The Journey

In our Christian circles, we like to call our stories, “testimonies”. I can remember many Sunday nights, when I was growing up, being billed as, “Testimony Sunday”. I grew up in what was then a traditional Assemblies of God church and that was one of our traditions. It’s hard for me to remember just how often we did them but I do remember them. What I remember is, the Pastor, after a short time of singing songs, would get up and ask anyone if they had a testimony that they would like to share in front of the church. Of course, you really didn’t have to come up front, you could just stay in your seat just as long as you would “talk loudly so everyone can hear you”. The elderly ladies never liked being told to talk loudly.

After a few moments of awkward silence and a room full of eyes trolling to the left and right, there would be a raised hand. An elderly lady would stand, albeit with some help, and just praise God for all that He has done. Another gentleman would stand and thank God for the job that God had given him. A husband and wife would stand together, holding hands, and thank God for saving their marriage. A young boy would stand up beside this couple, look up at them, and thank God for the same thing. An elderly man, a proud veteran, would stand up and thank God that the cancer in his body was gone, even though the doctors said it was still there. Time after time after time, you would begin to see people standing all over the room praising God for what He had done, or asking God for forgiveness for the lifestyle that they were living. It was moving, it was powerful, and it was and is what church is all about; helping, loving, and supporting each other.

You and I have a story to share, don’t we? Hasn’t God been very good to us? Hasn’t He forgiven ALL of our sins? Sitting beside you at church, at work, at school, or even at home, are those who need to know your story. There is a couple who are going through a rough time in their marriage, there is another couple who recently divorced, a gentleman is struggling with the guilt and shame of adultery, a lady is fighting the urge to find the next fix, a family is struggling to put food on the table, someone is struggling with eating and with self-esteem, someone else has just lost a loved one, yet, another, is considering changing their relational preferences and lifestyle, and the stories go on and on.

The world needs to know that there is hope for the hopeless!

The music has stopped. The room is filled with silence. People are waiting.

So, what’s your story?

Last Friday, as I was sound asleep, my son comes into our bedroom and jumps on our bed, which of course, woke me up. As I opened my groggy eyes, all I could see was my son’s smiling face. Ethan has positioned himself, Indian style, right beside me. He missed his daddy. Sarah and Ethan had just returned from a four day trip to Nana and Pap Pap’s house in Pennsylvania. Although my body was screaming for more sleep, I knew that this was no longer an option and I gladly, albeit a bit slow, woke up and just listened to my son.

He went on and on about how he got to sleep in a big bed, how he picked up sticks with Pap Pap in the backyard, went shopping with Nana, and even got to drive a big, red, toy car (I hear the Wiggles music). Ethan seemed to have picked up some new animations and learned to talk with his hands. He was funny, interesting, and engaging. The last thing I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Do you know that God created us in HIS image so that we might worship Him and have a relationship with Him? God, our daddy, our father, loves it when we crawl up close to Him and just begin to tell Him about all the things that are going on in our lives. God already knows, just as I did with Ethan, everything anyway but there is just something a little more special when it comes directly from us. God LONGS for our attention. Nothing gives Him more pleasure than when we run to Him and tell Him everything.

I used to tell the students in my youth ministries that if they wanted to be a true success, there were two things that they needed to do; pray and read the Bible. That’s it! In our busy worlds we must make the time to run to Him, crawl up beside Him, and just begin to tell Him about everything that is going on in our lives. The good and the bad. Trust me, He is wide awake, and He desires nothing more than to be with us.

One of my favorite books of all time was introduced to me while I was attending Valley Forge Christian College.  Gordon MacDonald’s book, Ordering Your Private World, was required reading for one of my classes and although I didn’t read it then, I am reading it now, some fifteen years later. That’s my way of confessing to Dr. McNaughton.

The very first chapter, The Sinkhole Syndrome, is both a compelling and challenging chapter. Here is an excerpt from the chapter:

The residents of a Florida apartment building awoke to a terrifying sight outside of their windows. The ground beneath the street in front of their building had literally collapsed, creating a massive depression that Floridians call a sinkhole. Tumbling into the ever-deepening pit were automobiles, pavement, sidewalks, and lawn furniture. The building itself would obviously be the next to go. Sinkholes occur, scientists say, when underground streams drain away during seasons of drought, causing the ground at the surface to lose its underlying support. Suddenly, everything simply caves in, leaving people with a frightening suspicion that nothing–not even the earth beneath their feet–is trustworthy.

The news is filled with people like Tiger Woods, Jesse James, and the Gosselin’s, all of whom are just like you and I, they, in some cases for years, did nothing to shore up the foundations of their lives and one day it all “suddenly” came crashing down. Infidelity, addictions to pain killers, the worship of a false god, and broken marriages were the debris that fell into the sinkhole.

No one is immune from the attacks of the enemy (the devil). The Bible tells us that he is looking to “steal, kill, and destroy”. He wants nothing more than for you and I to keep ignoring the steady stream of sin that runs beneath our lives. Over the years, many ministers paid the price of not taking care of their private world. They allowed greed, lust, sex, and the abuse of power to override the warning signs beneath the surface. After all, when you take a look at a building, all you see is what’s on the outside. A solid, and towering structure. We are very good at looking solid and towering, aren’t we? We hide behind our tweets, Facebook pages, blogs, and websites and present ourselves as having it all together.

I can tell you from experience that if you don’t pay attention to your private world, it will all come crashing down and that sinkhole will be filled with the very people who you love. You may feel down and out, you may feel like you are at the end of your rope, you may feel like the whole world is against you, I understand.

But, there is a God who loves you with everything that is within Him, no matter what you have done or are doing, the Bible tells us that “we cannot escape the love of the Father.” The Bible also goes on to say that “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” The bottom line is that there is a God who love you unconditionally and He wants to be your friend. How cool is that?

Let’s not kid ourselves and think that this post is just for the adulterers, sex addicts, drug addicts, etc. . .You know, the “big” sins that we like to place in order? God is just as concerned about a lack of prayer and reading of the Bible. In fact, that’s where the sinkhole begins to take place, when we begin to neglect the One who created us. Sooner or later, if a building is not maintained, it will fall. If a car isn’t taken care of, it will break down.

God has a wonderful plan for you despite what you have done. Every sin can be forgiven and ever dream can be realized! Now, go and put things in order.

Back in my youth (I sound so old) I would take a hike quite frequently. Nothing would rejuvenate me more than going to my “altar” at Harper’s Ferry, WV. The picture that you see on my profile is from the Ferry. However, there was always one problem that I had. I felt it was necessary to put my head down and just go as fast as I could go from point “A” to point “B”. I guess it was some sort of personal challenge that was subconsciously driving me forward. Who knows?

Men are just wired that way. Once we get started on any journey, we don’t stop until we conquer it. We don’t ask for help and we certainly always know where we are going.  For example, when I would leave Valley Forge Christian College to come home to Winchester, VA for the weekend, I never stopped. I made sure I loaded up on Wawa’s Raspberry Tea and a stout bag of beef jerky before embarking on my 3 hour journey (once, I made it in 2 1/2 hours).Varoom!! point “B” here I come. I always took the back roads home. I would travel down the turnpike and get off on 222 and head south to Route 30 and then towards Lancaster and York, then I’d hit 15 south from Gettysburg to Frederick, MD (Hey Fouts!!), and from there I would take 340 south through Harper’s Ferry, to 7 west which would then take me to Winchester. Just me in my little Bronco, Raspberry tea, beef jerky, windows down and Bon Jovi cranked way up! Inevitably, I would always need to stop and “go” when I hit York, PA but I just kept on truckin’.

It wasn’t until one day, some years ago, that I was hiking in the Ferry with my wife, Sarah. She wasn’t in as good of shape as me (I played soccer at the time) so I figured I would just prove how strong I was and I took off. I figured she could just follow the trail. Once I was about 30 yards in front of her, she yelled at me to stop. What?? I can’t stop, I’m on my way from point “A” to point “B”. But, I waited. Sorry guys, I had to! Once she reached me, and once she caught her breath, she asked me why I was going so fast. I didn’t have an answer. It was just the thing to do. She then asked, “don’t you just ever stop and enjoy the journey?” Um, “No”. On to the top we went!

Little does she know that from that day forward I always kept that question in the back of my mind. The easiest thing to do is to go through this life and not stop to smell the roses. Some of us are on the mountaintops of life and some of us are still trudging our way through the valleys. At some point we all switch places.

Easter is coming up and I believe this is the best time of the year to stop and enjoy the journey. Because it was during this time when the journey of Jesus, here on this earth, came to an end. He went from point “A” to point “B” touching people like you and me along the way. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the storms. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Enjoy your family, your friends, and begin to enjoy your journey! Here’s the view from the top at Harper’s Ferry.

By the way, my family and I take the same route to visit our family in Pottstown, PA, as I did back in college. And guess what? I never knew York had so many sights to see:)

Stop and enjoy the journey!

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at a small church in Coalport, PA, where I shared the text of Matthew 14:22-33. Perhaps you are like me and read through these familiar stories very quickly because let’s face it, we’ve read them a thousand times, memorized the verses, and some churches still use those old felt tip “action figures” when discussing the story in Sunday school. I can become callous to the familiar.

However, this “story” meant something a bit more to me at this point in my life because I, like the disciples, am going through my own little storm. It certainly pales in comparison to what the people in Haiti and Chile are going through, but it’s a storm, nonetheless. For almost three years I have been waiting for the Lord to open a door of ministry. Time after time after time after. . .the doors have closed. There have been some moments where I have just wanted to throw in the towel. But, there have also been some “God moments” where the Lord would just show up in His own way and bring some peace in the midst of the chaos. If you are at a place in your life where you have been waiting on God for any length of time, especially when the days, weeks, and months become years, then you can certainly understand.

What the Lord showed me through this passage was that He wanted me to rise above my frustration, rise above my fear, and rise above my weaknesses. These disciples are just like you and me. We can go through life being frustrated that we are rowing so hard but hardly making any headway. We can become fearful of the waves of circumstances that surround us. And we can operate in a state of weakness.

It’s a simple lesson, really. One that we never seem to learn. The disciples had been through a similar storm before, the one where Jesus was asleep in the boat. They doubted then and they doubted now.

If you are frustrated, fearful, and seem to be walking in weakness, take courage. Jesus is on the mountain making intercession for you and I as we speak. He is the right hand of God, the same right hand the bent over and lifted Peter out of the water. The same right hand that will cause you to rise above your frustrations, your fears, and your weaknesses when you make the choice to keep your focus on Him.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I have to admit that I always wondered what the fascination was with all of these blogs. Seems like everyone has one these days so I thought I’d join the ride.

My life began in 1970 and for the past 39 years I’ve had the pleasure of being on some wonderful rides and have endured the pain of some I’d like to forget. What’s the saying, “whatever doesn’t break you, makes you stronger”? Well, I do feel stronger and my sense of adventure continues as my family and I wait on the Lord for His purpose, His will and His timing.