LOL! (Philippians 4)

LOL! (Philippians 4)

Philippians 4.4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [niv]

In recent years some medical doctors have used "laugh therapy" with their patients. I heard a story about a lady who was healed through laughter. Her doctor prescribed a steady diet of "The Three Stooges." She was instructed to watch the videos of their old films as much as possible. It worked. She actually laughed her way to health. Although there is not a lot of scientific proof when it comes to laughter as a medicine, researchers are gathering evidence that the way we feel can directly affect chemicals in our bodies, influencing everything from our brain to our heart. Laughter is thought to decrease stress and lower blood pressure. It may even increase blood flow and act as a natural pain killer.

Even though this is a relatively new and unknown frontier in modern medical science, King Solomon wrote about it thousands of years ago in Proverbs. "A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones."

The Bible says a lot about joy and laughter. As I have been reading, the one thing that God has been speaking to me over an over again is the fact that the source of my joy is not found in what I own, who I know, how much money I have or how healthy I feel. I could be walking through hell on earth, yet according to scripture, still be able to lift my hands, sing and rejoice!

The source of my joy is God. He is good. He is full of grace and love. I find that when I put my trust in Him, even when things don't make sense, I still have peace. I view life from a different perspective. I see things how He sees them and I am able to laugh in the face of adversity.

The Apostle Paul knew this better than anyone. He was whipped, beaten, tortured, shipwrecked, imprisoned, falsely accused and suffered illness, yet through it all was able to rejoice. Amazingly he even wrote this verse while imprisoned in a damp, dark, cold, rat infested Roman jail cell.

The trick of the enemy is to keep us focused on the things around us, because he knows that when we do that, we take our eyes off God and off the source of joy. Eventually our strength will fail and we will fall.

How he must hate it when a Christian stands up against all odds and lifts their hands and voice to praise their God and laughs out loud! I want to be that person!

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The Bravest Loser! (Galatians 5)

The Bravest Loser! (Galatians 5)

Galatians 5.1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. [nkjv]

Eric Choppin was 36 years old and 407 pounds when he got the call from NBC to say he was a contestant on Season 3 of the Biggest Loser. He had struggled most of his life to overcome his battle with obesity and this was the chance of a lifetime to finally walk free. It was literally now a matter of life or death as he had been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and a variety of weight related medical conditions.

He worked hard and with the help of his trainers, Eric managed to lose 214 pounds in 12 weeks, making him that season's Biggest Loser. However once the show was over and the cameras were switched off, Eric struggled to maintain his new weight. Over the months which followed, he gained 122 pounds! Feeling ashamed, he did his best to avoid the media by using older photograph's of himself on Facebook and myspace, and even turned down an offer to appear on Oprah with the other Biggest Loser contestants.

In January, Eric could no longer live a lie. He accepted a second invitation by Oprah to share his story and struggle. Many were shocked by how far he had fallen. During the interview he candidly admitted his failure, he apologised to those he had let down and made a fresh commitment to continue his battle to overcome obesity.

I've come to greatly admire people like Eric. People who refuse to give up despite failure.

I wish more Christians had this same tenacity. So many of us keep getting caught out by the same temptations over and over again. After years of falling down, we see ourselves as weak and powerless.

But the truth remains, Jesus has paid the price so we can be free. This doesn't give us a green light to sin but it does mean that if we fall, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So we have a choice to make, do we admit defeat and stay down or are we brave enough to get back up, dust ourselves off, place both feet firmly on the ground and continue the fight.

Someone once said, "the secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage."

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An Elephant Never Forgets! (Galatians 4)

An Elephant Never Forgets! (Galatians 4)

Galatians 4.7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. [nkjv]

The African elephant is the largest land animal in the world. In 1956, the largest elephant ever recorded was found in Angola, weighing in at 12,000 kilograms, with a shoulder height of 14 feet! These enormous creatures have incredible strength. In Africa elephants routinely knock over entire trees just to get to the tender branches they like to eat. In India, angry elephant herds have been known to push railway trains off their tracks!

I find it totally amazing that such a powerful animal could ever find itself in captivity. Yet we see them all the time in circuses and zoos all around the world. Despite how incredibly powerful these animals are, they have a weakness. You see, an elephant never forgets!

When an elephant is young, each night it is tied to a tree with a strong chain around its foot. The baby elephant wants to roam and struggles instinctively with all its might to be free, yet because of its small size and weight cannot break the chain. After many nights of struggle and failure, this defeat is etched into the young elephant's mind and they no longer resist.

When the elephant is fully grown, it can be tied with just a small rope to a stake. This powerful 12,000 kilogram animal could easily break free from it captivity yet its mind has been conditioned through its past experiences to believe resistance is futile. So it doesn't even make an attempt!

God's Word tells me that I have been forgiven of all my sins and washed clean by the blood of Jesus. It says I am a new creation. I have been made righteous. I am more than a conquerer, I can do all things and that when God is for me who can stand against me.

It says that I was once a slave to sin but Jesus has set me free.

Yet despite His complete work at Calvary, we often allow our past experiences to hold us captive. We still think like slaves when God calls us sons!

And we wonder why our Christian walk lacks power.

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Nightmare on Swan St 2: Cathy's Revenge

Nightmare on Swan St 2: Cathy's Revenge

Honesty.

I hate it. It terrifies me. I think it terrifies most of us. The very thought of opening up yourself to another and telling all, can send even the bravest of us into a cold sweat.

When Cath first told me she wanted to write a book about our marriage, I was gripped by pure terror, something I hadn’t experienced since watching “Nightmare on Elm St” as a teenager.

What made it worse was that I was driving at the time. There was no escape. All of a sudden I realised too late that this must have been part of her master plan.

I was trapped…cornered…no way out!

This was one of those conversations where I had to participate. I had to say something other than the usual, “that’s nice dear.” She was baring her dreams to me, trusting me with something she hadn’t shared with anyone else. She was making herself vulnerable and scaring me to death.

No words came. My throat was dry.

Say something you idiot! Anything!

Sharing our personal struggles with someone in a counselling situation was one thing but to let the whole world into our bedroom, our personal space, was another.

Were we even ready for that?

I had shared my story publicly on a few occasions, but never really anything that had to do with our marriage.

On the outside I came across calm, composed and collected, all the time constantly checking my facial expression in the rear vision mirror to make sure I maintained my well rehearsal and well used “interested face”. On the inside, that was a different story. Fear wasn’t just speaking to me, it was yelling!

“WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY! WHAT WOULD PEOPLE THINK?”

More specifically, what would people think about ME?

After all, I am the villain in this story. The bad guy! The one with all the problems. I wasn’t the knight in shining armour who rescued the poor damsel in distress and swept her off her feet. I was the other guy. The one who locked the poor damsel in the tower in the first place.

All I could think about was people’s reaction and how that would affect me.

As in all life and death situations, I found myself thrust into a time of prayer. Urgent prayer! There was no time to go through the standard formula I usually practiced in my prayer life. No time to thank God for His provision or repent of some newly discovered sin.

This was the prayer of a desperate man, trapped and terrified. “HELP! Please God, don’t let Cath see the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Please God help me keep the car on the road!”

I could see her lips moving but I wasn’t listening. She could have been saying anything for all I cared, I just kept nodding my head like I thought this was the best idea she had ever had. I had to keep the illusion of being the supportive husband alive, after all this may end up in the book!

Was that a green light?

Focus.

Keep driving, keep nodding, keep praying, keep trying to wipe away the sweat without her noticing.

I had to push past this. After all we had faced some huge obstacles in our marriage. These were the obstacles you don’t often hear about or read about.

Maybe it’s time. Maybe we were ready.

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God Uses Mistakes (1 Samuel 3)

God Uses Mistakes (1 Samuel 3)

1 Samuel 3.10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel answered, 'Speak, for Your servant hears' [nkjv]

Every time God called Samuel, Samuel thinking it was Eli, responded incorrectly. But the great thing was he at least responded. How many times does God speak to us through His Word and we do nothing!

Fear and doubt give way to procrastination and insecurity. We question 'was that really God or just me?' We worry about the consequences of stepping in the wrong direction. 'What if it all blows up in my face?' 'What if I step out of the will of God?' And all that happens is that we remain right where we are, we miss an opportunity and end up doing nothing.

But like Samuel, even if we step out in the wrong direction, God can cause us to discover the right way through our mistakes! There are so many scriptures which come to mind which reinforce the truth that God is faithful and He will lead and guide me even when I make a mistake.

He persists with us. I heard a preacher say once that God is the God of the second chance. I don't know where I would be today if God hadn't persisted with me. He is patient and kind.

Lord please help me be a man of action. Direct my steps today and even if I make a mistake and wander from the right path, please lead and guide me back to the place you want me to walk.

What was God showing you in this chapter?

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