Rick Anderson's Blog, page 6

Spiritual House Cleaning

Fighting the Pond Primrose...Again

It was that time again.  I had dreaded it for quite some time.  My neighbor did his and now mine looked horrendous.  I had to do something.  I couldn't be the dregs of the hood.  I grabbed my rake, gloves and laced up my boots.  It wasn't a job for a lightweight 'cuz it was messy.  I mean real messy!

I slipped the gloves on my hands, got a firm grip on the rake, stood at the edge of the pond in the backyard and began to drag the pesky pond primrose onto shore, uprooting it from its home in the edge of the water.  It came fairly easily to the bank, but that's when the fight began.  I wrestled with the water logged plants whose roots were saturated and heavy.  With great effort, I pecked away at the mass of aquatic nuisance little by little until I got it upended on shore.  There it would be exposed to the full heat of the sun's rays that would slowly drain the life from it. 

It had been a long time since I had gotten serious about dealing with the blight in my own backyard, but now was the perfect time.  I had procrastinated long enough.  If I didn't attack it now, it would likely take over the entire pond before long since it had a tendency to spread with a vengeance. 

I couldn't help but ask myself the question: "How long has it been since I took a spiritual inventory of my life?"  In other words, am I doing all that I need to do to be the person that God would have me to be?  If not, where do I need to make changes to get rid of the weeds in my heart and soul? 

The only way to approach a spiritual inventory is utilizing the tools for the job: prayer, God's word, and transparency before the Lord.  As I take the time to seek God through prayer and diligently search the Scriptures, God will help me to know what I need to do to realign my life with His will.

It didn't take long for God to show me some areas of my life that needed the weeds removed.  It wasn't a pleasant job, but God is merciful and gracious.  The Lord is faithful to help us if we will only seek Him.  King Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 3:5-6; "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

A Friend Indeed

Heart Cath

My cardiologist recently discovered through a routine physical that I had a heart blockage which needed attention.  Through an angioplasty procedure, he located several coronary blockages, and placed three stents in order to correct the disease that had affected my heart. 

After the procedure, my doctor related that he thought that the term "widow maker" was appropriate in my situation.  In other words, without the discovery and the treatment, I was a dead man walking, only awaiting the heart attack that would likely take my life.

I am thankful to God for intervening to save my life.  I am also mindful of the sacrifice that my cardiologist went through in order to be in a place to help me and many others.  He endured college, medical school and specialist training, plus likely a huge debt in the process in order to be able to help people like me. 

Because of what he has done to give me life, I consider him to be my personal friend.  He is welcome in my home anytime.  We visit and share with each other.  He has sacrificed a lot and I appreciate what he has done.  I owe him a lot.

There's one that I owe even more.  As we encounter Christ during this Holy Week, may we reflect on the great price that He paid on Calvary to atone for our sins.  1 John 2:2 says; "He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins– and not only our sins but the sins of all the world."  He gave His all so that you and I might be forgiven and share everlasting life with Him.  As much as I am indebted to my cardiologist, I owe Jesus Christ infinitely more for saving me from sin and death through the cross and resurrection. 

I am thankful that Christ came to set everything right between me and God…to give me a new heart that beats for Him.  How can I not consider Him my friend?  How can I not invite Him into my heart and home?  How can I not share my life with Him who paid such a dear price for me?

As Good Friday approaches, please consider whether you would invite someone into your home who had sacrificed in order to save your life.  How much more does Jesus deserve to be invited into your life and home and share in all that you are and all that you have? 

My Cellphone is Broken

Broken Cellphone

"What are you doing?" Kim asked with a quizzical look on her face. 

"I'm trying to get this stinkin' cellphone to work!" I exclaimed as I pounded on the keys with my finger.  Alas, in my frustration, it was obvious that the phone wasn't working properly.

"Why don't you call and get a new phone?  We've got the insurance protection," she responded.

"I've tried.  They have me do little technical adjustments to it and try it.  Nothing they've had me do to it really works for long," I replied.

"Sounds like you need a new phone to me," she answered.

"I think you're right.  The one that I have is definitely broken," I sighed.

It's a difficult thing to admit that our cellphone is broken even after we've tried countless strategies that don't work.  Customer service will have us try countless technical strategies to fix it, but when it's broken there's no fixing it. 

Funny thing, the same is true with our lives.  We can walk around in various states of brokenness, trying different strategies that we are told will do the trick for us.  We try everything to bring healing to our cracked situation.  In the end, we end up frustrated and still broken. 

Jesus offers to bring true healing and newness to our fractured existence.  Paul tells us in 2Corinthians 5:17; this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

If you've tried everything to get your life pulled together and it is still obvious that there are major problems, I encourage you to give Jesus a try.  He will pour His love and grace into your world in abundant measure and help you to live a new life filled with His Spirit.  He will guide and direct you if you'll only let Him.  Only He can bring true healing and wholeness.

Now, where is the phone number for customer service?  I've got to get me a new cellphone because mine is obviously broken. 

All in the Family

Ducks & Squireel

The cloudburst subsided for mere minutes when I peered out my bedroom window to see a strange sight.  I hollered, "Kim!  Look at the birdfeeder!"

Kim strolled from the kitchen to the backdoor.  "Wow!  I want to get a picture of that!" she said as she quickly stepped to grab her phone from the kitchen counter.

"Be careful when you open the door or it'll spook them," I cautioned.

I continued to look through the blinds at the squirrel munching from the bird feeder and the two mallard ducks lurking underneath for the seeds that the squirrel dropped to the ground.

It was a sight to see.  Kim got the picture before the ducks heard her and began waddling toward our back porch to beg for a morsel of bread.

I'm sure that our neighbor didn't have this scene in mind when she put the bird feeder in her back yard.  I suspect that she intended for birds to fly in to eat from the feeder and not squirrels or ducks that waddled up from the pond.

I'm reminded of God's chosen people, Israel, and how what God intended for them came to be enjoyed by the Gentiles.

Romans 9:25-26 says; Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, "Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before."  And, "Then, at the place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'children of the living God.'"

Regardless of our race, nationality or language, we are all accepted by God as His children if we only believe.  We all share in the promise of life everlasting through simple faith in Jesus Christ.  What a wonderful plan that God has for us!  I pray that you, too, are a child of God.  If not, then why?  God is reaching out to you today.  All you need to do is reach out to Him and believe.  There is a place for you, too, in the family of God.

 

No Better Time

World Clock

The sound of the Apostles Creed washed over us as Kim and I stepped into the side door of the church out of the rain.  Everyone was standing in the crowded sanctuary as they affirmed their faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together as Christ's church.

Looks of surprise followed us as we made our way into the church and found a seat in the back.  The kids came in and followed us as we settled into the last pew.  Shock registered on every face as they didn't expect to see us after my heart procedure this past Thursday.

Kim and I looked at each other with confusion as we knew that we had gotten to church a few minutes before service started but found that they were almost finished with the service.

Then Rev. Charles Danheim, who was filling the pulpit for me, said something about the time change.  That's when it hit me…we had forgotten to advance our clocks last night.  It wasn't a few minutes until 11:00 but rather, a few minutes to 12:00!  We had just arrived for the end of the worship service!

I would have been embarrassed except for the dozens of folks who came up to us as the service ended, to shake our hands and say how good it was to see me.  It was a great blessing to see everyone, to hear that they had prayed for me and to see their relief as they saw that I was okay.

Isaiah 61:3 says; "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair."

Regardless what believers have to face in this life, God will continue to be a source of beautiful blessing to them, the same way that He has been to me and my family in all of our trials, including our most recent.

If the trials of life are getting you down, you can always turn to Christ, who will give your life purpose and a deep sense of joy that you are loved by God who gives everlasting life to those who believe in and follow His Son.  Regardless what time that your watch says, there is no better time for you to follow Christ than right now.

 

Harvest Worker

Late one afternoon, when I was about eight years old in the mid 1960's, my Pa Pa took my brother and me to a cotton field near where we lived.  There were several poor white and African American men and women in the field dragging long burlap bags hung from their shoulder as they picked the cotton and placed it in the partially filled bags.

Having been a sharecropper in his younger days and picked many bushels of cotton himself, Pa Pa wasn't satisfied for us to watch the others work, but spoke to the man in charge who produced burlap bags for us, too.  We plunged excitedly into the job of picking cotton and placing it in the bags.

Before long, my excitement waned as it dawned on me that picking cotton was an awful lot like work!  The prickly leaves and boles of the cotton scratched my hands and the cotton balls were stubborn about pulling from the plants.  I kept a vigilant eye out for the rattlesnakes that my Pa Pa had warned us liked to hide under the cotton plants to keep cool.  All the while, the hot sun baked our skin as the few boles of cotton that we threw in the bags seemed to disappear after we threw them inside the bag.

I soon began to wish for nightfall as the sweat streamed down my face and my back began to ache.  Yet the field lay before us and beckoned us to plod onward as twilight was nowhere in sight.  After what seemed like hours, I finally filled my little burlap bag and carried it to the truck to weigh out.

The man took weights off the scales to accommodate my meager harvest, which finally tipped the scales to measure what little I had gathered.  My small bag was pathetic in comparison to that of the others, but I was now a cotton-picker all the same.  At the end of the afternoon, I collected my few coins and returned home, happy and content that I had to a small degree, participated in the harvest.

Jesus tells us in John 4:35-36; "But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.  The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!" He also says in Luke 10:2; "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."

If you are a child of God, then you participate in the great harvest as well.  Whether your contribution is great or small, you are a worker in the fields of the Lord, harvesting people for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Don't get discouraged, even though at times it seems difficult, but persevere as the end of the day is coming.  Be sure to proclaim the Good News through both word and deed, for there is no greater cause to champion.  What a privilege to participate in the great harvest for the Lord!

 

Ministering in the Name

Ministering in the Name

As I sat in my Mom's room at the assisted living facility in Georgia, I began to reflect on Mom's pilgrimage of faith.  She had received Christ in a small church in Alabama as a young girl and had always taken my older brother, Gary, and I to church every Sunday as we grew up.  I remember her praying on many occasions as we grew up, asking the Lord for strength to raise us by herself.  God must have been listening, as we made it through those difficult days with the Lord's help.

Mom continued to be a faithful member of the church through the years until recently when she relocated to the assisted living facility.   For the first time in my lifetime, Mom is unable to attend church.

I searched the web on my iPhone and found a United Methodist Church nearby.  I was excited to see that they had a Pastor of Congregational Care on staff.  I'm not usually so forward, but I quickly sent the pastor an email asking if someone from the congregation could pay Mom a visit.  I knew that it would mean a lot to her, especially since she could no longer attend church.

To my delight, the Pastor, Rev. Roland Fall, visited Mom while I was on my return trip to Texas.  Mom was thrilled that the church in her new location was reaching out to shine the light of Christ into her world.

If I am thrilled about someone reaching out to bear witness to Christ in Mom's world, imagine how God must feel when we do the same for one of His children?

Jesus tells us in Mark 9:41; "If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded."

May we be quick to "encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near".   And thank you, Rev. Fall, for visiting Mom!

 

The Power of God’s Love

Rick & Lucy

I stumbled upon a list of names on my computer the other day.  On the page were the names of individuals, families, churches and Christian organizations that had come together for one purpose: to financially support the adoption of my daughter, Lucy, who seven years ago was an infant living in an orphanage in China.

As I looked at those names, I noticed that several of them had gone to be with the Lord since that time.  Others had endured trials and struggles of their own since the time when we were trying to raise the funds needed to pay for the adoption.

I recalled how people would come up to me after church and stick a wad of money in my hand.  Some sent a check through the mail.  Through all of them, the light of Christ shined brightly into our little world as we stepped out in faith to touch the life of this one child that God had called us to adopt.

I just took her to the Father/Daughter Valentine’s Dance at her school on Saturday night and marveled at the beautiful blessing that God gave to us.  Through the loving acts of the family of faith, the life of this child will be forever changed, just as my life has been changed by her being a part of our family.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians 1:26-29 (NLT); This message (of Good News) was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.  For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.  So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.  That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

May the immeasurable grace of God shine through the family of faith to show the world that Christ indeed lives within us as we reach out in the power of His love to touch a broken world filled with emptiness and pain.

 

The Power of God's Love

Rick & Lucy

I stumbled upon a list of names on my computer the other day.  On the page were the names of individuals, families, churches and Christian organizations that had come together for one purpose: to financially support the adoption of my daughter, Lucy, who seven years ago was an infant living in an orphanage in China.

As I looked at those names, I noticed that several of them had gone to be with the Lord since that time.  Others had endured trials and struggles of their own since the time when we were trying to raise the funds needed to pay for the adoption.

I recalled how people would come up to me after church and stick a wad of money in my hand.  Some sent a check through the mail.  Through all of them, the light of Christ shined brightly into our little world as we stepped out in faith to touch the life of this one child that God had called us to adopt.

I just took her to the Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance at her school on Saturday night and marveled at the beautiful blessing that God gave to us.  Through the loving acts of the family of faith, the life of this child will be forever changed, just as my life has been changed by her being a part of our family.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians 1:26-29 (NLT); This message (of Good News) was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people.  For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.  So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.  That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me.

May the immeasurable grace of God shine through the family of faith to show the world that Christ indeed lives within us as we reach out in the power of His love to touch a broken world filled with emptiness and pain.

 

Keys to a Mercedes

Keys to a Mercedes

Walmart was packed this afternoon as we negotiated our way down the crowded main aisle.  Buggies filled with groceries poked precariously from every corridor into the passageway as we meandered back and forth toward the front of the store.

I looked up in time to see a tall man in dress clothes making his way toward us amongst the chaos.  As he came near I noticed that something dropped from his hand and fell to the floor.  I heard the cling of metal as the object skittered across the floor.  Immediately, a two year-old girl walking with her mother bent down to retrieve what I now saw as car keys from the tile floor.

The tall man bent down and reached out his hand to take the keys from the little girl.  She pulled back instinctively, as if to say, "Finders keepers; losers weepers!"  Her mom said jokingly, "I hope it's a Mercedes!"  The man extended his hand closer to the little girl who reluctantly handed the man his car keys.

When we find a real treasure, it's hard to consider giving it up!  The little girl thought that she had found something of great value and she wanted to keep it.  What a great Valentine's Day gift!

For those who know Jesus Christ as Lord, we have been given a gift far greater than a Mercedes Benz.  We have had our sins forgiven and been given everlasting life with the Lord.  That gift greatly exceeds any earthly treasure that could be found.

Jesus tell us in Matthew 13:44 (NLT); "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field."

Rejoice in the knowledge of the vast riches of knowing Christ and having life that never ends in His love.  I'd rather have Jesus than diamonds and pearls…and the keys to a Mercedes!