Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  I know several people who have gotten allergy shots. The shots work by desensitizing the patient to whatever it is that they are allergic to. They begin with a minute amount of the allergen. If there isn’t a bad reaction, they slowly increase the concentration of the allergen until the patient can tolerate whatever it is that they were allergic to.   The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives, only in a negative way. We tend to gradually fall into a pattern of sin or a bad habit. At first, it may bother us and we resolve to change our ways. If we don’t succeed, we can get to the point that repeating our sin or bad behavior becomes less and less bothersome until it seems just normal and doesn’t bother us at all.   We all should ask the Holy Spirit from time to time for the grace to not be so desensitized to our sins or bad habits that we blindly accept them without any reservation. This is not to say that we should live in shame and despair all our lives. W...

  There was a big storm in the area the other day and the wind uprooted several trees.   The news showed videos of workers using chainsaws to remove the fallen limbs because, once the tree is uprooted, there is nothing that can be done to save it. They commented that the trees most likely to be blown over are the ones that are diseased or have shallow roots.   We need to be equipped to handle the storms of life spiritually. We need to deepen our spiritual roots by growing in our relationship with God, making an effort each day to grow closer to Him, spending regular time in prayer and in the Word, and being open to the leading of His Spirit. We also need to be aware of any “diseased limbs” that we may have, anything that draws us away from God. Let’s use this time of preparation for Easter to prune away everything that keeps us from drawing nearer to God.   “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted ...

  I am not trying to be sacrilegious in any way, but I believe that God has a sense of humor. Just look at the armadillo and the porcupine! Have you ever tried to get something out of a baby’s hand when they have grabbed hold of it? Quite the challenge, eh?  Developmental specialists say that a baby learns the skill of grabbing on to something a few months before they learn the skill of being able to let go. As a doctor who has struggled to get his glasses back from a little one more than a few times, I find that assessment a little humorous!   In my last post, I talked about the need to loosen our grip and let God help us through whatever problems we face. We’ll revisit that topic today from a little different perspective.  In our materialistic society, it’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of worldly things and let our spiritual activities slide a little. If you grab onto the world, you have to let go of God.  Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters....

  I remember the first time I rode on a big roller coaster. As we started the first drop, I had a death grip on the bar (you probably can still find my fingerprints on it). Now that was totally unnecessary. Between my seat belt and the restraining bar I wasn’t going anywhere.   Nevertheless, it was comforting to me to have a grip on something.   As Christians, we know that we are in God’s hands. He is always watching over us and will be our help in time of trouble. It can be easy to forget that when we are in the midst of trials. Our first instinct is to grab onto something that is under our control. We may rely on our intellect, on advice from others, or on our “gut instinct”.   They may provide some aid and comfort but they all have difficulty in helping with those trials which affect us to the depth of our being. For these, we need to turn to God who is the source of all comfort.   There are verses throughout the Bible dealing with God’s aid in a vari...

  Every year as spring approaches I go through the annual ritual of getting the vegetable garden ready for planting. I dig up or pull all the weeds that have grown through the winter. I turn over the dirt and add fertilizer and other soil amendments to get the ground ready for planting.   Jesus gave us the parable of the sower and the seed (Lk 8:4-15). The farmer sowed the seeds. Some of them landed on the path, others on rocky ground, and others among thorns. None of these seeds were productive. Only the seed which was sown on good soil produced a crop.   I don’t know if you ever thought about it but I wonder what the sower did before he started putting out the seed.   I imagine he tried to get as many rocks and thorns and weeds out of the ground as he could to help increase the crop. He probably also worked the ground to make it as receptive to the seed as possible.   It’s a good idea for us to stop once in awhile to think about the condition of ou...

  I remember back to the time before my wife and I were married. I had a bad cold and a sore throat. I was getting ready to go to work and took out a carton of herbal tea bags to take with me to work. In the midst of other preparations, I forgot to take my tea. I walked out of the house and went to my car in the driveway and what did I see? A carton of herbal teabags that my wife-to-be had left for me on the hood of my car! I was overjoyed and thankful for God’s great providence, for the depth of His love that He cared about a little thing like tea for my throat and for the height of His love in blessing me with a loving, Spirit-filled soulmate.   God’s love is so great that He delights in doing good things for us.   He offers us the gift of salvation but we don’t need to wait until our next life to experience His goodness to us. We should be open to whatever He brings us each day. He cares about all the big and little things that you will experience today. Jesus perf...

 I learned how to do surgical procedures when I was in medical school and residency.  There would be an attending physician or a senior resident behind me helping me and telling me what to do. I never considered doing anything other than what they told me to because I knew that they knew more than I did about whatever procedure I was doing. Even though I felt a little nervous (OK, a lot nervous sometimes!), I was able to go forward with confidence because I knew that I had someone there with me who could help me.   Overcoming the challenges of everyday life can seem a daunting task sometimes. God has promised to be with us. The gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus telling His disciples, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt 28:20). We can live confident lives when we know that God is walking with us and guiding us through whatever difficulties we face.   Mary told the servants at the wedding in Cana, “ Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). When th...

  I’ve heard it said that you can divide the population into morning people and night people. If that’s true, and I think to a large degree that it is, put me firmly into the night person camp. It’s a morning world, though, so I’ve had to adjust. My brain usually gets going after a splash of water on the face and the first cup of coffee.   It’s important to get your spirit going in the morning as well. My morning prayer time helps me to get into the proper attitude for facing the day. It is especially important on those days that I anticipate will be difficult.   I am taking the prophet Isaiah’s words a little out of context but I think they are applicable to our lives today. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you” (Isa 60:1). We should start each day with the attitude that we are going to be witnesses of God’s love and care and that we will shine with the reflection of His light. We should go forward in the knowledge that...

    I’ve had a few eye surgeries so I need to see my ophthalmologist regularly. They usually dilate my pupils with some drops so the doctor can see everything in the back of my eye. The dilating drops make my eyes very sensitive to the point that bright light is painful.   We need to open our eyes to let God’s light into our hearts and lives to illuminate the dark areas that we need to deal with. This is a necessary process, even though it can be painful at the time.   “Live as children of light…..and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness…..everything exposed by the light becomes visible” (Eph 5:8,10,11,13).   Our mission as Christians is to bring God’s light to the world. We have to expect some resistance at times because the light we bring may be painful to others and they will try to shut it out. We should always be mindful of how we bring the light...