Inspirational Christian Stories
Faith and Reducing Coronavirus induced Panic
Faith and Reducing Coronavirus induced Panic
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
This Saturday, while having lunch at a local restaurant, the general manger came to our table to ask us how my wife and I were doing. We replied, very well; How are you? Our reply set off a lengthy explanation of his panic. He was afraid he might have to close the restaurant with his business off seventy five percent. In his eyes, I could see real fear. The kind of fear that unsettles our stomach, weakens our knees and causes us to labor on the easiest of tasks.
With our friends and family, we also have heard and seen fear. Supermarket shelves are being emptied. Hand sanitizer is being sold on the street for fifty dollars a bottle. True panic seems to abound.
A disquieting sense of being seems to be present in all that we see and hear. Panic caused by a lack of control of people’s lives and events.
Each announcement of school and store closings seems to raise the fear level higher. Watching television, you hear even more information that stiffens your body. The stock market is violently swinging in turmoil, causing people to wonder; how much will their savings go down? All around us fear seems to be growing faster than the Coronavirus itself, which is at the root of people’s fear.
But our fear, is just that, fear. People are forgetting that fear breeds fear. Fear is not tangible or something you can touch. But a vicious psychological marauder that seeks harm. Not physical harm, but emotional.
Panic causes bad decisions, when more than ever good ones are required. Panic causes unsteady steps, when the steps of life need to be sure.
3 Ways Being Like Jesus Will Help Your Career
3 Ways Being Like Jesus Will Help Your Career
The son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.
Luke [5:19]
This year when I was doing my speeches on college campus’s I wanted to try some different. Instead of preparing an intricately weaved message, I would focus on only three points and keep repeating them using different examples each time. My message this year was how to find a job and become a great employee. Simply, there are three ways, be positive, be trustworthy and pursue excellence. That’s it, no sophisticated weaving to make the point at the end, just keep repeating the same message.
Well, it worked! When I got the feedback and reviews back from my college visit at Theil College in Western Pennsylvania, the students overwhelmingly repeated the message in their reviews and used the explanations to support their reviews.
The message is simple, you only need to be three things to be a great employee. Yes, only three; being positive, trustworthy and committed to excellence. When I explained this to a friend, he said, But my employee appraisal given by my employer had forty three different measurements! I told him this wasn’t that unusual; many companies make the mistake of over-complicating evaluating employees.
So, I asked him to give me his appraisal form. He did and we placed all forty three review items into one of three categories; Being Positive, Being trustworthy and Committed to excellence. And yes, everyone could fit into one of the three categories!
The Elevator of Faith is Boring
The Elevator of Faith is Boring
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
Part of my day is reading and more reading. Mostly to find how other people think about faith; and to find interesting and helpful historical Christian facts. All to pass on to other people to help them have a closer walk with God. While doing this recently, I came across an article named, My Boring Christian testimony. As I read the article I was anything but bored. Essentially, the testimony was written by a woman named Megan Hill, a married mom and writer. The point of the article was that she didn’t feel her faith was real, because she didn’t have a dramatic conversion process or incredible faith stories.
As I read the article, I discovered a very normal life. As a young person, her parents took her to church. She asked to join the church when she was twelve. As she entered college, when most young people drift away from the church, she stayed. After marriage and having children, she started the same cycle with her children, by taking them to church. Seems pretty normal, certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
But through the years she doubted if her faith was real. She saw other people have dramatic moments of faith. She heard wonderful testimonies of people curing their addictions through faith. Others who had led an immoral, struck by God. On and on this drumbeat went, leaving her feel if she had done something wrong.
“Don’t Let The Old Man In!”
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.
Psalm [92:12]-14
A good friend of mine was discussing his weekly workout routine and why he works outs even though he has no upcoming athletic event. He told me; I don’t want to let the old man in. It wasn’t that he was angry at some old person, but more that he didn’t want to give in to old age. He didn’t want anyone telling him he was old, even though he is getting older. He felt that if he gave in to being old it would be giving in to not living a productive life.
My friend knows he will age and knows there are somethings he cannot do athletically anymore. He will never swim an under 1 minute 100 meter butterfly again. But he can still swim a mile every day. This is what my friend was getting at. Sure those of us who are aging know our chances of competing in the Olympics are gone, but it doesn’t mean we should give up and let the old man in.
As I have gotten older, I see the slow creeping of aging. The unrelenting enemy of all is lurking to slow us down farther than we want. I myself know that my ability to retain information and then retrieve it isn’t as good as my younger self. But I have learned how to compensate, by writing more down and by using word association to retrieve important information. Each day, something new is lost, but each day a new way is found.
That is what my friend was saying when he says don’t let the old man in. Not a voice against the aged, but a personal life plan to stay as vital as he can be.
Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
Luke [13:16]
In this amazing statement by Jesus, it wasn’t just that He fought back about healing on the Sabbath, but that he blamed her illness on Satan, the dark force of evil. Evil that had caught this woman eighteen years earlier, and despite all efforts it took the hand of Jesus to heal her.
Evil comes in many forms, in this case crippling a woman. But like all of the stories in the Gospel, this story is remarkably transportable to the 21st century. We certainly have evil in this world. In comes in the form of addictions, bad life habits, depression and bad decisions.
As I was reading this verse, I instantly thought about addiction, to alcohol and drugs. I am not sure why, but this is what stood out for me in this story. I am sure others would focus on the grumbling about a healing on the Sabbath, and they would be right. It is one of the messages of this story. But addiction stood out for me and particularly, the onslaught of new and more dangerous drugs that have emerged. Evil that catches it victims and relentlessly keeps them trapped.
Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
Luke [13:16]
In this amazing statement by Jesus, it wasn’t just that He fought back about healing on the Sabbath, but that he blamed her illness on Satan, the dark force of evil. Evil that had caught this woman eighteen years earlier, and despite all efforts it took the hand of Jesus to heal her.
Evil comes in many forms, in this case crippling a woman. But like all of the stories in the Gospel, this story is remarkably transportable to the 21st century. We certainly have evil in this world. In comes in the form of addictions, bad life habits, depression and bad decisions.
As I was reading this verse, I instantly thought about addiction, to alcohol and drugs. I am not sure why, but this is what stood out for me in this story. I am sure others would focus on the grumbling about a healing on the Sabbath, and they would be right. It is one of the messages of this story. But addiction stood out for me and particularly, the onslaught of new and more dangerous drugs that have emerged. Evil that catches it victims and relentlessly keeps them trapped.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
Romans [5:12]
Augustine, the great doctor of the early Christian church, famously said, Give me chastity, but not yet. An amazing statement when you consider his elevated status as a great ancient leader of the church. Augustine had a significant influence on many church doctrine, especially the Doctrine of Original Sin. Yet as a wild youth he stole fruit, because he was told he shouldn’t! As a young adult he enjoyed the illicit pleasures of life. This statement and his actions as a youth makes us wonder; How did this man become the great leader of the early church?. The answer is complicated, but when we know the back story of his life, we will know why.
Flavius Valerius Constantinus was born in Serbia in 280AD. While not a native Roman, he would rise to become the Roman Emperor in 324AD. Later in life, he shortened his name to Constantine. His rise to becoming the Roman Emperor changed the course of Christianity. Christianity would move from being a persecuted underground religion, to becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire.
Zacchaeus come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.
Luke 19:5
Jesus enters the town of Jericho and is met by a throng of people. As he walks into the town, he passes under a sycamore tree. He looks up and sees a man in the tree. To the man he says; Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Zacchaeus agrees and has Jesus stay at his house. Zacchaeus was a very rich tax collector. After the visit, Zacchaeus states he will give half his wealth to the poor and to any that he has defrauded, he will pay back four times.
On the surface, this seems like a simple conversion and change of heart created by Jesus. An interesting story that we pass through when reading the Gospel of Luke. But it isn’t so simple, especially when we consider the historical and deeper theological implications.
Recently we moved to a new part of Asheville. In doing so, we had to find a new church to attend. Over a number of Sundays, we attended a few. One church was too stuffy. While in another we felt like we were a number to be counted… and even in another, the pastor was too political. We finally found one that seemed right. Not because it had a great building and environment, it did… but we have been to those before. Not because the music was great, because it wasn’t. It had a spirit that we didn’t see in the others.
Recently, I was asked by a group of people who wanted to know exactly who the Holy Spirit was, would I write a blog? Thinking to myself, you know that is something I get asked about a lot, and agreed I would do the research and write a blog. But simply stating that the Holy Spirit was part of the Trinity and substance of God wouldn’t be enough.
So, I earnestly set out to read all the verses in the Bible about the Holy Spirit and all the reference material. The more I researched, the more complicated the answers became. In fact, when I read what scholars thought, I couldn’t seem to find concrete agreement from person to person. The search became murkier as I tried to distill the Holy Spirit into a simple explanation.
Some of the readings claimed if you had the Holy Spirit, you could talk in tongues. Some other writings called the Holy Spirit the great counselor. Others claimed the Spirit created miracles. But there was no one simple answer.
Then it dawned me that it wasn’t important what scholars wrote, but how people experienced the Holy Spirit. That in their own personal relationship with the Holy Spirit was the true definition.
Learn how an illiterate man sent the message of God throughout Sydney, Australia for over thirty-five years.
He became known as “Mr. Eternity,” and one of Sydney’s beloved citizens.
From very meager beginnings, he rose up to become a hallmark evangelist in his hometown.
Billy Graham called himself the lobbyist for God. In his lifetime, he held over 400 Bible Crusades and was the pastor to American presidents.
Hear about his life story and those he influenced.
As he said, “Heaven is my home, I am just traveling through this world.”