Rick Anderson's Blog, page 4

And Now I See

Galatians 3:23; “Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.”

On Friday, I finally put all of them away for good, although I had needed them to help me for most of my life.  No more contact lenses.  No more prescription glasses.  No more reading glasses.  I’m done!

After waiting until the time was right, my eyes underwent a transformation.  I had Lasik surgery performed on both eyes, and now I can see without a helper!  I feel as if I’ve been set free to be able to live life without the need for spectacles that helped me to stay on the right path.

Paul reminds us that the law was given to help keep the Jews on the right path until a better way was revealed. 

He says in Galatians 3:24-26; “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.  And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.  For you are all childrenof God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

I am thankful to God for being able to see without the help of glasses, but I’m even more thankful for having been saved from sin and death through simple faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, who guides me every step of my journey.  I join with John Newton who wrote “Amazing Grace” and said, “I once was blind, but now I see”. 

Give thanks today that God has made a way for us to see clearly the truth revealed in Jesus Christ and that He has made a way for us to become His children through faith in His Son.  Jesus is our Good Shepherd who leads us in the right path as we follow Him in faith. 

God Bless You on THIS Day

“God bless you on THIS day!” Mary said to me as I stepped up the stairs at the local coffee house.  A wave of emotion washed over me as I considered the words that she had said to me.  It was not lost on me that today was September the 11th, the day when we came under terrorist attack and lost so many innocent people to the heartless acts of Al Qaeda. 

At the same time, I recalled Mary’s story.  On September the 11th of 2001, she had been in the hospital in Wilmington, Delaware as her infant daughter, Emily, fought for her life against cancerous tumors that ravaged her little body.  The doctors had already given up.

Then a stranger called the phone in Emily’s room to tell Mary that there was a healing service that evening at a church nearby.  Mary knew that she had to get her daughter to that service.  Then the airplanes hit their targets in New York City and Washington, DC and another plunged into the ground in rural Pennsylvania. 

The world was in an uproar.  Later that day, Mary argued with her doctor, who finally gave in to her demand to take Emily to the healing service.  When she got to the church, it was packed with desperate people who were heartbroken over the terrorist acts of the day.  Mary was ushered to the very front where she sat with baby Emily.  There Emily was lifted up in prayer before the throne of Grace.

Mary shared with me today that Emily is now eleven years old.  She is healthy and cancer free.  Jesus tells us in John 16:33; “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

All that I can think to say is, “Hallelujah!”  May God bless you on THIS day!

What’s the Name of Your Church?

She came into sight as I drove down the long straight stretch of two-lane road through the pecan orchards and fields of South Georgia.  I had been driving for over an hour and still had several hours yet to go to rejoin my family in Florida.

I had just spent the previous day visiting with my Mom in Georgia while my family was vacationing at the beach in Destin.  I had a great visit with Mom and spent the night with my brother before rising early the next morning for the long drive back to Florida.

That’s when I saw her in the distance.  She looked like just another little country brick church on the side of the highway complete with steeple and cemetery out back.  As I got closer to the church, I glanced to see the name of the church on the sign out front. 

I was expecting the name to be Ebenezer, Mt. Zion or Calvary Such-and-Such Church, but I admit that I did a double-take as the name of the church came into view.

Now, I can’t say that I’ve never seen the name before, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it that morning.  Somehow, the name captivated me as the words resonated somewhere deep down in my soul.  I was challenged by the name as the little church slid into my rearview mirror and I continued driving past on to Florida.

You see, the name of the little church on the side of the road in rural South Georgia was the Thankful Baptist Church.  I like that!  Maybe every church ought to be the Thankful Baptist or Methodist or Pentecostal Church.   

Paul tells us in Colossians 3:15; “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

I pray for all of us that we remain thankful believers in Christ who make up the His body here on the earth and proclaim the truth about Him until His triumphant return!  May we all be joyful members of the Thankful Church!

 

Chariot of Smoke

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

Today during lunch I reminisced to my kids about some of my experiences while growing up.  I felt that it was time that they knew a little more about me and also about what God had done in my world to show His faithful love.

I embellished on the story about how I made it through college, which was a real difficult time for me.  Having to work at multiple jobs and borrow money was the only way that I could support myself and pay for tuition and books

I remembered the car that I drove which was a real chick magnet!  It was an old, worn-out, Chevy Vega that I drove during college.  I kept a case of reconstituted oil in the back seat so that I could add two quarts every 150 miles because the valve seals had long since worn out.  Every time I pulled away from a stop sign, I left a billowing cloud of noxious smoke much to the disdain of the pedestrians who waited to cross the street.

The rubber floor mats in the back floorboard were strategically placed on both sides because the floor had rusted completely through.  The mats kept the exhaust smoke out of the passenger compartment of the car.  Such luxuries as heat and air conditioning were just a dream as I recall many mornings of scraping the ice from both the outside and the inside of the windshield before I drove to school.

Although getting a degree was a trial in many ways, I know that God was with me to help me through to a better day.  I hardly ever think of that old Vega anymore or about those tough days of the past.  God has wiped them away and has blessed me greatly.  I don’t drag the heavy anvil of poverty anymore, and I am thankful to God for blessing me. 

Little did I know at the time, but God would use that degree decades later to help pave the way for me to enter seminary and study to be a pastor.

The psalmist goes on to say, in Psalm 107:8; Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

All that I can say is praise the Lord!!

First Day of Mid-High

“Have a great day!” I said as Caleb opened the car door slammed it, then opened the back door to retrieve his backpack filled to the brim with notebooks, pencils and other school supplies.  It was his first day of mid-high and he was a nervous wreck.  Maybe I was a little, too!

After I dropped him off, I prayed for him that his day would go well.  I also began to reflect on other months of August when I was consumed by different concerns which plagued me like a pack of hungry coyotes.

Just twelve years ago, I recall how I was concerned that Caleb would be born healthy and without any serious medical issues.  A few years later, I was all consumed with the adoption process for a little girl whom I had never met that lived in an orphanage in China.  The next August after that, I held that malnourished little girl in my arms in a city on the other side of the world and fretted about getting her home so that we could nurse her to good health. 

Just a couple of Augusts later, my kids and I reeled from the blow of having lost their Mom and my wife to breast cancer.  The very next August, I was a newlywed married to a wonderful woman, Kim, who has been a gift from God for all of us.  Just this past week, I waited in the surgical waiting room as Kim underwent surgery to remove a suspicious growth on her thyroid gland.  The growth was benign and Kim has recovered nicely.    

Jesus tells us in John 16:33; “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Even though we always have joys and concerns in this life, I have come to know that Jesus wants to walk with us through it all, and to give us a sense of peace in knowing that He is in control.  I pray that you know the peace that passes all understanding in your heart and life.  If you don’t, then all you have to do is ask Him to come into your heart and live in you.  He will be your comforter and your guide.  You can trust Jesus with your life and the lives of those that you love.  After all, He loves us all far more than we know.   

A Marvelous Thing

The worship band finished the last praise song of the set and began to filter off the platform at the front of the amphitheater.  A young teenage boy remained the lone figure at the front.  All eyes were on him as he began his story.

“My name is Justin.  Eighteen years ago, Ron and Debbie were told by a doctor that they would never be able to have children.  They were devastated as they had always wanted to have a child.  They went home in a depression and began to pray for God’s guidance.  Within a few weeks, they felt that God was leading them to begin the process of adoption.  They were very excited as they believed that God had restored their hope to have a child.

Ron couldn’t wait to call his friend Mike, an attorney that Ron thought might help advise them as they began this adventure.  Ron called Mike early one Monday morning with the exciting news.  Mike, however, was not very encouraging.  He began to tell Ron that the adoption process can take from three to five years and it can exhaust thousands of dollars.  Ron hung up the phone after the conversation and tried to figure out how he would break the news to Debbie that they were in for a long, expensive process.

After a few minutes passed, Ron’s phone rang.  He picked it up and to his surprise it was the attorney, Mike, on the other end.  “Ron, you’re not going to believe this but as soon as I hung up the phone from talking with you, my first appointment came walking into the office.  Ron, it was a teenage girl and her mother.  The young girl is pregnant and wants to find a good, Christian home for her child.  Ron, they want you and Debbie to adopt the baby.”

Justin confessed to the crowd that hung on his every word, “Ron and Debbie are my parents, and I am that child, their son.  All that I can do is praise God for what He has done.”

I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.  Psalm 9:1

Through a Hole in the Floor

The Hole in the Floor
Mamertine Prison

The tour guide told us the story of how the Mamertine Prison in old Rome had been the only place of incarceration during the early days of the church.  Those condemned were brought to this place after being paraded through the Roman Forum where they were ridiculed as enemies of Rome. 

Once at Mamertine, they were beaten and lowered or thrown through a large hole in the floor to a dungeon that lay twelve feet below.  Here they would be chained to a stone column and spend their final days awaiting the judgment of the Caesar, which meant being beheaded for Roman citizens and crucifixion for all others.

According to tradition, this is the prison where Peter and Paul spent their final days.  Through the hole in the floor they were dropped to await condemnation and death.

As God has a way of doing, He wasn’t finished with these Apostles.  Within the walls of this dungeon many scholars believe that Paul penned the 2nd letter to Timothy and Peter wrote his 2nd epistle.

It is also recorded in history that God used Peter to bring two of his jailers, Processus and Martiniaus, to confess Christ as Lord.  Ironically, though lowered through a hole in the floor into condemnation unto death, Peter would miraculously cause water to rise up through a small hole in the dungeon floor so that he might baptize his captors. 

Matthew 28:19; “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

I want to believe that the story about Peter is true and that he lived out his final days in the same way that he had done up to that point: by being a servant of Christ and reaching out to all people with the Good News.  May Peter serve as an inspiration to all of us as we seek to follow Christ’s example of loving God and others in the hope that all people might come to know the love of God available through Jesus Christ. 

 

Eyes to See

I sat nervously as the optometrist twisted the dials on the phoropter that my son, Caleb looked through.  “Which one looks better…this one or this one?” the optometrist asked.

“That one,” Caleb replied.  More dials twisted.  “Which one is clearer, the red or the green?”  “The red.”  More questions came and went and more manipulation of the phoropter.  When it was finally over, the verdict was in.  Caleb needed glasses.

We marched through the door and down the hall to the display of hundreds of styles of glasses from which to choose.  Caleb began to sift through the specs as I began to fret about the cost.  He tried on a pair of round, Harry Potter glasses and we all laughed. 

Jesus talked about people who would come to see him, watch him perform miracles, and listen to his words as he spoke to them in parables.  Many wouldn’t see him for who he really was nor would they truly listen to understand his life-altering words.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:13; “For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.”

We finally settled on a pair of glasses and frames that were perfect for Caleb and they didn’t cost me an arm and a leg!  Now Caleb will be able to see when he goes to school in just a couple of weeks.  Wearing glasses myself, I know what a blessing it is to be able to see clearly!

Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 13:16; “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”  What a blessing to have our eyes and ears opened to the truth about Jesus Christ and to understand who he was and what he did for us on the cross of Calvary.  I pray that everyone who reads this will see Jesus for who he truly is and that you will all hear and understand his words to us.  May we all hold onto the truth about him with our all.  Hallelujah what a Savior! 

Do You Believe for Her?

Beggar Woman

The tour guide called out to us to gather ourselves with her just outside St. Peter’s Square as the late morning July sun beat heavily down on us.  As we came together like a covey of quail, a beggar woman dressed in shabby clothes approached us and held out a cup toward us, asking for coins.

The fact that we stood just outside one of the richest citadels on the face of the earth, the Vatican, yet we were confronted by abject poverty was ironic.  A shudder went down my spine as I wrestled with the conflicting emotions that surged within. 

One part of me wanted to empty my pockets into her cup in some feeble attempt to save her from her plight while another sought to condemn her for her condition.

Into the conflict in my mind whispered the words of Jesus in John 6:29; “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

I thought to myself, “Lord, I believe.”  In a voice that couldn’t be heard aloud, I heard, “Yes, you believe for yourself, but do you believe for her?”  I was taken aback with the proposition.  What could that mean, “do I believe for her?” 

As the thought permeated my consciousness, the idea that my personal faith wasn’t just for me but for others began to settle on me.  Do I believe that Jesus can transform her world, too?  Do I trust in Christ only for myself or does my faith affect my view of others and the whole world?  Do I trust that Jesus can truly change this beggar woman and if her, then the whole world?

My perception of my own faith shifted as I realized that Jesus wanted me to “believe” not just for me but for others as well…to trust that He could transform their world of brokenness by healing them and making them whole, just the way that He has been working in my own world. 

I thanked Him for helping me to see that my belief in Him is not only to transform myself but to help transform the world, beginning with me and my worldview.  I said a prayer for the beggar and began to think of the broken ones in my own sphere of influence.  I need to believe for them, too, and help them to find Christ who alone can heal their brokenness.  Do you believe for them?

Following the Crowd

The monorail packed with tourists lurched from the Piazzale Roma station headed toward the next stop where most of the travelers would exit.  The train took us the half-mile across the canal to the Venice port terminal, where it slowed to a stop.

The doors slid open and people began to pour out onto the second floor of the terminal.  When we were finally able to step onto the cement, we blindly followed the mass of people down the escalator to the first floor.

To our surprise, the stream of people turned and went back up the escalator to the second floor again.  We looked around and tried to figure out what was going on.  Then we saw the reason why.  In order to exit the terminal, we needed to be on the opposite side of a fenced area that separated the station into entry and exit areas. We had just descended into the entry area and now needed to re-track our steps so that we could get to the exit.  In following the crowd, we had assumed that they knew the right way to go, when in fact they led us in the wrong direction. 

In order to get back on track, we had to go right back to where we started, go to the right and down the other escalator to the exit.  Following the crowd caused us a lot of extra time and energy when we were already exhausted. 

Regarding the Pharisees, Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:14; “They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

Thankfully, when we figured out the right way to go, we were able to get out of the terminal and on to our destination.  It’s the same way with us in our lives, too.  It’s easy for us to end up going the wrong way, following the crowd that leads us away from the way that we should go.  The good news is that we can get our lives on track by following Jesus Christ instead of our own way.  Jesus says in John 14:6; “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

With Christ’s help, regardless of the pathway that we have taken, we can get our lives back on track by following Him.  Let’s all follow Jesus and get on the right way.