I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “I had my heart set on that.” Of course it’s usually a lament when something didn’t pan out. We ‘set out hearts’ on many things; some good, some not so good. I’ve had my mind & heart set on many things that in retrospect would have been a disaster. I suspect that’s why God basically says, “Not hardly.” He cares far too much.
You might have read or heard the passage in Ecclesiastes about a “Time for all things.” Solomon, the most wise man to live, points out the broad scope of God’s plan in these verses. He reminds us life is a balance & should be looked at & lived that way. The verse that is often overlooked is found right after these poetic thoughts. It is a reminder that God places in our hearts a reality & desire for more than just what we see. He has literally set our hearts on eternity.
“God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
A friend once said, ‘everlasting life begins the day we invite Christ into our hearts.” A wise truth. To my thinking everlasting life begins then, but ‘eternity’ begins when I take my last breath of earthly air. That’s when my choice of what I did with & believe about Jesus really matters! God has made us to live forever, the choice & question is where?
God is busy working to create masterpieces of our lives, just as He did with the handiwork of His earthly creation. My problem is I’m trying to help guide His hand. No matter how good an ‘artist’ I might fancy myself, truth is, I simply don’t have His eternal perspective. In His time, He makes all things beautiful. It’s just I “cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
If you have not read Ecclesiastes, Solomon struggled with all the things man sets his heart upon. In his own life Solomon had the opportunity & wear-withal to pursue & clutch all he desired. He surmised it was all just so much sand sifting through his fingers. His conclusion: “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone’s duty.God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT
So, what do you have your heart set on? A new truck? A new job? A new house? A new relationship? Restoration of some broken relationship? Deep down, whether you believe it or not, God has set your heart on eternity. I suppose the big question for all of us is, ‘what are we going to do with it?” I guess you could say we have ‘eternal hearts’ or ‘infernal hearts.’ The choice is clearly up to what we do with & believe about Jesus. I surely don’t claim to be wise as Solomon, but thankfully, with God’s direction, I have come to that same conclusion: fear God & obey His commands.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
-"Setting the Sights"-
While I was growing up my Dad & I would go hunting quite often. Dad liked it a lot more than I did, but I just liked being with him. (To my Dad nothing was really a ‘sport’ unless you brought home something dead!) One of the things that is a necessity, if you’re going to hunt, is making sure your gun’s scope or sights are set correctly. Well, that is if you intend on bringing any game home with you! Often we would go out & target practice & Dad would ‘set the sights’ on the scopes to make sure they were accurate.
Thought about this often. While I enjoyed the times with my Dad, it was an important step to hunting correctly. We didn’t want to wound or put an animal in unnecessary pain. The goal was a quick, merciful kill
that put food on the table while dispatching the animal as humanely as possible.
Sometimes I forget to ‘set my sights’ correctly. I focus on all the wrong things & on the wrong people. Pretty distracting to the Christian life. Tends to make you disillusioned & dissatisfied when your sight is off. You don’t hit the mark you’re striving for.
I realize that when I send out these words they fall on very different people at very different stations of life. Some of you may be doing very well at hitting the mark in your life while others are a hit & miss at best. Some of you have been a Christian for a very long time while others are still unsure of the whole prospect of surrendering your life to a God you cannot see. You might be a ‘seeker’ at best.
For those of you, who find yourself in the latter station; let me give one simple encouragement. If you’re looking for a religion that is going to give you all the simple answers & tidy up all the ‘messy’ things of life into one tiny package where everyone has a little Sunday School smile & no bumps or bruises,…well you might better look some more. But if you’re really looking for an Answer & life…then I suggest you look no further. Jesus is that Answer you’ve been seeking. Matter of fact the idea of hitting a target is how God describes our trying to be ‘good enough’ for heaven: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. That ‘fall short’ means to ‘miss the mark.’ So, might just better trust Him to clean you up & & make you right. Otherwise, it ain’t happening.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” Colossians 3: 1-4 NLT
The rest of us: We just might be spending the rest of the time we’re on this spinning globe setting our sights. Not just once in awhile, but regularly! Else we get more & more off target. Daily diving into the bible & finding out just how skewed & off-center we are.
Heard a story years ago about how we should be allowing God to sharpen us & tune us into His plan daily.Seems there was a young man in the Northwest states who was a logger. Times were hard & work was scarce. He applied for a job & the foreman said, “Young man, I’ll try you out & if you can keep up & pull your weight you have a job. Do you have an ax?” “Yes-sir” the boy replied eagerly. The young man rolled up his sleeves & went at it hard. While others took a mid-morning break, he kept cutting. Right on through lunch he cut. Late in the afternoon, the foreman called out to him: “Son, hold up a minute.” The boy came over. “Son, I know you’ve worked hard all day & noticed you didn’t even stop for lunch, but you’re somehow still behind all the other men in production.” The boy said, “I can’t see how that is. I haven’t even stopped or looked up.” The foreman said, “Wait a minute. Did you not stop to sharpen your ax any?”
That’s often a problem with us in our lives. If we don’t stop trying to be ‘productive’ & seek the face of God, we find we are actually falling behind. It’s imperative that we ‘set our sights’ on Christ. It’s been 30 years ago that I surrendered to ministry & that principle hasn’t changed once in all those years. Now, more than ever I have to stop & ‘sharpen the ax’. I have to ‘set my sights.’
In the 30 years & thousands of faces, places, miles & people, life has been sweet. Then, for me just like everyone else, life has been bitter. So I suppose for all of us it’s ‘bitter-sweet’. We take the bad with the good & focus on the ‘realities of heaven’ instead of the transitory things of earth.
The late Rich Mullins, author, award winning song writer, poet & singer, died in a car accident several years ago on the way to a concert for students. His life was given in reckless abandon & sacrifice. He gave up all the ‘trappings’ of stardom to live among & share Jesus with Native Americans. He truly had set his sights on things above. He wrote a song that bespeaks that focus on things eternal in “Elijah.” I’ll close with his words that resonate in my heart today.
Elijah
The Jordan is waiting for me to cross through
My heart is aging I can tell
So Lord, I'm begging for one last favor from You
Here's my heart take it where You will
This life has shown me how we're mended and how we're torn
How it's okay to be lonely as long as you're free
Sometimes my ground was stony
And sometimes covered up with thorns
And only You could make it what it had to be
And now that it's done
Well if they dress me like a pauper
Or if they dine me like a prince
If they lay me with my fathers
Or if my ashes scatter on the wind I don't care
But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
There's people been friendly, but they'd never be your friends
Sometimes this has bent me to the ground
Now that this is all ending I want to hear some music once again
'Cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found
But the Jordan is waiting though I ain't never seen the other side
Still they say you can't take in the things you have here
So on the road to salvation
I stick out my thumb and He gives me a ride
And His music is already falling on my ears
There's people been talking
They say they're worried about my soul
Well, I'm here to tell you I'll keep rocking
'Til I'm sure it's my time to roll
And when I do
When I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
'Cause when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
© 1982 Meadowgreen Music Company (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Rich Mullins CCLI License No. 228719
Here's the Youtube video code to see one of Rich's last performances of the song.
(Rich also penned "Awesome God" among many others.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0rR9zIgVHE
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Thought about this often. While I enjoyed the times with my Dad, it was an important step to hunting correctly. We didn’t want to wound or put an animal in unnecessary pain. The goal was a quick, merciful kill
that put food on the table while dispatching the animal as humanely as possible.
Sometimes I forget to ‘set my sights’ correctly. I focus on all the wrong things & on the wrong people. Pretty distracting to the Christian life. Tends to make you disillusioned & dissatisfied when your sight is off. You don’t hit the mark you’re striving for.
I realize that when I send out these words they fall on very different people at very different stations of life. Some of you may be doing very well at hitting the mark in your life while others are a hit & miss at best. Some of you have been a Christian for a very long time while others are still unsure of the whole prospect of surrendering your life to a God you cannot see. You might be a ‘seeker’ at best.
For those of you, who find yourself in the latter station; let me give one simple encouragement. If you’re looking for a religion that is going to give you all the simple answers & tidy up all the ‘messy’ things of life into one tiny package where everyone has a little Sunday School smile & no bumps or bruises,…well you might better look some more. But if you’re really looking for an Answer & life…then I suggest you look no further. Jesus is that Answer you’ve been seeking. Matter of fact the idea of hitting a target is how God describes our trying to be ‘good enough’ for heaven: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. That ‘fall short’ means to ‘miss the mark.’ So, might just better trust Him to clean you up & & make you right. Otherwise, it ain’t happening.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” Colossians 3: 1-4 NLT
The rest of us: We just might be spending the rest of the time we’re on this spinning globe setting our sights. Not just once in awhile, but regularly! Else we get more & more off target. Daily diving into the bible & finding out just how skewed & off-center we are.
Heard a story years ago about how we should be allowing God to sharpen us & tune us into His plan daily.Seems there was a young man in the Northwest states who was a logger. Times were hard & work was scarce. He applied for a job & the foreman said, “Young man, I’ll try you out & if you can keep up & pull your weight you have a job. Do you have an ax?” “Yes-sir” the boy replied eagerly. The young man rolled up his sleeves & went at it hard. While others took a mid-morning break, he kept cutting. Right on through lunch he cut. Late in the afternoon, the foreman called out to him: “Son, hold up a minute.” The boy came over. “Son, I know you’ve worked hard all day & noticed you didn’t even stop for lunch, but you’re somehow still behind all the other men in production.” The boy said, “I can’t see how that is. I haven’t even stopped or looked up.” The foreman said, “Wait a minute. Did you not stop to sharpen your ax any?”
That’s often a problem with us in our lives. If we don’t stop trying to be ‘productive’ & seek the face of God, we find we are actually falling behind. It’s imperative that we ‘set our sights’ on Christ. It’s been 30 years ago that I surrendered to ministry & that principle hasn’t changed once in all those years. Now, more than ever I have to stop & ‘sharpen the ax’. I have to ‘set my sights.’
In the 30 years & thousands of faces, places, miles & people, life has been sweet. Then, for me just like everyone else, life has been bitter. So I suppose for all of us it’s ‘bitter-sweet’. We take the bad with the good & focus on the ‘realities of heaven’ instead of the transitory things of earth.
The late Rich Mullins, author, award winning song writer, poet & singer, died in a car accident several years ago on the way to a concert for students. His life was given in reckless abandon & sacrifice. He gave up all the ‘trappings’ of stardom to live among & share Jesus with Native Americans. He truly had set his sights on things above. He wrote a song that bespeaks that focus on things eternal in “Elijah.” I’ll close with his words that resonate in my heart today.
Elijah
The Jordan is waiting for me to cross through
My heart is aging I can tell
So Lord, I'm begging for one last favor from You
Here's my heart take it where You will
This life has shown me how we're mended and how we're torn
How it's okay to be lonely as long as you're free
Sometimes my ground was stony
And sometimes covered up with thorns
And only You could make it what it had to be
And now that it's done
Well if they dress me like a pauper
Or if they dine me like a prince
If they lay me with my fathers
Or if my ashes scatter on the wind I don't care
But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
There's people been friendly, but they'd never be your friends
Sometimes this has bent me to the ground
Now that this is all ending I want to hear some music once again
'Cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found
But the Jordan is waiting though I ain't never seen the other side
Still they say you can't take in the things you have here
So on the road to salvation
I stick out my thumb and He gives me a ride
And His music is already falling on my ears
There's people been talking
They say they're worried about my soul
Well, I'm here to tell you I'll keep rocking
'Til I'm sure it's my time to roll
And when I do
When I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
'Cause when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye
© 1982 Meadowgreen Music Company (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Rich Mullins CCLI License No. 228719
Here's the Youtube video code to see one of Rich's last performances of the song.
(Rich also penned "Awesome God" among many others.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0rR9zIgVHE
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Forgiveness
The whole business of forgiveness is a difficult, sticky subject sometimes. A friend recently sent me a story from our local news, which brought national attention & is airing on Youtube now. A 92-year-old Dyersburg, Tennessee woman named Pauline Jacoby lived out forgiveness. A man jumped into the passenger side of her car as she was leaving a local Walmart. He told her he had a gun demanded her money. Her reply was, “No, I’m not going to give you my money. You know, as soon as you kill me I’ll go to heaven & you’ll go to hell. Jesus is in this car. He goes with me everywhere I go.” She said then he started looking around but tears came to his eyes. She shared with him for ten minutes. He said, “You know, I think I’ll go home & pray tonight.” Jacoby said, “You don’t have to wait ‘til tonight. You can just pray anytime you want to.” Jacoby then showed extraordinary love as you voluntarily gave him all the money she had on her: ten dollars. She told him, “Don’t you spend it on whiskey either!” The man reached over & kissed her on the cheek & then walked away.
We often aren’t faced with such stark acts of violence, but little irritations from day to day. Even when we face difficult acts we are told how to act instead of simply RE-acting. First step to learn to forgive is to realize our own sin & wickedness & ask God’s forgiveness. Every one of us is guilty of sin, it’s just in degrees. Problem is ALL sin is evil. “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” I John 1:8-9NLT When we get a clue that God has forgiven us we learn a small scope of what we in turn must do to show His character. “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” Romans 4:7-8 NLT
Matter of fact, once we give Him our lives He puts His character in us & helps us to live out forgiveness. Then it’s EXPECTED of us if we expect His continued forgiveness. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14 NLT When teaching about prayer in the model or “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus said, "and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." Matt. 6:12 NLT So that’s the kicker: if we expect God to forgive us, we’ve got to forgive perpetrators.
"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!"
Psalm 32:1-2 NLT
I’m not going to sit here & tell you it’s an easy thing to simply ‘grin & bare it.” I’ve been hurt deeply many times in my life. Sometimes you run out of cheeks to turn! Forgiveness is not something that comes easy or even natural for that matter. It is something that makes life bearable for those who’ve been wronged. How many times have you been angry & vengeful at someone & they simply went about their lives blithely indifferent? Frankly, some folks couldn’t care less how they treat you, so your staying angry & bitter doesn’t phase them in the slightest. Seething & festering over wrongs done, both small & great, serve little purpose in bringing justice or right. It just hurts you.
We’re instructed in scripture to address the person who’s offended you. If that doesn’t help, while there are other avenues & this is not a complete treaty or thesis on the subject, it ultimately falls into the hands of God. He’s the One who will judge us at life’s end anyway. To tell you the truth, He does a far better job of retribution that any court of the land.
All over the world we are seeing a rise in violence & acts of anger & rage. A new term has been coined, “Road Rage” to explain anger behind the wheel. Children killing their parents & parents killing their children, who would have thought it would become so prevalent. Watching the news you see so many crimes that it’s become almost mundane & pedestrian to the ‘average Joe’ on the street.
I realize that some of you reading this have possibly gone through horrific acts of violence, perhaps from even someone you love. I don’t pen these words, glibly & trite. I’ve had to live out some of this on a regular basis but I have seen & heard of others that were a walking, breathing ‘life lesson.’ The late Corrie Ten Boom, who lived through the horrific acts of hatred & violence perpetrated by the Nazi’s Third Reich, showed one of the most powerful examples I’ve heard of short of Jesus. I’ve read her books & been brought to tears many times at her telling, but listen as she shares in her own words of forgiveness:
It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavy-set man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. ...
And that's when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!
Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent. ...
"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying. "I was a guard in there." No, he did not remember me.
"I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us."
"But since that time," he went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, ..." his hand came out, ... "will you forgive me?"
And I stood there — I whose sins had every day to be forgiven — and could not. Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." ...
And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."
And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then. Copyright © 1972 by Guideposts
I’ll pray for you to find forgiveness in Christ & then to exercise that forgiveness on others. Please return the favor that I’ll live out this love & forgiveness to all around me as well.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
We often aren’t faced with such stark acts of violence, but little irritations from day to day. Even when we face difficult acts we are told how to act instead of simply RE-acting. First step to learn to forgive is to realize our own sin & wickedness & ask God’s forgiveness. Every one of us is guilty of sin, it’s just in degrees. Problem is ALL sin is evil. “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” I John 1:8-9NLT When we get a clue that God has forgiven us we learn a small scope of what we in turn must do to show His character. “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” Romans 4:7-8 NLT
Matter of fact, once we give Him our lives He puts His character in us & helps us to live out forgiveness. Then it’s EXPECTED of us if we expect His continued forgiveness. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14 NLT When teaching about prayer in the model or “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus said, "and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." Matt. 6:12 NLT So that’s the kicker: if we expect God to forgive us, we’ve got to forgive perpetrators.
"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!"
Psalm 32:1-2 NLT
I’m not going to sit here & tell you it’s an easy thing to simply ‘grin & bare it.” I’ve been hurt deeply many times in my life. Sometimes you run out of cheeks to turn! Forgiveness is not something that comes easy or even natural for that matter. It is something that makes life bearable for those who’ve been wronged. How many times have you been angry & vengeful at someone & they simply went about their lives blithely indifferent? Frankly, some folks couldn’t care less how they treat you, so your staying angry & bitter doesn’t phase them in the slightest. Seething & festering over wrongs done, both small & great, serve little purpose in bringing justice or right. It just hurts you.
We’re instructed in scripture to address the person who’s offended you. If that doesn’t help, while there are other avenues & this is not a complete treaty or thesis on the subject, it ultimately falls into the hands of God. He’s the One who will judge us at life’s end anyway. To tell you the truth, He does a far better job of retribution that any court of the land.
All over the world we are seeing a rise in violence & acts of anger & rage. A new term has been coined, “Road Rage” to explain anger behind the wheel. Children killing their parents & parents killing their children, who would have thought it would become so prevalent. Watching the news you see so many crimes that it’s become almost mundane & pedestrian to the ‘average Joe’ on the street.
I realize that some of you reading this have possibly gone through horrific acts of violence, perhaps from even someone you love. I don’t pen these words, glibly & trite. I’ve had to live out some of this on a regular basis but I have seen & heard of others that were a walking, breathing ‘life lesson.’ The late Corrie Ten Boom, who lived through the horrific acts of hatred & violence perpetrated by the Nazi’s Third Reich, showed one of the most powerful examples I’ve heard of short of Jesus. I’ve read her books & been brought to tears many times at her telling, but listen as she shares in her own words of forgiveness:
It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavy-set man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. ...
And that's when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!
Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent. ...
"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying. "I was a guard in there." No, he did not remember me.
"I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us."
"But since that time," he went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, ..." his hand came out, ... "will you forgive me?"
And I stood there — I whose sins had every day to be forgiven — and could not. Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." ...
And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."
And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then. Copyright © 1972 by Guideposts
I’ll pray for you to find forgiveness in Christ & then to exercise that forgiveness on others. Please return the favor that I’ll live out this love & forgiveness to all around me as well.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
“Running on Empty”
When I was a teenager there was a song by Jackson Browne, “Running on Empty,”
from the same titled album. The song basically talked about running hard at life &
finding you’re not even sure of the direction you’re running & why. Many people find themselves in the same state, not sure where they’re headed but they’re getting there really fast! Without direction or purpose in life it can surely leave you disillusioned. Even IF you have direction, without power & encouragement you can feel like you’re running on empty.
Without God’s filling & power we are basically hollow shells bouncing about life. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there if there is not where we’re hoping for or needing to be! Stands to reason that if we’re not sure where we should be heading we should ask the Creator what His purpose & direction for us should be. Seems a sad waste to spend a whole life chasing hard to fulfill us & find purpose when, in fact, we’ve never even taken stock of what direction we should be chasing.
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist & religious philosopher said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” God created us to need filling! He also commanded us to set aside time to ‘recreate’ & be refilled by Him as we worshipped! There is an old quip, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
Another writer said, “We all have a God-shaped void in our lives that only Jesus can fill.” Different way of saying pretty much the same thing. We need God to fill us up! Interesting thing is that God often uses people to help you along. While people may aggravate & agitate the fire out of you, they are also God’s instruments to bless us.
I’ve shared before how important it is to plug into & connect with a body of believers. Again, as John Donne the English poet, said, “No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." Well, before I wax too ‘eloquent’, suffice it to say you NEED brothers, sisters & friends to encourage you on in this life because, guess what? The bell tolls for you!
God was so serious about our spending times of rest, encouragement & worship that He COMMANDED us to set aside time to rest & worship Him every week. It’s right up there at the top of the list in the 10 Commandments. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”Exodus 20:8-11 NLT
The writer of Hebrews also told us in the New Testament how important it is to gather together & encourage each other: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT
While I haven’t run out of words or ways to encourage you, I’ve pretty much run out of time & space. I simply want to encourage you to not keep on ‘running on empty.’ Spend time with God each day. Set aside a day each week & join in a bible teaching church & worship God. You need it & we need each other. Most importantly, make sure you KNOW this God!
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell- 870-217-9376
http://www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport
BCM Website: http://www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson on Facebook
from the same titled album. The song basically talked about running hard at life &
finding you’re not even sure of the direction you’re running & why. Many people find themselves in the same state, not sure where they’re headed but they’re getting there really fast! Without direction or purpose in life it can surely leave you disillusioned. Even IF you have direction, without power & encouragement you can feel like you’re running on empty.
Without God’s filling & power we are basically hollow shells bouncing about life. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there if there is not where we’re hoping for or needing to be! Stands to reason that if we’re not sure where we should be heading we should ask the Creator what His purpose & direction for us should be. Seems a sad waste to spend a whole life chasing hard to fulfill us & find purpose when, in fact, we’ve never even taken stock of what direction we should be chasing.
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist & religious philosopher said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” God created us to need filling! He also commanded us to set aside time to ‘recreate’ & be refilled by Him as we worshipped! There is an old quip, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
Another writer said, “We all have a God-shaped void in our lives that only Jesus can fill.” Different way of saying pretty much the same thing. We need God to fill us up! Interesting thing is that God often uses people to help you along. While people may aggravate & agitate the fire out of you, they are also God’s instruments to bless us.
I’ve shared before how important it is to plug into & connect with a body of believers. Again, as John Donne the English poet, said, “No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." Well, before I wax too ‘eloquent’, suffice it to say you NEED brothers, sisters & friends to encourage you on in this life because, guess what? The bell tolls for you!
God was so serious about our spending times of rest, encouragement & worship that He COMMANDED us to set aside time to rest & worship Him every week. It’s right up there at the top of the list in the 10 Commandments. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”Exodus 20:8-11 NLT
The writer of Hebrews also told us in the New Testament how important it is to gather together & encourage each other: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT
While I haven’t run out of words or ways to encourage you, I’ve pretty much run out of time & space. I simply want to encourage you to not keep on ‘running on empty.’ Spend time with God each day. Set aside a day each week & join in a bible teaching church & worship God. You need it & we need each other. Most importantly, make sure you KNOW this God!
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell- 870-217-9376
http://www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport
BCM Website: http://www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson on Facebook
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
R U Ready?
It’s been an unusual week in the celebrity world. Surely you’ve heard (unless you have NO media input) that Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, & pitchman Billy Mays died this week. Each of these people died well before one would think. Two abruptly, while Ms. Fawcett had been battling cancer.
Sadly, my neighbor, about the same age as me, was killed in a farming accident this week also. His wife & three kids can use your prayers right now. Not one of these individuals thought their last day would be their last day.
I am faced regularly with mortality. It’s in no way maudlin or morbid on my part to realize that life is brief. In the past 3 years I’ve conducted or helped in around 40 funerals. These have been a wide range of ages, but in almost all instances the individuals would have loved to have had more time, not to mention their families. Thankfully, I knew most of these people & knew they were ready to meet the Lord. While they may have wished for more time with their loved ones, they were ready to meet the One Who loved them most.
As I’ve shared several times, life can turn on a dime. I have tried all the years I’ve served in ministry to never resort to scare tactics or ‘strong-arm evangelism.’ I am, however, compelled to challenge & exhort people to realize how short our time on this small globe is & how we should make the most of time we have.
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 NLT
Eugene Peterson has written a bible paraphrase that I read from time to time that puts a different slant on this challenge: “…make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”
Romans 13:11-14 The Message
It is my sincere hope & prayer that you are truly ready to step into eternity. I assure you I don’t claim to have this life down pat, nor am I ready to get up a load to heaven, but if my life ends today I am thankful I have a home prepared in heaven. If you’re just not sure, or if you know you have unfinished business, please call, write, email or contact me & I’ll pray with you & share how to know the Creator of life. As always, as I pray for you, please return the favor.
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell- 870-217-9376
http://www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport
BCM Website: http://www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson on Facebook.
Sadly, my neighbor, about the same age as me, was killed in a farming accident this week also. His wife & three kids can use your prayers right now. Not one of these individuals thought their last day would be their last day.
I am faced regularly with mortality. It’s in no way maudlin or morbid on my part to realize that life is brief. In the past 3 years I’ve conducted or helped in around 40 funerals. These have been a wide range of ages, but in almost all instances the individuals would have loved to have had more time, not to mention their families. Thankfully, I knew most of these people & knew they were ready to meet the Lord. While they may have wished for more time with their loved ones, they were ready to meet the One Who loved them most.
As I’ve shared several times, life can turn on a dime. I have tried all the years I’ve served in ministry to never resort to scare tactics or ‘strong-arm evangelism.’ I am, however, compelled to challenge & exhort people to realize how short our time on this small globe is & how we should make the most of time we have.
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 NLT
Eugene Peterson has written a bible paraphrase that I read from time to time that puts a different slant on this challenge: “…make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”
Romans 13:11-14 The Message
It is my sincere hope & prayer that you are truly ready to step into eternity. I assure you I don’t claim to have this life down pat, nor am I ready to get up a load to heaven, but if my life ends today I am thankful I have a home prepared in heaven. If you’re just not sure, or if you know you have unfinished business, please call, write, email or contact me & I’ll pray with you & share how to know the Creator of life. As always, as I pray for you, please return the favor.
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell- 870-217-9376
http://www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport
BCM Website: http://www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson on Facebook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)