Storm Damage

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 7, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

As I drove into the driveway of my shop, my heart sank. The roof of our pole barn that we use for storage was a twisted mass if tin. The storms that night had severely damaged the roof, and the heavy rains had soaked everything inside the building. For the past month, it seemed that there had been one disaster after another in our lives. 

Because of the heavy rains that our area was experiencing, it was a week before we were able to repair the roof. When we were able to repair the roof, we discovered that over the years the roof had been leaking and the wood had rotted. When the storm came, the weakened wood wasn’t able to withstand the high winds. Besides repairing the roof, we had to replace the rotten wood.

I think sometimes our spiritual life can have leaks. I know mine can. When I am focused on what can go wrong more often than what can go right; those thoughts are not from God. Those thoughts are little leaks that over time can leave us spiritually damaged. Focusing on the negatives in this life leads us to fear, and fear is an enemy of our faith. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) tells us that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

There is something about a strong faith in God that can help us deal with the big trials in our life. God wants us to have faith in Him and not give in to fear when trials come. When a devastating hardship crashes into your life, if your faith is strong, you can reach out to God to free you from the fear. 

Most of our fears and worries in life are pesky little leaks that drip, drip, drip on the foundation of our lives. Often these small fears and worries drip into our lives undetected. But if we are dwelling on these fears, we are not focused on God’s power. Fear undermines our faith. Jesus said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Luke 12:25 (NIV) God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear. He has given you hope.

Worry never works! It can’t add a single hour to our life. Jesus tells us, “since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:26 (NIV) Worrying never solves problems, and it wastes our energy and time. Worry weakens the framework of our faith in God.

The damage that worry causes to our lives is slow but steady. Little by little, it can rot away our faith until our foundation in God is no longer strong. When the storms of life come, we are not able to withstand them. If I had taken time to repair the leaks in our building, the roof would have withstood the storm, and the major repairs would not have been needed. We have other buildings that have similar leaks, and we are making plans to repair them so that we won’t have major damage from a future storm. I don’t want the statement found in Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NKJV) to be true about me: “Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.”

Because I ignored the small problems, it allowed the major problem to come up. In life, there can be small problems that creep into our lives. Little things that come up and begin to create damage in our lives. 

Although fear and worry can undermine your faith, they are not the only things that can be a constant dripping in our lives. Anger is another thing that can cause a lot of damage. Paul tells us not to give the devil a foothold. In Ephesians 4:26,27 (NIV) he wrote, “in your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger gives the devil a foothold, and it eats away at our relationship with God. 

In my life, I have a problem with anger. When I feel that I have been mistreated, I get angry. And especially when I see family members and people that I care about being mistreated it makes me angry. Anger eats away at me and even gets in the way of my relationship with God. My anger at people spills over into anger at God. I become angry with God for allowing people to mistreat my family and me. Paul knew that this could be a problem and give the devil a foothold. Paul’s advice on dealing with people who make you angry is found in Ephesians 4:29 (TPT) “Never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace to help them.” 

Gentle Reader, if there are any small leaks in your life, bring them to Jesus. Don’t allow them to build up in your life and cause major destruction and destroy you. Don’t let worry or anger weaken your faith in God. Letting worry and anger take hold in your life, will slowly undermine your faith in God. As in the case of my roof, the small leaks can eventually cause major damage when the storms of life come. Don’t let your roof leak. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

I Can Only Imagine

An Arkie's Faith column from the February 28, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

How is your imagination? Do you ever daydream? What do you imagine?

Former Beatle John Lennon wrote a song titled Imagine in the early 70's. The melody is beautiful, and it is one of the most popular songs he ever wrote. But while the melody may be beautiful, the lyrics paint a different picture. Listen to what Lennon had to say.

“Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try; No hell below us; above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today. Imagine there's no country. It isn't hard to do; Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

One of Lennon's ideas was that the concept of God and religion got in the way of world peace; and in the final analysis, caused more bad than good. Karl Marx thought this very same way, and so have many other philosophers over the centuries. Their idea was that if you rid the world of its ideas about God and religion, then the world would become a utopia. People working together in peace and perfect harmony would soon solve the world's problems.

While there is truth to the idea that religion has been a major player in many of the conflicts in the world, when I put my imagination to work, I see something different. When I imagine that there is no heaven, it is scary. As bad as things are in this world, imagine what it would be like if there were no God. If you spend much time imagining these kinds of things, it's frightening. Imagining the world without God is depressing. Let's imagine something different.

I like to imagine the future. When I was a boy, I liked to read popular science magazines. I also liked reading books by Isaac Asimov. His vision of what the future would be like intrigued me. One of my favorite things to imagine is what heaven will be like. Put your imagination to work. What do you imagine heaven is like?

Does the Bible have anything to say about our imagination? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 3:20 (VOICE) “Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us.” I can imagine a lot of great things, but God can do things greater than I could ever imagine. Put your imagination to work. Whatever you imagined, God can do greater things.

I like to think about God. I study the Bible to learn more about him. But can I fully understand him? In Isaiah 55:8,9 (NKJV) the Bible tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

God's ways are far beyond anything we can imagine. It seems my imagination is useless when it comes to God. I like to imagine what heaven will be like. But I know that my imagination isn’t up to the task. “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NET)

Do you love God? God has prepared something so incredible that no human mind has ever even imagined it. There are people on this planet that have great imaginations. Look at some of the wonders of this world. The imaginations of artists, writers, and architects are often spectacular, but even they cannot imagine anything like heaven. Have you ever imagined what heaven will be like? Whatever you imagined doesn't even come close to what God has actually prepared for you.

The fact that we can’t imagine what God has prepared for us doesn't mean that we have no information at all. When the Apostle John was given a vision of the new heaven and new earth, he wrote these words. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’ And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’” Revelation 21:3-5 (NLT) I take great comfort in that promise. Even though I can't imagine what God has prepared for me, I can be sure that He will wipe every tear from my eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

Gentle Reader, do you want to go to heaven? Why do you want to go there? In John 14:1-3 Jesus tells us, “let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Jesus has prepared a place for us, and he wants us to be there with Him. That is why I want to go to heaven. I want to be where Jesus is. Do you want to be there with Jesus? What will it be like when we see the place that Jesus has prepared for us? I can only imagine!