RonParrs.com: Notes from My Desk...

Judgement or Mother Nature?

Today, our nation is besieged literally coast to coast ... wildfires, flooding, severe storms, economic chaos in certain states and cities.

Is this the beginning of God's judgment on this nation; on these United State? I don't know.

Many of us (because we are Bible believing Christians) have been mocked and criticized as we have prayed and cried out to God for grace and mercy.What I do know is that our God - the God of Bible - is holy, just, and merciful. He is always gracious and loving. Always. Please keep in mind that He is also the Supreme Judge of the nations. In His grace, He is long-suffering meaning that He has much patience in waiting for His creation to turn to Him in humility and repentance. He is a God of many, many chances... and yet He (in His justice) has a limit in allowing a people (individually and corporately) to get away with sin.

The God of the Bible guarantees forgiveness if we seek it, however - and listen and understand carefully - He often doesn't free us of or from the consequences of our sin. That should be a sobering truth.

The Grace of Adversity

Whoever likes adversity, please raise your hand.

No takers? I thought so.

Let's face it no one in their right mind likes adversity. Each of us does want smooth sailing and 100% cooperative relationships. But the fact remains that we human beings live in an imperfect and fallen world (although that certainly wasn't the case in the beginning), with imperfect and fallen people. Not only are people the problem, but often times it's Nature in the forms of bad weather, earthquakes, pestilence, etc. We are oftentimes surrounded by and in adversity.

And then in our desire to overcome, we fight it. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don't. Adversity (in whatever its form) will remain.

I personally don't like adversity. Not only does adversity suck, but it also sucks the life out of me. Sleep is lost. Confidence is lost. Potential good relationships are lost. Sometimes even health and wealth are lost. Over the last five years, I have been pounded by wave after wave of adversity; business shortfalls, teen issues with my children, loss of property, even severe health. And yet, here I am standing. A little battered. A little bruised. But standing none the less.

Christmas: Those Who Know Their God

The older I get, the more I fall in love with and appreciate the Christmas story as found in the pages of Holy Scripture.

For some time I thought it was a bit of seasonal depression; lack of sunlight, overall dreary weather, cold, you know. But the more I think about it, my malaise or melancholy is more of introspective thoughts, especially as another year draws to a close.

Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating Christmas. I enjoy putting up the tree and household decorations. We don't go crazy, but it's Christmas. My favorite part of decorating is putting up the children's ornaments that we have saved over the years. Each ornament has a story to tell; whether directly or because it recalls a particular time of life. Now some in my family might disagree with this jolly sentiment, and I'll leave that there. That's not part of this thought.

This year is especially introspective for me. The events of the past twelve to eighteen months have been life-changing to say the least, and as difficult as this period of time has been, I can honestly say that I'm glad God has allowed me to traverse this time. I'm also very thankful that God has also surrounded me with a multitude of people - family, friends, customers, business acquaintances - to prevent my being alone in these times.

The Desert is a Good Place

All of us are on a journey through life and each journey is different.

Although different, our journeys may seem similar as we travel along. It's as if we're walking paths that can see each other and at times these paths parallel or intersect each other.

Keep in mind that no two people traverse the exact same course.

For the past five or six years I've been on a journey that I honestly have not liked. At all. Nor would I have dreamt it; but God had a much different plan.

It has been hard and at more times than I want to admit, even heart-breaking. Thankfully, I belong to small group of men that come together every Saturday morning at 7 o'clock to study the Bible, pray and share in each others lives.

I thank God for these men because when the going got really tough and all kinds of stuff was hitting the fan from the middle of 2014 through almost all of 2015, these men - these Christian brothers - were there for me.

In the words of the Apostle Paul to his son in the faith Timothy, my brothers "[Did] not rebuke an older man but encourage him (me) as you would a father, younger men as brothers, in all purity." 1 Timothy 5:1-2. These men came along side me and loved me for who I am; for the man traveling this particular road in life.

Philippians: Strong Enough

Sometimes we look at people who have or are going through a time of seemingly great difficulty and are amazed at their strength.

Those folks seem to rarely ask for help (at least directly). To a certain degree they may seem melancholy or "accepting" of their circumstances. They seem neither mad nor disappointed or at the other end of the emotional line, particularly happy or rejoicing. But you know that they are "content". They are "solid" in who they are.

As I write this lesson, I can speak (and am speaking) from personal experience. My life currently is far from being a bed of roses or complete ease. And yet like Paul says throughout his letter to the Philippian church, "I rejoice...". I echo his sentiment. I rejoice.

Coming to the end of this epistle and the end of this series, we're going to rejoice. Not as the world rejoices, but we will rejoice in holiness and awe at a God who loves us, cares for us and in His mercy, has saved us for something exceedingly better.

Philippians: Shine

Are you an older brother or sister? Are you in some way a leader – be it a family, company or some other type of organization?

If you are, you’ve probably heard the admonishment to not only be an example for others, but to be a “shining” example for others.

The word shining connotes the idea of being attractive or something to strive for: to be the “best” of whatever it is that you are exemplifying. That’s not easy. It’s not easy having to always be the “best”. What’s worse is that over time, some people actually disdain you. You get called names like a “goodie two shoes” or “teacher’s pet”. You know who you are. You may not have minded it, but let’s be frank, sometimes it was not fun; it was tiring. You felt like you were always under a microscope or that others were constantly holding a checklist up to your life.

Philippians: Pray First

So you've been given a new task or provided an opportunity that is literally life changing.

And it's not only life changing for you, but for countless others that will either come after you or be influenced by you - directly or indirectly. What do you do? Take your marching orders or instructions and just start off?

I can tell you that I've done exactly that. What follows doesn't seem right. The task or the opportunity doesn't come together as I thought.  You know what I am referring to. This has happened to you too. Why?

The instructions were simple. You had the right goals, the right people; all the "stuff" that would make it a success, but it doesn't come together. Then it finally dawns on me...

Did I remember to pray first?

Prayer 101: Prayer as a Priority

So, how does your morning begin?

Some of us gently awaken and whisper, "Good morning Lord!" And then sometimes, especially when life is in a curve-ball mode, we begin the day with the words, "Good Lord it's morning!"

That's true isn't it? Be honest.

I don't know about you but I have enjoyed this journey of examining prayer. There are times when I've been elated at understanding something clearly for the first time that I've read many times before and prayed about in God's Word. There are other times when, in quiet prayer and solitude, God's Holy Spirit has convicted me of sin that is or has been hindering not only my relationship with Him, but a relationship with another person - be it a friend, casual acquaintance, stranger, one of my kids or even my wife. And through it all, God is at work in my life.

You and I have been on a special journey these weeks looking at prayer.

Prayer 101: Prayer & God's Plan

I don't know about you, but I sometimes think about being part of something bigger or greater than me.

It's not that I'm arrogant or have a huge ego that needs to be constantly stroked (okay, I have a small ego that's needs to be stroked every once in a while), but sometimes, life is pretty mundane. And when it gets really mundane, all of us - including me - rhetorically ask, "isn't there more to life than this?"

The answer to that question - whether we believe it or not - is, "yes! There is more to this life." Each one of us, in our own unique way is a part of the magnificent puzzle or mosaic of God' Eternal Plan. The problem is that we - I - only see a very small part of that plan. Sometimes we're oblivious to it. Other times, we may not believe we are "worthy" of participating in God's Plan.

The fact of the matter is that God - since man's creation - has continually used men and women as an integral part of His Plan of Redemption. After all, God's Plan of Redemption is for MAN and no other created being. The only other rebellious created beings are angels (now demons) who were created with a will , but not in God's likeness and image, and are already condemned without hope of redemption. Hell was created for their - and anyone who would choose to follow their example - rebellion and disobedience. These are facts that we have to not only understand but contend with.

Prayer 101: Trust

Trust is something, especially in human terms, that can be gained or lost.

Wives trust their husbands, explicitly and implicitly, that they will be loved and cared for. They trust that their husbands will protect them or support them not only financially, but physically and emotionally. Our wives trust us to be a good father and role model for our children. By the same token, we husbands trust that our wives will respect us for who we are and that, particularly within the context of a Christian marriage relationship, that our wives will trust us when we are working at what we believe is best for the entire family. Sometimes it may not look that way, but... we just wanted to be trusted.

Typically we men can go along pretty well until we slip the first time if we allow some necessary home repairs to go undone - because we don't "feel" like doing them. Or maybe, we didn't stand up for mom when she was being sassed by one of the teen children. Or maybe we got caught watching some porn or carrying on an inappropriate chat online with an unknown person of the opposite sex (blatant reasons to loose trust). All of those can lead to a breakdown of that initial trust.