Category: Technology

When You Can't, He Can

5/1/2013

In the aftermath of any life-altering event, it’s challenging to think or hear clearly in the never- ending din of society; when the return to life-as-normal has to be resumed though your soul cringes at the merest thought of it and huddles in a corner while it whimpers
that it isn’t ready to face reality just yet. Even so, you gradually unwind from your huddled position and slowly begin to press onward as you go through the motions of taking care of routine business matters: bill-paying, grocery shopping, yard work, etc. All the while, you share a half-hearted shallow discourse with others who cross your path, using pat, non-committal phrases as you ensure yet another well-meaning soul that you are doing ‘okay.’ (Doesn’t that word speak volumes?!) You return to work only when you have to and thankfully end up losing yourself in the many familiar details of your job. Here
at work, people cannot see the numbing pain that is masked by your smile and your diligent – though rote - productivity, yet they could see it if they chose to look closely into your eyes.

Resuming life-as-normal is a daunting task after any traumatic event. Life was already challenging to deal with when it did not contain a life-altering event. Inundated with high emotions and stress, we look to have our life made easier by the electronic products that
we have grown accustomed to. Yet the more our lives have been flooded with them and all the knowledge that comes with it, the more our vision has been clouded to the point where life feels more complicated and overwhelming than ever. The technology we look to every day that was meant to give us more free time and greater ease of living while supplying us with the means to draw the world-wide community closer to us has instead made us a society rife with pseudo relationships, enslaved us to apps and social networks, and created a Pavlovian response in each of us so that we immediately reach for our phone whenever we hear a ding, or bell, or some other (usually annoying) sound announcing that we have been sent a text, an email, or a push notification relating to a breaking story, all the while hoping that it’s someone reaching out to us in this turbulent season of life who will lend us comfort or supply at least one answer to the many questions we have. For all of our communication capabilities, we struggle to find even one person to turn to in time of need and wonder if anyone anywhere cares that we are struggling each day to simply survive.

When you can’t deal with life in all of its craziness, what should you do?    Return to the basics and begin by trusting in the One who will not disappoint.

When you can’t find where you fit into life, Jesus will never reject you when you come to Him.

John 6:37 (AMP) “All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me [Jesus] will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].”

When you can’t find inner contentment or tranquility, set your mind on Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) “You [God] will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”

When you can’t clearly see the direction to take or the decisions to make, He will guide you.

Isaiah 42:16 [NIV] “I [God] will lead the blind by ways they have no known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

When you can’t see how you can pay the bills or supply clothes and food for you and your family, He will provide.

Philippians 4:19 [AMP] “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

And when you can’t calm the anxious thoughts that race through your mind, share them with Him.

1 Peter 5:7 [AMP] “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him [Jesus], for He cares for you affectionately and cares
about you watchfully.”

When you can’t see how sense can be made of this mess, He will make it all work out, somehow and in His time.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Trust in the One who will never leave you to handle this life on your own.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

When you can’t, He can.  The choice is yours. He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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"Is Anyone Here?"

4/2/2013

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No, that’s not a typographical error.  Usually the question is asked, “Is anyone there?” Yet with all of the popular web sites encouraging people to share the minute details of their daily lives, it’s apparent that there are indeed other people out there. We find, however, that when a situation calls for someone to come alongside and travel with us in order to lend direct help during a challenging portion of this path we call ‘life,’ that, while the ‘friends’ list in our
favorite social media site may be overflowing with name after name of ‘out there’ people, it’s not necessarily an indicator of the availability of a ‘right here’ person.

I believe that God, who longs to offer us a devoted, dependable relationship, is more a fan of porches which lend, when utilized, a much slower and more intimate opportunity for the development of honest community.  In times past, it was common for people to sit on a swing or in a comfortable chair on the porch at the end of a long, hard and very busy day of work. After the supper dishes were washed and put away, people seemed to naturally gravitate towards the porch where they settled down to quietly talk of the days’ activities as well as of their goals and hopes for tomorrow’s accomplishments. The cooler breezes of the evening hours would chase away the heat from the day as they would watch the sun slowly sink lower on the horizon as it headed toward bed for the night.   Spending time on the porch was a marvelous way to de-stress and unwind before turning in at the close of the day.

The front porch is the portal into the house proper that led to the inner recesses of the family dwelling. Should the weather suddenly turn inclement or the hungry evening bugs begin to nibble the porch-sitters, they would either retreat into the house (with any lingering visitor also invited to join the family if the good conversation was not yet concluded and/or if the visitor was deemed trustworthy enough to enter the sanctity of the family home), or else put an end to the visit thus sending the loitering passerby on their way either by speaking gentle phrases for them to "have a good night," or else by subtle body language that the speaker hoped the drop-in caller would take as a cue that it was time for them to leave.

At other times during the day, the porch was a good place to get caught up on the latest news with a passing neighbor and, if they were inclined to dawdle, were invited up onto the porch to “sit and talk for a spell” and would be waved into a waiting chair. If a chair was not available, the tread of a step would be utilized as a seat and a welcome resting place while stories were exchanged.

The front porch was used oftentimes to have a quiet talk with a young ‘un who was having difficulty making a tough decision or who had a challenging question that was in need of an answer.  (The back porch was used for corporal punishment, when necessary.) It was also used as a comfortable spot to tend to portable work, such as mending, corn shucking, or whittling, or to listen to stories about what is was like ‘way back when’ that were full of wisdom tidbits that could be applied in some way to the present.

When guests came to dinner and it was time for them to leave, the host/hostess would walk onto the porch with them, then linger while conversations were finished and farewells exchanged. It was considered good manners and the sign of either fondness for, or proof of an enjoyable visit with, the departing guests for the host to remain on the porch first waving and then watching until they were out of sight. To not remain on the porch, or to shut the door quickly, was to let them know that their company was not enjoyed and that the hosts were eager (and therefore much relieved) to end the visit as rapidly as possible.

The front porch swing was frequently a place where courting couples would sit for hours talking while they got to know one another under the watchful ear of a chaperon who lingered just inside the house and sat by an open window so as to unobtrusively listen to the exchange of the couple.

The use of porches over time has diminished as the much cooler, air-conditioned indoors holds greater attraction over the not-quite-as-cool, open air environment of the porch. So, too, has the design of porches changed over time to reflect the waning usage of them as they have gotten smaller, many times being no larger than a step that is used to gain entrance into the house.
In spite of these changes, the desire for people to have genuine relationships and a true sense of community has not diminished one iota even though we are now more isolated physically than were our predecessors. While computer technology can be utilized to help foster relationships, it should never replace the personal interaction that’s needed in order to cultivate kinship.

History shows us that porches are not a creation of the developed world. In Biblical times, at least as far back as Solomon’s Temple, there was a porch that had to be crossed in order to enter the tabernacle courtyard.   This courtyard was the place where burnt sacrifices were performed on the altar as an offering for various sins that had been committed by the
individual or community as a whole.

There is an encyclopedia definition of the word porch that I like:   “Roofed structure, usually open at front and sides, projecting from the face of a building and used to protect an entrance.”

“Used to protect an entrance” to me conjures up a mental image of the Gatekeeper, Jesus Christ, who stands on the porch in front of the entrance to the throne room of grace (the Holy of Holies), the Father’s presence.

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus Christ offered Himself up as the perfect and complete sacrifice for our sins, and desires that all men come into this saving knowledge.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 [AMP] “For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth. For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all [people, a fact that was] attested to at the right and proper time.” [Emphasis mine.]

He continues to this day to act as Mediator between us and God, always interceding on our behalf.

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”

True relationship; the comfort of His constant, consistent presence in this life; the giver of wisdom for any situation we encounter; and a haven of refreshment whenever we choose to come to Him.  All of this, and more, He offers us.

“Is anyone here?”

Yes, He’s right here.  Come on up to the porch and sit a spell. He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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No Glitches in "Prayer-mail"

8/16/2012

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Not long ago a major internet service provider had a glitch in their programming that resulted in untold numbers of people
across the globe being denied access to their email for a short period of time. Business, educational and residential settings were ‘cut-off’ from their routine (and sometimes their only) mode of conducting their respective types of activity.  To the casual or occasional email user this may sound like a trivial situation; yet to those individuals whose lives depend upon it to either earn
their living or else to keep in touch with family and friends, it was not. Mild irritation was not the prevailing theme that day in the chat room about the ISP or this particular problem. Foremost in evidence was the anger people displayed at being denied access to what is normally available to them, and as such, is treated as a right or an entitlement.  There was also confusion over the ISP’s blatant silence regarding the status of this issue. And nearly all of the ‘chatters’ had the same unanswered question:  How long was it going to be down?

I watched as the number of comments mounted into the hundreds, the above questions remaining as the prevailing themes, until suddenly one of the responses changed from the oft-repeated “me, too” to “I’m in!”   The energy level in the chat room changed as contributors successfully logged into their accounts. As more “I’m in!” responses were left, the chat participants suddenly dwindled as they, presumably, resumed their normal email usage.

Computer technology is an amazing, beautiful invention as well as a valuable tool to countless people….as long as it works properly. Glitches, while not commonplace, are not unheard of.  We are neither entitled to, nor guaranteed unlimited access and use of, this technology. It is a paid-for privilege that has so permeated our culture that it is practically treated as a right.

As I later thought about this situation, I realized how unreliable manmade communication devices can be and marveled yet again at the wonderful method of communication we have been provided with in the form of prayer.  God never has a glitch in His programming or in His power supply. There’s never a time when He’s ‘off-line’ for program upgrades or is inaccessible because He’s stepped out of the office for a bit or gone on an extended vacation.  God has no voicemail.  He’s always there, waiting, longing and listening for us to speak to Him.

1 Peter 3: 12 (NIV) “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.”

God would love to meet with you in His ‘chat room.’  Go ahead. Send Him a "prayer-mail."

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When You Can't, He Can

"Is Anyone Here?"

No Glitches in "Prayer-mail"

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