Showing True Love to Others Requires Truth

Hammers and Fire – Agents of Change

Barbara Henderson

Have you ever considered different practical ways that people show their love for someone else?  I’m sure you could make up a list of things that you do that give real evidence that you love someone particular, your family, your church family, and people in general.  You know what you are thinking, and you know what the intentions are behind your actions.  It is quite a bit harder to correctly interpret other people’s actions because you don’t know what they are actually trying to do or the message they are trying to convey.  The problem comes in that no one is able to rightly interpret exactly what you need in the way of help; of, if they do know what you actually need and want it may not be within their capability to actually give you or do for you what you want.  All you can do is do the best you can when dealing with others, and accept things people do for you as doing the best they can considering what is going on in his/her life at that time. 

You don’t have any control over how other people behave.  You can’t make them treat you in a particular way or give you exactly what you need/want at the perfect moment.  You do have control over how you treat others.  For an individual to treat others well there is a key element.  That is love.  To treat your spouse, children, parents, and extended family well requires that you must love them more than you love yourself.  You put their needs and even their wants above your own.  We could go on about this for days.  What are they ways you show unselfishness to others?  Where do you draw the line?  What about what you can give someone or do for someone in contrast to what they actually want or expect from you?  And on and on and on.  The point is to consistently love them more than you love yourself.  This enables you to do what you need to do.  The more you love someone the easier it is to set aside your own wants in order to do something for that person.  If your family is made up of deeply committed Christians, then they are also supposed to love you more than they love themselves.  Ultimately, the sacrifices made for a loving Christian family are repaid in the sacrifices they make for you.  There is joy in seeing their joy.  They have joy in seeing your joy.  It is win, win, win for everyone.

But if you had to pare it down to one simple action that you do for your loved ones, what would be the most important? That one thing is to tell the truth.  This you can do regardless of your social or economic status, your age, your health, your personality, and anything other circumstances in your life.  Obviously that doesn’t mean tell someone, ‘The jeans don’t make you look fat.  You look fat because you are fat.’  It means tell the truth.  That means the unadorned truth.  You can tell the truth with compassion.  You can tell it with the spirit of love that comes from loving that person more than you love yourself.  But the truth is what is of utmost importance, and the truth is what you must speak.  No sound decisions can be made, no right actions can be taken, no good thing can come from something based on lies!  Yes, little lies matter. 

And no-where is the truth more important than when you speak the truth of Bible.  What every Christian needs to always remember is the Bible is full of harsh realities.  Notably, there is the reality of hell.  There is the reality of various sorrows, trials, uncertainties, death, and trouble affecting individuals throughout the Bible.  That is the truth!  When the modern church preaches a very happy life through proper amounts of giving and thinking happy thoughts the church is lying.  The joy of the Lord is very real, but that joy is not bound to circumstances.  Christians often experience many good things in their lives, but they are not exempt from sorrow and trials. 

The Bible is also full of Jesus Christ and how individuals can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ the savior.  The Bible is very clear.  We live once.  We die once.  And then we face eternity.  Believers will face the final judgment as children adopted into the family of God.  They will have an eternity spent in heaven as a joint heir with Jesus Christ Himself.  Those who face eternity without Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell.  That is the unvarnished truth, or the dark sayings of old mentioned in the Bible.  People don’t like that reality.  It sounds so harsh and filled with sorrow. So, the plan is to avoid the subject for most people.  I can understand that for people who don’t know they have options!  Many people actually don’t know they have the option of heaven through Jesus Christ.  Death is the big question mark, and for these people it is just better to avoid the subject all together.

People want to know the truth.  They want some assurance about what is going to happen when they die. They definitely want to avoid hell if there is a hell.  They want to go to heaven if there is a heaven.  They actually don’t know what heaven really is, but reason tells them that heaven is going to be a better place than hell. 

These people often make it into a Christian church on a Sunday morning.  And there they hear the sweet things of the Bible.  They hear, ‘God loves you. God wants you to be happy. Come to Jesus and see the good things that happen in your life.  And support the work of the church and just watch Jesus bless you personally.’

But they don’t hear the truth that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to heaven.  They don’t hear the truth that Jesus Christ does not mingle with false ways and silly little gods of this world.

People often avoid telling the blunt truth of Jesus Christ because of two things.  First they are simply uncomfortable with speaking out.  This can be overcome by gaining a better vision of the future.  Specifically you want to see the future of those who reconcile to God through Jesus Christ and those who reject Jesus.  One is spending eternity in heaven and one is spending eternity in hell.  If you could wave a magic wand and put someone on the Titanic on a safe ocean liner would you do it?  Of course you would.  Lost souls are sinking into hell.  You have the truth that will put off the ship that is sinking into hell and onto that old Ship of Zion that is going to heaven. 

Another reason people don’t speak up with the truth of Jesus Christ is the fear of offending someone who is already offended by the gospel.  Many people simply don’t want to hear it.  But if they don’t hear it how will they ever come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  It is like they have a shell of titanium covering their hearts and conscience.  Now, sweet words of the good life Jesus is promising them is like rubbing a chunk of titanium with a tiny piece of fine sandpaper.  The effect is going to be negligible.  You will never get through to the conscience that is under the barrier.  On the other hand, there is the fire and hammer approach.  No, I do no mean you can brow-beat someone into accepting Jesus Christ.  But they do have to hear the gospel presented in a clear manner.  Nothing has the power to break through the shell over a conscience except the good news of Jesus Christ. (Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?  Jeremiah 23:29  )  The truth of Jesus Christ is both the hammer and the fire that can bring about the change a person needs to step into the eternal safety offered by Jesus Christ alone.

To avoid telling the unvarnished truth of Jesus Christ and the way into heaven is not loving.  Yet, that is what many churches are doing!  They are so caught up in telling the world that Jesus loves them that they forget there is a lot more to the story.  That is like focusing on Christmas but forgetting Easter!  Yes, Jesus came as a baby, but He also lived a life of sacrifice and suffering which ended with Him being nailed to a cross.  And the rest of that story is He rose from the dead proving His power of death.  It isn’t really about having that perfect life here on earth that you imagined.  It isn’t about finding your soul mate or living your dream of a nice house and car and lovely vacations.  It is about entering the kingdom of heaven for eternity and escaping hell.  It is about showing your love and respect for God Almighty who saved you!  The devil builds fortresses around the hearts and minds of those who belong to him.  Sweet words, platitudes, and forming alliances with the world will not break down these barriers.  It takes the fire and the hammer of God’s Holy Word to get through to these people.  Fortunately, the power is in God.  It isn’t in us or how well we present the gospel, or how powerful our words happen to be, or how much emotion we can stir up in someone, or anything else that is in us as individuals.  It is in the simple truth of the Bible. 

I recently listened to a series on the apostles and their different personalities and characteristics.  It was comforting to learn that Jesus used such a variety of people. He used introverts, extroverts, impulsive, reserved, determined, wishy-washy, older, younger, brave, and even sometimes cowardly.  Jesus used the willing.  That’s all.  It wasn’t their own charisma or brilliance.  He took these frail imperfect men and used them to point many to the entrance to heaven.  After Jesus’ assentation to heaven each apostle preached the gospel without apology, relying on the power of God and not their own.  Once again it was the fire and hammer of God’s word and His power that enabled them to avoid compromise.  It is that same power that will enable individual Christians to speak the truth of the way into heaven without compromise. 

Nothing is more irritating that a supposed Christian saying something like ‘Well – Christianity works for me’ as though something else may work for someone else.  The truth is it ‘works’ for anyone who accepts Jesus’ offer of entrance into heaven through accepting Him as the way, the truth, and the life.  Christianity is not a philosophy designed to help people cope with life. It is the truth of God Almighty.  It is the only means by which one can be reconciled to the God who created him/her.  First believe and you have gained eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.  Then be obedient to God’s instructions as written down for us in the Bible.   (And don’t forget to be thankful.)

The unvarnished truth is becoming a rarity in the pulpit of all places!  Preachers of the gospel go on stage with the sole purpose of presenting an uplifting sermon.  That want to help the congregation experience the Lord.  They have forgotten their job is to clearly tell people how to be reconciled to God, and explain the consequences of NOT reconciling to God during their life time.  The second aspect of the preacher’s job is to teach believers the rules by which God requires them to live.  And, he is to love them more than he loves himself.  The New Testament tells many times that Jesus was motivated by compassion.  His compassion caused Him to act on behalf of those in need.  But we are never told that His compassion involved dumbing down the gospel or trying to make people feel good or have an emotional experience.  I am sure that there is no doubt that people often felt better and were quite emotional when they met Jesus, but those feelings were never the reason for His actions.  And neither should they be the reasons for our actions or lack of actions.  All we have to do is speak the truth as it is written in the Bible.  We don’t have power or authority to change the message.  If people don’t like the message they don’t have to listen to it.  If they don’t like the message they can take it up with God.  But don’t expect the messenger to change the message.  Don’t expect the messenger to avoid giving people in need the message of salvation!  As messengers in the service of Jesus Christ the King the job of Christians is to consistently tell the truth.

For our God is a consuming fire!  Hebrews 12:29

I Love to Tell the Story

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I love to write – and I have several books published on Kindle.  Here is a link to my author page.

Thanks for looking.

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In Honor of Veteran's Day

The Big Red One - First Infantry Division - a true account of WWII

During World War II there were many young soldiers. One of those soldiers was Frank Johnson. When the war ended Frank wrote a book called 'One More Hill'. One of the soldiers mention extensively in the book is my husband's uncle Tech/Sgt. Gerald Henderson. Gerald was killed D-day. My husband Jerry was born 2 days later and named after Gerald.

Frank's book was recently published again and is now available at http://firstdivisionmuseum.org/publications/ordering/default.aspx#one_more_hillt

This edition contains some maps and photos not in the older copy that I have.

Frank passed away this year, so we are minus on more soldier from WW2. 

Here is the article about Tech. Sgt Gerald Henderson - Lieutenant Johnsons good friend and my husbands uncle.

Gerald’s Story – A Tribute to Valor
This soldier really did lay down his life for his friends.
By Barbara Henderson

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

June 6, 1944... So long ago, on a beach so far from the heartland of America, the course of history was changed. The liberation of Europe began, and the life of T/Sgt. Gerald Henderson ended.
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This is the report of his death given when the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded/accepted by his family after the war ended.

“For extraordinary heroism against the enemy on June 6, 1944, in Normandy France, on D-day, Technical Sergeant Henderson, while exposed to intense enemy artillery, mortar, machine-gun, and small arms fire, heroically supervised the unloading of men and vehicles from his landing craft. Observing that a vehicle from an adjoining landing craft had stalled, he voluntarily drove a truck along the fire swept beech, plunged into the water, and fastened a cable to the vehicle. After towing it safely to shore, he personally carried two wounded occupants to safety and rendered first aid. He returned to the beach and amid bursting shells and devastating small arms fire, courageously continuing his rescue work. While carrying a wounded soldier across the beach to a position of safety a shell landed near this valiant soldier fatally wounding him. His heroic achievements in the initial landing resulted in the saving of many lives and much vital equipment. The self sacrificing devotion to duty, personal bravery and valorous leadership displayed by Technical Sergeant Henderson exemplified the highest tradition of the armed forces. (Auth GO 92, HQ, 21st US Army, 18th infantry, antitank company)”
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I wonder about the men he carried to the safety of the cliffs. I wonder if they knew Gerald in the first place or if they were just strangers in need of help. I wonder if they survived the war. Did they have children already who would have lost their father that day. Were they married? Did their mothers learn that their sons were saved, but Gerald's mother lost her son that day?

And mostly I wonder what these men did with the rest of their lives? Since Gerald's life was cut short so their lives could run a natural course, did they feel any obligation to live their lives in a way that would make Gerald think his sacrifice was worth it that day?

Today, other soldiers are fighting all over the globe. It isn't called a world war this time, but it surely appears to be one. And I know bravery and self sacrifice are not limited to any one generation. There are soldiers today who may wish things were different, but never the less, they will do their duty to the highest measure necessary.  I thank God for these brave soldiers and their sacrifices.

But bravery and self sacrifice are not limited to the battlefield. That is just the obvious place people look for such heroism. In truth, bravery worthy of the highest honor is present all around us, in all levels of society, economics, and cultural variances. The character that allows such bravery to defy extreme adversity is built daily in the lives of men and women and children who just get up and do what is required of them every day.

'One More Hill' is the very appropriate title of the book detailing Frank Johnson's days in the First Infantry Division, and the life of Gerald 'Pappy' Henderson. One more hill could be the theme for anyone facing difficult times and situations. They do their duty, get up, and climb one more hill.  They may be in the military, but they may be from many other professions and callings.  What they have in common is  sense of duty that pulls them forward under the most trying circumstances. 

Most days it isn't that hard. Some days it is very hard. And on that occasional day when doing one's duty seems impossible, the individual who has already set the habit of "just getting the job done" will just get the job done that day as well.

I have heard the question, "Have you thanked a vet today?" asked many times over the years. I suppose the question is supposed to make us think of the price paid for our freedom and the American way of life. Of course veterans deserve our thanks.  But how would you thank the veterans who did not return? A proper tribute is in the way each of us lives our lives. There are three things everyone who lives with the blessing of freedom should do.

First, remember that the freedom of a nation depends on the blessings of God, and the people God uses most often to secure and maintain our freedom are those serving in the military.

Second, only accept the boundaries in our lives that are imposed by God and national laws that do not contradict God's law. This means DO love God, keep the commandments, treat others the way you want to be treated, be moderate, and be modest. It also means DO NOT allow your self to be ruled by political correctness, social acceptability, or peer pressure. These things will only add unnecessary complications to your life and hinder you from doing whatever God actually has for you to do.

Third, lay down your life. Surrender to God. True surrender means agreeing to do what God asks of you before you actually know what it is. Then it means doing what you know to do every day. The husband and father who provides for his family often has to set aside many personal wants and ambitions to do what is best for his family. The mother who cares for her children 24 hours a day has to lay down things she wants to do in order to do what needs to be done. The child who obeys his or her parents will set aside their own desire in order to be obedient. Just do your duty - in full measure. What ever your race is for the day - just do it as well and cheerfully as possible.

In full surrender to God, and consistent completion of duty - you will come to realize that your fulfillment could not be greater, and your joy will only grow greater. You will be taking full advantage of the freedom provided by God, and all those He used to provide your freedom. You will effectively have "thanked a vet" by the way you live your life.

Gerald's Song
Our freedom was bought by soldiers of honor, who sleep in the valley of the shadow of death.
Now weeping endures for the night but God promised, joy comes in the morning with a trump and a shout.

I'll see you tomorrow when the trumpet shall sound, the death song from sorrow to victory resounds.
Grave clothes all changed for white robes and crowns, I'll see you and know you when the trumpet shall sound.

Your face in the picture, your laugh in my mind, all fade and grow dimmer one day at a time.
The words on the tombstone may weather away, but your name is on the Father's hand awaiting that day.

I'll see you tomorrow when the trumpet shall sound, the death song from sorrow to victory resounds. Grave clothes all changed for white robes and crowns, I'll see you and know you when the trumpet shall sound.
Our redemption was bought by God's son the Savior, crucified, buried, but rose up the third day.
Ascended to heaven to be with the Father, but coming back to receive us with a trump and a shout.

I'll see you tomorrow when the trumpet shall sound, the death song from sorrow to victory resounds.
Grave clothes all changed for white robes and crowns, I'll see you and know you when the trumpet shall sound.

I wrote these lyrics - but I need someone to write music to go with the lyrics.
Thanks,

Doubting Christians Have Help Available

Doubting Christians Have Help Available

Barbara Henderson

John the Baptist was a miracle child. He was a gift from God to his parents and to the world.  John was the voice crying in the wilderness.  He heralded the coming of Jesus Christ.  Christ Himself said there was no greater than John the Baptist.

John probably did not look like a gift to the world to most of those looking at him.  He probably looked more like a homeless lunatic.  After all, he lived in the desert instead of town.  His diet may not have been kosher.  Honey is probably kosher, but I don’t know about the locusts.  Besides, kosher or not, bugs is bugs, and most people do not want to eat them.  His clothing certainly left a lot to be desired. He was covered up, but that’s about all you could say for his clothes.  (It is interesting that John’s clothes were the same clothing that Adam and Eve wore – animal skins that required that an innocent animal die.) But, there was something about John…   He preached repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  And people listened to him! They came to him.  They listened.  They followed him right down into the river of Jordan to baptized out of their old religion and into the new religion that John preached was coming.

It is really not speculation to say that John the Baptist’s parents had told him all about his own miraculous birth as well as the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.  The thing is that while John had the books of the Bible from Genesis through Malachi, he did not have Matthew through Revelation as they had not yet been written.  So, he didn’t have everything necessary to understand the details of events of his exact time. 

Let’s take a look at things from John’s perspective. He knew who he was.  He knew that Jesus was the promised savior.   John had no visions of grandeur.  That was pretty obvious by his lifestyle.  Probably, like Moses, he saw far beyond the material things of the world.  He knew a better world was coming.  He also knew that while he was the prophet of the day, that his following would shrink as the followers of Jesus grew in number.  What John didn’t know was exactly how Jesus was going to bring in the kingdom for which John longed with all his heart.

Then…. Jesus began to preach.  Jesus took some of John’s disciples as His own selected twelve.  And John, well John continued to preach.  His preaching got him thrown into prison.  He was in prison month after weary month.  During his months in prison the demon of doubt assaulted John.  All the things John ‘knew’ about Jesus did not seem to be compatible with the current situation in John’s life.  He was an innocent man.  He preached the unchanging truth of the Holy Scriptures.  He was unjustly imprisoned for telling the truth and calling for repentance.  So, from a human viewpoint, something was not going right!  John may have thought, ‘Well….. mom and dad were old when I was born.  Maybe their thinking was a little bit messed up by the time they got around to telling me that story.  Those who saw the events leading up to my birth are dead or too old to be sure their thinking is clear anymore, so I don’t have anyone to ask.  And Jesus, the story surrounding his birth is a little odd to say the least.  Maybe I just misunderstood something somewhere.’

Of course we don’t have any idea of what was going on in John’s mind.  Maybe it was nothing of the sort.  We do know what John did.  He sent his disciples to ask Jesus.  He didn’t have the Holy Bible complete with the New Testament, but John did have Jesus Himself.  So to deal with his doubt John sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘are you the One?  Or should we look for another?’  It may have been that John himself was quite certain that Jesus was the One, and there was no need to look for another.  His disciples may have been the ones doubting and in need of assurance.  In that case John was doing what all strong believers should do.  He sent his disciples directly to the source.  It may have been a little bit of doubt on both John’s part and the part of the disciples.  The outcome is the same either way.  John’s disciples went to Jesus and asked the question, ‘Look Jesus.  John is in prison, and they aren’t very nice to him there.  In fact they hate him.  So we just want to know.  Tell us the truth. Are you the One, or is there another we are to look for?’  Instead of speaking an answer Jesus showed them the answer.  They saw Jesus do miracles that could only be the work of God.  So, the disciples of John had their own doubts put to rest, and they took the news to John who would have been comforted tremendously by what they told him. 

And here we are today.  Christians know Jesus Christ is the Savior promised to the world in Genesis.  He is the One.  We know it.  We trust our eternal destination to Him.  Through Him, we know we will enter the kingdom of heaven and spend eternity in the presence of God.  What a relief!

But, here we are, stuck in this present reality.  Our most perfect day is not a really perfect day.  If we are having a good hair day spent in the company of pleasant people that we love, it is probably also a day where we have to wear our fat jeans and a little extra makeup to cover blotchy patches on our skin.  Or, on that perfect day for a guy, there is probably a little too much grey in the beard for stubble to look cool and there may be a thin spot or receding hair line to go with it.  And there is probably that hangover to go with it.  You know – your belly hangs over your belt and there is no way you can keep your stomach sucked in all day.  And then are the really serious things.  Someone you love is facing a dire situation and that is on your mind even though you are having a good day.  Someone you love is not with you to enjoy you good day.  They may be far away, and they may be so far away they are not even on earth.  There really is no perfect day.  There are always things that may cause us to wonder what God is up to, and potentially to doubt God.  And, we have no disciples that we can send directly to Jesus to ask Him what is going on.  So what are we supposed to do?

We are supposed to do exactly what John did.  We are to go directly to Jesus Christ with the problems, the doubts, and the fears.  We do this through reading the Bible and prayer.  That is how you get through doubt and difficult times.  It never changes.  God is there with comfort.  He is a very present help in times of trouble.  It is often true that while we may not doubt heaven, we doubt our daily bread.  Our doubts can so overwhelm us that we are not able to function.  The sin is to not deal with the doubt.  And the way to deal with is through prayer and Bible Study. 

I read somewhere that our prayers are sometimes not answered because we are using the shotgun approach.  We throw everything at God like the pellets from a shotgun shell, but we really don’t have a specific request.  So, I began to think, ‘What is the most important request that I make to God?  What do I want most when I pray?’  This may not be the most unselfish request I could make, but my most important request at this time is ‘Help me to trust You more.’  That is what I want to do.  Call me slow, but it has taken me this full year up to know to narrow it down to that one request.  I still make all my usual prayer requests, and I know that God hears me.  But trust is the major request.  John the Baptist and his followers were basically asking for the same thing.  They wanted to understand what was going on, but they also wanted to simply trust Jesus to be the One in Charge.  We don’t have to understand it all.  We don’t have to know all the answers.  We simply need to trust God more.  When we don’t know what is going on, when we don’t know why something happened, when we can’t understand current events, we can still have confidence that God knows all the answers and that everything is going according to His plans. 

Barbara

Ps.  Something I thought of regarding John the Baptist is that while he spent a months in prison his death was speedy.  They just chopped off his head and it was over.  He didn’t have to suffer through a crucifixion.  

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