Sweet Water

Sweet Water

Proverbs 27:19 “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.”

A couple of Sunday’s ago I visited a church in Duluth and the Pastor shared this analogy from Joni Eareckson Tada. We are like empty pitchers and as we go through life our pitchers start to get filled up. They get filled up with bitter water or sweet water. Life is a series of bumps and other people will bump us. What spills out is either bitter water or sweet water. The natural tendency when bitter water spills out is to blame the suffering to blame the bump, to blame the person. In doing so we keep filling our pitcher with bitter water. Things keep bumping us, we say we got an unfair shake. When we blame the bumps we are completely missing the point. For bumps will come and what spills out of us is enlightening of what is really in our heart.

This really hit home for me and I was embarrassed to think of the things that have spilled out of me when I have hit the bumps in my life. I was convicted thinking of how many times I have blamed the bump for the bitter water that has spilled out of me. Even the little bumps in life. How have I reacted to my family when they rub me the wrong way. The same with friends or coworkers, other drivers. I think about the person who has served me in restaurants or has waited on me in a store. When things don’t go the way I want them to or think they should, what has spilled out of my pitcher?

Over the past couple of weeks this message of the pitcher keeps replaying in my mind. I have been making an effort to really watch what is filling my pitcher. To control what thoughts I am letting play out in my mind. To not dwell on the negative. I have been trying to live out Philippians 4:8.9 “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.” Is it easy? Have I been entirely successful? All I can say is I am very glad my life is not part of a reality T.V. show open for the whole world to see.

Lord I pray that you help me and help us to fill our hearts with good things from you. That you will fill us with sweet water. I pray that as the bumps do come that we do not place blame. That sweet water will pour out and that our hearts will reflect not only us but you.

The Tin Man

Matthew 24:12 “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.”

I read an e-mail recently and this quote from C.S. Lewis was on the bottom of the page; “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” 


The quote reminded me of the story of the Tin Man from the “Land of Oz books, by L. Frank Braum, (The Wizard of Oz). The Tin Man was originally a man named Nick Chopper a woodsman who is in love with a young munchkin girl named Nimee Amee. They plan to be married but an old woman that Nimee works for does not want to lose her. She pays a witch to curse Nick’s ax. The ax is cursed and as Nick is working cutting down trees to build a life for him and Nimee his ax begins to cause accidents. After each accident Nick looses body parts one by one. A tinsmith replaces his body parts with tin. He finally has an accident that injures his heart and the tinsmith patches him up but without a heart. With each accident Nick would lose a part of himself. He would find himself separating more and more from Nimee. Until finally he forgets about Nimee, he is no longer able to love. He loses Nimee, his heart has been replaced by tin.

“The love of many will grow cold.” All of us know that loving does hurt, we do get hurt and sometimes we get deeply wounded. It feels like a knife or and ax has opened a gaping wound leaving us exposed and bleeding. We can be like the tin man and put on armor becoming less and less human. We can build up walls that no one will ever again penetrate. We can turn to our work and look only to the next task in front of us, forgetting our dreams and what we are working toward. Our hearts will become, “unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

God looks at our hearts, 1 Samuel 16:7 “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.” Proverbs 27:19 Solomon said Give me an understanding heart 1 Kings 3:9  “Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.” Psalm 97:11 Five hundred and seventy verses talk about our heart in the Bible, we must be vulnerable we cannot let our hearts grow cold.

Treasures In Heaven

Storing Up Treasures In Heaven

Luke 12:33 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.”

Last week I attended the funeral of a 29 your old man named Chris. During the service friends and family were asked to share stories and memories of Chris. Through their stories I was blessed to learn about this extraordinary young man.

Chris was a local weatherman in Duluth and he loved his work and he loved the weather. Chris also was in love with God and with people. Chris had a passion for sharing the Gospel and the love of Jesus with people he would meet. His Pastor and friend shared a conversation he had with Chris. He said, “I told Chris, you will one day stand before God and God will not be interested in how many correct forecasts you gave. He will want an account of what you did for him.” He encouraged Chris to follow his passion while he was young and to take a chance and go where God was leading him.

Chris took his friends advice and he quit the job he loved and moved to the Gulf Coast to share the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ with the people he would meet. He spent much of his time in the city of New Orleans. He would go down to Jackson Square and share of himself and his Christ. His friend Jeanine shared stories that revealed the heart of this man. Jeanine went to visit Chris and he was living and working in a youth hostel (like a hotel for the down and out). She said the conditions were less than desirable. Bed bugs, dirty and not real welcoming. She said it didn’t matter to Chris, he fell in love with the people and they fell in love with him.  Chris took Jeanine down to Jackson Square in New Orleans and as they were walking the people of the city (tarot card readers, the homeless, vendors) would shout out, “Hi Chris!” Jeanine said, “They all new him and then I noticed they were wearing Chris’s clothes. One man had on his pullover, another his pants, another his backpack.”

Chris died a poor man by the world’s standards. Yet he was wealthy beyond measure in God’s eyes. Chris stored up his treasure in heaven. “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25: 37-40

Friends

Dutches

Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I spent part of New Year’s Eve day paddling on the Brule River. I had to talk myself into going as the morning started out cold and the temperature kept dropping. I had just read a funny article about winter kayaking and the man said that the requirement was to add the air temperature, the water temp and your IQ and they had to total at least 100. I did the math air temp 10, water temp around 32 that would leave me needing an IQ of at least 60. The average IQ in the U.S. is 98 so I figured I was safe to go. If you were to ask my mother she would tell you that just the fact I was going on the river showed my IQ falls way below my mark of 60. I went with the national average and not with my mothers view.

After a not so warm bike ride up to my kayak I was rewarded with the astounding beauty of the river. The ice was gaining ground on the river and after about 30 minutes I was stopped by the ice. I dragged my kayak onto the shore and was portaging around the ice when a dog appeared out of the woods and begin barking at me. We said our hello’s and she decided I was okay. After my brief portage I was again paddling on open water and my new friend was running along the bank following me. A short time later I again ran into ice and I was sitting there considering my options when my new friend came running back to see what was holding me up. She barked at me as if to say don’t just sit there we have places to go. She walked with me until I reached open water. We repeated this scene a few more times, me stopping for another portage and her barking, come on lets get going. I found myself really enjoying her company. Once we reached the landing she stood there expecting a ride home. I opened the door to my truck and she jumped in. I had a good idea who’s dog she was and I returned her to her home. Virgil was happy to have her (Dutchess) back and thanked me.

What is my purpose in writing about Dutchess. It is my prayer that in this New Year I can be that kind of friend. To accept people exactly as they are and be content and happy to be with them. To join them on their journeys. To check back and encourage them when they run into the unexpected. To offer words that just say you are not alone.

I pray that in this new year God brings into your life those kinds of friends.

Paddling Alone

Ecclesiastes 4:10 “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”

On a recent kayak outing I found myself paddling alone. I had started out the day paddling along with two friends but after about three hours of paddling I was now alone. We had paddled the length of Park point to the Wisconsin Point light house. On our return trip we met with a sudden downpour and 25 mph headwinds. The storm lasted only about twenty minutes and the sun returned and the lake was again calm. Somewhere in that down poor I had put much distance between myself and my friends. I kept thinking I should slow down and wait but I just kept paddling. With about ten minutes left before our landing spot, I did stop and I waited to finish the day paddling along side of Willie and James.

When we had finished loading up our gear James said to me, “I found something out about Dave today, you either had someplace else you really wanted to be or else when you want to be done you just buckle down and say, I want to get this over with.” I have been pondering James words since that day thinking, “Ok God, what do you want me to learn from this?” I saw a movie this weekend titled “Hope Springs” that gave me my answer.

The movie is about a couple who have been married for thirty-one years. Their marriage started out much like our kayak trip, with the husband and wife paddling along side of each other, enjoying the journey together.  They faced what life threw at them together.

Thirty-one years of marriage, storms came and they started to drift apart. One day they found themselves paddling alone. Each of them consumed with their own agenda’s.  Each of them feeling hurt and alone. The wife decides she wants her marriage back, and she signs them up for a week long marriage counseling retreat. The husband is less than thrilled, but he gives in and joins her on the retreat. The counselor is very bold and has them work through some tough and very real issues. He has them look back and see when and where they started to drift apart and paddle alone. He has them look back and remember the love that brought them together.  At one point the counselor says, “Some people should never have gotten married, you two are not those people.”

The movie was hard to watch first for it’s boldness and second for it being so real, so honest. Do I recommend the movie? With a strong word of caution (very frank sexual issues are discussed) I would say, yes. I recommend it for couples who want to take an honest look at their marriage and ask themselves, “Are we paddling together or are we paddling alone?”

Buying The Lie

Genesis 3:13  “And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

I have had the privilege of teaching at Minnesota Teen Challenge the past two weeks. I was talking with one of the counselors and he said, “God has brought all of us here for healing.” Meaning the students as well as the counselors, teachers, me, all the people involved with Teen Challenge. I have found it amazing to see God’s faithfulness. To see His hand at work in me, teaching me so much more than I am teaching the students.

While preparing for class today I was thinking about the lies we buy into. How the world, (Satan) tricks us into believing a lie, into having a false world view. How we then turn this false image of the world into our reality.

When I was eighteen I wanted to be a Youth Minister. I attended church my whole life, but looking back I realized I witnessed very few people who really lived the life of a follower of Christ. I had very few role models that exemplified the qualities of Jesus Christ. I was surrounded by some very kind and loving men and women, but no one discipled me, no one taught me, no one poured into me how to live the life of a believer. I was confirmed, I memorized Scripture, I went to Bible Camp. Yet there was a huge void, I had no solid core beliefs on which to base my world view, my views on marriage, family, drugs, alcohol, sex, relationships, fatherhood.

After High School, I was off to college and the university was packed with professors who were more than willing to pour their world view into us. To pour into young men and woman eager to absorb knowledge, to absorb what was sold to us as wisdom. In an unbelievably short amount of time I had totally bought the lie, “Christians are weak minded people who believed in fairy tales.” I created my own view of God. God was who I wanted Him to be, he existed by my rules and I was free to live the way I wanted to live.

I believed this lie for nineteen years, well into my adult years. I spent those years destroying my marriage, living a selfish life devoted to my happiness. I was not teaching my children how to live Godly lives, just the opposite. Only by God’s grace were my eyes open to the truth. God brought men and women into my life who lived the life of a believer. God gave me a thirst for His word and the Holy Spirit is teaching me.

The last month I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by men who want to change, by men who are seeking the truth, by men who no longer want to believe a lie.

I Can’t Handle It


Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

“I can’t handle it! I can’t handle it!” My Nieces son screamed from the back seat.  He had fallen and hurt his mouth and knee while running to see some wild mountain goats. He was somewhat calm until he saw the blood, and then he was anything but calm. His dad loaded him in the car and for the rest of our drive up the mountain he was in the back seat screaming, “I can’t handle it!” For the next couple of days I kept replaying his words in my head and thinking how life sometimes hands us so much pain that we find ourselves screaming those words, “I can’t handle it!”

Maybe it is a divorce, heartbreak. Maybe you have lost your job or you just don’t have enough money to pay your bills. The bank is calling and you are about to loose your home. The doctor has just delivered you terrible news. All of us at different times in our lives find ourselves crying out, many times with anger and screaming at God, and asking, Why? Yelling, “I am at the end and I really cannot take anymore pain. Leave me alone!

Charles Swindoll in his book, Moses, Compares these times in our lives to Moses forty years in the desert. He says this of Jesus, “Jesus went through the worst desert of all for you. He was alone as no man has ever been alone. He was rejected. He lived in obscurity. He suffered the worst earth and hell could hurl at Him. On the cross He said, “I thirst.” And when that desert was the darkest, He screamed, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus walked through the desert first. He felt its heat. He tasted its loneliness. He accepted its obscurity. He faced down Satan himself while the desert winds howled around Him. And He will never, ever forget or forsake the one who follows Him across the sand.”

Isaiah 54:7.8 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer.” Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

I have screamed those words too many times, yet looking back I now see how God has brought me through time and again. He has shown me there is water on the other side.  Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13