Christian Life

Sin Chases Us

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“For you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.” ― C.S. Lewis

My husband Kurt and I travel up and down the east coast a lot. Our family is stretched out from upstate New York to sunny south Florida. In order to visit, we make the long drive in both directions.

This summer we were traveling on I-95 headed north when a small black sports car passed us. I didn’t think much about it until I looked at the license plate. I don’t remember which state it was from, but I do remember what it said. It had the letters S I N. A little black sports car with a license plate that said SIN sped right passed us!

I have no idea who this person was, or why he chose that for his plate. What I do know is that after he passed us, he landed behind a church bus for a little while. Isn’t that ironic?! SIN was following a church bus. 

This got me thinking. I looked at this scenario two different ways. SIN was chasing the church AND the church blocked SIN. Let me explain…

SIN is chasing the church – As Christians, we are part of the church, the body of Christ. Satan is trying his best to drag us down. He wants nothing more than to get in the way of our relationship with God. He chases behind us looking for a chance to pounce. Tempting us with many different things and filling our mind with lies…you are not good enough, you are going to fail, you will never be forgiven, God does not love you, your past is unredeemable, you are not qualified, you are ugly, you are __________(fill in the blank), and so on.

AND

The church is blocking SIN – As Christians, we are part of the church, the body of Christ. We encourage one another in the TRUTH. We know that God is truth. God is love. God is forgiveness. Do we fall short of the glory of God? Yes. Every single day. But we stand together, as one body, knowing that God does not give up on us. Instead, He forgives us. He encourages us. He equips us to turn from sin and do better. God loves us with an unimaginable, unfathomable love. As the body of Christ, we stand firm in the knowledge that God is for us, not against us!

As the car sped off, I watched SIN easily and quickly weave in and out of traffic. Many people probably didn’t even notice it. Just like that car, how often does sin try to weave in and out of our daily life? We don’t notice it as it weaves itself in as gossip, gluttony, anger, lust, laziness. Or it fills our mind with lies, doubts and fear.

We can’t stop sin from chasing us, but as we put on the armor of God daily, we are equipped to block it. Ephesians 6:10-11 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” And in verses 14-18, “Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Put on the armor of God and fix your eyes on Jesus. Block the devil from whispering lies in your ear. Stand firm in the Truth.

Walking in the Warmth of the Sun

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“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” ~Frederick Douglass

Anybody who knows me, knows that my preferred form of exercise is walking. I love to walk outside early in the morning. Often before the sun is even up. This is great in the spring, summer and fall months. But when the winter rolls in, it is impossible for me to get myself up early to walk. I will not go outside in the cold darkness. I find it unbearable.

I haven’t really had to worry about that the past several years, as Kurt and I have been blessed to spend our winters in South Africa. And because January, February, and March is summer in South Africa, I have been able to carry on with my morning walking routine.

This year, however, I made the decision not to return to South Africa. This means I will have to figure out how to deal with the winter months. I can assure you I will not get out of bed in the dark and cold of morning to go for a walk. Does that mean walking is off the table for the winter? Will I allow the dark, cold mornings to take away my joy of walking?

No. You see, what I have noticed is that regardless of the cold temperatures, if I just hang in there and wait until the sun comes out, what is unbearable in the dark becomes bearable in the light. Once the sun hits my face, a warmth comes over me that I cannot feel in the dark.

There are times in our life that feel cold and dark. Bad results from a health test. Turmoil in a relationship. Termination from a job. Financial crisis. A wayward child. Death of a loved one. So many things can leave us feeling scared, lost, sad. It can be a cold, dark place. One that is unbearable to us.

The good news is, the sun always rises! Just hang in there and wait. Then bask in its warm rays… A verse of scripture. Kind words from a friend. An unexpected phone call. New opportunities. A warm day in the middle of winter.

Does this mean all of our problems will go away? No. But it does mean we don’t have to walk in darkness. In John 8:12, Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  In other words, those who walk in the light have a presence of God inside of them.

Can you feel it now? The warmth of the Light.

Lessons From An Iguana

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“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” ― Maya Angelou

Imagine you are walking down the sidewalk, enjoying your day when all of a sudden something falls from a tree in front of you and lands on the ground. Then another. And yet another.

Once you regain your composure, you realize that what has fallen are green iguanas. Yes, iguanas. Some 6 inches long, others much longer. Seemingly dead. Falling from the trees. Just the thought of it makes me squirm.

This was the scenario that played out in South Florida during an unusual cold snap this year. People were finding iguanas lying flat on their backs all over the place. By swimming pools. On roads. On sidewalks. Under trees. Why? Because the temperatures dipped down into the 40’s. Too cold for these cold-blooded creatures to function. However, they were not dead, they were frozen. Paralyzed.

Cold-blooded animals take on the temperature of their surroundings. When it is warm, their blood is warm and they are very active. When it is cold, their blood is cold and they become sluggish. Evidently, when it is unusually cold, like it was during this cold snap in South Florida, they freeze. They become paralyzed. They can no longer function.

Warm-blooded animals (such as you and me), were created to keep the inside of our bodies at a constant temperature. This gives us the ability to function and remain active in most environments. In other words, the temperature of our surroundings, whether warm or cold, does not affect our ability to function. It will not paralyze us.

This strange occurrence, made me think of my Christian walk? Am I a “warm-blooded” or “cold-blooded” Christian? In other words… do my surroundings influence my behavior and beliefs? I know that sounds weird, but just hear me out.

Let’s say I characterize “warm” surroundings as places I am comfortable in my environment. I am surrounded by like-minded people and have the ability and freedom to be who I am in Christ. I can share my faith without fear of rejection or persecution. I live my life in the Truth with support and accountability. I am active and moving. In warm surroundings, both the “warm-blooded” Christian and the “cold-blooded” Christian would function perfectly fine.

Now, let’s think about “cold” surroundings as a place I feel alone in my belief. Intimidated by the majority. An outsider. Persecuted. Rejected. I am surrounded by people who are rejecting the Truth. Or at the very least, they are justifying their behavior with the argument of widely and newly accepted social or cultural norms.

In these cold surroundings, the “warm-blooded” Christian will continue to function well. Sharing the Truth with those around without fearing persecution. However, the “cold-blooded” Christian, will be fearful. They will not speak out. Potentially blend in with the crowd. Paralyzed.

This may be a silly analogy. But I really had to do some soul searching.

Do I keep faithful and follow the truth regardless of my surroundings? Do I block what is going on around me from influencing my behavior? Do I nurture my relationship with Christ and remain active and steadfast in my beliefs? (Warm-blooded)

Or do I allow the climate to influence my behavior and beliefs? As long as I am in a warm environment, I am active and comfortable, but once the environment is cold and negative, do I become paralyzed? Do I find it hard to share my faith? Do I even start to question the truth? Blend in with the crowd… Join in with inappropriate jokes? Participate in gossip? Justify behavior? (Cold-blooded)

I believe as Christians, if we aren’t careful, we can take on the temperature of our surroundings. When we are immersed in cold, negative climates, the Truth may start to become murky to us. We might begin to question what we believe and let the fear of rejection paralyze us. So it is important for us to protect ourselves by staying in the Word.

Peter reminds us, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” —1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)

We are called to remain steadfast in the Truth regardless of our surroundings.

A quick funny story I heard the other day… In Central America, iguana meat is a delicacy. And during this cold snap in Florida, a man (originally from Central America, now living in Florida) saw several iguanas on the ground and could not believe his good fortune. Thinking they were dead he scooped several up, put them in his back seat and headed home to cook them for dinner. Well, you guessed it. As the car warmed up their bodies, the iguanas came back to life. They started running all around in his car, nearly causing the man to crash!

Let me end with this… These “cold-blooded” iguanas almost met their demise because they took on the temperature of their surroundings and became paralyzed!

“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 The Message (MSG)

Sink or Float

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“Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on…” ~ song lyrics by Bill Withers

Physics. Not one of my favorite subjects. However, I do remember the “Sink or Float” experiment as a young child.

Do you remember? The teacher would have a clear bucket on the table filled with water and several different items sitting next to it. As she held each item up she would ask the class, “Will this sink or float?” We would give our prediction, then she would drop the object into the water and we would watch expectantly. Hoping that our guess was right.

Stone, sink. Cork, float. Marble, sink. Rubber ball, float. Coin, sink. Lego, float. We may not have fully understood at the time why buoyant objects float and dense objects sink. But what we did realize right away was that no matter how many times she dropped that same object into the water, it consistently did the same thing. If it floated the first time, it floated every other time. If it sank the first time, it sank every other time.

So is it possible to help a sinking object float? Well yes, of course. But one of two things must happen. The object cannot remain the same. Something about it MUST be changed.

1. We can change the shape of the object. We know if we take a metal pipe and drop it into the water, it will sink to the bottom. However, if we take that same pipe, hammer it out to a flat piece of metal and bend it into the shape of a boat, it will float. 

2. We can attach the object to something that does float. Every time we drop a marble into the water, it will sink. But what if we take that same marble and put it on a piece of foam? It will float. By attaching it to something else that will float, the marble is able to float.

OK, so much for the physics lesson.

My question to you is this… In the midst of today’s “social distancing” procedures and “stay at home” order, are you floating? Or are you sinking? We are all being affected. Unfortunately though, while some people are able to float others are sinking.

If you are currently floating (still have a job, able to pay your bills, enjoying time at home with your family, etc), you will probably continue to float. You may experience a little bit of water flowing over top of you at times, but most likely you will rise back up to the top and continue to float. “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the wonderful things you have done.” ~ Psalm 9:1 (GNT)

If you are currently feeling like you are sinking (lost your job, isolated alone, lost a loved one, etc) there are actually ways to get you floating again. Just like the metal pipe and the marble, you can make a change and begin floating again.

1. Changing shape. Just breathe. Did you know that taking a very deep breath and completely filling your lungs with air will make the difference of whether a person will sink or float in water?  This changes the shape of your chest enough to make you float. Yes, that is all it takes… a deep breath and you will be able to float!

There may be many things in our life right now that are not in our control.  So let’s focus on what we can control (attitude, perspective, gratitude). Take a deep breath. Breathe in and let the Holy Spirit create a new shape in you. “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!” ~ Ezekiel 37:5 (NLT)

2. Attach yourself to something that floats. When someone is drowning in water, they can begin to float again if they reach out and hold on to the life preserver. You’ve got this! Reach out. Hold on. Jesus is your lifeline. Read the Scripture. Pray. “Rescue me, Lord, as you have promised; in your goodness save me from my troubles!” ~ Psalm 143:11 (GNT)

 Also, reach out and hold on to your friends who are “floating”. Ask and allow them to help. Right now, we all need to lean on one another. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ~ Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

These really are different times. We need more than ever to stand on the promises of God.  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” ~ John 16:33 (NIV)

Breathe. Hold On … Float.

3, 2, 1 … Jump!

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“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 
― Corrie ten Boom

Have you ever peered over the edge of a 700 ft drop (216 meters)? The equivalent height of a 70-story building.

Just imagine. You are on a bridge, 700 feet above a river gorge. The scenery is beautiful. A slight breeze is blowing. You look down and see trees and boulders below you. Way below you.  You think you see people looking up at you, but you can’t quite make out the small ant-size figures. The sky above you is bright blue. The white clouds are seemingly within grasp. And then the countdown begins… 3…2…1. You jump! You trust the bungee cord will not break.

Those of you who don’t like heights are probably having a small panic attack right about now.

Last month, some friends of ours were visiting us in South Africa. As we traveled along the Garden Route (the southern coastal route), we came upon Bloukrans River Bridge. The highest commercial bungee jump from a bridge in the world. The view was breathtaking. We stopped to have lunch and watch the few daring jumpers.

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Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa

During lunch, our friend kept trying to decide if he was going to jump or not. He had thought about bungee jumping in the past. Now was his chance. And why start small. This was the largest bridge jump in the world! Not just in South Africa — in the world!

By the time we were finished eating. He had made up his mind. He would do it. Personally, I was thinking that he should have done this before he ate, not after.

We all went to the registration desk. The three of us non-jumpers tried not to let on that we thought he was crazy. But he was confident in his decision. This place had not had any incidents since opening 23-years ago. A seamless record of safety. He put his trust in their promise of his security.

To give him moral support at the actual jump site, and curious to see the jump from that point of view, I went out onto the bridge with him. His wife and Kurt stayed below to take pictures. Once there, several employees wrapped his ankles with velcro type straps, wound the cord around his ankles, shuffled him to the edge and gave a few quick instructions. Next thing I know, just like that, he leaped!

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Remember, he knew their safety record. He had no reason to think he wouldn’t be safe. So he confidently jumped, trusting in the promise that everything would be just fine.

I’m not sure if this is how it works everywhere, but here at this particular site, once you jump, you hang there upside down until someone comes down to get you and bring you back up. It was during the wait (maybe 2 minutes) when fear set in. Not before the jump. Not during the jump. But after the jump. Fear. He felt his ankles were slipping out of the grip of the straps. He began to doubt the promise of safety.

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Hanging after the jump.

Can you imagine? There you are hanging upside down over a rocky gorge and you feel like you are slipping out of the grip of the ankle straps!

How many of us have trusted God’s promises and taken the leap, and then fear we will slip out of His grip? And why? We know we can put our trust in his promises! He has a seamless record of promise keeping.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; for I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

I allowed this to happen to me several years ago when Kurt and I were moving our family of six from Florida to Virginia. I had never lived anywhere except Florida. I was born in Hollywood, grew up in West Palm Beach, went to college in Tampa and then had my first job in Orlando. I was a Florida girl through and through.

Eight years into our marriage, Kurt was offered a transfer to Virginia Beach. It was not a mandatory move, but an opportunity for growth. Should we take it? It means uprooting our family. Not an easy decision. We turned to the Lord in prayer, separately and together. We got our answer. Move.

Trusting God, we tied the bungee around our ankles, shuffled to the edge and jumped. We announced the move to our family and friends, put our house on the market, and began making preparations for the move. We knew it was what we were supposed to do. It was exciting.  Exhilarating.

While we hung there for 4 months waiting for the actual move, the fear set in.  What are we thinking? How can we move away from our family? How can we uproot our children? Our oldest was starting Kindergarten and would be moved after the school year started. We would be leaving so many friends. We would be leaving the church family we loved. How do we afford clothes for different seasons (this was not something I ever dealt with in South Florida!)?  

What I think I was really asking was, “Will God really take care of us? Do I trust in His seamless record of promise keeping? Or now that we have jumped, will we slip out of His grip and fall?”  

I am glad to tell you that the transition from South Florida to Chesapeake, Virginia was  smoother than I ever expected. God kept his promise. Although I could not change the fact that we were moving away from our family, God certainly took care of all of my other fears. Our children met new friends the day we arrived in Virginia and acted like they had always lived there.  Our Florida church family had a going away party and brought winter clothes for each of the kids. Our oldest who was struggling with full-day kindergarten in Florida, transitioned into half-day Kindergarten in VA with ease. People in our new neighborhood quickly friended us. We found an awesome church family right away. God took care of everything. Everything!

Have you ever trusted God, jumped, and then feared slipping from His grip? In Jeremiah 17:7 we are reminded, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

As you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and trust in His promises, I encourage you not to fear slipping from His grip. God has an awesome record of being a Promise Keeper!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

In His Grip — Tracy Cooper