My Beautiful Beautiful Horse

I finished things up for the day, closed up shop, and walked across the street to the livery stable to collect my ride home. Jenny is a mule, not a nice steed or a spry gelding, but a mule, a utility piece of transportation. My father had purchased Jenny from a friend of his soon after she was broken. She was still just a yearling then, and he loved her like family for the last two years of his life. When he passed, he left her to me because he wanted me to have reliable transportation that was paid for, so I tried to seem grateful as I accepted the reins of the hideous creature and led her back to my home.

As time went by, I would go to work each day in the local township, and I would ride Jenny on the roads and lanes that lead to my little shop. My shop is not a place that provides great wealth, but rather only provides just enough to make it as long as I stay busy always. That is why my father reasoned that I of all of his children should be blessed with this cursed creature, because I was the poorest of them all.

Oddly enough, it was on Jenny’s back that I decided to take a new route to town one day, and I first saw the horse of my dreams. I rode past a horse ranch that I had never seen before, and then saw the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. I saw the horse of my dreams.

The horse was a shiny chocolate black, and in stark contract to the color on his body, his mane and tail were blonde. I came to a screeching halt on Jenny when I first saw the steed grazing behind the pretty white fence. I dismounted from Jenny and left her standing in the road, running to the fence. I stood in awe, gazing at the horse of my dreams for the first time. The horse looked up at me and against all odds walked over to me,  placing its head over the fence allowing me to stroke it’s mane. This horse of unbelievable grace and beauty was not only stunningly beautiful, but kind and approachable to boot. I stroked his head and ears, mane and neck, and thus became my daily ritual.

I began to leave for work a little early each day, and get home a bit later each afternoon because I enjoyed sitting at the fence and spending time with the horse, dreaming of what life would be like if he were only mine. One day the horse’s owner was in the pasture feeding the horse a carrot, so he came over and said hello. I asked him what kind of horse this was, and he said it was a FoxTrotter, and that they were very rare and valuable. The following day, when I was in town, I began to research the horse and discovered that the breed was in fact very expensive. It was so expensive, that I was immediately assured that I would never own one, it was very much beyond my reach. If I were to sell everything I owned, I would not have half of the money needed to purchase the horse.

That evening, I stopped at the fence to see my friend the horse and stroke its mane, when again his master came out to the pasture. I have noticed you coming by in the morning and in the afternoons each day to see my horse; you must really like him a lot then? Yes, I do sir, I said, but I will never be able to own a horse like this, because he is far to fine of a horse for my budget, I cannot afford him. The horse’s master nodded quietly and looked at the ground thoughtfully for a moment. You know son, if you would like, I would accept payments from you over a period of time if you were really serious about wanting this horse. I looked the man in the eyes and then stuck my hand out and shook his saying, yes sir, you have yourself a deal.

The year was great, I named the fine steed Nero, and rode him to town proudly each day. I would take the long way, so that I could ride from one end of town to the other, and began to leave early, so that I could show the horse off in the evening. People would come out of their shops to see us go by, Nero was so beautiful. Winter came, and I still rode Nero each day, leaving Jenny in her stall, barely remembering to feed her. I would make payments to the horse breeder faithfully at the beginning of the month. When I made the twelfth payment, I was happy, knowing I was one fifth towards having Nero paid for. One morning, as we left for town on an icy morning, Nero slipped on the ice and we went down hard

The horse doctor came from town, and told me the painful truth, Nero’s leg was broken, the best thing to do, the most humane thing to do would be to put Nero down. I was stunned, his value as a horse was now gone, my beautiful horse was now useless, and I hadn’t yet made the thirteenth payment.

Jenny pulled the wagon with me driving it under cover of darkness, we drove quietly, save for Nero’s occasional whine. We came to the horse breeders driveway, and it was now mid night or so, and my faithful mule Jenny and I were able to remove the FoxTrotter horse from my trailer, and placed him alongside the driveway.

The horse had no value, it was worthless now so why should I have to pay the full price I would normally pay for a healthy horse. The horse could not even be used for breeding now, it had become a drain, so the trainer could have it back, it was his problem I reasoned, as I patted Jenny on the side of the neck and gave her a carrot. As we rode back home, I was so thankful my father had blessed me with the old girl.

This fictional story, while sad and unrealistic, is actually happening daily everywhere in America. Recently, I have had two Christian friends tell me that they are considering letting their houses go back because the value has dropped substantially. I personally believe that God expects us to be men and women of our word, and set an example. I just think giving a house back because it lost value is like giving a horse back because it broke a leg, what are your thoughts? God Bless-JFT

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God’s Final Answer

The issue is the same, is it okay to bend the numbers a little bit, after all, since I have been told to do so, it really isn’t me making the decision is it? It is really the big boys who have the culpability for this; I am just a small fly in the ointment far downstream. Naw, I know this line of reasoning is rubbish so I don’t bother making excuses. I know God tells us thru the scriptures that worry is wrong, so that is another of my flaws then, because sometimes I still worry.

What if I refuse to do what they are telling me to do and they just fire me? What if I lose this job and can’t support my family anymore? What if I just do what I know is wrong, will it be possible for me to still strive to be a man of honor knowing I am doing something wrong? The stress builds up, and although I am praying for help, I am doing just that, praying for help, not deliverance.

So, as I have told you before, I drew the line in the sand, I refuse to do this, it is not moral, I am a Christ follower, do what you must but those are my terms. Whew, that wasn’t so bad now was it? The wise manager agrees with me, and says we will bring in legal and rework the contract, so that it will read true. I feel relief, He was with me all the way, but I bore too much of the burden, and fell very sick within a week. If only I would have let God “carry” all of it, I would not have had the stroke.

Months later, another manager, the one who ordered the number fudging in the first place starts pushing the limits again, I have to take a stand once more, but it doesn’t go away. It seems as though this issue is going to take me down before it is over, so I reach out to God. I go up the ladder and address the issue with a high ranking executive in my rather large company, and he agrees, be honest with reporting always. In the end, it is a lower level manager just above me who continues to want to push the limits of honesty, and although I have approval from all of his bosses, still he persists. When it happened for the fourth time in six months last week, I wondered what God was trying to tell me. What was this lesson oh God, what am I missing, and what are you trying to teach me? I prayed for the answers, but remained baffled, until this afternoon that is, and then the answer was delivered softly and gently to me as I dressed for work.

A man I have come to believe is a hero to our nation, and a warrior for God spoke at our church a couple of weeks back. Three Star Lieutenant General William Gerry Boykin spoke to our church, and it was awesome. The story of how he had to defend his Faith in being accepted into the first Delta force, How he was attacked by the left wing media for his faith, yet he stood strong in his faith, unwilling to placate the media mogul who was trying to bring him down. I was uplifted by this man, and invigorated to know that no matter what, no matter the pressure we are under, giving in to something wrong is never an option.

I am not really an autobiography or memoir reader, preferring a good fiction story instead, but this man had a book, and it was being sold in the bookstore at church after services. I bought one, and then stood in line to meet him and have him sign it. Now ever since I got that book, I have been reading it every day, it is a good book, but a good sized book also, and I haven’t lost interest in it at all, but rather can’t wait to read it each day.

Today, I again prayed to God for guidance as to how I am to respond to the latest salvo from this manager with a different moral character than I, and then I began to get ready for work. I went to pick up the book and put it into my lunchbox, and then I stopped and did a double take before picking it up. There, on my nightstand was the answer I had been waiting for all along. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realized why I had been so drawn to the book and the man of great faith. The answer God sent me was in the title, and calmness settled over me, I finally knew what God wanted me to do, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me that it was the answer, I only need to persevere.

God Bless-JFT

This story is true

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Does Cheerful Giving have its Limits?

I have been thinking lately about the parable of the rich young man. I know that we really try to encourage those who attend church where I do to tithe, and to do so with a happy heart. Our church has done a pretty good job of doing so, and that is great. It is good to give of your first fruits to God, and I believe wholeheartedly in doing so, but then I began to think deeper about it. You see, Jesus didn’t ask the Rich young man to give ten percent of what he had. He didn’t suggest that the young man follow the Dave Ramsey plan of ten to God, ten in savings, and eighty to bills. No, he asked the young man to give it all up.

Mark 10: 17-25

 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

When he asked Jesus what he must do to be saved, he was told to follow the commandments, and the young man told Jesus that he had in fact kept those commandments, and this part touches me particularly, “Jesus looked at him and loved him”. He loved him, yet he had to tell the young man that he still lacked something, he needed to divest his riches and give it to the poor, and “then come and follow me”.

Wow, I have wondered why Jesus didn’t just ask the young man to tithe like everybody else, why couldn’t he keep his ninety like everyone else and be considered faithful. Don’t we feel pretty good inside if we give the top ten percent to God and do so with a cheerful heart. So why was it different with the rich young man. I think it is because Jesus was trying to make a point, unless you are willing to give it all up to have a home in Heaven with Him, then you will be like the rich young man. Now the key to what I said is “willing” in how I see it.

I have thought some in the past about my life and how I have been blessed, healthy children, nice homes, good cars to drive, and although we don’t lean toward flashy, and we are rather muted in our likes and dislikes, I feel as though we would definitely fit into the same classification as the rich young man, we have a lot. As a matter of fact, I would bet that the vast majority of us who live in this country would fall into that classification also.

So, what if, rather than asking me to be a cheerful giver, Jesus asked me to go and sell everything I own, give it to the poor and follow Him, would I do it with a cheerful heart, or would I balk at having to give up things like my cars, my home, my nice job and my cushy life or would I just grin ear to ear and say “You got it Jesus, anything for You”?

Even though I do not feel like a materialistic person, I have to say that I would not be eager to let everything I have go and strike out with nothing but my faith, and that saddens me, because I want to be there one day, to the point where I am able to just trust in the Lord completely and trust that He will meet all my needs. I already know that He will take care of me, but the thought of getting rid of my every possession and having nothing gives me a little heartburn, and I feel it shouldn’t. What are your thoughts? God Bless

JFT

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Maryam and Marzieh Interview

Maryam and Marzieh, Imprisoned in Iran’s Evin prison for 259 days, were released in November of 2009. These two women were imprisoned because they were Christians, but not just Christians but apostates, which are Christians converted from Islam. Below is an interview they did with Sam Yeghnazar of Elam Ministries.

Sam: What was the worst thing that happened to you?

Marzieh: One of the worst was the execution of two of my fellow prisoners. I had never experienced such a thing. One of those killed was my roommate. We had spent a lot of time together. And one day they took her to be executed. For a week I was in shock that killing a human being was so easy. She lived among us, a fellow human being; I saw her every day, and we said, “Hello.” The next day she is not there.
After these executions the spirit of sorrow and death hung over the prison. There was deadly silence everywhere. We all felt this. There was nothing we could do. Everyone was under pressure. The sadness was overwhelming. We stared at each other but had no power to speak. This was the worst experience. It was horrifying and tangible.

Maryam: The worst thing for me was the execution of Shireen, who became a close friend in prison.

Sam: Did you ever fear execution?

Maryam: I never thought about execution. I thought we might be sentenced to life imprisonment because that is the punishment for women convicted of apostasy. I just thought this was something we would have to bear.

Marzieh: Before prison we talked about execution, but when we got to prison and experienced the fear of it — our way of talking changed. The very first night that we were arrested, when they threatened us, we were really frightened. We never imagined we would be so frightened; we had talked about these things before. But the atmosphere there and what happened to us frightened us beyond our expectations. We were confined to a dark and dirty room and paralyzed with fear. We could see the fear in each other’s faces. We prayed and what calmed us was the presence of God and the peace that he gave us.
I just want to add, it is easy to say that I give my life for the Lord and I will do anything for him, even die. I always thought it would be a privilege to give my life for the Lord. You say these things. I know for sure that if this would happen to us we would rejoice ultimately. But human fears gripped us. The power the Lord gave us helped us to overcome these fears, just as when we prayed in the police station, God banished our fear and renewed our strength.

Sam: How did the guards treat you?

Maryam: When we were arrested most of the guards treated us badly, especially when they knew we had been involved in evangelism. They would curse us and would not let us drink water from the public tap or use the wash basin. But this changed and eventually they asked us to pray for them.

Sam: How did the other prisoners treat you?

Marzieh: Some called us “dirty, unclean apostates,” but their opinion changed and they asked for forgiveness. We had become an example to them and they would take our side.

Maryam: At Evin Prison the well-educated political and business prisoners called us “mortad kasif” (unclean apostates). In less than a month everything changed. As they got to know us, they were curious about our faith, they respected us and called upon us to sort out arguments they had between themselves.

Sam: Did any other prisoners come to faith?

Marzieh/Maryam: Yes. There were those who accepted Christ. When we were in Vozara [the first prison the women were taken to] we prayed the sinner’s prayer with many of the prostitutes. They prayed themselves and we prayed for them. But there were others who were too frightened to confess their faith. There were many who were impacted.

Sam: What message do you have for the thousands who prayed for you when you were in prison?

Marzieh: I would like to thank them for their prayers and support, and the letters they sent us. During this time it wasn’t just Maryam and Marzieh who were imprisoned, but all these prayer warriors. This was a great encouragement for us. We felt their presence alongside us. So please keep praying for those who are in prison for their faith, believers in Afghanistan and Pakistan and other places. Don’t think that your prayers are unimportant.

Sam: What happened to the thousands of letters you were sent?

Marzieh: We heard that people sent us letters in prison, but we didn’t get any of them. Just hearing that people sent us letters was a great encouragement to us. And what’s interesting is that the guards who opened our letters read the Bible verses and the prayers and were impacted. We know this because they told us and mentioned some of the verses from the gospel. I can’t thank [those who sent letters] with all that is in my heart; I can say “thank you,” but this is not enough.

Maryam: I thank them. It’s true we didn’t see the letters they sent, but we knew there was a large group supporting us. This was a huge encouragement to us and helped us to stand firm. We heard from our guards that forty to fifty letters were coming every day. They saw how Christians stood together to support their own. This was something that gave us hope.

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The Shield of God

“If you never allow yourself to get into a position where you need to be rescued, then God does not have the opportunity to perform a miracle in your life”. ~The Holy Spirit, whispered to me, 2011.

The three men looked at one another and were calm. There was no temptation to give in to the king’s demands, so they simply replied to him the following.

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

I imagine these bold men, Heroes of the Bible to me, and I picture them unsheathing the sword of truth and holding it high, knowing they were drawing a line in the sand before a very powerful and proud king. They had made their stand, there was no more talking needed, the fires were stoked, and they were thrown into a furnace so hot it killed even those who threw them in. But they had something else when they went into that furnace; they had the shield of God. The shield of God is something that comes when you wield the sword of truth and take a stand for what is right, prepared to face the consequences. They didn’t know that they would live through the furnace, but they knew that God was with them. This is one of the Bible stories that sends chills up my spine because had they just given in and bowed before the idol, this would have all been a non issue.

Challenges to our faith, to honesty and integrity still come to us regularly, and if we choose to not take a stand and do what is right, God doesn’t get to perform a miracle in your life, as he did with Daniel and the lions, David and Goliath, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I have been reading a lot lately about faith, and I believe the trust that all of these Bible heroes showed in God was rooted in their deep faith. I truly believe God still performs miracles like those above in today’s world, but we have to trust in Him, we have to be willing and able to un-sheath the sword of truth and hold it high in His name, and then the shield of God will appear in your other hand, and you will fear no more.

I have worked at the same job for almost twenty-two years, and in the last year, I have been “told” to submit reports daily that I feel are less than honest. This is the first time in over two decades that I have ever been told to do something I feel is not right. It first began around last Thanksgiving, and my superiors were hostile when I questioned doing it. You see, it was their boss, a new manager who had started it, and they were afraid to make waves. Long about late February, after much prayer, discussion with my wife, pastor, friends, I made a decision. I had to stand for the right.

I went three levels up, to the new managers boss, and calmly told him that I would not be doing it anymore. I explained that I am a Christ follower, and that I knew that what I was being told to do was not right, and I was willing to leave my job over it, it was a moral issue to me. I felt a sense of peace come over me; I knew God was going to take care of me either way as I drew my line in the sand. The manager calmly told me that he would get with “legal” and have the report changed so that I was comfortable with it. And he did, right had triumphed, and I felt the shield of God surround me warmly.

When we work in a secular world, we sometimes work for people who are accepted as good, decent honest people, yet their moral character is different than ours. They are willing to fudge the numbers, or tell a little white lie on a report and they don’t feel the moral dilemma about it that we as Christians do, such is the case with the young new manager I work with. As time passed, this same issue came up again, although in a slightly different scenario, and once again, I was being told to report falsely. Even my peers this time told me I shouldn’t make waves, it isn’t that big of a deal, just let it go and sign on the dotted line. Exasperated, I returned to the same place I did before, first God, then spouse, and friends and pastor for counsel. The answer was the same, I would rather live in a shack and have a clean conscience that compromise what I know is right for worldly security.

I was calm as I went to work on the fourth of July, and wrote an e-mail to a man I have never emailed before, the man who manages all of the power plants in my company and requested a meeting. I was confident as I walked into the office to meet with this man, because I knew that I had the shield of God around me, and I was wielding the sword of truth. I started the meeting by informing this man that I was a follower of Christ, and that Jesus guides my heart and mind, and that I know what I am being told to do is wrong. I explained to him that I was willing to let it all go for this one issue. He sat and listened, and then he agreed with me that it wasn’t the right thing to do. He assured me that this would all be taken care of as we stood and shook hands. Once again, the shield of God surrounded me.

When I told my friends the story of how this had ended, they told me I was gutsy and brave, that I had stood up in the face of persecution. My reply was that I have never been persecuted, people in China, North Korea, Columbia, Egypt, Iran and many others face persecution, I just stood up for what was right.

The shield of God is an amazing thing, the knowledge that you are being steered and guided by Him, the creator of the universe. Refuse to compromise what you know is right, draw a line in the sand and take a stand for what you believe, and you too will feel this amazing power. If God is for us, who can be against us?

God Bless-JFT

This is a true story

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The Testing of Integrity

Sam sat nervously in his office, several of his large clients were coming in today to meet with him, and they had not given him an agenda on the meeting. When they arrived, pleasantries were exchanged; they sat down, and dispensed with their kindness immediately. They wanted something that Sam had told them was impossible several times, but they just would not let up. You see, Sam owns a franchise to a large insurance company, and while he has some freedom, he does have constraints from corporate on some items.

The clients Kept on, even when Sam told them he just couldn’t do it. Then the meeting got worse; they said they were willing to bring in their legal team to leverage him with a lawsuit if he didn’t give in to their demands. Sam was shocked. The exec’s left the room and even threw out a deadline for him to comply. He placed his head in his hands and thought, “what can I do”. The accounts were large; they would definitely affect his payday if he did not comply with their demands, not to mention legal fees. What they were demanding was wrong, it wasn’t what they had agreed to, it was just morally wrong. Sam reached across his desk and picked up the phone, he called his brother in Christ, a friend in whom he could seek counsel.

The exec’s walked back into Sam’s office, smug smiles on their faces. They knew Sam would comply, in this economy, he would be a fool to say no. Plus, he had called them back so soon, there was no way it would be no. Sam shook hands all around as they sat, and then shuffled some folders around on his desk, then handed a folder to each one of the three exec’s. He then stated that he had decided to release them from their contracts. Integrity is not only important at home, but at work also, and when faced with doing business in an underhanded way, he had decided he would rather have less money and sleep well at night. He then stood and held out his hand again, “good day, gentlemen”, as the stunned exec’s rose as if in a trance, and Sam ushered them out of his office.

Adjustments to the budget would have to be made until he could replace the clients, but they could handle it. A peace undoubtedly provided by the Holy Spirit came over Sam and he stopped being concerned about it then and there, He knew God had his back.

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)   do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

 

So what would have happened if Sam had chosen the other path and had made changes to the contract just to accommodate the execs? The contract is not unlike a covenant between two parties. Had Sam broken his company rules, fudged on the paperwork a bit, and given them the farm, what then? Next time it would be something else, and Sam would have been less likely to say no. It gets easier and easier to use the loopholes in life once you have taken advantage of them. It gets easier and easier to get your way on a technicality if that is the path you choose.

My belief is that every time we utilize a loophole, every time we utilize a technicality, a little piece of our integrity floats away. Once you have lost your integrity with others, it is very hard to get back with people. Trust lost is easier to regain than integrity lost, and without integrity, will anyone listen to you when you want to share the gospel?

Where are you, when faced with what Sam was faced with, would you let the paycheck go and “know” that God will take care of you, or would you cling to the money? It is very easy to talk about faith, about morals, but when we find ourselves on the firing line, we need to remember God allows His people to be tested. He will allow us to be tested also, the question is, will we pass?

God Bless

JFT

This story (fiction) based loosely on real events.

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“Still Waters”

“He leads me beside the still waters”. I have often wondered what that meant, what was the significance of the still water. I surmised that it is because still waters are relaxing. If there is a current, it is a lazy one, and it is usually deep quoting another phrase, “quiet waters run deep.

Families gather at still waters, in many places, people will have a family get together at the local swimming hole in a creek or river. When I was a kid, spending my summers in the south, that’s what we did. There was always a thick rope hanging from a tree that we would swing out over the water on then let go. The water was calm and deep, so there were no worries about cracking your head open, you could relax.

To the contrary, fast waters are not relaxing. They are typically much colder, and they require much more work. You have to tread water, and you have to constantly fight the current to prevent being pulled downstream. They are the opposite of still waters, still waters being a great place to relax and just cruise.

In the early 1900’s, a church group went down on the Mississippi river in Illinois for a potluck and swimming, and were shocked to be attacked by a bull shark, or a pack of them. It was so far inland that they never gave sharks a second thought; they let their guard down, relaxed and planned a peaceful fun afternoon. The sharks who are actually able to come far into fresh water had staged an ambush, knowing the area was frequented by swimmers, swimmers with their guard down.

As a boy, swimming in the rivers and lakes of the south, I knew no fear. I cannot count the times that I was swimming for an hour, and got out of the water to see a water moccasin (cottonmouth snake), deadly as a rattler, slithering through where I had just been swimming. I would throw rocks at it, then go right back in for another swim. I had much less fear (wisdom) as a child.

Satan is like a snake or a bull shark; He lies in wait while we are resting in the still waters. While we are recharging our batteries and catching some R&R, He is sizing us up. He is a predator of opportunity waiting to swallow us up. People who have been attacked under similar circumstances have said they never saw it coming, one moment; they were leaning back having a great time, then the next they were in a battle for their life.  Satan loves the still waters too; the places and times when we lay our defenses down and relax.

Stay busy in your consistent following of Christ, not ever taking a break in your faith, because that is what he is counting on. He lies in wait for you at the still waters looking to devour and destroy. Stay busy spreading the Word, keep in the fellowship of other believers, going it alone doesn’t work for an antelope in Africa that is being stalked by a lion, the solo antelope or water buffalo is what the lion seeks, hopes for. It is no different for us; followers of Christ are constantly being stalked by the evil one who seeks a crack in our defenses. He lies in wait. 1 Peter 5:8

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Stay busy doing His work, keeping in the fellowship of others who believe as you do, and don’t spend too much time in the still waters. The rapids, while they require more work are safer from a spiritual standpoint. God Bless

JFT

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“Miracle in Tehran, Zahra’s Story”

Zahra was at the end of her rope. A lifelong devotee to Islam and Muhammad, she was beginning to wonder why he was cursing her so. The bad news had flooded in on the same night, first that her grandson, the son of her beloved son in who lives with his wife in Tehran is terminally ill, and then the second round began to flow in. Her two daughters had been caught up in a disturbance, and had been killed by the secret police. She could only imagine they had become involved in some type of protest for freedom, but she wasn’t sure.

As if losing your children wasn’t bad enough, the secret police always looking out for themselves came by and forced Zahra to say that her daughters had been killed in an accident instead. They would stop at nothing to appear blameless to the mullah’s and Imam’s who ruled this puppet regime. Despair had set in on Zahra and her situation, why had this happened, her girls were gone forever, and now, the joy of her heart, her little baby grandson would be taken too, what was there left to live for, why bother to wake another day?

The losses were more than she could bear, four times she tried to put an end to her life, but she couldn’t even do that right, and four times she failed. She was hospitalized for clinical depression, and was treated in every possible way, but nothing seemed to help. Hopelessly depressed and clinically sad, she was released back to her life, and the cycle began again.

Then one night, she was invited to a church. She had never been to a church, after all, this is Iran and she is Muslim, but she figured “what have I got to lose, I might as well give Christianity a try”. It was funny, to recap she says she didn’t know anyone there, but God met her there. The pastor gave a sermon, and at the end of the sermon, he gave a very peculiar message, he said “I have a message for someone here in the meeting”.

The pastor then said, “There is a woman here who’s grandson is terminally ill, and the Lord says, I healed him”.  Zahra was shocked, was it possible that this message was for her, could this message from this Jesus have been sent to her? She hurried home and called her son in Tehran to check on her grandson’s condition, only to find that he had taken a turn for the better, he seemed to be improving.  Doctors would later examine him and diagnose him as healthy; the sickness that was killing him had miraculously disappeared. They had no medical explanation, it was a miracle.

Zahra then began to have some questions about her faith. She had always been a devoted Muslim, had always followed the teachings of Islam, but if Muhammad were the final prophet, she questioned, then why did Jesus heal my grandson?

A few nights passed as Zahra contemplated all that had happened, and then one night as Zahra drifted off to sleep, she was visited by Jesus in a dream, He softly told her that He had healed her Grandson from his terminal illness, and that He had healed Zahra as well. As she awoke, she knew the dream was real, it had really happened, she was really visited by Jesus. She had an unexplainable peace, and Jesus had removed her sadness, she was whole again.

Zahra’s life has changed a lot since then; she has committed her life to Jesus and become a Christ follower. This is a quote from her.

“I committed my life to Jesus,” she said. “Since then, I am following my Lord. He saved me from all my troubles and sins. He has given me purpose and hope. I am a witness for all he has done for me.”

God is working all over this world and His number is increasing greatly amongst the persecuted church. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in countries like Iran who must meet secretly to avoid persecution, and please pray for Zahra and her continued growth, and that of her family. God Bless

JFT

This story is true and factual

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“Miracle or Mistake?”

It was Thursday morning, I was getting ready to go to my weekly men’s Bible study class, a bunch of guys who meet at a coffee shop to study, fellowship, and hold each other accountable through friendship. As I was getting ready to leave at about 7AM, the phone rang, and caller i.d. told me it was my doctor. She had me get an MRI the day before because I have been having migraines and she wanted to have a look at my brain.

Doc Kim told me I needed to come to her office right away, as she needed to meet with me. I said “I guess this means you found something, right”? She replied that they had found something, actually a couple of things, and she needed to discuss them with me ASAP. I asked if it could wait until after my Bible study, and she went silent, then said, “Well, I guess it would be okay”. She then told me what the problem was. Jim, you have had a stroke, it showed up on the MRI, and you need to see a neurologist today, right after your Bible study. She then told me that I couldn’t work for at least a few weeks, as we needed to “de-stress” my life. I just sat and listened as she said I needed to go on FMLA (medical time off), and change my diet and exercise habits. She then told me to call her after I got an appt. with the Neurologist she had referred me to, and we ended the call. Whew, what a conversation, I then turned and my wife was standing there, she then asked, “what’s up”? Well dear, your not going to believe this, but……..

The guys all gathered around the scarred little coffee table and we chatted for a while about regular things, what was happening in everyone’s lives and so on. Looking at my watch, and knowing my Dr. had only given me an hour, I said “umm, hey guys, I need to talk about something”. They were all equally surprised, but Brett, who was leading today’s study suggested we begin in prayer, rather than end as we usually do. Brett prayed that my illness would be cured miraculously, and that when I was examined later I would show no sign of the stroke, and he prayed that I would have peace. We finished our study, and I headed out to make my many phone calls.

I wasn’t able to get in to see a neurologist that day, but did get an appt. the following morning. I worked everything out for the time off through HR at work, and then called Doc Kim back. She then told me she wasn’t comfortable waiting, and said that I should come get the MRI report and go to the ER, as they would get me seen by a neurologist today.

I wasn’t happy about it, but we complied, and began what would be ten and a half hours at the hospital. I was poked, prodded, sampled, and scanned. Finally, a neurologist stepped into my room and began to give me the down low. He smiled, and told me he disagreed with the radiologist who read my MRI. He did not believe that I had a stroke, and if I did, it was a small one. I do not seem to have any damage that they expect to see when someone has a stroke. The other issue was there and valid, and would need to be dealt with, but the stroke wasn’t an issue, great news.

As the Dr. left, I felt happy that I had apparently missed this bullet, or if it was a stroke, it was minor and damage free. I then began to stew about how irresponsible it was for the radiologist to throw out the “stroke” diagnosis so freely. While glad on the one hand, I was annoyed on the other. I had called my HR and told them my diagnosis, and they had emailed my supervisors, word was out, and my phone was full of texts and voicemails. People were worried and praying for me all over, and now I needed to tell them it wasn’t what we thought, I probably hand’t even had a stroke. I wondered if the radiologist who diagnosed me ever thought about these things before he threw out his diagnoses. Did he ever consider how people’s lives changed based on what he told them about their results, if he knew, would it make him check twice? Would he care enough to look again?

Then, a wonderful thing happened, shame began to flow over my soul, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Shame at my response to God granting my wishes. Shame at me praying for rain, but not bringing an umbrella. I then thought back to early that morning, when Brett prayed for a miraculous cure, for the evidence of the stroke to go away. I then thought about God, and how hurt He must be when we pray for something, He grants it, then we give the credit to someone else, or worse yet call a miracle He performed a mistake on the part of another. We are a real piece of work, aren’t we?

Our God is so good to us, when we fail in our faith like that, and we ask Him to forgive us for not being more loyal to Him, He not only forgives us, but He forgets it too, He remembers it no more. In His mind, it is like it never even happened. Anyone who says we have a harsh God obviously does not know my God. Our God is a God of miracles, and our God is a God of second chances.

In hindsight, I have no doubt the radiologist saw a stroke when surveying my MRI, and I have no doubt that my God answered Brett’s prayer, along with many others who were praying for me, and simply made it go away. Our God is an awesome God!

God Bless

JFT

This one is fact, not fiction

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“Greed”

I have always been fascinated by the story of the rich young man found in Matthew 19:16-23

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,  and ‘love your neighbor as yourself. “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

I suppose that the thing that fascinates me so much about these scriptures is the way we do our best to interpret them, many times an attempt to spin them into our favor. I know anyone who has ever attended a church or discussed this scripture has debated the true meaning of these verses. I would like to dig deeper. If there were a core meaning to this passage, what would it be? My thinking is that it would be “greed is bad”.

Just last night, we discussed at Bible study the subject of greed. Can a rich person inherit the kingdom of Heaven? Is there a difference in being rich and being financially secure, or for that matter fiscally responsible. God wants us to be fiscally responsible as reflected in many scriptures in the Bible, but we need to be careful with how important our money is, how much focus we give to it in our life. But money is not the thing that usually drives greed in most cases, but the “stuff” that our money can buy. A bad case of the wants is the first clue that we may have a problem with greed. Wants are not to be confused with needs either.

I have always thought it would be cool to have a big customized Harley, doing road trips in the mountains of up north. I could get my woman, oops,wait, my wife to jump on and away we would go. See, this is how greed begins, we see ourselves as being satisfied and happier when we have more, unrealistically because it is never as great as you think it will be. It starts with admiration, then leads to imagination, and eventually to covetousness. When we get there, we have greed. Sooooo, back to the scripture “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Does he say impossible? No, he does not, But, there is that follow up scripture. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

So, what gives, is it impossible or what, here is my take. I have heard all of my life that there is a gate into Jerusalem, and you guessed it, it is called the eye of the needle. It is a short gate, no more than five feet tall, and while difficult, a camel can pass through on its knees, although it will need at least four Band-Aids afterwards. 😉 It is great to hear this story, because it means we can have our cake and eat it too, but now comes the rub. The story of the short gate is hogwash, it is an urban legend, a myth, it does not exist. If you have a NIV study Bible, read the notes below the parable of the rich man, it will be explained. So what does that leave us with, a real needle, and a real camel.

Those who have nothing don’t give another thought to this scripture, it doesn’t apply to them. Those of us who live in the land of plenty are constantly looking for the loophole in the scripture, the secret meaning that means we can really keep all of our stuff. I look at all that I have, I look at my possessions, things that I collect and cringe at the thought of not having them. My watch collection that I spent a decade collecting, that I enjoyed so much, did it really mean anything, or was it just stuff. The collection was just stuff, so I sold it, and guess what, I don’t miss it. Only on parting with them did I realize that I felt better without them.

Folks, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that it is wrong to have a few luxury items. I am not saying it is wrong to have a few dollars in the bank, and neither is Jesus. It is wrong when your items or your money begin to mean too much to you. When the things, money, even time become more important to us than taking up our cross and following Christ, it may be time to have a garage sale.

Matt. 8:19-20 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

God Bless

JFT

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