Spiritual Poison Ivy
Written by Tony Stith
New Horizons Community Fellowship
This week my daughter has been dealing with the effects of an encounter with poison ivy the week before. The right side of her face became almost unrecognizable as it became swollen and turned a bright shade of red.
This vile plant grows prolifically on our three acre plot of land. Over the 13 years that we've lived here I've waged a battle to eradicate it from those parts of our property that we use and maintain. But even though you can't see evidence of it's existence above ground, it's root system, which seemingly never dies and extends like a vast network, continues to thrive in the soil underneath. We're fairly certain that it was from soil containing these roots that Courtney, while weeding a flower bed, came into contact with the stuff.
The problem with poison ivy is that once it's on the skin it's almost impossible to stop it's damaging affects unless recognized and dealt with immediately. In very rare cases, exposure to large amounts of the plant's oil can cause complications that can lead to death. As we watched our daughter's face swell, we did become a little concerned that this was more than just an uncomfortable nuisance. After consulting the local nurse line and after doing some research, we did finally find some medicine (very expensive medicine I might add) that has done wonders in alleviating some of the discomfort and in helping to draw out the poison faster. It's still taking time to heal, but we aren't worried for our daughter's recovery.
Paul writes in Romans 7:18 - 20 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."
He continues in Rom 7:24 - 25 "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
As Christians we have had our senses trained by the Holy Spirit and by God's word to recognize sin. But, as Paul here recognized in his own life, even though we do our best to eradicate any vestiges of it from our lives, because we are human and because we live in a fallen world, we will never be able to completely keep ourselves from it's harmful affects. It's tentacles reach into areas we cannot see before we have fallen prey to it's poison. It still has the power to bring us under the death penalty.
Paul, however, does reveal the antidote. There's only one way to be released from it's grip. We have the utlimate healing balm...and it's not expensive...it's freely given. It's the blood of our Savior who gave His life for us so that we could be released from the penalty of sin.
We still, like my daughter, may have to suffer the consequences of sins affects in our life. We may need to let the infection run it's course. But it should be comforting to know that through the power of His blood, our ultimate healing is certain.
Surviving Life in the Pressure Cooker
When I as a kid my mom was big into canning. Strawberries, peaches, apples, you name it... if it grew on a tree or a bush, she canned it. Now if you know anything about canning, which many these days don't, you'd know that an essential implement in the process is the pressure cooker. And we had a big one. In fact, it was so big and noisy, it used to scare me. When this beast of a stainless steel pot got up to a certain temperature, it would rattle and rock violently on the stove top from the pressure of the steam that was building up inside. The only thing that kept it from blowing was a little cap on the top that let just enough steam out to avoid certain disaster, or at least avoided cooked peaches being strewn all over the kitchen. As a kid I would steer a wide birth around this thing because I thought, "if that thing gets clogged, it's going to blow!"
Thankfully it never did...and we spent many a winter enjoying the fruits of my mother's efforts in the kitchen the previous summer.
I've learned a little about stress lately. I'm in the middle of a job change, transitioning from the career I've known for seven years, where I've grown somewhat comfortable, where some of my co-workers have become like second family. Now I'm going to a new environment with unknown challenges, unknown personalities, unknown culture. Needless to say I've felt interally somewhat like one of those pressure cookers my mother used long ago, except in my case I didn't have a release cap to keep it from blowing.
I didn't realize just how much pressure was building till I found myself in the back of an ambulance one day last week hooked up to an EKG machine. I had called 911 on the way home from work because I felt I was having what I thought was a heart attack. I was short of breath, becoming increasingly dizzy to the point of blacking out with tingling sensations in my toes and hands. Well, after a full battery of tests, including several needle sticks and donations into a little cup, I was given the all clear. My heart was fine, everything else looked fine... The diagnosis? Hypertension brought on more than likely from...you guessed it...stress.
Since that day I've been trying to do all of the right things doctors tell you to do. Reduce salt intake, get more rest, exercise daily, eat healthier. In short. Release some of that stress that has been building up in my body. I've tackled these instructions with a passion and I do feel better, even after half a week. There is one piece of instruction, however, that the doctor did not give me...but instruction that I know, more than all of these things, would do more to combat my stress than anything else.
I Peter 5:7 tells us to cast our cares on God for He cares for us.
At the root of stress is really the fear of the unkown. Of all people, we as Christians, should have every reason to be at peace internally. Yes, there are unknowns in life, but God is sovereign. He has called us and is working out His plan within us.
The more I can trust that He cares for me and cast my burden on Him, the greater peace I can have, regardless of the situations I encounter in life. The same is true of major life changes such as my transition to a new job. If I have prayed about a decision, asked God to direct my path, requested that He open and close doors as appropriate in my life, then I need to have confidence that He will do that. In short I need to have faith in Him.
The world will continue to turn the heat on. Responsibilities will always be there, bosses will always expect 110%, family problems will crop up sporadically... But regardless of the pressures we face...we can have faith that our God who cares for us will carry our burden. That faith is the best release cap of all.
------
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Psalms 119:15 - 16
Feet Firmly Planted
Written by Tony Stith
New Horizons Community Fellowship
My wife and I took our two kids and a couple of their friends to Valley Fair, Minnesota's biggest amusement park, this week. I don't know why they call them amusement parks. In my mind, there's nothing in the least amusing about them. They should more accurately be labeled panic parks, terror parks, check your brains at the door parks...Something more befitting the sensations these parks are designed to provoke.
You probably have surmised thus far that I'm not a big fan of rides. I just don't think God intended for man to find creative ways to scare the pajeebers out of ourselves. That, and a few other reasons, are why I staged a little passive resistance this week when we went to visit the local "death" park. Despite my teenage son and his friends best efforts to get me strapped into rides with therapeutic names such as the "Wild Thing", the "Steele Venom" or the "Power Tower" I resolutely determined to keep both of my feet firmly planted on the ground and the contents of my stomach where they belonged...in my stomach.
As I stood at the base of these towering torture chambers watching the family I loved being tossed about mercilessly like stuffed pillows in a pillow fight and congratulating myself for making the wise decision to stay on the ground, I couldn't help but wax spiritually philosophical.
In the realm of the spiritual there are never ending amounts of Christian amusements and diversions to be had. Their flashing neon lights catch our attention, beckoning us to strap ourselves in and let them take us on twisting, turning, thrilling rides to places we've never been before. This ride over here promises to rocket us into the Purpose Driven Life. That ride over there promises to help us Find Your Best Life Now and yet another claims to be able to shoot us to new heights of Possibility Thinking. Christians in droves strap themselves into these and other spiritual diversions. They are emotionally tossed and turned, rocketed back and forth until the ride ends, the excitement fades, and they come out the exit somewhat dizzy and unstable, finding it difficult to walk again on solid ground.
2 Tim 4:3 - 4 tells us... "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
Eph 4:14 instructs us to "...no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine..."
God didn't intend for His people to be twisted and turned and swept away by every wind of doctrine....some new interpretation here or unique three step plan of fulfillment there. He wants us to keep both of our feet firmly planted on the bedrock of his Word. That is where we find life. That is where we find fulfillment. And ultimately, that is the most thrilling and rewarding ride of all.
I think our family has had it's fill of amusement parks for this summer at least. Who knows, maybe next summer my son will finally succeed in getting me strapped into one of those death contraptions. It's not likely, but I know he'll keep trying. I'm pretty adamant about keeping my feet planted firmly on terra firma. I'm determined to keep my spiritual feet there as well.
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Psalms 119:15 - 16
New Horizons Community Fellowship
My wife and I took our two kids and a couple of their friends to Valley Fair, Minnesota's biggest amusement park, this week. I don't know why they call them amusement parks. In my mind, there's nothing in the least amusing about them. They should more accurately be labeled panic parks, terror parks, check your brains at the door parks...Something more befitting the sensations these parks are designed to provoke.
You probably have surmised thus far that I'm not a big fan of rides. I just don't think God intended for man to find creative ways to scare the pajeebers out of ourselves. That, and a few other reasons, are why I staged a little passive resistance this week when we went to visit the local "death" park. Despite my teenage son and his friends best efforts to get me strapped into rides with therapeutic names such as the "Wild Thing", the "Steele Venom" or the "Power Tower" I resolutely determined to keep both of my feet firmly planted on the ground and the contents of my stomach where they belonged...in my stomach.
As I stood at the base of these towering torture chambers watching the family I loved being tossed about mercilessly like stuffed pillows in a pillow fight and congratulating myself for making the wise decision to stay on the ground, I couldn't help but wax spiritually philosophical.
In the realm of the spiritual there are never ending amounts of Christian amusements and diversions to be had. Their flashing neon lights catch our attention, beckoning us to strap ourselves in and let them take us on twisting, turning, thrilling rides to places we've never been before. This ride over here promises to rocket us into the Purpose Driven Life. That ride over there promises to help us Find Your Best Life Now and yet another claims to be able to shoot us to new heights of Possibility Thinking. Christians in droves strap themselves into these and other spiritual diversions. They are emotionally tossed and turned, rocketed back and forth until the ride ends, the excitement fades, and they come out the exit somewhat dizzy and unstable, finding it difficult to walk again on solid ground.
2 Tim 4:3 - 4 tells us... "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
Eph 4:14 instructs us to "...no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine..."
God didn't intend for His people to be twisted and turned and swept away by every wind of doctrine....some new interpretation here or unique three step plan of fulfillment there. He wants us to keep both of our feet firmly planted on the bedrock of his Word. That is where we find life. That is where we find fulfillment. And ultimately, that is the most thrilling and rewarding ride of all.
I think our family has had it's fill of amusement parks for this summer at least. Who knows, maybe next summer my son will finally succeed in getting me strapped into one of those death contraptions. It's not likely, but I know he'll keep trying. I'm pretty adamant about keeping my feet planted firmly on terra firma. I'm determined to keep my spiritual feet there as well.
------
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Psalms 119:15 - 16
A Beauty to be Shared
The other night my wife and I went on a walk in our country neighborhood. It was the first day the temp had been under 90 degrees for about a week so we wanted to get out of the house and get some air that wasn't recycled.
About half a mile from our house we came upon a scene that elicited both a chuckle and a feeling of sadness at the same time. It was a house whose owners had obviously put a great deal of work into a flower garden that lay to one side of their property. It wasn't a large garden but it was exploding with beautiful color...that is... what color you could see. It would have been the perfect scene of natural beauty had it not been for a 4 foot tall metal fence that they had erected around the perimeter of the entire flower garden. It was as if the flowers had been placed in the state penitentiary. Much of the beauty of the garden had been horribly masked by the ugliness of cold steel.
It was obvious to us why they must have put up the fence. Given the mildness of the previous three winters, the critter population in the area had exploded. These well-meaning people had erected this barricade to defend their prize flowers from becoming critter salad. Flowers and shrubbery aren't cheap, and rabbits in particular can take out quite a few flower plants in short order.
I couldn't help but think that, had it been my garden, I would have tried to find some more unobtrusive way to protect my flowers. If, having found none, I think I would rather run the expense of occasionally replacing a few plants than hiding them away in Fort Knox.
You know, looking at the flower bed I couldn't help but be reminded of a casual acquaintance I had while in college. This person had qualities very similar to this garden. It took me quite a while to learn that this individual was a wonderful person on the inside. She was witty, thoughtful and enjoyable to be around. The problem was that she was terribly shy and closed up on the outside. Unless you were lucky enough to get behind the walled off exterior, you never would have the pleasure of getting to know much about her at all.
I never knew what circumstances in life caused this acquaintance of mine to shut herself off emotionally from much of the world. I have a hard time believing that she was simply born that way. Her emotional closure exceeded simple shyness. Perhaps, like the flowers in the flower bed, her leaves had been chewed on a few too many times in life. She may have been picked on or teased as a child or perhaps rejected by peers too many times as a teenager. Whatever the circumstances, they led to her to pound in the stakes and erect a practically impenetrable steel cage around her emotions.
Jesus gives some difficult instruction in Luke 6. He says in verses 27 through 31 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
I think if I were to summarize these words of Jesus it would be "don't build fences". Regardless of how people or events may hurt us we as Christians are to continue to reach out, to open ourselves up, to others. We aren't to close ourselves off from the world, regardless of how vulnerable we may feel.
I've long since lost contact with my acquaintance from college. Actually, it wasn't till I saw that fenced in garden that she came to mind. I guess there wasn't much to remember of someone who shared so little of themselves. That, in itself, is sad. I pray that she gradually was able to let down her protective fencing and let others in to share her life. I pray that she learned that to risk having a few leaves chewed on is far preferable to the lonelinesss of hiding behind an iron curtain. The work that God is doing within us is simply much too beautiful not to be shared.
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Psalms 119:15 - 16
About half a mile from our house we came upon a scene that elicited both a chuckle and a feeling of sadness at the same time. It was a house whose owners had obviously put a great deal of work into a flower garden that lay to one side of their property. It wasn't a large garden but it was exploding with beautiful color...that is... what color you could see. It would have been the perfect scene of natural beauty had it not been for a 4 foot tall metal fence that they had erected around the perimeter of the entire flower garden. It was as if the flowers had been placed in the state penitentiary. Much of the beauty of the garden had been horribly masked by the ugliness of cold steel.
It was obvious to us why they must have put up the fence. Given the mildness of the previous three winters, the critter population in the area had exploded. These well-meaning people had erected this barricade to defend their prize flowers from becoming critter salad. Flowers and shrubbery aren't cheap, and rabbits in particular can take out quite a few flower plants in short order.
I couldn't help but think that, had it been my garden, I would have tried to find some more unobtrusive way to protect my flowers. If, having found none, I think I would rather run the expense of occasionally replacing a few plants than hiding them away in Fort Knox.
You know, looking at the flower bed I couldn't help but be reminded of a casual acquaintance I had while in college. This person had qualities very similar to this garden. It took me quite a while to learn that this individual was a wonderful person on the inside. She was witty, thoughtful and enjoyable to be around. The problem was that she was terribly shy and closed up on the outside. Unless you were lucky enough to get behind the walled off exterior, you never would have the pleasure of getting to know much about her at all.
I never knew what circumstances in life caused this acquaintance of mine to shut herself off emotionally from much of the world. I have a hard time believing that she was simply born that way. Her emotional closure exceeded simple shyness. Perhaps, like the flowers in the flower bed, her leaves had been chewed on a few too many times in life. She may have been picked on or teased as a child or perhaps rejected by peers too many times as a teenager. Whatever the circumstances, they led to her to pound in the stakes and erect a practically impenetrable steel cage around her emotions.
Jesus gives some difficult instruction in Luke 6. He says in verses 27 through 31 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
I think if I were to summarize these words of Jesus it would be "don't build fences". Regardless of how people or events may hurt us we as Christians are to continue to reach out, to open ourselves up, to others. We aren't to close ourselves off from the world, regardless of how vulnerable we may feel.
I've long since lost contact with my acquaintance from college. Actually, it wasn't till I saw that fenced in garden that she came to mind. I guess there wasn't much to remember of someone who shared so little of themselves. That, in itself, is sad. I pray that she gradually was able to let down her protective fencing and let others in to share her life. I pray that she learned that to risk having a few leaves chewed on is far preferable to the lonelinesss of hiding behind an iron curtain. The work that God is doing within us is simply much too beautiful not to be shared.
------
"I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." Psalms 119:15 - 16
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)