Here Comes The Son

Today there is a heaviness in the land.

Negativity is the new norm as day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute we rush to eat a diet of the latest update about a disease that is ravaging the land.

Twenty-four hours a day the media spews out the vomit we call “news” as our lungs breath in the toxicity until it causes us to faint or pass out.

Conspiracy theorists are having a field day as sides are chosen as to what is really going on as both sides point their fingers at the other side.

Like the smell of a skunk that has just sprayed we gasp for a breath of fresh air.

Clocks are only used to find your favorite show. Calendars show only days (instead of weeks or months) as this Groundhog Day endlessly repeats.

“I just don’t know what to do…” is the heart cry of many.

And yet, through the confusion the Word of God SHOUTS to His people through the prophet Isaiah chapter 60:

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (v1)

Why is He telling us to arise and shine?

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people (v2)

That sounds like the time we are living in. some days it seems as though the whole earth is wrapped in darkness.

Yes, darkness; thick darkness, gross darkness…all the people of the earth are sunk in deep darkness. 

And you say; “Now I am even more despaired!”

My friend: KEEP READING

BUT (say that again)

BUT the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you. (v2b)

In the middle of times that seem out of control the Lord SHOUTS:

Get out of bed, Wake up.

Put your face in the sunlight.
God’s bright glory has risen for you.

The LORD is exhorting Believers during this time of despair and uncertainty to be a light for Him. To be a reflection of His goodness, His glory to those who are trapped by the darkness.

In fact, He is telling us through the prophet Isaiah that when we arise and shine, people will come to listen to what we have to tell:

The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising. (v3)

Even those relatives who seem far away will come to you:

Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. (v4)

The result will be

Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. (v 4-6)

In other words, when we arise and shine, the darkness is dispelled.

WE are called to bring the light into this world out of control.

Some of you might be thinking, “Jesus is the Light of the world, not me!”

And I would say that you are correct. In John 9:5, Jesus refers to Himself as the Light of the world.

But in Matthew 5:14 and 16, Jesus also said,

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden... In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

My friend, don’t wait for this to all blow over before you share what the LORD has done for you.

We are called to be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why we’re living the way we are…

to always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15)

So, wake up sleepy head! Arise! Shine! So that others will exclaim:

“HERE COMES THE SON!”

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Hey; I Need A Hug!

This past week the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommended that people stay at least six feet away from each other in public because of the Coronavirus COVID-19. Because there is little to no pre-existing immunity against the new virus, it spreads worldwide.

Their basic instruction was to stay home, avoid physical contact, and don’t gather in large crowds. Introverts have been preparing for this moment their entire lives!

In other words; DON’T HUG IN PUBLIC; ESPECIALLY WITH STRANGERS!

All across the USA pandemonium broke out. Churches canceled services and closed their doors. Schools canceled classes. Businesses encouraged those who could to work from home.

The NCAA basketball men and women’s tournaments were canceled. The NBA and NHL suspended their seasons. MLB suspended spring training and delayed opening games by at least two weeks. The PGA postponed the Masters.

Wedding venues have been reduced to fifty guests in attendance. Even restaurants, banks, and stores have temporarily closed their doors.

Worst of all, my hockey games were canceled; along with a hockey tournament that I was invited to play in Nashville in April. It’s the end of the world as we know it!

I’m not sure if the IRS still wants our taxes or not but President Donald Trump has instructed the Treasury Department and IRS to extend the April 15, 2020 deadline for filing federal income tax returns for those affected by Coronavirus. 

 

In stores empty shelves could be seen as people purchased EVERY bottle of hand-sanitizer and EVERY bottle of water and EVERY roll of toilet paper.

Although we don’t use hand sanitizer, the first two seem (somewhat) logical. The extreme amount of toilet paper that individuals purchased makes no sense at all. Don’t they realize that they can purchase online if this really is the zombie-apocalypse???

Cathy and I were happy that we had extra napkins in our vehicles, thus saving us an unnecessary trip to the madness.

This past week I also spoke at a chapel service at the Rochester Campus of Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge (MnTC) -a Christian based rehab and recovery center.

I love not only preaching, but also hearing the stories of the lives of the men and women who have gone through or are currently in the program.

Another reason I like to visit the various campuses of MnTC is because they like to give hugs.

I didn’t always like hugs. In the days of my youth I had learned to distance myself from people by only shaking hands. This was my not so subtle attempt to not get hurt in life. If you don’t get too close then no one can hurt you; right?

My exception was with girls; but that always had an ulterior motive. A hug is supposed to be a way of giving and receiving human contact in this otherwise detached and sequestered world.

When I was young, to my best recollection, my family weren’t huggers. Perhaps that is where I learned to practice my physical stoicism.

I should note that my family are huggers now. One of the joys that I have is the gift of touch that my parents give me whenever we meet. We hug each other when we arrive and when we leave.

My wife Cathy’s family are all huggers. Yes, ALL of them. It didn’t matter whether I was coming or going; they wanted to hug me.

When I first started dating Cathy, this threw me off. They, somehow, thought it was OK to hug me rather than the traditional handshake as they tried to break through my force-shield.

In time, I had built my reputation as one who was OK with just a handshake. And then, I let my guard down and started letting people get closer to me.

The process started when a friend of mine who was my pastor challenged me to start letting others in. He commented that he thought that I was one of the most transparent people he knew. He observed how I was willing to share my life openly.

But, in time, he discovered that what others saw as openness was actually a glass fortress around my life that only a few people had a key to get into. He asked me for a key.  I think it threw him off a bit when (a few years later) I came up to him and gave him a hug.

The process continued when one of my employees at MnTC told me that he was doing an intervention. He said that he was starting a “twelve-step” hug program for me.

He explained that he had told the clients and my staff that I had to give and receive least one hug a day as I progressively continued until I was receiving at least twelve hugs a day; then I could graduate from his program.

He implemented the program right after I had shoulder surgery; making it difficult to run away.

Four years later when I resigned from my position, I was “forced” to stand at a narrow doorway (five feet wide) as approximately sixty clients and a dozen staff one-by-one gave me a hug. Cathy stood by watching me seeing the success of the “twelve-step” hug program.

Fast forward to this week. When the CDC said “no hugs” and “stay six-feet away”, my heart sank. I had finally gotten used to the idea of giving and receiving hugs and now someone (in an attempt to save my life) tells me that this is not acceptable?

HEY, I NEED A HUG! I’ve lived way too many years of my life surviving on a handshake or a head nod as a form of human contact.

My attempt to stay safe and unhurt sent the wrong message to those who attempted to show affection to me. I came to understand that people didn’t understand that I was just trying to get through life unscathed. They took it as a form of rejection of them.

After going through the “twelve-step” hug program, my life is richer and people appreciate my receptivity to their attempt to show affection to me.

Jesus said that in the last days the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24). And although I have no desire to spread COVID-19, I would rather continue to give and receive hugs and get COVID-19 (by hugging) …

…than go through life as I once lived; a hug-less, stoic and isolated person in this world in which we were made to give and receive love.

With all due respect to the CDC, when you see me, it’s OK to give me a hug.  HEY, I NEED A HUG!

If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction, MnTC is here to help. Freedom from addiction starts here. Call 612-FREEDOM today.

For over 30 years MnTC has been restoring hope to people struggling with drug, alcohol, and other life-controlling addictions by addressing their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. 

The mission of MnTC is to assist teens and adults in gaining freedom from chemical addictions and other life controlling problems by addressing their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

They offer effective and affordable programs throughout Minnesota with campuses in Minneapolis, Brainerd, Duluth, Rochester and Buffalo. MnTC offers both a long-term, faith-based recovery program and short-term licensed treatment program, allowing us to effectively serve individuals with a broad spectrum of addiction issues; from those seeking treatment for the first time, to those who have been struggling with addiction for many years.

Welcome To The Roaring Twenties

Happy New Year 2020

1919 brings this decade to an end and begins the new decade which some people are already calling “The Roaring Twenties”. For some it is a season filled with optimism that American can once again be great.

The reference is to the 1920s; which was an age of very dramatic social and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities rather than on farms.

Over nine years (1920 -1929), the nation's total wealth more than doubled as an economic growth was sweeping many Americans into an affluent consumer society as the country marched forward on its path to becoming a superpower.

During this era, women (finally) were granted the right to vote. It was also the start of prohibition.

As great as this new era was, it didn’t stay on the path to greatness. In fact, many question if the greatness of the roaring twenties was ill recorded.

Prohibition, which was supposed to get Americans sober and living healthy lives, actually helped cause more illegal activities as consumers looked for new ways to purchase and consume alcohol; resulting in more murders and stronger organized crime.

Lawlessness and corruption affected all aspects of our society and our judicial system as illegal activities and no respect for our laws seemed to be out of control.

By the end of the decade, the market crashed and America went into what has been called; “The Great Depression” …a great economic disaster. When the decade was over, the Roaring Twenties were replaced by the Terrible Thirties.

So here we are on the threshold of another decade. What we do with it has yet to be recorded.

George Santayana said; 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'

So, what do we do? What do you personally want to see happen next year?

It’s good to think decades because “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7), but START by asking God to plant hopes and dreams for next year in your heart.

What do you hope God does in and through you?

What works has He prepared for you to do?

How can you make a difference in those who cross my path TODAY?

Where can you use your gifts and talents to change the atmosphere?

Secondly, realize that you can’t change the world by yourself. Work with God and let Him take you through the process; you will find that the results will be eternal. And embrace who you are! You will never be as good a version of someone else as you are of yourself!

To do this you will need to stop relating to the Heavenly Father by what you do or don’t do: “You don’t read the Bible enough, pray enough, witness enough, etc.” Stop living under condemnation and guilt and instead let Jesus take you to meet His dad. He loves you and you are precious to Him;

He calls you “beloved”. He acted first, while you were still a sinner (read Romans 5:8)

Let God do the work; your part is to agree with His assessment of sin (confess) and turn from it (repent). The Holy Spirit was given as a “helper”. He is God and wants to help you. The Holy Spirit wants to blast down those walls that you have placed up that stop intimacy with the Father; to restore a level of trust that was violated when you were young, and you survived by not trusting any more.

Today can be a day of excitement as you enter into the roaring twenties anticipating what God is up to. Get excited for what is ahead, knowing that something has to change.

Today can be a day of new beginnings; a day to finally hear the Father calling you “son” or “daughter”. Hear my plea to not “stop short”

Need some help? Call Toll-Free: 1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426)

And You Think That Your Family Is Weird

We all have weird, embarrassing, hideous stories in our families. Some of them get buried deep within the pages of history.

And even though society thrives on gossip, not every story from every family makes it to national television shows such as “The Jerry Springer Show“ (which wasn’t around when my family was growing up).

But my story is one of those that need to be told so that others can learn from our family’s mistake(s).

My dad wanted to have a son with his first wife.  But, for some reason, they were not able to conceive a child together.

So after many years of trying, they came up with “Plan B”.

Now that’s not totally unusual except how he was planning to get a child.

You see, although he was my dad, my mother was not his wife. In fact she wasn’t really a girlfriend; more of a ‘convenient way to fix the situation’.

The two of them had this “grand plan“ that my dad would have a surrogate mother for a child.

In fact, if the truth be told, it was actually his first wife who came up with the idea that my dad should have a child by having sexual relations with this other woman.

Although my mind doesn’t want to think about it, my dad and my mom must have had sex, because she became pregnant with me.

And they all lived together as one big happy family and it worked out pretty good; that is until my mom became pregnant.

For some reason my dad‘s first wife suddenly became very jealous of the girlfriend and complained about my mom to my dad.

Remember, this was the same woman who his first wife had suggested that he have sex with so that they could have a child together!

And to make things even worse, after I was born, my dad gave his first wife permission to treat my mom with disrespect.

After his wife treated my mom with disrespect, my mom took off while still pregnant with me to raise the child on her own.

But my mom realized that she needed my dad to help raise the child, so she went back to live with them.

Now, I should also tell you that my dad was a deeply religious man. At some point in his life he had an encounter with God that changed his outlook on his life.

So, my dad and his wife decided to try again.

I forget the year, but I know that I was 13 years old when I heard that my dad wanted to have another child. Specifically, he wanted to have another son.

He really believed that God wanted him to have a child with his first wife.

So, my dad set about again trying to conceive a child with his first wife.

Did you catch that? My dad is communicating to me that I am not really his son!!!

There are not enough words in the world to tell you how I felt knowing that my dad really did not consider me to be his son. Or at least not the son that he believed God wanted him to have.

Although my mind doesn’t want to think about it, my dad and his first wife must have had sex, because one year later when I was 14, my dad and his first wife had a child; a son.

And then things continued to get weird in our household.

Now that my dad’s first wife had a son of her own, she wanted my mom and me to leave their house.

My dad objected at first, but after praying about it, he agreed with his wife that it was time for my mom and me to leave.

So, he packed up some provisions and sent my mom and me away.

The end of the story is that we were taken care of and my family became very successful in the oil business.

My step brother grew up with my dad and his first wife and also became very successful.

Oh, I suppose I should’ve told you my name. I am Ishmael and this is my story.

And there are other details of the story that I’ve left out, mostly to save my family any further embarrassment; like the fact that my dad was 86 years old when I was born and 100 when my step brother was born.

The good news is that a son was born and the world as we know it was changed forever.

• Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86

• It was prophesied to the patriarch Abraham that he would have a son and that his name should be Isaac.

• When Abraham became one hundred years old, this son was born to him by his first wife Sarah.

• Though this was Abraham’s second son it was Sarah’s first and only child.

• When Isaac was born, Abraham was 100, Sarah 99, and Ishmael was 14.

A Very Present Help

If you’ve watch any television, you’ve probably seen this State Farm commercial on television:

 

Two young men are pulled over on the side of the road in their car eating buffalo burgers when nearby buffaloes start to attack the driver’s side of the car.

 

The passenger tells his friend; “Do the jingle, do the jingle!”

 

The driver sings; "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!"

 

When the suddenly an insurance agent appears in the back seat of their car and says; “Hey guys.”

 

The two men scream as the buffalo continue to attack the car and the agent tells the driver of the car, “Do it again, do it again!

 

The driver sings "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” and the agent adds; “in my office!” and they are transported to the insurance agent's office where they appear huddled together and say; “I think we’re good!”

 

And yet, in the real world, when trouble comes and we sing; "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." Nothing seems to happen.

 

So where can you go when disaster strikes? Who can you call? Is there really someone who can come to your immediate rescue and get you instantly out of disaster?

 

If you’ve been around the block a few times, you’ve probably understood that it doesn’t happen this way in the real world; or does it?

 

The Bible tells us that perhaps there is someone to whom we can call who will come to our rescue; immediately. In fact He is closer than you probably realize.

 

In Psalm In Psalm 46 the psalmist writes; “I call to God, I cry to God to help me. From His palace He hears my call; my cry brings me right into His presence— a private audience!” (Psalm 18:6 MSG)

 

In Psalm 46 the psalmist writes that; “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NKJV) or as another version says it; “ready to help when we need Him” (Psalm 46:1 MSG).

In verse seven we read that “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalm 46:7 NKJV).

 

And because He is so near, “we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.” (Psalm 46:2-3 NKJV)

 

So how do we get Him to come? Is there a jingle that we can sing?

 

In Psalm 46 the psalmist tells us to; “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything” (Psalm 46:10 MSG)

 

In other words we need to simple pause and be still, and know that He is God, not us!

 

And the results are even greater than transporting us to another office. We get transported to God’s dwelling place or tabernacle (Psalm 46:4). We are transported to His refuge or high tower (v.11)

 

Call out to Him right now. Do the jingle, do the jingle! He is waiting to come to your rescue!

 

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson