"Roll with the Punches"

Today’s blog stems from a message that I recently brought in our mid-week service at the church.  In the religious culture of our day, we have been exposed to the imagery of the mega- church movement…. the feel good theology…. the “I’m ok, you’re ok” mentality that has fostered an idea that the Christian journey is one that is devoid of heartache, disappointment or even struggle. I have often thought, “Boy, wouldn’t that be great?!?” if  every service was filled with singing, smiling, clapping people who seem to have no problems, who are there to enjoy the festive atmosphere and get their weekly self-esteem boost? The truth is… that is not reality in the true Christian journey. It is a warfare, a battle, and a struggle. I begin my thought today in 2 Timothy 4:5 where the Apostle Paul is instructing young Timothy on his duty, his dangers, and his defense. Paul says in verse 7…

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

Paul knew all too well the battles that would lie ahead for Timothy. He began to instruct him in verse 5

“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions…….”

Paul was saying…. Timothy, there are some blows that will come your way in this fight, some things that will happen to you that will have the aim of putting you out of the race, but what you must do is “endure” afflictions. Webster defines the word endure this way: to last, to continue in the same state without perishing, to bear with patience, to bear without sinking under the pressure. In the sport of boxing they use a phrase “Roll with the punches.” The definition of that phrase is to cope with and to withstand adversity, especially by being flexible. To be able to deal with difficulties, without receiving the full force of the attack; to step back, to move to the side, to bob and weave.

It would be a very helpful thing to all who are in the battles of the Christian life, to understand we must learn to “roll with the punches” if we are to finish our course as Paul did. Attacks will come, sometimes suddenly and violently, and the goal of the enemy is to put us on the mat and to keep us from getting back up and into the fight. Each fighter has a specialty punch that is their most effective. It may be a right or left hook, an uppercut, or a jab, but we need to “watch in all things” for the punch that would be most effective in defeating us.

There are times in life we are dealt a “SUFFERING PUNCH”. We are living in a world of suffering. We are met with sickness and disease, financial stress and poverty, Hunger and lack, injustice and wrongdoing. We are not exempt as Christians. You may be suffering in some form today as a Christian and the enemy will use that punch to try and convince you that serving God is not worth it and that somehow God has failed you. Not True. Some of the greatest Christians I have ever known are those that stayed true while enduring a suffering punch. Some of the greatest encouragements I have ever experienced, have come many times beside the bedside of a Saint that was enduring affliction and yet still praised God for how good He was to them. Suffering saints are often the sweetest saints and have a special touch of God upon their lives. I think of the great songwriter, Fanny Crosby. She suffered from blindness yet used her gift to encourage and uplift throngs of Christian through the ages with her songs. She endured affliction.

There are times in life we are dealt a “SATANIC PUNCH”. The story of the life of Job is a good example of this punch.

Job 2:6-7 “and the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and SMOTE job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown.”

Job had lost his family, his wealth and now the most personal of punches, his health! 

Verses 9-10  “then said his wife unto him, dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. but he said unto her, thou speaketh   as one of the foolish women speaketh…”

 Job endured hardship. Job learned to roll with the punches. When Satan punches you will not be in the dark as to where it came from. He is powerful. His blows leave his calling card. What we must do to endure this affliction is to remember that greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world!! Satan my try to knock me out but he has no ability to knock my Savior out of me!!

Many times in life we are dealt a “SUCKER PUNCH”. The one you did not see coming. Maybe it came from a source you trusted. I think it is true…. only suckers throw sucker punches. Have you ever been brought low by something or someone that you would never have expected? We all have felt the blow of betrayal, the surprise of a sneak attack that the enemy often uses to inflict the most heart wrenching damaged. Jesus warned his followers in Luke 21:16

“…and ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all me for my name’s sake.”

Maybe you have been dealt a blow by a trusted friend, or maybe even a loved one has inflicted hurtful situation upon you. Just remember, roll with the punches, finish the course and trust God to give you strength.

Finally, many times in life we are dealt a “SELF-INFLICTED PUNCH”. This gives new meaning to the old saying “Knock yourself out.” Often the hardest afflictions we have to endure are those that we bring upon ourselves. Mistakes we make, wrong decisions, or even wrong actions. They all have an impact upon our spiritual life. King David is a good example of a man that endured a self-inflicted punch. David was a man after God’s own heart, yet David allowed the temptation of his flesh to cause him to sin greatly in taking Bathsheba and allowing her husband to be killed. David suffered much at this self-inflicted blow and was brought low as we read in much of the Psalms, yet David repented and endured his affliction and was used of God even after his sin. You may have dealt a blow to yourself by some sinful action or some regretful mistake that has now put you down on the mat questioning whether you can ever get up and go on again. Remember, Paul told Timothy,

“...watch thou in all things, endure afflictions…”

You can get up, you can go on, and you can finish your race pleasing to God.

God's People Die Well

Once again our minds were shocked by the untimely death of a popular singer and actress, Whitney Houston. She was blessed with a powerful singing voice and natural beauty that propelled her to the platform of a worldwide celebrity. It seems that too many times we have seen entertainers and folks of renown with great gifts, meet an end that is undesirable. This blog is not a judgment of Whitney Houston; that will be done by the true and righteous Judge that we all must face. This blog is about the contrast of those who die having lived well, and those who’ve not.

John Wesley the great Methodist Preacher made this statement when looking at the lives of true professors of salvation and how they died. He said, “Our people die well.”

  

• Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

• Rev. 13:14 "…Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

I think it is a true statement that those who “live well, die well”.

None of us are exempt from death. We’ll all keep that appointment, no matter our social standing, wealth, knowledge, work or pedigree. We do not know what will be the means of our death or the circumstances surrounding it, we simply know that it will happen to all. We can however live our lives for Christ in such a manner though, that when that time comes, we can leave this realm with a dignity and a peace that only living well can bring.

My mind goes back to a recent passing of a Godly sainted mother diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her son is a member of our congregation. As she lay at death’s door, at home being cared for by her family, she had become unresponsive. This went on for at least a couple of days. Her other son, who is a Preacher of the gospel, shared this story with me. Even though she was not responding he felt led of God to read the Bible out loud so his mother might be able to hear it. He leaned over her bed and asked, “Mom, do you want me to read the Bible for you?”  There was no response. Finally a sister who was present looked at him and said, “Well, she didn’t say no!” He then said, “You are right,” and began reading the Word of God to her. He read in the Revelation about that place called Heaven and then he turned and read the scripture that says “to be absent from the Body, and to be present with the Lord.” As he said those words, the mother who had been unresponsive suddenly said “AMEN.” Those would be her last words here. She died well.

I am reminded of the death of a dear Saint many years ago in our Church. She was losing a long battle with cancer and was at home unresponsive with hospice care with her family gathered around. She awakened after 24 hours without response and began to tell all her family what she saw. She told of seeing her brother, who was a Preacher who had gone on to Heaven many years before. She saw a child she had lost, and she described beauty beyond compare. She told of a song that they were singing and she said, “I’ve never heard it before but I want to learn it.”  She would soon make the crossing. She died well.

I think about so many countless stories of the death of God’s saints, of Stephen’s death, as he was being stoned.  He looked up and saw “the son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Vs. 60 and he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. He died well.

I recall the story of a dear friend’s father who was an old, mountain preacher.  He was called upon to lead in prayer, and those present later said he prayed the most humble, Spirit filled prayer, sat down on the pew, and went to glory. He died well.

I think of a recent story of the passing of a dear Saint.  She described seeing “two angels” in the room with their wings spread. She died well.

The story of the gospel pianist Anthony Burger as he played the great hymn “We Shall Behold Him” and then collapsed and went to Heaven. He died well.

The story of the man of God,  Brother Lester Roloff. He died when his plane, that he had flown so many times, crashed.  The story has it that when they found the plane, Brother Roloff was slumped over the steering wheel with his Bible pulled up against his chest. He died well.

We should all consider the fact that one day it will be our name in the obituary column. May we live our lives for Christ well, and when time comes to depart, may we die well.

God Moments

My thought begins today with the phrase “God Moments”. I think every child of God at some time has experienced situations or events in their life that they were keenly aware that God was in the situation doing something more than the eye can see. I have experienced many of these moments in my Christian journey. One “God Moment” in my life came early one Sunday morning several years ago when I received a phone call from a dear Sister in the Lord who was in the midst of a long battle with cancer. I will never forget her words that morning over the phone, “Preacher, I’m calling all of my friends today. I need prayer. I am so weak and weary, and I don’t know how much more I can take” As I prayed and wept with her I did not realize what God was doing that morning.

As I got off the phone and begin to prepare for Church, it was a beautiful Sunday morning, the Sun was shining so brightly, but all I could think about was my friend who was in such a cloud of darkness. Suddenly outside the window I was near, a tiny bird began to sing the most beautiful song so loud and so clear. I stopped and listened, and began to think about one of God’s creations singing out to the creator on this blessed Sunday morning. Then my mind went back to my dear friend, so discouraged, defeated and dejected. I said in my mind, “Where she is, the sun is not shining and the birds are not singing.” Then, all of a sudden it was one of those “God Moments” as the Spirit Of God spoke to my heart and said, “Just because the birds are not singing where you are, doesn’t mean they are not singing somewhere” Immediately the words to a new song began to flood my mind, about a place called Heaven where the birds are always singing, and thus came the song “Somewhere The Birds Are Singing”

Sometime later we recorded the song and it was receiving play on a large radio station that covered parts of several states. A dear Pastors wife who was a friend of ours from another state had been to a scheduled doctor’s visit to learn the results of some tests that had been preformed. The news was bad; it was cancer. As she was driving alone that day she had the radio on and guess what came on the radio? You got it, “Somewhere the Birds are Singing” She later told me she had to pull over she was weeping so hard because God had sent that song at such a critical moment in her life. It was a “God Moment”.

It was The sudden death of a preacher friend that brought the next “God Moment”. It was Christmas Eve and I received a call that would affect the lives of many in our congregation. My oldest deacon’s son, who was a preacher in another state, had suddenly collapsed with a brain aneurysm. He died the next day and they asked me to have part in the services. As we stood by the graveside on a gloomy winter day, hearts were devastated with many questions as to why.  As I pondered over the scripture I would read, The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about singing a portion of the song “Somewhere the Birds Are Singing” my family proceeded to sing it, as the song filled the cold winter air. In front of the coffin sat the wife, the preacher’s son with his wife and beautiful little blond haired grandson about four years old. As I closed in prayer, I went through the tent shaking hands and comforting the family as is my custom. When I walked out the other side, all of a sudden, something so amazing happened. I heard a little voice begin singing “Somewhere the Birds Are Singing!” I looked and it was the little blond haired grandson sitting on his mother’s lap looking at his paw paw’s casket. The little boy had heard his granddad sing this song and he just sat there in that little innocent voice filling the air with the song as everyone wept. It was a “God Moment.”

The reason I am re-visiting this is because just this past week I received contact from a dear sister in another state that lost her mother to cancer almost a year ago. Her mother’s favorite song was “Somewhere the Birds Are Singing.” This dear saint was the daughter of a dear man of God. She told me that as her mother made the crossing, they were playing our family singing “Somewhere The Birds Are Singing” in the room. Fast forward a few months…. the daughter works in a field that goes into the homes of the sick and dying. She was in the home this week of a dear lady who was nearing the crossing. She began to tell this precious lady about the song that had comforted her mother so and proceeded to pull it up on youtube so she could hear it. She received such a blessing. She began to talk about the fact that she was saved and ready to go, but what was causing her worry was the uncertainty about her daughter’s salvation. The daughter was her caregiver, and overheard this in the other room. She immediately fell under conviction and came in and fell on her knees at her mother’s bedside, calling on the Lord to save her! That was a “God Moment.” Later that day, as the mother was nearing death, this same daughter went into the other room, trying to pull the song “Somewhere the Birds Are Singing” up on the computer so her mother could hear it. As the song played, she walked back into her mother’s room to find she had slipped away to Heaven. It Was a “God Moment.”

Saturday, I received a call from a Preacher who is nearing ninety years old, Dr. Gene Winfrey. He called to ask me to repeat the story for him about how I wrote the song “Somewhere the Birds Are Singing” as he was preparing to preach a message on Heaven and was going to use this story as his launching point for the message. As I relayed this story the old man of God, he began to cry and shout on the other end of the line and I was crying as well. It was a “God Moment”.

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of some of these moments in life. We should all be aware of the “God Moments” that each of us experience along the journey.

Brother Leonard