Tag Archives: Evangelism

May 7, 2011 · 11:12 pm

Hope as the Pathway and Agency for Success in Any Venture


Hope is What We Express About Life That is a Bridge To The Future

The ability to express hope through challenging circumstances is an essential element to create success in the ventures of life.  Expressing hope is the act of building a bridge that over circumstances–opposition paving a way to desirable outcome in the future.  Almost everyone is concerned about effectiveness– how to find success in life that creates the momentum to get where we want to arrive. many available studies support the assumption that hope is a key component that distinguishes how well an individual navigates through challenges. Therefore, the influence of hope upon life can be measured in qualitative terms that relate to physical health, higher academic functioning, interpersonal functioning, athletic performance, psychosocial adjustment, capacity for self-regulation, and superior ability to face and overcome obstacles.  On the other hand a lack of hope can be connected to individuals being easily confused by obstacles, avoidant, ineffectiveness and the absence of  heartiness through life challenges. When factors are considered about why some people succeed and why others do not, there may be many factors contributing to success, but the single mitigating factor that empowers success– even when other deficiencies exist– is the presence of hope.

An effort to define hope might provide some insight about what it is, what it does, and how it is expressed. Some common definitions of hope are to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment, or to have confidence; trust, to look forward to with confidence or expectation. In life, we hope that our children will be successful, the sun will shine, and that everything will always work out. The theological virtue defined as the desire and search for a future good, difficult but not impossible to attain with God‘s help.  The idea of hope in general terms is an expectation that motivates life in the present with a belief that the future hold possibility that can be achieved.   Hope is a way of expressing life that builds a bridge to the future.

In the Christian approach to hope a Biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.”  Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown (Romans 8:24-25; Hebrews 11:1,7).  Christians believe that hope in the present and in the future is a confident expectation that is based in essential beliefs about God and His oversight, involvement, and control over what happens in life.  For Christians, who understand the basis of their beliefs,  hope is an essential ingredient in the life expressed upward toward God and outward toward goals (Proverbs 23:18) . In times of distress, when faced with despair and loss, there are situations where life loses its essential meaning  and zest (Lamentations 3:18, Job 7:6). When faced with death and times when  there is no apparent hope (Isaiah 38:18, Job 17:15), Christian hope supplies a way of organizing belief into confident expectation that those who put their hope in God will receive assistance(Psalm 28:7).  Therefore, Christians believe, and will not be perplexed, put to shame in their hope (Isaiah 49:23), and will be vindicated as they place hopeful expectation in God.  As a result,  hope and belief is a general attitude of confidence in God’s protection– help (Jeremiah 29:11).  Therefore, hope frees Christians from fear and anxiety (Psalm 46:2-3).  Christian hope is based upon beliefs and assumptions about, God, good and evil, life, eternity and life in the present.  Hope provides momentum to live with expectation that God is guiding what is happening to a positive outcome.

One issue of interest is how hope energizes and infuses life with momentum to move ahead. Hope provides a clear way that can reduce the power of obstacles to disable supplying an attitude that enables reaching forward with a belief that success is attainable.  As a result, attention is drawn to how hope can be increased in how an individual approaches life.  Is there a road to happiness and a set point that can be achieved that happiness can be measured, believed to be normative as a maxim?  An equally important issue to understand is that a state of happiness is a subjective condition.  If someone asked you to describe happiness what would the story contain for you?

Research has shown that automatic assumptions of happiness are often incorrect.  Often hope and happiness are associated with feeling good about what is occurring.  In fact, what is true is that people who feel good in certain circumstances, like winning the lottery, actually become unhappy, dissatisfied and loose hope in life.  Carl Maslow illustrated that people feel a better sense of well-being when they have basic survival needs met rather than monetary gain.  Lifestyle always rises to the level of income and beyond and what happens is that possessions or positions in life do not seem to bring happiness and hope.  People get on the hedonistic treadmill trying to find happiness and gain hope but, “the abundance of life is not in the things we possess” (Jesus).  Often people assume that happiness and having hope is a result of what happens to people in life.  However, it is not what happens to people; it’s how they construct and interpret those events, it is how you mindfully experience those events.

A key to hope, a road to happiness is emotional well-being.  People who have hope in life and experience emotional well being are people who are virtually engaged in life– grounded in meaning and purpose in life.  To be happy, to have hope means being fully involved with every detail of life.  A life driven by purpose, calling, a sense of belonging and fitting where you are is critical to feeling positive about what is taking place in existence.  When people are fully engaged in life with a sense of fitting, belonging– owning a place in life– engaging in positive relationships, then attention redirects our energy away from negatives which are destructive, limiting, defeating activity that drain vitality from life.  You may have heard the expression, “time flies when you are having fun.”  Another way to understand this is a state of grace, a “flow state.”  The experience of flow happens when you are able to be completely caught up in what you are doing and time flies.

Meeting the challenges of life with hope increases the flow of life that sets an expectation that sees a life that has possibilities, even when faced with extreme opposition.  What occurs in the hope transaction is that alternative routes to reach outcome are discovered, then implemented through pathways thinking.  “Pathways thinking” means that when the first route you try is blocked, you can produce alternative routes to get to a destination by thinking flexibly and are able to change course as needed. A challenge faced when attempting to cultivate an increased hope is to how to cultivate thinking patterns that connect to alternatives rather than boxed in solutions. A principle  of hope is that hope is a learned experience as well as a motivational feeling experienced, which indicates that hope both a phenomenon and a mindset.

Hope is embraced as a principle in thinking when hope has agency.  “Agency thinking”  is thinking with efficacious belief, a sense,  that the desired goal can be reached.  Borrowing from a Biblical principle in Hebrews 11:1; “faith” in Christian thinking is stirred by reciting, vividly recalling successful ventures of faith in the past.  The “evidence of things hoped for”  is in the record of those who have the story of success presented in a history of belief.  Individuals who spend their time reciting their failures or being reminded constantly of failure are not likely to accomplish much.  However, when there is a sense of agency and belief is cultivated through celebrating success and failure jointly (on the road to success), then high hope can be instilled that enables accomplishment.

One thing that is for sure in life is that there are always people who can convincingly tell you why you cannot succeed. However when you want to succeed, a bridge to the future must be constructed with faith, hope, and belief and it needs to begin today, without delay.

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May 2, 2011 · 1:12 am

Bitterness: Drinking Poison and Wishing Someone Else Dies


Bitterness_poison

What happens to a person when they are exposed to continual invalidation, while feeling the pain of rejection, isolation and then made to believe that what they are feeling is  not important enough to be heard?

If you have not had that experience, you will not understand what I am talking about.   After serving others for most of my life in pastoral ministry and having the unfortunate experience of having Thyroid cancer, being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and subsequently, losing a wife to Cancer; I felt invalidated by life, the church, and everyone that I had given my life to serve.  My experience was that when I was transparent enough to share with the church, the deacons, and leaders that I was very sick,  I was pressured out of my  position by a group of religious haters. If it sounds like unresolved anger that needs expressed, let me assure you that I was angry and had good reason to be angry with people that I had invested in and who were only interested in what they wanted, while I felt so sick.  I am here to tell you from  an experience of wishing certain (unnamed) people would eat crap and die that bitterness is a counterproductive emotion and only hurts the person who is bitter.

So, I moved away and in my new location, I do not have the constant reminder that comes from seeing the people who  talk about expressing love, acceptance and mercy, but give judgment, pain, and isolation.  If that sounds serious, it is, the Bible says, “to shun the very appearance of evil” and they were acting evil so I obeyed the command and made a clean break.  As a recovering church and ministry junkie, I know now that I lived inside a religious life that only offered redemption as a concept and not as a practice.  Personally, I felt like I was  victimized by religious do gooders when, in fact, the problem was I had a distorted perception of reality.  I somehow thought Christians would be Christians when called upon. However, this belief could not have been further from the truth– people always act in their best interest and out of their own need justifying what they do.  The problem is that religious types do not want to admit that and believe that their actions are always spiritual.

Unfortunately, the assumption is not true and the result is misunderstanding, about the character of human behavior.  When a person has false expectations about people and life, then that individual ends up disillusioned and disappointed by the false ideas believed.  Disillusionment leads to failure in life, bitterness about experiences and alienation from the church.  What experience has taught me is that the church is ill-equipped at helping people who have problems. What the church is good at is creating emotional invalids, people who cannot think for themselves, and creating conformity.  The best organization in the world is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is made up of people who are a part of an organizational system that has no fail-safe approach for people who experience problems outside of the box.  What is a person to do when all that is right goes wrong leaving you in a pile ruins, then in one fell swoop everything is lost, hope is gone, and you’re left alone?

I remember when I sat in the hospice with Linda who was dying with colon cancer and thinking– remembering about how many times that I had been there with other families who had a family member dying.  I remember asking myself, “Where are those people that I served and where is the church, the pastor, the family now?  Death is one of those solitary experiences that you have to go through alone, but it is a time that no one should be alone.  If you want to invalidate someone, leave them alone when they get older and when they are dying.  I remember very clearly the isolation and loneliness of those moments.  I had just had a TIA, my sugar was out of control, my wife dying of cancer and life was ebbing away.  I sat there and waited hoping that someone would come.  I called and talked on the phone with my mother-in law who had told her dying daughter that she had received a word from God that she was going to be healed, repeatedly telling her that she did not have enough faith—she invalidated her in her dying moments in the name of a religious mysticism. Further invalidation came when she called and told me that I should take her out of Hospice because that was where people went to die– we did not have enough faith.  I understand that it was her fear of the reality of death, the children’s inability to deal with their mother’s death that explained the confusing behavior.  Meanwhile, I sat there day in and day out– around the clock wondering when someone would come.  People trickled through occasionally, sporadically– but no one really came who stayed, who invested, who made a difference.  It was not until the last week that Linda lived that her mother, dad, and brother finally came.  On the phone I had to tell her mom, if you do not come, you may never see her alive again– then she came.  How can a person ever get over that and get on with life?  What I discovered through this process is that I had faulty notions about people that made me believe that if they were really Christians they would show love, if they were family, they would show respect, if he was a pastor, he would show care, but it did not happen and I was disappointed.

What I discovered is that, generally, people are the same inside and outside the church.  The difference is that people inside the church have one set of answers about life and people who are outside the church have another set of answers.  People do act according to their personal interests, needs, and beliefs.  I believed that, somehow, people would act as I thought that I used to– go sit, pray, or give support.  The result, for me, was I got disappointed.  The point is that I thought they should, would– show interest and it made me angry, and not for myself, but that people could show such a lack of interest or could not feel a need to inconvenience themselves for someone who had cared about them throughout life.  At the end of the day, the anger that I feel has not gone away about injustice, but I have learned to manage what I felt, experienced, and is a reality. The unfortunate thing is that when such emotionally charged memories become a part of existence that it changes life forever.  I will probably never get over what has happened, but living with bitterness is no more an option that living false beliefs and expectations about people.

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April 19, 2011 · 8:05 pm

Spirituality: Striving and Developing on the Path


Img00360-20110417-1446

When Jesus said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24), I am reminded of the discipline that is involved in continuing to walk day after day in a committed life.  It is a formidable challenge not to allow the shadows and underbrush overshadowing the walk to hinder  progressing toward the goal that is just ahead on the road called strait.

The grim reality present in what Jesus said,  “Strive”, indicates a life of resistance against the elements that are always present, which constantly oppose success toward a direction called the “strait gate”.  The truth is that, unless there is a tenacious commitment to embrace the calling of the “strait” direction with total dependence on God, it is not likely that striving alone will keep you on the path. What is apparent is that there is a struggle to live in a “strait” way, but what is the struggle with?”

Is it the struggle with the road of life chosen or a struggle with the way the road leads life?

A calming reminder from the psalmist says, “the ways of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalms 37). Comfort and assurance are given to us  living on the path of righteousness that it is a ordered way – God is involved in every step taken.  The confidence which is given is that there is not a step taken, or resistance, that will be present, that He has not already prepared for.  On the path, a discovery comes that there is a way that seems right, which may feel right, looks right –the path of least resistance.  At this place of understanding, a decision has to be made to have trust during the struggle or to give way to the temptation to the impulse to run away from the “set path”, the ordered way, which is “strait” and characterized by “striving”.

A challenging concept in the statement comes as Jesus says, “Strive to enter” A question that arises is what exactly are we striving with, while entering the “strait gate?”  Many people see this as a struggle in becoming a Christian, or the struggle in surrendering to Christ. However, what must be noted is that striving is a continual struggle on the “ordered path”.  If it is believed that God gives salvation freely, it is hard to accept that this is struggling for salvation.  It seems that the struggle is pointing to an important understanding about what we struggle with the most in life,  surrender of control to live under control to God alone.  Our striving is not with God, salvation, or receiving grace – it is a struggle with a thing called depravity that haunts the soul of man with unbelief, selfishness, and a propensity toward a disobedient and unfruitful lifestyle.  It is a struggle with self.

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August 14, 2010 · 7:32 pm

Does God Know, or Really Care What Is Happening?


Stress Reduction Kit

What is it that get’s on your very last nerve? There is something that all of us are facing that is wearing us thin. Those are the things  that raise the temperature, creates stress, and causes things that would not normally to bother us to become larger than life. There times we get frustrated about the events of life and feel that no one cares or knows how we really feel. Yes, we even question if God really cares about what we experience in the times of disappointment and frustration. It is at times like this that we are overly concerned with the activity – what is happening or not happening – and not the process. In the process of frustration, disappointment, and discouragement; our response can be to give up.  However if during these times, we can understand that God knows about what we are going through and that nothing is escaping His watchful eye or concern– then frustration can turn into faith. What does the Bible say about frustration in the life of the believer?

Psalm 31:7 says, that God knows the depth and emotional impact of problems upon our lives, “you God have listened to all my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul.” Now, some of you may think, “Nobody knows what I’m going through, nobody feels the pain I’m going through.” But listen, God knows.  Indeed, He knows our feelings and frustrations …  He has seen the crisis in the soul. Also, in Psalm 56:6 we are told that He is fully aware of the emotional intensity caused by continued frustration, “You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears.”  What does this mean to us today?  It means that  there is no hurt that goes unnoticed by God.  He has seen it all, He sees it all, and will continue to see it all — He knows exactly what we are feeling.

Have you experienced times that you have you felt that those around you in the church who are spiritual leaders have abandoned you at the hour of need?  In Galatians 6, there is instruction about the matter of hurting people and the spiritual responsibility to them, “Brethren, if you over take your brother in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering your own self, lest you also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” While people may, at times, fall idly through the fault lines of ministry in the church, one thing we can be certain of is that, God knows exactly what you are going through, where you are at, and is concerned about what is happening in your frustration.

Often when people are hurting it is common to feel isolated, very lonely, even when there are people all around. Maybe there’s been a death in the family, a divorce, maybe a lost job and you feel the sting of the crisis deeply. What an ideal time it could be for some spiritual person to come alongside and encourage, restore, and minister a sense of Godly concern. However, because no one calls, no one comes by to check on the person, they feel all alone, isolated, and think, “Nobody understands the way I feel, nobody can tell the way I feel, nobody feels the pain.” You may feel like that even right now, but let me assure you of one thing: no matter what you are going through, God knows. He understands our hurts, the feeling of isolation, and the frustration that is being experienced.

In Psalm 103:13-14 instruction is provided for readers to realize that God’s loving concern is always faithful, “He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic for he knows what we are made of — dust.” He’s our creator. The fact is: God is sympathetic to my hurts and your hurts. Not only does He see, He cares.  God understands why it happened.

He knows the causes, the reasons, the things that brought you to this point.  He sees how it all fits together.  The Bible says He understands because He made us.  He knows my thoughts, my failures, my feelings, my frustrations.  He sees the hurt in your heart.  While no one else may care enough to … , God is always present in the hour of need – He is omniscient.  Placing your trust in religious people, preachers, prophets, and churches is often the route that leads to disappointment — God is always faithful to you because He knows and continues to love — no matter what.

What should I do?  In Psalm 142:3 it tells us that, “When I am ready to give up, He knows what I should do.” It is God that has the answer and holds the future in His hand. Others may tell you that your just over-reacting or make you feel like what is happening to you is not important, but listen; it is important to understand that God is not only omniscient, he is sovereign and is uniquely interested in all that is happening in your life.  You may be ready to give up, but God is not.  He knows what is happening and what you ought to do– He has a plan for your life.

If He sees and understand the pain that I feel, what should you do right now? A place to begin is in 1 Peter 5:7, where a solution is provided “Cast all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.” Cast them all permanently, once and for all and don’t take them back. Give Him your hurts just like you give Him your faults, every area of your life.  Then, let God resolve the frustration that you feel about your life, what has happened, and what the future will hold.  He is omniscient and He is sovereign.

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· 6:17 pm

Having A Settled Peace In Stormy Times


Holland Light House Sunset

You may not be experiencing a difficult time right now. From your perspective everything may be sunny and clear. However, storms come.

At times, they roll over our lives with bounding blows. How do we maintain a sense of peace and spiritual balance when trials strike?

The answer is found in a close abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. And the words of Helen Lemmel’s hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” contain a vital and exciting truth: an unshakable peace is available to all who turn the eyes of their hearts to Jesus.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will
grow strangely dim
in the light of his glory and grace

Chances are when adversity strikes, one of the first things you do is to wonder why. The second thing may be to question what kind of impact it will have on your life. Reactions such as these are normal, but there needs to be another response included, and that is to turn to the One who holds all comfort and security firmly within His grasp.

As we grow, we find that life is not always this predictable. There are sorrows and tragedies built into the framework of our existence. If our peace and security are only within ourselves or some other person, when trials come there is a greater chance we will experience disappointment.

One of the first steps in dealing with anxiety is to recognize it for what it is the opposite of peace. It is the fan that flames the fires of doubt and confusion. In addition, it has the ability to leave us helplessly bundled up in worry and fear. When we cave in to thoughts of anxiety, we lose our spiritual focus and mindset. The key to overcoming anxiety is found only in the presence of God.

Paul admonishes us: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Isaiah‘s words are simple but true: “In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). If we are going to be spiritually successful, we must come to a point where we realize that nothing surprises God. He knows when tragedy is going to strike or when disappointment is going to hit, and He has a plan for handling these.

Nothing is too great for Him. He has promised to provide for your needs ¬ perfectly, completely, and on time. (Philippians 4:19) If He does not answer a certain prayer immediately, it is for a reason. Usually if we are willing to wait for His timing, we will find that He has a greater blessing in store.

Accepting His timetable and the limitations He places on a given situation helps to dispel rising anxiety. Therefore, let Him provide for you in His timing. Keeping a daily journal of your prayers and how He answers each one is a good way to build your faith and trust in Him.

When you accept life as being given to you from the hand of God then you will do what Helen Lemmel’s song says – you turn your eyes toward Jesus. You will look full into His glorious face and find mercy and grace, forgiveness and hope, peace and everlasting security.

Peter wanted to walk on the water to Jesus. Like a child, he wanted to imitate his teacher. Surely Peter’s faith made God’s heart glad, especially as he stepped out and began walking to his Savior. But suddenly the roar of the wind and the crashing of the sea became monsters in his mind. Fear swept through his being, and he began to sink. This is when he cried out: “Lord, save me!” and Jesus reached down and took him by the hand. (Matthew 14:30-31)

What would you give to experience the peace of God in your life? Would you give up worrying? Are you willing to lay down the anger that haunts your soul because someone has done something to hurt or wound you? God knows the hurt you have experienced. Will you trust Him in quietness knowing that He has not forgotten you, but stands ready to heal you?

We call God’s peace unshakable, because there has never been a time or an event when God has been disturbed. His peace and presence are sure. They are immovable

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May 5, 2010 · 12:33 pm

Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Report to the Executive Committee


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Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Report to the Executive Committee

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