laws of the Old Covenant, would be made righteous by an imputation of righteousness by God because of the sacrificial death of Christ on their behalf."
Harold loves Jesus, knows the Bible, and walks closely with the Lord. He is now an octogenarian, but his wit, wisdom, and youthful outlook remain steady. One night in my home, as he shared the Scriptures with us, I felt a great sense of peace and the presence of the Lord. I expect we will experience the same in my interview with him today.
Is Christ God's everything for you? Have you accepted Him as your personal Savior and Lord? Do you have an intimate relationship with Him? Harold writes, "All the things that God has for us in this life are contained in Christ, and all things that God has for us through the endless ages of eternity are also contained in Christ, for He himself is all of those things. In Heaven as on Earth, there is nothing for us outside of Christ. He is God's everything for us here and will be God's everything for us there!"
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thomas Merton
In my last week of service with the U.S. Army I went to Bardstown, Kentucky, for a retreat at the Trappist Monastery--the Abbey of Gethsemani. This is where Thomas Merton spent a good portion of his life. I was there when he was there.
I appreciate the insights he left behind in his many books, most of which I've read. Many people seem to have problems with him, but I think we can derive much from his wisdom.
For example, he said, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up."
Meditation and contemplation were important elements in his life, and they should be in ours too.
He wrote the following about the spiritual life: "The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived. Like all life, it grows sick and dies when it is uprooted from its proper element. . . . We live as spiritual [people] when we live as [people] seeking God. If we are to become spiritual, we must remain [human]. And if there were not evidence of this everywhere in theology, the Mystery of the Incarnation itself would be ample proof of it. . . .Jesus lived the ordinary life of the men of His time, in order to sanctify the ordinary lives of men of all time. If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives. Let us not fear the responsibilities and the inevitable distractions of the work appointed for us by the will of God. Let us embrace reality and thus find ourselves immersed in the life-giving will and wisdom of God which surrounds us everywhere.
This reminds me of some of the things Saint Francis said. It also reminds me of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's words: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Merton wrote, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up." I'm sure he's write about this. We need to seek God's grace for every aspect of our physical and spiritual lives.
Trappists in those days greatly fascinated me. They had a vow of silence that only permitted them to use a sign language that they had developed. They used their voices to sing and to praise God, not to judge others or speak negatively.
I need to be more like them, and I'm sure spending more time in prayer, meditation, and contemplation, as Merton did, will help me with this.
I appreciate the insights he left behind in his many books, most of which I've read. Many people seem to have problems with him, but I think we can derive much from his wisdom.
For example, he said, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up."
Meditation and contemplation were important elements in his life, and they should be in ours too.
He wrote the following about the spiritual life: "The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived. Like all life, it grows sick and dies when it is uprooted from its proper element. . . . We live as spiritual [people] when we live as [people] seeking God. If we are to become spiritual, we must remain [human]. And if there were not evidence of this everywhere in theology, the Mystery of the Incarnation itself would be ample proof of it. . . .Jesus lived the ordinary life of the men of His time, in order to sanctify the ordinary lives of men of all time. If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives. Let us not fear the responsibilities and the inevitable distractions of the work appointed for us by the will of God. Let us embrace reality and thus find ourselves immersed in the life-giving will and wisdom of God which surrounds us everywhere.
This reminds me of some of the things Saint Francis said. It also reminds me of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's words: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Merton wrote, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up." I'm sure he's write about this. We need to seek God's grace for every aspect of our physical and spiritual lives.
Trappists in those days greatly fascinated me. They had a vow of silence that only permitted them to use a sign language that they had developed. They used their voices to sing and to praise God, not to judge others or speak negatively.
I need to be more like them, and I'm sure spending more time in prayer, meditation, and contemplation, as Merton did, will help me with this.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Our Teacher and Counselor
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8, NASB).
God is our teacher and our counselor, and His eye is always upon us. We must be open to His instruction, teaching, and counsel--all of which are declared in His Word.
Here is how Paul Tournier put it, "God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failings and mistakes. He often starts us off to the left, only to bring us up in the end to the right; or else He brings us back to the right, after a long detour, because we started off by mistake to the left in the belief we were obeying Him. He leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterwards, as we look back over the way we have come and reconsider certain important moments in our lives in the light of all that has followed them, or when we survey the whole progress of our lives, do we experience the feeling of having been led without knowing it, the feeling that God has mysteriously guided us."
How true this is. When we survey our lives, we see how the hand of God has steered our course, and we begin to understand how much He loves us. He is the God who is always there. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He loves us with an everlasting love, and He takes good care of us, because we are His property.
Thomas Merton said, "We must learn to realize that the love of God seeks us in every situation, and seeks our good."
How true. He cares about you, and you can cast all your cares upon Him. He will lead you and guide you, and His eye is always upon you.
God is our teacher and our counselor, and His eye is always upon us. We must be open to His instruction, teaching, and counsel--all of which are declared in His Word.
Here is how Paul Tournier put it, "God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failings and mistakes. He often starts us off to the left, only to bring us up in the end to the right; or else He brings us back to the right, after a long detour, because we started off by mistake to the left in the belief we were obeying Him. He leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterwards, as we look back over the way we have come and reconsider certain important moments in our lives in the light of all that has followed them, or when we survey the whole progress of our lives, do we experience the feeling of having been led without knowing it, the feeling that God has mysteriously guided us."
How true this is. When we survey our lives, we see how the hand of God has steered our course, and we begin to understand how much He loves us. He is the God who is always there. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He loves us with an everlasting love, and He takes good care of us, because we are His property.
Thomas Merton said, "We must learn to realize that the love of God seeks us in every situation, and seeks our good."
How true. He cares about you, and you can cast all your cares upon Him. He will lead you and guide you, and His eye is always upon you.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sources of Irritation
What do you do when someone or something gets under your skin? Are you able to let it go, forgive, and get on with your life? Or do you stew about it until it affects your entire life?
Here's what I do: I envision helium-filled baloons!
I release these "helium-filled baloons" into the sky with the name of the offending person or the situation on it. I simply let them go heavenward.
I watch them lift into the sky and then vanish, and I imagine that my source of irritation has vanished with them.
This is a letting-go-and-letting-God process. It's not easy, but it is practical.
Spurgeon wrote, "The tender heart of Jesus waits to hear your griefs, so tell Him now."
Here's what I do: I envision helium-filled baloons!
I release these "helium-filled baloons" into the sky with the name of the offending person or the situation on it. I simply let them go heavenward.
I watch them lift into the sky and then vanish, and I imagine that my source of irritation has vanished with them.
This is a letting-go-and-letting-God process. It's not easy, but it is practical.
Spurgeon wrote, "The tender heart of Jesus waits to hear your griefs, so tell Him now."
Thursday, August 19, 2010
In Everything Give Thanks
I believe the year was 1969. I was attending the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International Convention at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. It was a wonderful time of infilling as I sat under the ministry of such notables as Kathryn Kuhlman and Merlin Carothers.
Carothers was still a chaplain in the U.S. Army at that time, and his book, Prison to Praise, had just been released by Logos International Fellowship (our predecessor). The publisher of the book was Dan Malachuk, who was also a prominent figure at the convention.
I remember Merlin's teaching so well. It was very simple, yet direct. He spoke on this verse: "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV). He told of many soldiers and their families that he had counseled to thank God for what they were going through, including divorce, sickness, depression, etc.
I remember Terry Law writing about the death of his wife, a loss so great that he was thrown into the deepest depression. (It happened while Terry was ministering in Europe, and he could not understand why God would let something so terrible happen.) He went to his mentor, Oral Roberts, who told him to go home, get on his knees, and begin praising God. He did this for a long time until the spiritual breakthrough he needed finally came.
We are told to give thanks in everything, not necessarily for everything. Such a positive attitude and response to negative circumstances, no matter what they are, is more than medicinal in its effects.
Can you do this in your present circumstances. Are you able to thank God in spite of the situation. Begin praising Him, for He promises to inhabit your praises. An attitude of gratitude sweetens every bitter situation.
Carothers was still a chaplain in the U.S. Army at that time, and his book, Prison to Praise, had just been released by Logos International Fellowship (our predecessor). The publisher of the book was Dan Malachuk, who was also a prominent figure at the convention.
I remember Merlin's teaching so well. It was very simple, yet direct. He spoke on this verse: "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV). He told of many soldiers and their families that he had counseled to thank God for what they were going through, including divorce, sickness, depression, etc.
I remember Terry Law writing about the death of his wife, a loss so great that he was thrown into the deepest depression. (It happened while Terry was ministering in Europe, and he could not understand why God would let something so terrible happen.) He went to his mentor, Oral Roberts, who told him to go home, get on his knees, and begin praising God. He did this for a long time until the spiritual breakthrough he needed finally came.
We are told to give thanks in everything, not necessarily for everything. Such a positive attitude and response to negative circumstances, no matter what they are, is more than medicinal in its effects.
Can you do this in your present circumstances. Are you able to thank God in spite of the situation. Begin praising Him, for He promises to inhabit your praises. An attitude of gratitude sweetens every bitter situation.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Upheavals Everywhere
I'm starting to dislike reading the daily newspaper and listening to news broadcasts on radio and TV. I suspect many people feel the same way. I actually find this surprising, because I used to be rather a news "junkie," if you will, and political science was a study I always enjoyed.
Certainly there are all kinds of upheavals taking place all over the world these days. Disturbing news, to say the least. Many of these are coming in the form of violent natural disasters that appear to be more intense than usual, and they are coming in various forms--earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, wildfires, intense heat, etc.
Many do not believe in global warming, but I think there's plenty of evidence to support it--ice islands in the sea that have broken off from glaciers, islands that are being engulfed, wildfires that are caused by intense heat. (Russia, for example, has been going through a heat wave that is hotter than anything they've experienced in the last millennium.)
When God told us to take authority over this planet, I'm quite sure He did not want us to pollute the water and the air, to spill oil into the beautiful seas (such as the Gulf of Mexico), to strip mine the beautiful mountains of Appalachia, or to cut down so many trees. I think He may be judging us for the poor way we've maintained His creation.
I also see human upheavals everywhere. There seems to be so much hate in our world. People are angry, and their anger flares up in unpredictable ways. People are killing babies and abusing children. Road rage and other rants are commonplace. On-the-job shootings seem to happen on a near-weekly basis. Religious hatred and bigotry are showing there ugly heads once more, as they have throughout world history.
It is time for a change, for a transition, for a spiritual awakening. We need to remember that things are not all that important. Money is not the reason for living.
Paul wrote, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6, NIV). Where is there faith and love in mob violence and terrorism? We don't fight terrorism with hate and terrorism. Doesn't the Bible say we are to overcome evil with good?
It's all about love, and I think until we learn that lesson, we are doomed to more of the same. But my biggest concern is that "the same" will turn into a monster that is uglier and more horrendous than any of us have ever imagined.
Jesus said (and this is the Supreme Commandment): "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35, NIV).
Certainly there are all kinds of upheavals taking place all over the world these days. Disturbing news, to say the least. Many of these are coming in the form of violent natural disasters that appear to be more intense than usual, and they are coming in various forms--earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, wildfires, intense heat, etc.
Many do not believe in global warming, but I think there's plenty of evidence to support it--ice islands in the sea that have broken off from glaciers, islands that are being engulfed, wildfires that are caused by intense heat. (Russia, for example, has been going through a heat wave that is hotter than anything they've experienced in the last millennium.)
When God told us to take authority over this planet, I'm quite sure He did not want us to pollute the water and the air, to spill oil into the beautiful seas (such as the Gulf of Mexico), to strip mine the beautiful mountains of Appalachia, or to cut down so many trees. I think He may be judging us for the poor way we've maintained His creation.
I also see human upheavals everywhere. There seems to be so much hate in our world. People are angry, and their anger flares up in unpredictable ways. People are killing babies and abusing children. Road rage and other rants are commonplace. On-the-job shootings seem to happen on a near-weekly basis. Religious hatred and bigotry are showing there ugly heads once more, as they have throughout world history.
It is time for a change, for a transition, for a spiritual awakening. We need to remember that things are not all that important. Money is not the reason for living.
Paul wrote, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6, NIV). Where is there faith and love in mob violence and terrorism? We don't fight terrorism with hate and terrorism. Doesn't the Bible say we are to overcome evil with good?
It's all about love, and I think until we learn that lesson, we are doomed to more of the same. But my biggest concern is that "the same" will turn into a monster that is uglier and more horrendous than any of us have ever imagined.
Jesus said (and this is the Supreme Commandment): "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35, NIV).
Friday, August 13, 2010
Jesus
This morning I met the author of a book that is entitled, The Jesus Book, which I am now reading. As its title would suggest, it is a book that is simply about Jesus.
There can be no better topic in the world, and it may well be that many Christians have lost sight of the importance of maintaining a close and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The author of The Jesus Book is Michael Koulianos, and he writes, "Loving Jesus is life's greatest achievement. It is a never-ending experience that will change you forever. Jesus does not just help us find our destination, He is the destination."
The Bible says that Jesus is: ". . . the way, the truth, and the life" and no one can come to the Father unless they do so through Him. (See John 14:6.) He is the way, and He is the destination. He is everything that is important in life.
I'm glad that Michael is calling us back to Jesus. Without Him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things.
I remember so vividly the day when I first gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I invited Him to come into my heart and sup with me. He wants to have fellowship with you and me. He lives within us, and as we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.
I love Jesus, and I know He loves me. Jesus loves you, as well, so be sure to open your heart to Him, listen for His voice, and act upon what He tells you. He will direct you in all your ways.
Michael Koulianos says, "It is so simple. Please, never make it more complicated than 'love.' In your darkest moments, whisper His Name and He will be there. Only say, 'Jesus, I love you.'"
There can be no better topic in the world, and it may well be that many Christians have lost sight of the importance of maintaining a close and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The author of The Jesus Book is Michael Koulianos, and he writes, "Loving Jesus is life's greatest achievement. It is a never-ending experience that will change you forever. Jesus does not just help us find our destination, He is the destination."
The Bible says that Jesus is: ". . . the way, the truth, and the life" and no one can come to the Father unless they do so through Him. (See John 14:6.) He is the way, and He is the destination. He is everything that is important in life.
I'm glad that Michael is calling us back to Jesus. Without Him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things.
I remember so vividly the day when I first gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I invited Him to come into my heart and sup with me. He wants to have fellowship with you and me. He lives within us, and as we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.
I love Jesus, and I know He loves me. Jesus loves you, as well, so be sure to open your heart to Him, listen for His voice, and act upon what He tells you. He will direct you in all your ways.
Michael Koulianos says, "It is so simple. Please, never make it more complicated than 'love.' In your darkest moments, whisper His Name and He will be there. Only say, 'Jesus, I love you.'"
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