You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2012.
They do not respect hateful people but honor those who honor the Lord. They keep their promises to their neighbors, even when it hurts. (NCV)
All of us regret decisions we have made from time to time. Sometimes those decisions involve finances. Sometimes they involve decisions based on passion. They almost always affect relationships either negatively or positively.
A friend of mine tells the story of a vision he had for a business. He prayed about the idea and felt in his heart that he had the go ahead to pursue the venture. The one stumbling point was money. He approached his father with the idea and they both prayed and contemplated the idea. It seemed good to them so his father put up money from the equity in his house as well as some retirement account to join in the venture.
Then, the inevitable happened. The economy crashed and my friend lost his business. That, however, wasn’t the worst of it. As a result of his business failure, both he and his father lost their homes as well as the small amount his father had in a retirement account.
“Looking back,” my friend tells me, “We both had some apprehension about the idea but for some reason we decided to go ahead with the plan.”
The situation caused some real strains on the relationship my friend had with his father for several weeks. However, in the course of that difficult time financially, his Dad never once placed all the blame on my friend.
“In the course of our conversations we forgave each other for not listening a little closer to the Spirit. We both admitted to each other, and our God, that our ‘answer to prayer’ may have been our own human voice and not the voice of God and reason. Still, Dad and I maintained a good relationship even during the strained times.”
That story, difficult as it is, reminds me of the verse in Psalm 15. A man of God keeps his promises even when the results cause him hurt. He doesn’t keep them because they benefit him; he keeps them because they honor the Lord.
That principle should guide each of us in our financial dealings, our dealings in our jobs, and in all our relationships. My friend learned a painful and valuable lesson to listen carefully to the Spirit’s voice. But he learned another valuable lesson from his earthly father.
A promise is a promise. Period. If we think about it, isn’t that what our Heavenly Father does for us every day? We get up in the morning and promise not to engage in road rage…until we are cut off in traffic. We promise not to listen to the vulgar jokes at work…until we enter the break room. We promise not to snap at our family…until we can’t find the remote. We promise God that we’ll get up early in the morning to spend time with him…until the alarm rings.
Regardless of how many promises we break, our Heavenly Father keeps his promises to us. Even when it hurts him. He promises to love us, to walk by our side, to forgive us and a whole list of other promises. His promises are based on his ability to keep them, not on our ability to keep ours.
PRAYER: Father I praise you for your patience with me. I praise you for the fact that even though I can’t keep my promises, you always keep yours. Help me to show that kind of faith and patience with those around me that continually break their promises so that your name will be glorified. Amen.
Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Psalm 15:1 (NCV)
You see the signs everywhere. The wording may vary, but the message is the same. Restricted Access. Employees Only. Authorized Personnel Only. No Admittance. All ways of saying that unless you have the right credentials, you are not welcome to enter a particular area.
My son and I went to a neighboring city one day to hear a famous comedian. Just so happens that this comedian married a woman from a church my dad pastured. I knew this guy before he was famous! Our family knew him as a goofy guy who loved Jesus and had a fantastic ministry to youth. I was excited to hear him and excited for my son to meet him.
As we entered the arena where he was to speak to approximately 20,000 men I had an idea. I approached the first security person and explained that I was a family friend of this person and hadn’t seen him in years. My parents knew he was there too and I just wanted to pass a note that I’d hastily written to him.
The guard looked at me warily but took the note and disappeared down a hall. A few minutes later he returned with a smile and welcomed me to follow him. I wasn’t met with a handshake. I was met with a hug. It was only minutes to show time so our conversation was short. However, he turned to his ‘body-guard’ and said, “Make sure these guys get good seats.”
We were ushered down yet another hallway and emerged in front of the stage. We were then escorted to two seats in the front row! The guys we’d traveled with were many rows back, but because of my relationship with this guy, I got preferential treatment!
In Old Testament times, very few people had a personal relationship with God. All of their communication with him was done through a priest.
The Psalmist asks the question, “Who may enter your Holy Tent?” The answer then was a few priests who would pass on your ‘note’ to the King of Kings. The answer today? You can! The forgiveness Jesus offers as a result of the cross and empty tomb allows you access to the most inner thoughts of God. You don’t need a priest. You don’t need a particular set of rules and words. You need only to accept Christ’s forgiveness.
I needed permission to access my famous friend, but the writer to the Hebrews tells us we can approach him with confidence because of Jesus. With Jesus by our side we can enjoy the presence of his Father for all eternity. “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.”
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you that through your son Jesus I can come before you with complete assurance that you will accept me with open arms. I praise you for the fact that I don’t need a priest; I don’t need a set of rules to be accepted because you accept me as I am. Amen.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. Psalm 116:15 (NIV)
[To my readers: On February 11, 2012 my father suffered a stroke which weakened him physically and took away his speech. The search for a cause of that stroke revealed stage four cancer in his body. For the next several weeks my father battled the cancer as well as the effects of the stroke. On March 22, 2012, just 11 days after his 85th birthday, Dad won his battle with cancer and was ushered into the presence of his Lord Jesus to join those who have gone before us.
The words that follow are my tribute to my Father. A tribute I was honored to share with those of us who gathered together to celebrate his life. May you be challenged and blessed by these words.
Since that time, I’ve taken time away from my writing to regroup, deal with some personal issues, and rest. It’s time to re-enter the world to share what God has laid on my heart. I pray he will give me the strength to balance life and writing so that you will be blessed by the words I am given. May the God of Heaven richly bless you. Amen.]
How do you sum up 57 years of memories in a three to five minute speech? The easy answer to that of course is…you can’t! It’s been so encouraging to hear your stories of how Dad influenced your lives; to hear how many of you will spend eternity with Jesus because of the ministry Dad had to you. There aren’t too many 84 year old men who can relate to someone who is 14 one minute and a 70 year old the next.
Dad, Pastor Max, Grandpa Max, was more than a father to me, especially in these later years. He was a mentor, a friend and one of my main cheerleaders whether I entered the pulpit or faced some new challenge in life.
Over the last eight years I had the honor of having breakfast with Dad nearly every Wednesday, in our usual booth at ‘Our Place Café’. You know you are a regular when you show up at a restaurant and your coffee is hot and poured, your eggs are done just the way you like them and the servers greet you by name. Wednesday mornings will never be the same.
One of the memories I have growing up was the role of music in our family. We were by no means the Von Trapp Family but mom worked hard to get five rambunctious pastors kids all singing on the right page…usually. We learned to sing on our 90 mile trips over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house. Mom taught us to sing in harmony.. Dad taught us the importance of living in harmony. Together they taught us the vital importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
While Mom had an ear for music, Dad had a love for music. They are not the same. On one occasion I remember Dad being asked, not so graciously, to refrain from singing with us since we were practicing for Sunday night church and he was throwing us off key.
Dad had a song in his heart even though it didn’t always come through his lips as well as it left his head. Nothing could quench the song in my Dad’s heart. Anyone visiting his Face Book page knew his love for music, and especially the old hymns. I helped him publish his last hymn. Even though he couldn’t talk and was weakened from the stroke, he knew exactly which hymn to put on his page.
Wonderful, Wonderful Jesus
There is never a day so dreary, there is never a night so long, but the soul that is trusting Jesus will somewhere find a song. Wonderful, wonderful Jesus, In the heart he implanteth a song, A song of deliverance, of courage, of strength, in the heart he implanteth a song.
I share that story because the chorus we just finished singing [Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I’m going to see my Saviors face; Heaven is a Glorious, Heaven is a Marvelous, Heaven is a Wonderful place.] was the last song my Dad sang this side of heaven. That was the same day that he called us four sons together to tell us that his time would be short and how much he’d enjoy our company for the remainder of his stay here on earth.
57 years of memories. 57 years of lessons Dad taught me. Some I’m still working on. Others I’ve forgotten, but some of the biggest lessons still ring true in my heart.
Lesson One: You can always come home. I think each of sons and at least one grandson took Dad literally on that by moving our families into his house. Looking back I don’t think Dad was inviting us to move our families into his house. He was teaching us though that no matter how many mistakes you’ve made and how much you struggle with life, Jesus always welcomes you home with open arms.
Lesson Two: Jesus forgives ALL sin. Too often we like to categorize sin by saying “Your sin is worse than mine’ or this sin isn’t as big as that sin. Dad showed me, especially in these last years that forgiveness was for ALL sin, ALL the time.
Lesson Three: Listen to the Spirit and follow his lead. Dad often told me the story of a time when he was prompted by the Spirit to make an unexpected stop at a friend’s house. A stop he didn’t want to take but a stop that resulted in several major events. People found Jesus. People were sent into ministry. Broken families were healed. All because of that one time when Dad chose to listen to the Spirit.
4. Lesson Four: God has forgiven you. Have you forgiven others? Have you forgiven God? It’s so easy to get angry when we are mistreated. It’s so easy to hold a grudge, refuse to forgive and promise retaliation. Those things only keep us imprisoned. Dad inspired us all to love and live freely.
There were many other lessons of course. Too many to mention. But perhaps the biggest lesson I learned from my Dad was never verbalized by him. In fact, if he were here today he’d probably not agree with me. You see, my Father was, to me, an example of my Heavenly Father. Don’t get me wrong. Dad wasn’t perfect. He ate too much ice cream and took too few walks. He confided in me some of the struggles in his own spiritual life. But he gave me a clear picture of my Heavenly Father because of his unconditional love for me.
In church circles we talk about a God who is our Heavenly Father. A Father that loves us regardless of what we do or say or think. While that is true, it’s sometimes hard to find a good example of that in our world. When we are young and afraid we look to our Daddies for support. As we grow older and struggle with life and things don’t work out the way we planned those closest to us may fail to support us because we don’t meet their expectations. No so my Dad.
My Dad walked me through some of the darkest, loneliest days of my entire life. He showed me love, forgiveness and acceptance when my choices disappointed him. Sometimes those choices were unintentional, sometimes they were the result of my own bull-headed Scandinavian heritage. Regardless of the choices I made, I learned that my dad loved me. I’m proud of my Dad and I know he was proud of me.
I had supper with my dad shortly after he entered Parmly Life Points Care Center. It was a Saturday evening and I was preaching the next morning. I was talking with him about my sermon and from time to time he’d try to interject some scripture I should use.
The gentleman across the table asked me, “Is your dad a pastor too?”
I smiled, “Yep, he’s been a pastor for…over 60 years.”
Dad corrected me very clearly, “67 years” He said slowly, “But God shut me up!”
I remember putting my hand on his shoulder and saying, No Dad, God hasn’t shut you up.
And so, I close with a request. Please help keep Dad’s message alive. His voice is now directed towards praising the Savior in heaven. But while his voice may be silenced here on earth, please keep his message, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the message of grace, alive by showing others the patience, care, understanding and love that he showed so many of us.
Don’t shut up the message of Pastor Max.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 