The Seed of Hope

The weary, peaceful, Warrior.

The weary, peaceful, Warrior.

This is for all of us who walk with God every day, fighting the never-ending fight, and never giving up.

Earlier this week I received an e-mail from my friend Katie thanking me for The Seed of Hope. I was grateful for her words and humbled by her message. Katie has graciously allowed me to share just a bit of it with you…

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your ever present reminder of how faithful God is. I love reading the blog and the message even more.

It appears as though the past few weeks have been tough. I am sorry for your stress and hurt. But God has a perfect plan for a future that He can only see. I hope you have a great week!”

As I sat there reflecting on what Katie had written I came to realize several things:

·         Much of what I’ve written about the past few weeks has dealt with the trials and tribulations in my life. I believe that some have been tests from God, that many have been the work of Satan, and the rest of them have been, well, they’ve been what life throws at me from time to time.

·         Apparently my writing as of late has failed to reflect the joy that comes with working through the tough spots. Yep, you read it right; I said joy.

·         I am weary of the fight. I am a weary, peaceful, warrior.

August, 2006

Yet again I find myself thinking about that day in August that I got my tattoo. The day that I was born again. The day that I declared myself to be a soldier of Christ. The day that I became a warrior for Jesus, vowing to fight His fights and to take His message wherever I could.

How ironic it was that on the day I vowed to be not just any warrior, but His warrior, I was filled with complete peace. At the very moment that I made my declaration, my mind and mind heart were filled with a calmness that, well, that I had never known. I found peace.

Peaceful people don’t want to fight; it’s not in their nature. Warriors must fight; there’s no choice to be made.

And so it has been since that day in August. Every day I recite Ephesians 6:10-20, and in doing so I put on the Armor of God, asking Him to protect me and my wife Jackie against Satan and his dark forces. And every day I go out with the intention of being a shining light for God, carrying His light to whoever lives in darkness. Every day. And I fight the fight. Because that’s what I choose to do.

Look, you don’t have to write a blog page, or declare yourself to be a soldier of Christ, or be bold in your faith every day to be tested. It’s gonna happen anyway. But you already know that, don’t you?

If you’re a good person, you’re gonna be tested every day. Believe in God? That only makes it worse. Striving to be a good Christian, walking in His way? Then you my friend, are being pounded on all the time!

I believe that what matters most is not what we’re dealt in life, but what we do with what we’re dealt.

James

One of my favorite verses in the NIV Bible is found in James 1:2-4:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Pure joy?

Come on! How are we supposed to accept the crap that we have to deal with as being joy?

A couple of weeks ago, when I was having one of those particularly trying days, my good friend Sharon reminded me of James 1, but with a different perspective. Sharon suggested that I check out The MESSAGE version of the same verse:

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

A sheer gift?

YES! That’s exactly what they are! All of ‘em! Sheer gifts!

Even the ones from Satan. You think I’m kidding? I’ve learned a lot from him, especially the lengths to which he will go to get between me and God! I don’t think that he’ll ever give up…but then neither will I. On those days when I’ve just had enough of him, I just bind him up, in the Name of Jesus, and “kick him to the curb!” Laugh if you want to, but believe me, it works.

I’ve said this before, and it bears repeating:

It’s never fun when we have to go through hardships…as a spouse, a parent, a leader, a follower. Who of us likes to stumble and fall? Who doesn’t grow weary of getting back up, over and over again? Well, no one, of course.

We need to remember that every test, every lesson, and every trial that we receive from God serves to make us what He wants us to be. They get us ever closer to what He has planned for us. In every one of life’s challenges lies another piece to the puzzle, another key to His Kingdom!

And we should always look to Him for strength...

but those who hope in the Lord wil renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV

Pastor Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands here in Birmingham once said that “Greatness is born in difficulty.” I don’t know if he coined the phrase or heard it from someone else, but I certainly believe it to be true.

That being the case, I believe that, based on our actions and reactions to what life deals us, we can all be destined for greatness.

Yeah, I’m a peaceful warrior. And at times I grow weary from the fight. But I’m in it for the long haul, and I’m havin’ a ball living my life. Thanks for the reminder, Katie!

See you next week!

What If?

“What if?”

What if? Combining those two simple words to form a simple question opens the door to a world of possibilities, doesn’t it?

What if has launched countless dreams that have changed the course of our world. Astronaut Neil Armstrong had a what if. So did visionaries Henry Ford, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Bill Gates. I’ve got to believe that each of these amazing people, at some point in their lives, questioned “What if?”

If I look over my shoulder at my past, especially my younger years, I could make a list of What ifs that served to shape the way that my life has unfolded…what if I’d finished college?...what if I had tried a bit harder?…what if I had found God earlier in my life? What if? What if? What if?

Truth be told, I really don’t spend a lot of time looking over my shoulder, wondering what if I had turned left instead of right, or said “no” instead of “yes”. What’s the point in doing so? I can’t get a re-do on decisions that I’ve made in my life.  What’s done is done; it’s history. Besides, if I spent all of my time looking at the past, I couldn’t enjoy the present, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to dream of the what ifs that may be in my future…

About Eve…

This past week was a pretty rough one for me in our salon. I had to fire a member of our team on Monday. Two people were out with some type of virus on Tuesday, and another called in sick on Wednesday. One of our stylists took exception to something that was said by someone else, and the resulting tension in the salon was almost palpable. There were shipping delays on two huge supply orders that I had placed on Monday and Wednesday. In the midst of all of this, work continued on the current expansion of our salon. Wow.

I woke up at 4 o’clock on Thursday morning with the feeling that I was suffocating! It was obvious that the events of the week were taking a toll on me mentally. I made my way to my prayer chair in our kitchen, anticipating the comfort of being in prayer and meditation with God.

I don’t know, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes into prayer my mind started to wander a bit, and I found myself posing one of those what if questions…

What if Eve had never taken a bite of the apple in the Garden of Eden?

Have you ever thought about that one? How different would things be for us?

I’ve gotta add something here: I know that Eve took the first bite, but if she hadn’t, it would have been Adam. Or one of their kids. Or one of their kids. I believe that, sooner or later, someone would’ve taken a bite of that apple! You see, it’s part of our nature as humans to succumb to temptation from time to time, and the temptation was just too great.

Before I move on, let me give you another what if to ponder on later…

What if God knew all along that somebody was gonna eat the apple? That it was part of His plan for us?

What if?

So there I was, sitting in my prayer chair, wondering what it would be like if no one had ever taken a bite of the apple?

God’s presence. Abundance. No suffering. No pain. No sickness. No prejudice. Peace. Love. Joy. Happiness.

I’m sure that I probably left a lot off of the list, but I think you get what I’m trying to say here. Take away that one bite, and life as we know it, well, wouldn’t be life as we know it! Come to think of it, I think that if I was asked to define “heaven”, I would’ve used the same words to do so. Heaven on earth, in the Garden of Eden. What a ticket!

But then…

I spent the next few minutes fast-forwarding through my fifty-seven years on this earth, and especially the years following August of 2006, when I was born again.

IF no one had bitten the apple, I might not have known the miracles that God has worked in my life. I might not have been lifted up out of the hopelessness that plagued me for so many years. I might not have known what it was like to be without, and then to have. I might not have appreciated His awesome Power and Glory. I might have never known His Wisdom and Compassion. I might have never known the ultimate display of sacrifice in Jesus being crucified on the cross. I might not have this fire in me that burns for Him every day; to love Him, to know Him, and to serve Him.

If no one had taken a bite of the apple, my life definitely wouldn’t have been the same. It would certainly have been easier. But would it have been as full?  

In church.

I was in church yesterday morning, flanked by my wife Jackie and some of our closest friends. We were singing songs of praise, and as we were doing so, I was once again reflecting on What if?

But this time, it was a different question…

What if God said to me, “Okay Sam, your time here is up. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Are you ready to put down your burdens down and come home?”

As I stood there in church, tears streaming down my face, attempting to sing but overcome by emotions, I realized yet again just how blessed I am. I wouldn’t trade my life for anything on earth. In fact, I wouldn’t even trade it for the promise of heaven, at least not yet.

I believe that God puts all of us here for a reason, a purpose. I feel that I just stumbled upon my reason for being here a few years ago, and that there is much that I have yet to accomplish.

I’d ask Him for a little more time.

The Sins of The Past

The Sins of the Past…

There are those times when I sit in front of this laptop and know exactly what I’m going to say. The words and thoughts come quite easily, and my fingers move as quickly as my “hunt and peck” method of typing will allow me to go. I’ll attack the topic of the day with fervor, wanting to share everything that’s racing through my mind with you.

Then there are those rare occasions when I feel compelled to write about a subject that makes me a bit uncomfortable. I’m having one of those moments right now. I don’t know if the discomfort comes from the topic itself, or the fact that I’m writing about something that I’m not really sure of. Either way, I feel that God put this on my heart for a reason. Perhaps, as is so often the case, there is something for me to learn, something for me to “discover”, as this particular post unfolds…

As the title of this post suggests, today I want to talk about our sins of the past. Yeah, I said our sins. No offense intended, but we’ve all broken at least one of God’s Ten Commandments, haven’t we? Tell you what…for now, I’ll just focus on my sins of the past.

Atone & Atonement

The word “atone” carries a lot of weight. It’s a verb meaning to reconcile, or to make amends for an action. “Atonement”, the noun, means reconciliation, or reparation for an offense or an injury.

The greatest example of atonement is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. His crucifixion served as reparation for the sins of Adam and Eve against God. He paid an unbelievable price so that we may live in God’s grace.

I’m, sorry, but this is not going where I want it to go.

A good friend of mind accused me of be “outrageously, fearlessly, bold” in my faith. Perhaps that’s what I need to be right now…

You see, what I want to talk about is not just the sins of the past, but the price that we may pay for those sins. And I’ll be honest with you; I’m not really comfortable sitting here typing about even the notion that we may have to pay a price for our sins; it goes against the grain of what I believe and feel about God.

It’s just that several people have reached out to me in the past few weeks, wondering why God is allowing things to happen in their lives, wondering if they’re doing something wrong, or if they’ve done something wrong in the past. And I’ll tell you; their questions, coupled with my inability to answer those questions, prompted me to look back at the first fifty-three years of my life, and wonder the same thing. Was my first marriage, which was a really difficult period in my life, the result of what I had done in the past? Were the next sixteen years of misery that I spent in a business that I couldn’t stand a “punishment” for divorcing my first wife? Were the feelings of insecurity, unworthiness, and failure that plagued me for so many years God’s way of slapping me on the wrist?  

Look, I can run down the list of the Ten Commandments, God’s guidelines for us, and know that I’ve broken a lot of them in my lifetime. No, I’m not gonna go into details about them with you. I’m just telling you that I’m no saint, and that I never have been. I’ve sinned against God. And each time I’ve asked Him for forgiveness.

But is it that enough?

Is it enough just to say “I’m sorry.”? I believe that God is all-forgiving; if I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t say it to you all the time. But is being sorry enough?

I remember when my sons Brian and Christian were kids. Most times I sensed that they were truly sorry for what they’d done. And every time, I still loved them, regardless of what they’d done. Still there were those times when they did something wrong, something really wrong, and they’d get a spanking, or have to stand with their noses in a corner of a room, or get their mouths washed out with soap. It didn’t mean that I loved them any less. I just wanted them to be accountable for their actions. And I wanted them to remember the lesson that I was trying to teach them.

To hear either of them say “Dad, I’m so sorry. I promise that I won’t do it again.” was good, but sometimes it wasn’t enough. They had to learn a lesson; they had to pay for what they’d done, because I couldn’t be sure if they were really remorseful.

GOD knows.

Okay, this is yet another instance of not knowing exactly where I’m going with this; bear with me…

Some of us are afraid to stand before God…to admit that we’ve done wrong (like He doesn’t know it!), to even acknowledge that we’ve done something wrong. This defiance, or perhaps in some cases it is fear, stands between us and most any kind of relationship with God.

Others of us will lay claim to our transgressions against Him out fear of what He will do to us if we don’t say that we’re sorry. While this is better than the first group, it still serves as a hindrance to a true relationship with God.

It’s when we can stand before God, being completely open, accountable, and filled with remorse for what we’ve done, that we can ask for and receive His forgiveness…that we may receive His grace.

When I’ve done something to offend God, I’m filled with remorse. And shame. And hurt. I hurt because I’ve hurt Him.

And unlike the times when I was unsure if my son’s were truly sorry for what they’d done, God always knows when my pleas for forgiveness are sincere. And He forgives me; with no strings attached.

So if we’re not paying for our sins of the past, why do we have to deal with the “bad stuff” in our lives?

God never gives us anything that is bad. He may give us tests in life, challenges in life, which may be perceived by us as being bad, especially when we’re going through them. But He gives each one of these tests to us for a reason…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-5

Here’s the thing: we don’t know why God gives us what He does in life, and we will never know. He has a plan for us, for each one of us, and those plans are more intricate and detailed than any we could ever make for ourselves.

Every day, we are molded and shaped by Him as we follow the path that He’s laid out for us. When we realize this; when we accept His will, His guidance, and His tests, life becomes so much easier for us. Notice that I didn’t say “easy.” Quite often following God and being a Christian is anything but easy.

You want an example of this? When you have a few moments, I invite you to read the book of Job. Job had everything… wife, family, wealth. It seemed that Job had certainly found God’s favor.

In the blink of an eye, Job lost everything. Everything. Satan took everything that Job had, and God was watching! Yet Job never took his eyes off of God. He never wavered in his faith. He never doubted God’s plan for him.

In the blink of an eye, Job gained everything.

Oh, that we all may be blessed with the patience of Job…