Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • revelation

    —

    Dana

    Teachers (especially math teachers) cherish the moments when the “light bulb comes on” and a student understands what has been taught. Sometimes a concept can be taught weeks without being understood. Without understanding, a student may have been going through the proper steps, perhaps even getting an occasional problem correct, when, for some unknown reason, the “light bulb comes on” and he exclaims, “Oh… now I get it!”

    Understanding is much more critical before the Master Teacher. Why doesn’t everyone see that without Jesus there is no hope? How can the things of this world rival eternity? Until certain “revelations” take place, we are captive to a spiritual enemy. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

    God holds revelation in His hands. Jesus called many blind that thought they could see. He quoted the prophets who predicted a lack of understanding. “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving.” It almost seemed that the advantaged ones were the poor, the uneducated, and the despised.

    When the revelation of sin comes, a man can feel undone. “What a wretched man I am!” Paul wrote. “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter cried. Without the knowledge of sin, a person might live a carefree life. People around might think he’s the happiest guy in the world, but such is not reality. The revelation of sin brings despair, but where there is truth there is hope. At such points one might search for a Savior. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” There is One who can. There is One who paid the price, but only sinners know they need Him.

    When Peter answered the question Jesus asked about what people thought about Him, he answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus knew his friend had been given a revelation. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”

    In our day of enlightenment, we think we figure things out on our own, but don’t we need revelation? If I truly saw Jesus as the King who created me and then died for me, would I live for myself? If I truly fathomed the price paid for my sin, would I fail to repent? If I truly comprehended the love of the Father, would I put anything before Him? If I fully understood the mercy I have received, would I ever withhold mercy from another? Jesus praised His Father for revealing the hidden things to the ones the world overlooked. May He show such kindness to us.

    “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” Matthew 11:25-26

    “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:17-19

    “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19

  • method

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    Dana

    To practice his new method of fishing, Taylor must resist old habits. To follow Jesus, I must also resist old habits. The world’s ways are not the Lord’s ways. We’ve been taught to always strive to be number one. Jesus teaches an opposite path: “He who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”

    The Jesus’ method of living opposes the world and challenges the practical. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

    Jesus walked this surrendered life claiming full dependence on His Father in Heaven. “By myself I can do nothing…” “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing…” “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.”

    So how should I live? Can I resist striving to be number one? Can I deny myself? Can I become the least? Can I come to the place where I realize I am nothing without Christ? Can I obey the Master, even when His direction goes against my common sense or my physical comfort? Can my message be His message? Can my actions be His actions?

    Such life only comes from above. Jesus gives us peace when we come to Him, and He patiently teaches us. He puts His burden on us, but it is not heavy. He leads us beside still waters. He restores our souls. He anoints us with His Spirit and puts our enemies to shame. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

    “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

  • practice

    —

    Dana

    First, let me express gratitude for thoughts and prayers. Yesterday I got news of last week’s tests. It was perfect! God is so kind. We are so thankful…

    Out son, Taylor, has become a pretty good fisherman. He not only likes to fish, he enjoys studying different strategies and techniques. Recently, he bought a two-hour video of an old Tennessee fisherman who discovered a new method of bass fishing. I chuckled as I watched Taylor soak in the instruction as Charlie Brewer and his sidekick, “Foxey”, discussed and demonstrated the art of “slider fishing”.

    What if Taylor had watched the video and then just talked about it? “Dad, that was a cool video. You should have seen all the fish those guys caught. I’m glad I bought it.” Buying and watching a video was not my son’s goal! The other day, school started late, so Taylor and his friend, Jake, got up at 6:00 AM and went fishing. “Dad, it works! I caught ten bass this morning and one of them weighed 4 pounds!” (If my math teaching could only produce such excitement!)

    Taylor believed that if he put into practice the things he learned, he would catch some fish. In a deeper way, Jesus often stressed this obvious truth. He knew man would be saved by grace through faith in Him, but He clearly described those who were His disciples.

    “You say you follow Me? Check out your life. My family members not only hear what I say, they put My teaching into practice. Don’t be fooled by any talk that says you can please Me without doing what I say. Many will tell Me of all the great things they did while on earth, but I will say, ‘I never knew you’. Those that truly love Me, obey Me. If you have ears to hear, listen carefully then put My words into practice.”

    “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!’ Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:21-27

  • examine

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    Dana

    Yesterday I was examined. My blood was examined; my bones were examined; even my bone marrow was examined. In a couple of weeks, the doctor will share the results of all these tests. One thing I can count on: He will be honest.

    The Holy Spirit tells us to examine ourselves. Surely this is to be uncomplicated. Have I put my faith in Jesus? Does He rule in my heart? Do I live in a way that shows I belong to God? Do I love my fellow man?

    It is critical that I am honest. If I see that I am God’s child, I can rejoice as I press on to run the race before me. If I honestly conclude I am not in the faith there is a simple, but urgent solution: Run to Jesus. He is the Author and Perfector of faith. He alone can take me to the Father. He will give me a new heart and a new spirit which will result in a life of obedience and love.

    The letter of I John speaks of these important matters. This a section of the third chapter from the Message: “People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love his brother or sister. A simple test. The way we know we have been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together. This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see your brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the only way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit He gave us.”

    “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?” II Corinthians 13:5

  • not always what it seems

    —

    Dana

    The mysteries I have discovered in this life often deal with the contrast between the way I see things and the way God sees them.  I am more careful saying “God did that” because I have seen pretty clearly that some of my “successes” were only “successes” in the eyes of the world… because I was in charge.  In other words, I have had several “successes in the flesh”.  I don’t think God gets much glory for such things.  On the other hand, I have had what seem to be great defeats… which may have ended up as victories in God’s eyes.  The one who obeys His Lord, loses all for the gospel, and dies at the hands of evil men will be counted great in the Kingdom because, by faith, he resisted the flesh and lived by the Spirit.  Such a one will be counted a fool by the world, but our God does not think like this world… neither should we.

    This is especially important as we view our students from day to day.  This past weekend, many believers from around the city gathered to pray for one of our graduates who is being “sent out” to Kansas City to be a part of a prayer ministry that is quite unique.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, prayer and worship take place at the International House of Prayer (I.H.O.P for short).  Billy Humphrey and his wife Maribeth intend to live in Kansas City a year, and then come back to Atlanta and start a similar ministry.  For thirteen years, Billy has been youth pastor at Victory World Church in Norcross.  His leaders have encouraged him to follow this vision God has given, believing this is for the Body of Christ in Atlanta, not just their congregation.  I write this to tell you that as presiding assistant principal when Billy was in school, I would have never predicted that God would use such a one.  Billy was a bit of a rebel.  He would confess he did not follow God while at GAC.  But at UGA, he was radically saved and is now on fire for the Lord.

    This past summer, I got a letter from Pam Watson.  Most of you know that her daughter Krista was killed in a car accident last May on the way to her graduation ceremony in Murphy, NC.  Krista was a unique person who presented challenges at times.  Her mom wrote, “Krista was a little different and sometimes hard to deal with.  The combination of being strong willed and outspoken yet very sensitive presented her with some challenges.”  Yet, God was at work in a young lady.  Pam continued, “Although she was in Murphy a short time, she was well known and loved.  She had found her home there and an environment in which she could flourish and grow.  She loved her new church home as well.  As the final weeks of her time here flew by, she became noticeably happier, softer, and I think, at peace with herself.

    “God has worked through her death.  A reporter from the Asheville newspaper came to Murphy to write about her death.  He interviewed a number of her friends who talked about her smile, her fun loving nature, and her faith.  He was a Christian as well and has incorporated her faith into the three articles that have subsequently been published in the newspaper.  She was their lead story on June 24th, one month after her death.  Through this writer she was able to witness to others even after her death and to touch a great number of people.”

    To close my encouragement that we constantly ask for wisdom to see as God does — in the Spirit as opposed to the flesh — I want to share a few of the journal entries Krista wrote during her senior year.  I believe these were written in her English class at Gainesville High School before they moved to Murphy.

    Aug 12, 2002 — ONE WISH
    My wish is to find the perfect man that God has arranged for me to find.  I know he won’t be perfect, but I just want to find a man that will stay by my side forever.  I want a man that will better himself every day for his family and be an awesome father for our kids.  My husband will be God’s disciple and my faith will grow through him.

    Aug 13 — CHANGE
    If I could change one thing in this world right now, it would be for every boy to be 6’5″ or taller.  That way I would have a choice of any boy without having to worry about the whole height issue, since I am 6’4″.  Actually, I would want them to be around 6’7″ so that I could wear heels and still be shorter than the guys.

    Aug 19 — ONE LESSON
    If I could teach my children one lesson for a happy life, I would teach them to love God with all their hearts.  God was the one who put us here and gave us free will; therefore we should thank and love him every day.  I would take my children to church twice a week and help them develop their own faith in God.  I would kneel beside their beds at night and teach them how to pray.

    Aug 27 — DINNER PARTY
    If I could have a dinner party and invite any four people from history, I would invite Jesus and three other people who aren’t Christians.  That way, I could learn and watch Jesus as he showed them the light so I could learn how to disciple others.  The reason we were put on this earth is so we can convert others, but I haven’t converted anyone.  I guess I don’t try that hard, but if I learned from the master, perhaps I would be enlightened.

    Oct 30 — MOST PROUD
    The moments I feel most proud of myself are when I help someone out who needs help.  One example would be when I go to mentorship and help kids read.  Another instance is when I would go to a soup kitchen the first Sunday of every month with the old church from GAC.  We would make and serve breakfast to the homeless in downtown Atlanta.  I remember seeing the same people there month after month.  It felt good to serve them.  It was kinda like when Jesus would serve his disciples — but not really.

    So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. II Corinthians 5:16

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