Blessings of Being Ill

Today I am ill. We all can relate to this. With aches, cough, and lack of energy I am pretty much at a stand still to other endeavors. Compounding the problems at hand I am also supposed to preach at a friend’s church in another state. Please don’t take me for a whiner; it is only the Nyquil talking.

After going to bed early, I awoke today somewhat rested. My first thoughts upon waking were how glad I am to have not pushed harder in getting things done yesterday. This incapacitation has caused me to slow down, forcing me to do a few things out of the ordinary that I count a blessing. These are things that I unfortunately often overlook in my self imposed business.

I found myself spending unobstructed time listening to God. It is odd that I so often have thought I was listening to God by reading, praying, and thinking. These are all good. But yesterday I had to simply be still. I often spend hours in Bible study, but here all other priorities and distractions were sequestered. In my darkened bedroom I simply relaxed and spent time reviewing promises of God. In this approach I clearly received an understanding of truth to be applied to several situations. Being still and not working fastidiously on the problems of the day proved to be a great experience. This is somehow going to have to become a new facet of my life.

When we look at blessings we are naturally being thankful. The outcropping of thankfulness I had yesterday for my daughter caring for me, for my wife laboring to supply me with food and drink and my boys being ever so quiet has imparted to me a season of thanksgiving. I am thankful we have medicines. That we have stores supplies with more than we need. Grateful I am for the technology of refrigeration for my ice cold juice and research that produced Nyquil. Thus I am reminded to pray for those crippled by the tsunami in Japan and for our forces fighting in Afghanistan. I am very grateful that several people have been praying for our family.

The third prominent blessing of being ill was I actually took a restful time to listen to music. I have become in the last two years a great fan of classical music. Many of the pieces have me envisioning the music as a backdrop score for biblical events. Gymnopedie No. 1 is a serene piece that has me meditating on the Lord being my shepherd. But I also spent time with one of my new favorites, the Together for the Gospel 08. It is a great collection of songs sung by about four thousand people all gathered to exalt God. By listening to “In Christ Alone” and “And Can It Be That I Should Gain” can find a person quickened in the soul to look with proper perspective on this world and that beyond. This alone is blessing enough.

Through this I realize, I was sick and did not know it. I am not referring to being physically ill. I was aching and lacking in spiritual energy. All this was being caused by too much world and not enough God. Thank you Lord, for allowing me this time of respite. May I learn and apply all that You have graciously allowed me to see.

Miscellaneous Ramblings, or better put Thoughts Upon Returning from a Prayer Retreat

Saints,

Thanks for praying for me and the pastors on the retreat.

Wow. What a great time. Every six months I have a great opportunity through our association to take a 24 hour prayer retreat. We travel to Lake Sallateeska and run from noon to noon for a time of rest, Biblical meditation, and prayer. Usually eight to twelve pastors participate in the time. I can truly say it is refreshing, encouraging, and equiping.

Being a bit of a drive from home I usually prepare a day ahead by praying for the time and the men involved. Then I select a few sermons to listen to along the way. This time I traveled with Ravi Zacharias and listened to his teaching entitled, The Spurious Glitter of Pantheism. Being that I have several Hindu friends and have been asked by them to read and understand their teachings, this message presented me with a blueprint of understanding. We can never stop learning if we want to seek to glorify God. My hope is to now use this instruction to be able to help them understand the authentic gospel as well as relate to them in a deeper way.

While fishing (I arrived a bit early in order to do so), I listened to R C Sproul. The things taught on Renewing Your Mind can help us to meditate. Going deeper with a text and the axioms of Christianity is a great way to encourage biblical meditation. Thus R C is always one of my favorites.

I mention Biblical Meditation, and some question what I mean. I loosely define biblical meditation as a fast from distraction with the purpose of drinking in the scriptures and truths of the scriptures in order to renew the mind and live more like Christ. Not being the brights bulb on the Christmas tree, I need help in jump starting my thoughts. Ravi Zacharias and R C Sproul are two of the living men of our day whom I find stimulating towards this need. A few others in that realm would be Michael Horton, C J Mahaney, John Piper, and Don Carson. Another to note of late is Jerry Bridges, his book Respectable Sins is working me over.

That being said, I mention the living guys, but proceed with caution. You never know how a man will finish the race. But the dear departed that I consider friends through their writings would include Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, J C Ryle, Richard Sibbs, Thomas Watson, Martyn Lloyd Jones, A W Tozer, and if I kept going I man never finish this update.

My thoughts take this trail because of a bible study we had on the retreat that involved the topics of Elisha, perseverance, and the value of ministry. We talked at length of the self getting in the way, of how to properly evaluate success, and the need for time with God. Out of the discussion came the question, "Was the death of Jim Elliot worthwhile?" (Jim Elliot and 4 others gave thier life in 1949 trying to reach the Auca Indians of Equador with the Gospel. Following their martyrdom, thousands have cited their sacrifice as a calling card for obedience to the mission field call.) We also talked of one of my favorites Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died in a Nazi prison and wrte the book The Cost of Discipleship. Thus the reminder to us all there is always a cost for discipleship, and though we co not see it now it is always worth it.

So it seems the lessons learned for this prayer retreat to be constantly remembered and practiced are these...

• Ministry is a messy business. It is costly.
• Because it is costly, and often the cost is life, it is supremely valuable.
• It gets its value from the glory of God. For anything to glorify God must not be for the glory of self.
• Thus those who lose their life for the Gospel actually save it.
  

The Bookends of the Day

As I seek to renew my mind I find that the critical points of reference tend to be the resting and awakening of each day. These bookends are full of opportunity. So here are a few meditative thoughts for introspection.

Morning Thoughts
• What must I praise God for?
• What are the battles facing me today?
• What temptations do I know that I am going to face?
• Who today needs prayer?
• What failures of yesterday do I need to confront today?
• Whom would the Lord have me share the gospel with?
• What does my memory verse mean?
• Whom today am I to encourage?


Evening Thoughts
• How has God revealed Himself during the day?
• What empowerment did God give me today in victories?
• How shall I praise Him, giving Him the glory lest I think it as being by my own merit?
• What areas have I failed in?
• Of what must I repent?
• What unexpected blessing came today? How have I shared this news?
• Did I praise Him, counting all things joy, even the disasters and torments of life?
• To whom did I show compassion?
• What decisions were made by waiting upon God for direction?
• How did the scripture reading from this morning compel me to walk with Christ?
• What have I complained about?
• Have I participated in gossip?

Awesomeness of God- To Do List

I love lists. SO here is a list I am working on at present for a study guide I am preparing for my church. In this guide I am looking for ways to get us to renew our mind and see the Awesomeness of God. Please do not copy this list without first gaining permission, thanks.

Things to do to see the Awesomeness of God

Prepare the heart.
Pray
Honestly look for God over all the world
Remember God’s plans throughout history.

Much of what we are doing here has to do with pausing and thinking, and looking long and insightful enough to see that which you have never seen. The awesomeness of God also causes us to express worship of God. Paul when writing about the cross and what Christ has done for us would break out into doxologies, such as found in Ephesians.


Stargaze. Get up early and watch, think, reflect.
Capture a sunrise on film.
Study a map of the world, especially where missionaries are, and the unreached.
Use a microscope
Use a magnifying glass on paper, leaves, an insect.
Observe animals in the wild.
Try to take an interesting photograph that displays the beauty of creation, see how many details you recognize for the first time.
Swim in the wild.
Study biology. Even dissecting a frog will reveal wonders.
Roll dice and look at the odds of simple things happening. Try to see how hard it is to get a dice to roll sequentially from one to six
Observe a drop of water on a window. See its ionic properties and its reflectiveness.
Take a walk examining rocks and bark. Look at the details again.
Study the biographies of people who experienced tragedy and hardship but rejoiced in God, Paul, William Tyndale, David Brainerd, Richard Wurmbrand, Brother Andrew, Corrie Ten Boom.
Write to missionaries and seek what life is like for them. We have adopted a pastor in Kenya, it has been a great experience.
Sing. Sing what ever comes to heart.
Make a list of the wonders of God.
Create a blessings book or journal to write out the blessing of God in your life and keep a list of answered prayers.
Set up a terrarium, or a “wildlife” exhibit in a fish tank. Add seed and watch the root system grow, and add bugs, turtles or frogs. Take time daily to see the symbiotic relationships.
Observe the fingerprints and skin texture of both sides of your hand. How does it know when to change, how do the cells know exactly what to produce?
Consider the ant, watch a colony at work.
Listen to the sounds around you.
Read missionary magazines.
Engage in time with children, have them tell you Bible stories.
Spend time with a lonely elderly person, let them tell stories of God.