God

The Wisest Person I Know

/ Bob

Wisdom is a trait often sought by people who have to make decisions; who have trying times and want to know how to deal with them; for people who are just tired of bumping up against the road blocks of life. We seek wisdom and yet we seem to find very little of it.  God tells is in the book of James that if we want wisdom we should just ask God for it and he will be glad to give it to us. However, too often we just want to talk to someone, talk to someone who agrees with us, or maybe just talk to someone in our own mind because we know that person will definitely agree with us.  No matter. We just want wisdom.


What a blessing it is when the person who you consider to be the wisest person of all is also the one to whom you are married. Pam is without a doubt the wisest person I know. Of course, if you ask her if she is wise she would deny it vehemently. But that she truly is. And the best part is her wisdom is not earthly wisdom but rather the godly wisdom she has gained from reading and studying God’s word. I cannot number the times she has answered my concerns with scripture or with some godly principle she has been developing. She is able to see straight through my angst to the heart of the matter and speak truth to me.  Sometimes I wanna hear it –  sometimes I don’t, but it is truth nonetheless and it is always applicable truth.


Last fall I had to have a radical prostatectomy. During the process God gave me peace I had never known before. Peace that, no matter what the physical outcome, God was still God and that all would be well with my soul. I found myself in the hospital with so much peace that I prayed with my nurses and doctors and found great joy in doing so. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been dealing with some serious back and hip problems. In the process I had to get an MRI which is no fun for a person of my size. (When they bring in a tub of lard to grease you up so that you will slide into that small tube, you know you’re in trouble.)  When I came out I talked with the technician as he was wheeling me out.  I asked him to stop so that we could pray. I prayed for him and again found great joy in doing so.  He told me he was a believer and we enjoyed great fellowship in the labyrinth of hallways leading to the front door. The pain was still there but the joy completely overrode the pain. 


When I told Pam about the day and about praying with the young man at the hospital she was happy for me. Then her wisdom immediately kicked in and she said the when I’m in the hospital I am full grace and peace knowing God will take care of me. She went on to say that sometimes here at the house I forget how God has helped me by strengthening me and giving me peace when I needed it. She went on to say God is ready to grant me that same peace at home. There it was – God’s wisdom coming from the mouth of my wife. Too often, when we get home, we think we can relax because we have arrived at our personal sanctuary – a place we go as a retreat from the world around us. But in our struggle against the wiles of the devil we can never relax. 


Now your response might be “Well, Duh.”   The fact is when you are in the midst of the struggle you often don’t see truth as well as you see circumstances. Pam helped me see the truth in the midst of the circumstances and it’s only by God’s wisdom that she was able to discern the truth.  It’s also God’s wisdom that showed her how and when to say it.  

Without a doubt, she is the wisest person I know.  And, if you aren’t convinced, consider this – she married me!

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  James 3:17

Happiness & Joy

/ Bob / 2 Comments

CAR CRUSHER HAPPINESS 2

It was the summer of 1977. Pam and I were newlyweds. I had just graduated and Pam was still in school at Baylor. I was working in a plant called Mosley Machinery. We built the machines which were used to flatten cars. All was right for this young couple beginning their lives together.

Every morning Pam sent me off to work with my packed lunch pail. I thoroughly enjoyed working there. I especially loved test days (always a Thursday) when a new car-crushing behemoth came off of the line for its first trial run. A crane with a giant claw would pick up an old, unsuspecting car and drop it into the belly of the beast. Slowly the great metal plates enveloped the doomed vehicle and closed in, flattening the car to the cheers of the 300+ employees who watched the car’s fateful end with great delight. Good days indeed. (Thursday was also the day we had “church” but that’s a story for another day.)

I returned home at the end of the day usually covered in dirt, oil, and debris as my job primarily consisted of tearing down buildings to make room for expansion at the plant. The old buildings had been in use for decades and had not been cleaned except for a daily sweeping. I brought home the filth of the decades. Pam made me remove most of my clothes before coming into our apartment. I was never indecent, but I was barefoot and shirtless before entering – just the way Pam wanted me. I went straight to the shower and, after cleaning up and getting dressed, I would relax a while and then we would eat supper. Pam was trying out all of her newlywed recipes which were usually designed to feed 8 people. After swinging a sledgehammer all day I was famished so I would consume my 7 portions while Pam ate her one. (After a few days of this routine she told me that if I didn’t eat all of it, I could have some in my lunch the next day, so I reigned in my appetite.) The rest of the evening was spent watching TV, Pam’s studying and/or rehearsing, and visits with a dear friend, Tony, who lived in the same apartment complex. Life was simple. We were happy.

However, within a span of a little over a year, our happiness would be crushed like those hapless cars on test day. Pam would have to undergo emergency gallbladder surgery, we would move to another town where I would begin a new job, and “Pappa B,” Pam’s Dad, passed away along with my uncle and grandmother. Even though my new job seemed exciting, it was also stressful as was the move, so that dealt happiness a blow as well.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) It was in the midst of those stressful times that the seeds of joy began to grow and supersede the happiness which I had regarded as joy. It has been a slow growing plant – this joy in the Lord – but it has endured through many storms and droughts; through many harsh winters and scorching summers; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. In fact it has grown so much – this joy in the Lord – that it bloomed beautifully not too long ago when I was to undergo a biopsy procedure in which I would be placed under anesthesia.

For some reason, the day before my trip to the hospital, I had a sense that I might not come out of the procedure alive. It is very rare for someone to die in this procedure, but the thought was there nonetheless. I prayed and asked the Lord to give me peace and this absolute flood of joy came over me. I knew that all was well with my soul. I actually understood and experienced the peace, hope, confidence – and yes, joy – that I had often read about in Daniel 3:16-18. I knew that God would deliver me, but even if He didn’t, I would not bow my knee to the spirit of fear. Many times I have discussed the concept of “dying grace” in which the Lord gives you peace as you are about to leave this world, but I had never experienced it. Granted, it was just a little bit disconcerting when I pondered that this might be “dying grace,” but even that was fleeting in the face of God’s peace and joy. Even as I was going under in the operating room I was full of joy talking about the Isle of Skye and remembering the wonderful time Pam and I had spent there. When I awoke in the recovery room I glanced around and realized pretty quickly that I was not in Heaven. I smiled and even chuckled a bit – not because I was still alive, but because my Joy was with me.

The biopsy did reveal that I have prostate cancer. The Gleason score is 9 (out of 10) which they tell me indicates an aggressive, high risk form of cancer. And yet, my Joy remains. My doctor believes it can be cured, but even before he said that I knew that all is and will be well with my soul. I’m going to MD Anderson for surgery and treatment. It’s regarded as one of the best (if not The Best) cancer centers in the world. Even so, my hope is not in them, but in the One Who gave them the wisdom and knowledge that they use on a daily basis. My doctor there is a preeminent prostate cancer expert, but I know that God will direct him as He sees fit with no regard for his outstanding qualifications. I can even see how God has orchestrated all of the events in the past few weeks to put me in the care of such capable doctors and surgeons. Still, through all that I will face I know that it is my God Who will deliver me, but even if He doesn’t, I will not bow my knee to the spirit of fear for the Joy of the Lord is my Strength. It truly is well with my soul. Hallelujah!

Where Are You Headed?

/ Bob

i 35 with hitchhiker final

While I was at Baylor I had three jobs from my sophomore year until I graduated. I was a music theory lab instructor, a music theory tutor, and I was the Youth Minister for Memorial Baptist Church in Temple, Texas. Needless to say, I spent many hours driving back and forth to Temple on I-35. I made two trips each week and often three or four. As it is the aorta of Texas, there were thousands of people who traveled that stretch of highway every day, including some without cars.

You don’t see a lot of hitchhikers these days, but they were plentiful then. Sometimes they were out of town a bit and sometimes they were there waiting when I pulled onto the interstate – thumb up and suitcase, backpack, or duffel bag sitting on the ground beside them. I could only take them thirty-five miles down the road, but they were grateful to be that much closer to their destination and, if they were already out of town at night, they were grateful to make it to someplace with light.

I had a friend in Temple, Gary Castleberry, who was a seasoned hitchhiker. He gave me a couple of tips on picking up hitchhikers. The first was never to pick up a hitchhiker with no suitcase or bag. They might be running from someone or something. A second rule was to never pick up more than one hitchhiker at a time. Two or more could overpower you or one could distract you while the other one did you in.

I tried to follow his advice, but there was One Who I listened to even more than Gary when it came to picking someone up. I always prayed and asked God if I was supposed to pick up a person when I saw them on the road. Almost always the answer was “yes.” A few times it was “no” and there were even a very few times when I wasn’t sure and started to pull over when I looked in my rear-view mirror to see someone else pulling over to pick the guy up. And yes, I did violate Gary’s rules occasionally. I had as many as four hitchhikers in the car at one time – two from one pickup and two more a mile down the road. Those without bags were indeed often running, but not from the police – they were running from their own lives.

When I had the time I would pull into McDonald’s to get them something to eat. Someone who is truly hungry doesn’t savor the moment. There was no time to chit chat over the meal. They couldn’t get the food in fast enough – head down, right over the burger, much like a dog who doesn’t want another animal to get his food. Even as I write this I recall vivid images of those hungry souls.

I used these opportunities to get to know the people, usually by starting with a simple question – “Where are you headed?” After exchanging small talk I tried to introduce them to Jesus. It was easy to broach the subject. I was either on my way to or from work and my work was in a church. We had many philosophical conversations, many curiosity driven conversations, and a few quick ending conversations, but in all of the conversations they knew who my Lord was and what He could do for them. No one made a “profession of faith” during those trips, but I like to think that some did later. But whether they did or they didn’t, I knew that I had been obedient to God’s still, small voice saying “pick up this one” and I know that I was being obedient to his command to do such things for the least of these.

Scientists? Politicians? Health Experts? Who Do We Turn to for Truth?

/ Bob

 

Psalm 118

It seems that with all the noise going on it’s hard to tell who to believe, who to trust, and what to do with what little knowledge they seem to bring. One health expert gives their opinion based on their experience in their research, but another health expert says just the opposite. One politician tell us what he believes and what his constituents believe is the best course of action and another politician says just the opposite. One scientist gives a report on what is happening and another scientist says just the opposite. One mental health expert explains why people act the way they do and another mental health expert says just the opposite. One sociologist says why people act the way they do and another sociologist says just the opposite.

So who do we believe?  Why, the one(s) we agree with the most, of course.  No need to balance and reconcile opposing views of others.  Quite frankly, we don’t need to even entertain their thoughts.  Ridicule them?  Yes, but we need not carefully consider them or what they say.  After all, their ideas don’t align with what we want to hear.

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3 NLT)   When Paul gave this admonition to Timothy he was warning him about false doctrine coming into the church.  My concern is that false information is guiding Christians because many believers choose to act relying solely on the knowledge provided by humans (even experts and/or authorities) while ignoring the wisdom of God.  There is nothing wrong with seeking advice.  Proverbs 15:22 reminds us that “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”  However, there is something wrong – disastrously wrong – with seeking advice and not seeking God.  Psalm 118:8-9 says it this way:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

May we, as believers, always take refuge in the Lord; always trust His wisdom: always rely on Him for our safety, understanding, and peace.  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” –  Isaiah 26:3