Christing Friday April 12th, 2013

Friday:

The third thing Paul did was to recognize God’s presence.

“The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (v.17) the bible repeatedly reminds us that God is there for us:

“I will not leave you orphans” John 14:18

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”: Hebrews 13:5

God s always there no matter where you are or what you are doing. I remember my mom used to tell me that God was always there watching me. I think here motives were different; she didn’t want me getting into mischief so she reminded me that even if she wasn’t here watching that God was there. And He is there, always.

As King Saul chased David, David asked (rhetorically I believe) “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your Presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in Hell, behold you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. “Psalm 139:7-9

Singer Amy Grant has a song that says:”I love a lonely day. It makes me think of you….it chases me to you. It clears my heart.”

The last thing that Paul did to deal with the loneliness was to empathize with other people and their needs.

When I read the article about Matthew Warren it was followed by a blog. The first few comments were empathetic toward the Warren family and shared their condolences. However, it quickly became a position point for others to attack Christianity and believers in general. They attacked the Warrens, their supposed politics and even God himself. The blog quickly turned vile and unreadable, anything but empathetic.

Remember God understands loneliness. He experienced himself. Remember the night before He was to be crucified and He sat in the Garden of Gethsemane as all of his friends fell asleep? How about the time he was betrayed my Judas? Or the time Peter denied even knowing who He was….three times? Or the ultimate when He cries out Himself: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)

He understands

Christing Thursday April 11th, 2013

Thursday:

There are good and bad ways to deal with loneliness. Some people become a workaholic, devoting all of their time and energy to work. They suffer physically, emotionally and often times in their relationships. Others try materialism, shopping and buying and consuming all they can. If you were to be put on an island and told, “You can have anything you want except human contact,” how long do you think you would be happy? Others turn to alcohol, drugs or extramarital affairs. Still others sink into a deep depression fueled by their own negativity.

So what did Paul do to deal with the loneliness? The first thing he did was utilized his time wisely. Remember on Tuesday when he wrote to timothy and asked him to not only come to Rome to see him, but to bring things with him. Specifically Paul asked for his coat and his readings. If he was going to be stuck in a dark, damp, musty dungeon he was at least going to be comfortable and utilize his time wisely.

The second thing Paul did was to minimize the pain. Remember when Paul said that no one came to defend him, no one. None of the disciples that walked and preached with him were there that day when he needed them the most. But what did he do he shoes not to pity himself. He chose not to focus on how he had been wronged, he instead asked God not to hold it against them. He chose not to become bitter and resentful. We all know bitter and resentful people. People who have been legitimately wronged but who are unable to let it go, forgive and move on.

Christing Wednesday April 10th

Wednesday:

The other two causes of loneliness are: opposition and rejection. In II Timothy 4:14 Paul writes, “Alexander the copper-smith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according two his works.” Although we do not know what Alexander did to Paul, whether he mistreated him in prison, damaged his name or reputation or tried to hamstring Paul’s message, we do know that Paul was in prison feeling alone and being attacked.

Opposition can really hurt, no matter where it comes from. Our children are constantly being opposed be their friends and acquaintances.  It may or may not have anything to do with their faith. Non believing kids are at the same mercy of bullies and mean kids. Our parents may feel that they are being opposed by insurance companies or the government or their previous employers. All of us can feel opposed by others, people at work who are trying to make a name for themselves will often times gladly sacrifice others for their own personal gain.

The fourth cause of loneliness is the most serious: rejection. Rejection is one of the most difficult things for a human being to handle. That is why divorce is so painful, and that is why God hates adultery: it is a betrayal, and hurts lives. It is an act of unfaithfulness, an abandoning, a forsaking, and it is very painful.

Paul felt rejection as noted in v. 16 “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray that it may not be laid to their charge.” In other words when the going got tough everyone left Paul to fend for himself. What a terrible feeling to be deserted by everyone who ever cared about you. 

Christing for Tuesday April 9th, 2013

Tuesday:

Yesterday we touched on the causes of loneliness. Today we will touch on the first two causes; transition and separation.

Life is full of transitions, from childhood on through adulthood. Starting school can be lonely. Ending school can be lonely. Moving away from home, getting a new job, changing jobs or retiring from a job can al be lonely. Loneliness can be from the loss of a loved one or as we get older, loved ones and friends. Paul was at a transition in his life as he sat in a cell in Rome. He knew that the end was near:

“For I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the Faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, Righteous Judge, shall give me as that day…”  II Timothy 4:6-8

The other is separation, being isolated from those that we love. It may be temporary, traveling away from your family for work, hunting or anything else. Or it may be involuntary, such as losing a loved one to death, either way we need people. Just think, in prison, which is a punishment imposed by the state for crimes committed, is by design punishment that entails being separated from others, especially those that we love. Furthermore, when people in jail need to be punished what do they do? They place them in solitary confinement; away form everyone, even other criminals. We are designed to be with people.

“Do your diligence to come shortly to me: for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Cescens to Galatia (France?) Titus unto Dalmatia (Yugoslavia). Only Luke is with me. II Timothy 4:9-11

“The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when you come, bring with you, and the Books, but especially the Parchments.” II Timothy 4:13

Paul was nearing the end of his life and was reaching out to those that he loved and loved him. Is there anyone in the end of their lives that love you or that you love? Have you or are you reaching out to them? Do you know that more than 60% of all nursing home residents have no visitors?

Christing Monday April 8th, 2013

Monday:

One of the things the church did was have it’s board members and pastoral staff attend pastor Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church conference in Lake Forest, CA. During this time my wife and I met Rick and his family. Although I didn't agree with some of his ideas I learned that he was a man of God who truly loved the Lord and his church. On Sunday the news hit me like a ton of bricks and tears immediately filled my eyes. Rick Warren’s son Matthew, 27 had committed suicide this past Friday.

As a paramedic attempted suicide is a call I respond to on a weekly basis. The completed and successful act is less frequent. However with every suicide I have responded to I have been met with an overwhelming sense of evil when I have walked into the area/room of the deceased. There is often times a smell of gunpowder or the sound of a creaking rafter with a rope hanging over it in the air, and always a complete darkness that envelops me, a sense of side splitting laughter by the many spirits that still occupy the room gloating over their accomplishment of stealing another of God’s children.

The gloom that I feel lingers for hours, days sometimes much longer, usually depending on the age of the victim. A constant questioning of “what could have been so bad that they felt that there was no other way out than this”? “What circumstance hurt so bad that this was a better alternative?” “Where was her family, friends and God during this selfish act?”

One idea that God always places on my heart is loneliness. That someone could feel so alone in their despair that they felt no other way is just a lie that these filthy rotten, #@$^% demons convinced him of. That in turn deepens my own despair. I feel as if we have lost another one, that they have won and we have lost.

Loneliness can be brought on by many things: transitions in life, separations, opposition and rejection.  This week we will look at each of these things, coincidentally the same things Paul dealt with near the end of his life and how he dealt with them; how the bible teaches us to deal with them.

I know that not everyone may deal with loneliness. But if the statistics are right someone you know, maybe many people you know are dealing with it. So please stick with me and if it does not speak to you personally please apply the concepts to someone else in your life.