Feeling Forgotten

Have you ever felt forgotten? Maybe your Mom or Dad forgot to pick you up from school one time; or your spouse forgot to call you when he was away on a business trip. Maybe you are going through something right now that makes you feel God has forgotten about you. You pray, you read your Bible, you go to church. But NOTHING. No response from Him.

In Psalm 13 David cries out “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?“

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. And if you haven’t, you will. Every follower of Christ will have struggles in their lives, and that’s when many of us will feel like God has forgotten us. But God NEVER forgets us. His plans are sometimes beyond our understanding, but they are always good. The struggles we endure make us stronger by drawing us closer to Him.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT).

At the end of Psalm 13, anticipating God to move on his behalf, David still has the faith to say: “But I TRUST in your UNFAILING LOVE. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because He is GOOD to me.” (Psalm 13:5, 6 NLT)

Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church told a story of a time when he thought his wife and friends forgot his birthday, only to find out they were planning a wonderful surprise party for him! No telling what God has in store for us on the other side of whatever it is we’re going through right now, but take courage in the fact that He is with you…ALWAYS!!

Logical Fear

​I have always struggled with the concept of fearing God. Why should I fear someone who loves me unconditionally? Until recently, I classified it as an Old Testament concept, like the law. We have Jesus so we no longer have to fear God, right?

​But the more I read my Bible, the more I realize my thinking was wrong. It seems contradictory to both love and fear someone, but the Creator of the Universe is no regular someone. God knows all and sees all, all of the time. He has always been and always will be. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and we will never comprehend him completely.

​Fire is a good example of something we need but should have a healthy fear and respect for. Is it a coincidence that God is referred to as a “devouring fire” by the writer of Hebrews? Remember the burning bush? A healthy fear of God is necessary for a healthy relationship with Him. If we fear and respect His ultimate power in our lives He will give us hope, and a faith that is stronger than we can imagine.

The Enthusiasm of a Child

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, our family goes to the same little place every year to get a “real, live” Christmas tree. We bring it home and decorate it that evening. Our kids are 6 and 8 this year so my wife and I are trying to make sure they understand the true meaning of Christmas. This is no easy task with the commercialism they see everywhere, especially all of the Christmas specials on TV.

I mentioned wanting to read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke to them sometime this season. The next morning Sarah, my six year old comes downstairs carrying my bible ready to read. We started in Luke chapter 1. I would read a paragraph, and then she would read one. In first grade she is learning about punctuation: periods, commas, quotation marks, and exclamation points. She is supposed to read it the way it would really sound.

She was reading when we got to verse 28:

Gabriel appeared to her [Mary] and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28).

She reads this verse with so much enthusiasm it kind of takes me by surprise. She didn’t stop reading until we got to verse 56! She was so excited to hear how Mary found out she was going to be the mother of Jesus! I’ve read or heard this story so many times I had forgotten how amazing it is. Jesus tells us in Mark 10: “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15 NLT)

I needed to be reminded that the real magic of Christmas is that God sent his son to earth through an innocent young girl to be born in a stable, live among regular people, die for our sins, and then rise again to rule the entire universe! Now that’s something to be excited about!!

Horizon

So, are you a “beach” person or a “mountain” person? I like both the beach AND the mountains, but I tend to be more of a beach person, having spent so much time there growing up. What about time of day; are you a “morning” person or a “night” person?  I am a morning person now, but when I was younger, I was definitely a night person.

Now I LOVE mornings! Everyone else is asleep, so it’s just me and God. I get my best reading done before the sun even comes up.

One of the things I look forward to when we go to the beach is getting up just before sunrise, donning my running clothes and shoes, and going for a run on the beach as the sun hits the horizon. It is spectacular anytime, but especially on a clear day. Sun rising, waves crashing, dolphins playing, and pelicans diving for breakfast. I can almost taste the salt air as a type. Watching the sun come up, seemingly out of the ocean itself, reminds me how truly small I am, but more importantly, how truly BIG God is.

Job 26 tells us:

“God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing… He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night… By his power the sea grew calm… His Spirit made the heavens beautiful…”

“These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?” Job 26:7-14

The next time you are at the beach, or the mountains, whether it is morning or evening, look at the world around you and BE ENCOURAGED. If He can do all of this, He can handle anything you can throw at Him. HE PROMISES!

Look who’s Praying for you…

Prayer was always a struggle for me. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it or even when to say it. When I was a kid I memorized a “before meal” prayer and a “before bed” prayer, but I never really felt like I was talking to God. I mostly did it for my parents, and not very often.

A few years ago someone taught me that God already knows what is in our hearts. He knows exactly what we need long before we need it. He wants what is best for us, which rarely coincides with what we want. And He wants us to talk to Him as if He is the perfect father, which He is–our Heavenly Father.

And….we don’t have to speak in King James english for Him to understand us. Thank God, right?

And then I stumbled across this verse from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:26-27 NLT

The Holy Spirit really prays for me?

Not only that, but pleads for me?

And God listens?

Now that is amazing!!

The Courage of a Six year old

Recently, my six year old daughter had her tonsils removed. Before that happened though, she had a sleep study to determine how much of an effect her “enormous” tonsils were having on the quality of her sleep. It was bad enough to require a trip to the ear, nose, and throat specialist. He looked at her tonsils, and just said, “Wow”. I remember listening to the doctor describe the procedure for her tonsil surgery to us and thinking maybe she shouldn’t hear some of this because he’s scaring me, and I’m not even having the surgery!

Leading up to the surgery she asked lots of questions, got a little scared a few times, but her mommy and I were always there to assure her that everything was going to be ok. We told her the doctor had done this lots of times before, that she would sleep better and feel better afterwards, and it would all be worth it. The night before the surgery she couldn’t wait to go to bed so she could get up the next morning and go get her tonsils out. I on the other hand spent most of the night before having an almost continuous conversation with God about keeping my baby girl safe–please, oh please don’t let anything happen to her!

The morning of the surgery we were brought back to the prep area to get her ready: dressed in her hospital gown, vitals taken, and special instructions. She was so unbelievably BRAVE, and I was on the edge of tears because of worry! She’s sitting there happy as can be, without a worry in the world, coloring a picture of Ariel, the little Mermaid!

As I was sitting in the waiting room praying AGAIN, it hit me! The reason she was so brave is because she COMPLETELY TRUSTED her parents. When we told her not to be afraid, that everything would be okay, she BELIEVED us. How amazing is that! I get reminded of how important it is to trust in God by my six year old daughter!

God tells us not to be afraid 365 times in the Bible. He tells us to trust Him for ALL of our needs. I think sometimes, as an adult, we are so tainted by our so called “knowledge” of things that we forget that God can be trusted even in the smallest of things. We just need to remember….every single day! And sometimes that reminder comes from the unlikeliest of places. I love being a daddy!!!

And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:30-33 NLT

What if….?

“What if…” Two tiny little words with so much meaning. The phrases that follow these two little words can be either negative or positive. Here are a few that pop into my head from time to time:

• What if…. something happens to my wife?
• What if…. something happens to my children?
• What if…. I lose my job?
• What if…. I get cancer?

Or maybe…

• What if…. this is a winning lottery ticket?
• What if…. I get that promotion?
• What if…. she says “yes”? (ok, this one is for someone else I know)
• What if…. we were debt free? (This is my favorite!)

I’m sure we could all think of many more on both sides, but let’s take it to a different level. Let’s look at a MUCH bigger “What if….”

Have you ever heard of Blaise Pascal? No, not Pascal the chameleon from the Disney movie Tangled. This Pascal was a 17th century physicist, mathematician, and philosopher. For you engineers and scientists out there, you had to memorize his equation: P1V1=P2V2. That was Pascal! Cool, huh? Ok, maybe not.

Blaise Pascal is famous for more than just physics and math though. Maybe you’ve heard of Pascal’s Wager.

Basically, Pascal asked, “What if…. GOD exists?” And by extension (because he was a Christian), what if Jesus exists (and is who the Bible says He is)?

He laid it out something like this:

EVERYONE has a decision to make on the existence of God. It’s NOT optional. There is no middle position. He called it a wager or bet.

If you choose to believe in God, and it turns out to be true, you have gained EVERYTHING: heaven, eternal life, a life of purpose here on earth. If it turns out not to be true, what have you lost? NOTHING.

However, if you choose NOT to believe in God, and it turns out to be true, what have you lost? EVERYTHING! If it turns out not to be true, what have you lost? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

I am not trying to diminish this life changing decision down to a coin toss. I am trying to show that it is a lot less complicated than we try to make it, AND significantly MORE IMPORTANT than we realize.

Ok. Let’s take it up one more level. To use a phrase my Pastor likes to use, “this might sting some” of you Moms and Dads. What kind of influence do your values and beliefs have on your children, and the decisions they are making or going to make as they get older? I would bet quite a bit. And rightly so. You are their parents, and you want the best for them. Here’s where it’s gonna sting….it’s one thing to wager your own life, but another thing entirely to wager someone else’s. Ouch!

One more thought: I would “wager” that it takes way more FAITH to believe that this all happened by accident than to believe that a loving God created it for the humans He created in His image. So, if you are waiting for every intellectual question you have about God, Jesus, the Bible, heaven, hell, etc. to get answered, I can tell you from experience, it’s NOT going to happen. I still struggle with all sorts of unanswered questions. But I choose to believe because something I can’t explain deep inside me tells me it’s true. I am still a work-in-progress, and always will be, but  because I choose to TRUST something that I can’t see or explain, I am forever changed, and that’s good enough for me.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 (NLT)

Forgetfulness

I have a memory problem, also known as forgetfulness. Remember Dory from the Disney movie Finding Nemo? She was the one with “short term memory loss”? That’s my problem too. I can usually remember the little things like where I left my keys, or where I parked my car. Although there were a couple of times in my reckless youth when I forgot both the next morning, but that is another story. I’m also pretty good at remembering insignificant things unless you are in a trivia contest, like baseball statistics, quotes from movies, lyrics from old songs, etc.

It’s the really important stuff that I tend to forget. Here is a short list that is surely incomplete because of the aforementioned forgetfulness:

• My wife: all too often I forget how hard it is to take care of the kids, the house, volunteer at church and at school, plan and prepare meals, work part time for her dad, and the hundred other things she does every week. I sometimes need to be reminded that she occasionally has a rough day, and that the best way to respond is with understanding and help, not try to solve her problems as I am prone to do. I also need to not only tell her I love her, but more importantly SHOW her through my actions.
• My children: I forget how fast they are growing up, and that I need to cherish every single moment I have with them, because before I can blink, they will be teenagers, and shortly after that off to college and their own independent lives. I need to tell them and show them how much I love them. I need to teach them about God and Jesus and eventually, how to change a flat tire. I need to do whatever it takes to help them understand that how they feel about themselves should NEVER EVER be tied to what other people think about them. And I need to tell them how proud I am of them, and how much I love them every day.
• My parents & sisters: I forget to thank my mom and dad for raising me, and enduring the stress-filled years when I was living under their roof as a testosterone-filled teen. I forget to apologize to my baby sisters for enduring the almost continuous aggravation I gave them when they deserved so much better. But mostly I forget to call them on a regular basis just to say “hi”, and “I love you” and to make sure they are ok.

Basically,  I forget how blessed I am in every aspect of my life.

Amazingly enough, I will be half a century old in September. How did that happen?!? I’m seriously surprised I survived that “reckless youth” I mentioned earlier!! God must have a plan for me because He managed to keep me alive when it could have easily gone the other way.

Which brings me to my final and most important point:

I think many of us forget that God is ALWAYS good. God ALWAYS keeps his promises. God LOVES us even when we aren’t being very lovable. God can and should be TRUSTED with every aspect of our lives. And God does things that we will never understand, but everything He does is out of an UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for us tiny little humans. Lord, please help me to remember the important things, especially when it comes to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Anyone else have a “memory” problem?

Too Good to be True (Not Rocket Science part 2)

Have you ever heard the old adage: “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true”? Well, as you know, it almost always holds true. Let me tell you a real life story about how I got to learn this lesson the hard way.

A few weeks ago, shortly after Mother’s Day, Lori asked me what I would like for Father’s Day. She was in a particularly good mood because she had just received her new iPad 2. I said in a somewhat joking manner that I would really like new irons. We agreed on a budget for said irons, and I proceeded to look for some good used irons because my “budget” wasn’t enough to get new ones. No problem. I don’t have a problem with used as long as they’re in good shape. So in to Edwin Watts (formerly Golf Headquarters) I went, to see what they had on their used rack. Not much. The night before this we had been at my parents house, and while there my dad tells me the best irons on the market, in his opinion, are the TaylorMade Burner 2.0. So I stroll over to the TaylorMade rack and look at these particular irons. They were absolutely beautiful, and for $800, they should be! I asked the sales guy: “what’s so special about these irons?”. He gets a great big smile on his face and says: “come with me”. We walk to the back of the store where he puts the Burner 2.0 six iron in my hand, and says: “hit a few into that net over there, and you’ll see what’s so special about these irons. And, by the way, these are the irons I use.” So I hit probably 30 or 40 shots into his net, and the more shots I hit the more I wanted them. This is NOT good! These are NOT in our budget! I explained this to the guy in some detail, and as you can imagine, his smile faded a bit. He did understand though, so I left without ever removing my wallet. Whew!!

That night I decided to see if I could find these magic clubs on the internet WITHIN our defined budget. And low and behold, there on the world wide web I found them for $314.99, free delivery and no tax. This sounds “too good to be true”! Yes, I actually said this to myself. Here’s kind of how it went in my head:

Foolish Scott: “But the website looks so professional, and the other prices look right?”

Wise Scott: “But the only way to contact them is through email or live chat; no phone number or address!”

Foolish Scott: “But the customer service lady on live chat assured me that they are the genuine Taylor Made irons.”

Wise Scott: “What is she gonna say, ‘You caught us; these are really counterfeits’! Moron!”

Foolish Scott: “But they are only $314.99!”

Wise Scott: “You just made my point, idiot!”

It continued on pretty much like that for a couple of days, and like a moron/idiot, the foolish side of me pulled out the wallet and made the deal. About a week later the brand new magic irons showed up on my doorstep. I was really excited because I was set to play golf the next day with my dad and one of my best customers.

The first problem I noticed was the shipping address–the one the clubs came from. The People’s Republic of China! Uh oh!! Not good. That nice customer service lady told me (actually, typed to me) that her company was located in the UK, as in United Kingdom. I examined the clubs very closely. They looked like the real thing–Taylor Made bags, engravings, etc. I carefully unwrapped each one and put them in my golf bag.

As I was putting my golf bag with my new irons in my trunk, my neighbor pulled into his driveway, noticed what I was doing, and asked where I had played today. I said that I didn’t play, I was just putting my new irons in my bag. He asked me what I bought. I told him about my Burner 2.0′s, and he proceeded to tell me I should have bought them from him because he is an Taylor Made dealer, and would have given them to me for $400. I told him how much I paid, and he said that was less than his cost. Another red flag. I told him my concern over the whole matter, and asked him to look at them to verify they were genuine. He took a look and immediately noticed a problem. He said he would check into it for me and get back to me. Crap!! Did I mention my neighbor is a PGA golf pro at The Woodlands Golf Club, and therefore knows what he is talking about? Double crap!!

Three days later he comes out to meet me in the driveway with a REAL TaylorMade Burner 2.0 seven iron. He says to get mine out for comparison. As soon as we put them side by side it was obvious–I had been had! Crap! I immediately called my credit card company to report it. They recommended I call PayPal, so I did. They initiated an investigation, and told me it would take 10 days to complete. The 10 days were up yesterday (June 3rd). Last night I received an email stating that the full amount of $314.99 would be credited back to my account within the next 5 business days!!!! Woohoo!!! Yes, I am lucky (blessed is probably more appropriate)! It could easily have gone the other way, and if it had, I would have gotten exactly what I deserved.

Lessons Learned:

1. What I did was foolish. I ignored my gut instinct telling me it was “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE” and did it anyway. As I described at the end of previous post, Not Rocket Science, I tossed that stone right smack dab into the middle of that Spring.
2. Grace is a wonderful thing. In this case I received something I didn’t deserve. My money back. In reality, I should have been penalized for my foolishness, but thank God, I wasn’t!!
3. The thing is, I really don’t need new irons. As little as I play golf, I am fine with what I have.

Have you ever ignored your gut telling you something was “too good to be true”? How did it work out for you?

“Not” Rocket Science

As I was reading through the Proverbs again, several truths hit me. First of all, not a single one of them is “rocket science”. In other words, everything in there is what is commonly known as common sense. If you’ve never read them, check it out, you’ll see for yourself.

Second of the truths is this: if the wisest man in Biblical history, the man who penned the Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes, can mess up his life beyond comprehension, then so can all of us “regular” people.

Let me briefly walk you through his story: Solomon was the son of King David. David was the guy who killed Goliath, wrote most of the Psalms, ran for his life from King Saul, then took over as king when Saul died. He was also called a man after God’s own heart. David also had a season of extremely unwise decisions. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. When she became pregnant, he called her husband back from the war in an effort to get him to sleep with her hoping he would think the child was his. When that didn’t work he sent him to his death on the front lines of battle. Read 2 Samuel 11 for the details.

Solomon was the second son of Bathsheba and David, so he started out with major family dysfunction. Sometime in his 20′s Solomon became king of Israel. Shortly after that he sacrificed 1000 burnt offerings. God was so pleased with Solomon’s sacrifice that He appeared to him in a dream:

God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” Solomon replied, “You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued your faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3: 5-9 (NLT)

God granted his request, giving him not only greater wisdom than any other, but great wealth and prosperity as well. Unfortunately, after a few years he forgot the source of his wisdom, and began making some very “unwise” decisions. He took wives from other nations, nations with false gods and idols. He turned from God and began worshiping these idols and false gods. In the end he accumulated 700 wives and 300 concubines, and his kingdom was ripped apart. With all of those women to contend with I’m not sure how he got anything else done. One is more than I can handle.

Final truth: for followers of Christ, the only source of wisdom is Jesus. Wisdom is like a spring flowing directly to us from God through Jesus. Every time we make a decision that is contrary to His teachings, it’s like tossing a stone into that stream while the Holy Spirit is trying His best to wrestle that stone from our hand. Sometimes the decisions we make are so foolish, it’s like rolling a boulder into that stream. The more we do this the more we dam up that spring, and the more we block the source of that wisdom. But here’s the thing, it’s a lot harder to do this if we stay close to the spring. Jesus reminds us of how critical this is in John 15:

“Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5b (NLT)

Heavenly Father, please help me to remember that you are the source of ALL wisdom. Each day, guide me as I make each and every decision. Thank you for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.