Rick Anderson's Blog, page 2

Witness to Glory

Kim and I went for a late afternoon stroll in the neighborhood just before dark.  As we rounded the twists and turns of the streets, our eyes fell on the setting sun in the west.

The cloud cover was just right to reflect the rays of the setting sun, transforming them into a brilliant spectacle of color and beauty.  Our jaws went slack as we tried to continue our walk, but caught ourselves stopping several times to take pictures of the glorious display.

The Apostle Paul talks in 2 Corinthians Chapter 3 about Moses bringing the children of Israel through the wilderness and how he would have to wear a veil over his face after meeting with God because the glory of the Lord shone so brightly from his face.  He says that there are those whose hearts are still veiled when the old covenant is read and they still don’t see God’s glory revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.  Paul goes on to say in verse 16, “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”  He further tells us in verse 18; “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

So if you are a child of God, then you know the truth about Him and are reflecting His glory into this world which needs to see it so desperately.  As you continue to seek the Lord with your whole heart and put your whole trust in His Word, which is truth (John 17:17), the Lord is working within you to make you more and more like him. 

Allow the light of God’s love that is in you to shine brightly for His glory in the living out of your day.  You, too, will be an awesomely beautiful display of the glory of God as you bear witness to His love, mercy and grace that has been extended to all of us living in this world. 

 

 

 

Seeking Happiness

Our little Chihuahua, Pixie, is a spoiled brat of a dog.  Don’t get me wrong, for a Chihuahua, she is a sweet dog.  That doesn’t mean that she’s not spoiled, however!

One reason that I say this is that she is constantly looking for what brings her maximum comfort.  If someone is sitting on the couch, she snuggles up next to them or on top of them and dozes.  If one of us is in bed, she wants to be in the bed with us.  She burrows up underneath the covers and finds that place that is just right so that she can conk out.

When no one is around to accommodate her desire to snuggle and keep her warm, then she finds her perch on top of the blanket that lies on the back of the couch.  This has come to be known as her “throne” where she plants herself so that she can have a bird’s eye view of everything going on in the house. 

I must admit that I’m not a lot different than Pixie.  Okay, I may look a little bit different and come in a much larger size, but my objective oftentimes is not any different than that of our pint-sized companion.

Yes, in my human nature, I want whatever pleases me and makes me happy.  The thing is that I’m not any different than the vast majority of people that have walked the face of this earth since the beginning of time.  We all want what we want and we’re steadily trying to get it by one means or another.

Enter Jesus Christ onto the stage of human selfishness.  He had a different sort of message.  He said, to “love others as yourself” (Mark 12:31).  He even went so far as to say in John 12:25, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.”

Yikes!  I think that I need to ask the Lord to help me change my priorities and quit worrying so much about pleasing myself.  The irony of the whole matter is that no matter how hard we seek to make ourselves happy, we will never achieve it.  It’s only in giving ourselves away to God and others that true happiness is found. 

So go forth and make yourselves happy…by seeking the Lord and serving others!

Part of the Story

The year was 1968 when a little orphan girl wandered in from the street into the Christian church in the small town in South Korea.  She was mesmerized at what she witnessed inside the sanctuary.  Children and adults were dressed in costume and practicing a procession toward a man and woman huddled around a feed trough at the front of the church. 

The little girl didn’t know what the whole scene meant as her family had been Buddhist and she had never known about the Christ child.  The little girl wanted so desperately to have a part in the grand re-enactment that occurred in the church, but she didn’t know how.

She finally walked out of the church into the street and back to the orphanage which was her home.  Every time that she passed the church, she would think of that scene and how badly that she wanted to be a part in that wonderful production. 

A year later, she was adopted by an American family and brought to the U.S., where she grew up.  She never quite let go of her Buddhist faith and continued to believe that there were many paths to find God.

Many years later, her best friend, Diana, invited her to a Bible study at First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches.  She reluctantly agreed and began attending regularly with her friend.  Through the grace of God reaching out to her through the illumination of His Word and the fellowship with Christians who loved her, she finally came to trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.  She had never forgotten the live nativity scene at that little church in her hometown in South Korea and how much she had wanted to play a part in the story. 

Today, that little girl is my wife and the mother to our children.  She lives each day as an ambassador for the Lord in Christ’s marvelous story of redeeming a lost world.  She finally gets to play the part that she always wanted to play from the time that she was a little Buddhist girl in a country on the other side of the world.

2Corinthians 5:20; So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 

To the Ends of the Earth

I waited my place the serving line of the church fellowship hall as we made our way toward the delicious display of Asian food that was spread out on the tables before us.  The young American lady who stood before me asked, “What is that?”  “It’s frog legs,” I replied and watched as she raised her hand to her mouth in shock and disbelief.  She passed over the frog legs and heaped her plate with fried fish, which appeared a lot safer to her.

After we heaped out plates, we made our way to the tables that were beautifully decorated for the Chinese New Year.  The table where I sat was filled with people from Taiwan, Beijing and South Korea.  Other tables held people from other cities and nations in Asia, including one man from Nepal.

As we all finished our dinner, an American man led us in a short devotional from God’s word and a personal testimony about what he thought God was asking of him for the coming year.  He asked us each to do the same, so many of us witnessed to what God was speaking into our hearts and lives at the present time. 

It was a beautiful time of bearing witness to God among the nations without having to leave home.  It wasn’t a time to play it safe, but rather one when we could boldly speak the truth of God’s love as it applied to each of us in the context of our own lives.  While most of the folks present were Christians, some were not.  Nevertheless, everyone was treated with love and respect.

The gentleman from Taiwan who sat beside me finally rose and led us all in singing some songs in Mandarin that he had printed out for us. 

Jesus tells the apostles in Act 1:8; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

May the Lord lead us in the power of the Holy Spirit to not play it safe, but to bear witness to the whole world of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Sometimes we even get the chance to do so without a plane ticket. 

Relocation

I stopped by the home of some friends the other day.  There were boxes everywhere and they were busily scurrying about the house, carefully packing their personal belongings into the boxes for loading on the moving van that would soon be backing up to their garage door.

I and they were torn due to the dichotomy of emotions that boiled up within us.  We were excited for their new home and the opportunities to be closer to loved ones, yet we all grieved the loss of relationship that was bound to happen between us. 

It’s always hard to watch someone you care about pack up and relocate to another town where you won’t see them very often.  After all, we become attached to people and want them to be near us forever.  We don’t want to have to say goodbye to those that we care about.

Even if we never leave our home community where we grew up, we still have to watch others come and go, taking a piece of our heart with them when they leave. 

The upshot of the whole deal for those who believe in Christ is that we know that our goodbye is not forever.  We know that hidden in that farewell is the hope of seeing them again in heaven.  We trust that through Christ we will have life everlasting and we will have an eternity to spend together with old friends and new as well.

King David said it best in Psalm 39:7; “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” 

And so it is…our hope is in the God of heaven to set all things right one day.  Although there are times that we have to say goodbye to our Christian friends here on earth, we know that we will be together again.  That day will truly be a joyful reunion as we praise God without ceasing for His mercy and grace.  I pray that you are there with me to share life that never ends together with the Lord of Hosts, as we sing praises for all the wonderful things that He has done. 

 

Waiting…

At around five o’clock every day during the work week, you can bank on our little Chihuahua, Pixie, jumping down from her perch on top of the couch to go wait for her Mama to get home.  She will patiently wait sometimes for over an hour, so that she gets to be there when Kim walks through the door.

I can know when Kim is here because Pixie starts whining and getting excited the moment her car pulls into the driveway.  Kim always says that she knows that she is missed because Pixie is anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Maybe that’s what the old Prophet had in mind when he wrote in Isaiah 40:31; “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

It’s really easy for us to look to other resources to fill our every need and to forget about trusting in God to help us in the living out of our lives.  There are many other means by which we can attempt to satisfy our wants and desires.

God has stated his case for us, that He wants us to trust in Him and to center our lives on Him.  He wants us to wait on Him and to depend on Him to lead and guide us.  Let’s face it.  To put God at any other place than in His rightful place at the very center of our universe will be disastrous to us, to our families, our communities, our churches, and our land.

Maybe Pixie has a good point.  Shouldn’t we wait on the one who loves us the most and takes care of us?  Shouldn’t we focus our energy and affection on the Lord?  If Pixie’s on to something, and if God’s word is right (which it is!), then I’m going to wait on the Lord!  He hasn’t failed me yet, so I’m going to continue to wait on Him and put my trust in Him!  I hope you will, too.

 

Through the Fog

When I opened the garage door and backed my car out onto the driveway, I immediately noticed that there was a heavy fog that had descended over northern Nacogdoches County.  I stepped back into the house to warn my wife, Kim, that she needed to leave early for church because of the hazardous driving conditions.

After I left the house and turned onto the FM road, I was surprised to meet a car coming toward me that didn’t have their headlights turned on.  I thought to myself, “Wow!  It’s really hard to see them without their lights on!” 

I turned my car onto Highway 59 and carefully drove through Garrison and on toward Timpson.  I noticed a car coming quickly up behind me through the fog.  This car was driving in excess of the speed limit and didn’t have their headlights on either.  The vehicle blew past me and back into the fog ahead with seemingly no conscious thought that they were practically invisible to anyone else.

Jesus must have foreseen a similar problem for us Christians.  He knew that we would get caught up in the concerns of this world and forget about the true source of hope that lives in us.  He said in Matthew 5:14-16; “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so thatthey may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

I don’t know about you, but I want my lights to be turned on so that others might see God working in and through me!  Remember to stay close to the Lord through prayer, Bible study, worship and having Christian friends that keep you encouraged and held accountable.  Only then can our lights shine brightly into a world that needs to see that brightness so desperately.  Through it all, may God be glorified!

Two Roads

We were heading through Knoxville, Tennessee on our way to Pigeon Forge when I asked Kim to pull up the map on her phone.  In a minute or two, she pulled up a map that showed two different ways to get there.  One was on up the interstate a ways and down a major highway, while the other veered off onto a two-lane road heading directly from Knoxville to our destination.  I opted for the major thoroughfare, assuming that it would be the best route to take.

WRONG!!  We got to within about three miles of the exit on the interstate when traffic in the right hand lane ground to a screeching halt.  From that point onward, it took about two hours to cover a few miles into Pigeon Forge.

I think I’ve been on that road before.  You know…the road that leads directly into a jumbled mess.  Jesus tells us at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 that there are two roads that we can take in life. He says, “For the gate is wide and the way is easythat leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

There are definitely two roads that we can choose to travel on.  Choosing Christ and His way isn’t always easy, but the road that is most travelled definitely leads to a train wreck!  God has promised to walk with us every step of the way if we’ll choose to follow His path. 

The good news is that if you’ve chosen to go down the pathway that looked good at the time but has led you into a state of hopeless disarray, you can leave that road and detour onto the narrow path.  You can choose to follow Jesus at any point along the way.  He is waiting for you to follow His way.  It is far better and leads to life abundant. 

I’ll tell you one thing.  The next time that I go to Pigeon Forge, I’m taking the two-lane road.  It’s got to be better than the major thoroughfare!  How about you?  Will you choose the narrow way?

Spilled Blueberries

We stopped off at the Wal-Mart in Texarkana on the way back from out Christmas vacation to Tennessee.  After stretching our legs for a little while, Kim ended up with an armload of bananas, blueberries, and other items that she wanted to take home with us.

She handed the groceries to me and asked me to pay for them because she needed to go look for something else before we left the store.  Caleb and I ambled up to the express lane, which already had several people in line waiting to check out. 

After standing there for a couple of minutes, I remembered that I had a Wal-Mart gift card in my wallet that I could use to make the purchase, so I balanced the load of stuff in my one hand while fishing my wallet out of my pocket with the other.

As I dragged the wallet out, the load shifted in my hand and I jerked to try to catch everything.  I seemed to have caught everything until I looked down at my feet and saw the blueberries that were scattered all over the floor for ten feet in every direction.

My initial thought was, “Did I do that?”  Then everyone around began to gawk at me and I felt a flush of embarrassment.  I didn’t quite know what to do.  In just a few seconds, I heard, “Clean up on the express lane” blurt over the PA for the entire store.  I wanted to crawl in a hole.

Within a few moments, a gentleman came up behind me with a dust pan and broom.  Without saying a word, he began cleaning up my mess that had fanned out from where I stood in every direction.  I shuffled over to him and said, “Sorry, Man.”  He said, “No problem.” 

The Apostle John reminds us in 1John 1:9 what Jesus has done for us when he says, “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.”

We can all be thankful that Jesus will clean up our mess if we just ask.  We can’t clean up our own sin.  Only Jesus can do it.  Then we can live free of all that brokenness that spreads out all around us.  Through the forgiveness that Christ offers us, we can live life on God’s terms as forgiven children of God.  Thanks be to God!

Supernatural Connection

 

The annual Christmas music program was underway at church yesterday as we were all transfixed by the songs that the choir was singing, reminding us of the blessed birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  All of a sudden, my cell phone starts vibrating in my pocket.  I dug down in my pocket to see who might be calling me during the church service.  Thankfully, I had turned the ringer off before church started!

I saw the name that displayed across the top of my cellphone and immediately knew it to be a lady who was sitting on the second row of the sanctuary.  Leaning over from my perch a few feet behind the pulpit, I craned my neck to see if she was actually calling me from her place in the front of the church. 

When I saw her, she was totally oblivious to what had happened!  Her attention was trained on the choir which was lifting everyone’s spirits with their yuletide melodies.  I knew right away that somehow her phone had shifted inside of her purse and accidentally dialed my number. 

I hung up the phone and refocused my attention on the song that was glorifying God for what He had done for us by sending His Son, Jesus to be born in human flesh.  Immanuel, God with us, had come to earth in order to save us from our sins.  Hallelujah!

Now I can’t begin to understand how a cellphone works and how we can be connected with someone else seemingly through thin air.  Neither can I understand how believers experience the unity of the Holy Spirit as we connect together while worshipping the Lord.  I only know that it happens and I’m thankful that we can gather together to worship and praise God. 

Paul tells us in Romans 15:5-6; May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that all who believe in Christ might be connected by the Spirit’s power and together bring glory to God through our praise.  Merry Christmas!