Health Crisis

For the first time in years, my wife and I face the prospect of having no health insurance. We were covered through her employer’s plan but, since she lost her job (“work force reduction”), we are faced with the loss of medical coverage as well.

As we explored the complex world of health insurance, I was overwhelmed by the myriad of choices and the incredible expense of the various plans. A good plan is almost unaffordable!

It’s not because we’re in bad health. We’ve just gotten older. That means higher premiums.

So, since we still have some time to go before we’re eligible for Medicare, we need coverage. The challenge is finding something affordable! I still have hope that we will.

The last time we were uninsured like this was when I was in graduate school and we still had four children at home. We struggled to pay each doctor’s bill. Every illness brought a concern for how we would pay for the health care we needed.

Today our situation is not much different than that of others who’ve lost employment during this recession. It’s no wonder health care is such a hot topic! Many are concerned with how to afford quality health care when they need it.

What if we were as concerned about our spiritual health as we are our physical health?

“Now hold on, just a minute,” you may say. “Isn’t our physical health more important?”

Some say, “Yes,” but I would beg to differ. Many today are facing a spiritual health crisis and don’t know it. And that crisis is a greater threat to them than any health care crisis.

Now don’t get me wrong. I believe you should do all you can to take care of your body. But I also believe you should make at least the same effort to care for your soul.

We are naturally afraid of things that threaten our health and wellbeing. Words like ‘cancer’ and ‘airplane crash’ strike fear in our hearts. We avoid going on vacation to places like Mexico or North Africa where violent people may harm us.

But Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.”

What’s he saying? Is he saying that our body isn’t important? No. What he’s saying is that the condition of our souls is much more important than what happens to our bodies.

Why? Because our bodies won’t last forever. However, the Bible teaches that God made us with an immortal soul. It says that after this life comes eternal life. And that we will spend eternity either with God or else separated from him forever in a horrible place called hell.

It is not God’s intention for anyone to go to hell. That’s why he went out of his way to make available to everyone a ‘Spiritual Health Care Plan.’ Not only is it available to all, it is completely affordable. It is free to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ.

Instead of being difficult to comprehend (like medical insurance), God made his plan so simple even children understand it.

The Bible describes it like this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Health insurance? Yes, I’m still concerned about it. And I’m trusting in God’s promise to provide for my needs. But since I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, my spiritual health is now assured. I’m “good to go” --into eternity. Are you?

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Freedom Watch

For more than two weeks we watched spellbound as a real time revolution unfolded on our television screens. The city of Cairo, Egypt seemed to teeter on the edge of anarchy.

Then the streets of Egypt transformed before our eyes. Last Friday hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful celebration after their peaceful protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to surrender power to the military.

According to the Egyptians, Mubarak’s 30 years as the last ‘Pharaoh’ were finally over.

Now it seems possible that the fire of freedom may spread from Egypt to other oppressed nations. If it could happen in Egypt, could it happen elsewhere? Many hope so.

One picture that captured my heart was of an Egyptian holding a sign that said, “TODAY MY REAL BIRTHDAY. I’M FREE.”

After years of oppression and fear, the taste of freedom was exhilarating. Almost like being reborn into a new life—a life of freedom. What could be better?

To taste real freedom would be better. Do you know what it’s like to be really free?

“Now hold on just a minute!” you say. “I’m an American. I was born free!”

That may be true. But there’s freedom and then there’s REAL freedom.

Political freedom is a wonderful thing. But it is possible to be politically free and still a slave. A slave spiritually, that is.

Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ spoke to the people of his day about freedom. He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

But they protested, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son [of God] sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Later he added, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

According to the Bible, sin is disobeying God. Ignoring him. And sin leads to death.

But the true human problem is the attitude behind a rebellious heart that says, “I don’t need God or anyone else telling me how to run my life.” That attitude reveals we are slaves to sin.

Imagine life if you were free from slavery to sin and free from the fear of death. Now that would be real freedom! Even if you lived under a dictator your spirit would be free.

Freedom outwardly is wonderful. But freedom inwardly is truly being reborn!

So how can one find inner freedom? According to the Bible, it comes through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. He willingly died in our place so we could be forgiven.

Many people find this hard to believe. It seems too good to be true. But for those who take God at his word and believe him, there is real freedom and forgiveness—and they know it’s true.

If you have ever lain awake in bed and thought, “I would give anything to undo what I’ve done.” If you have ever looked in the mirror and said, “I can’t believe what I have become”--to you the God of the Bible offers forgiveness and a brand new start in life. You can be born again.

It was wonderful to watch the people of Egypt break free from political oppression and taste the freedom of liberty. But it’s nowhere near as exhilarating as the joy and freedom that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. And it’s for everyone in every nation of the whole world.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Five Words

How do you describe your greatest accomplishment? What words describe your best day on the job--the pinnacle of your career? Could you do it in five words?

For Greg Jennings, wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, it was simple. After scoring two touchdowns in a Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, he summed it up in a post-game interview with just five words: “To God be the glory!”

Jennings finished the game with four receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns. But more importantly, he was Quarterback Aaron Rogers’ go-to receiver after Donald Driver left the game with an injury. Arguably Jennings could’ve been the games’ MVP (Most Valuable Player).

That might have bothered some players, but not Jennings. As he left the game, Jennings exclaimed, “It’s a great day to be great, baby!”

Then, in his post-game interview with Fox’s Pam Oliver, he was asked, “Where do you begin to talk about everything you guys have been through and now look at this moment?”

Jennings’ response? “To God be the glory!” He then described the game and concluded with the same thought, “To God be the glory!”

His first and last statements during the interview were “To God be the glory!”

Other players in similar interviews have responded with something like, “I’m going to Disney World!” Why was Jennings’ response different? Because he is a Christian.

“Now hold on just a minute,” you say. “What difference does that make?”

All the difference in the world.

The Bible tells us that we were created for God’s glory, not our own. So when a person trusts in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and becomes a child of God, his life then becomes a living example of God’s grace. And all that God does through him is a reflection of God’s glory.

God tells us in the Bible to do all we do for his sake and he will reward us. The Bible says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

When others see us glorify God, like in Greg Jennings’ interview, they realize that God gets the credit for our success because he has helped us. But even if others don’t see our efforts, Jesus said, “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Christians look for God’s approval and not just the approval of others, which is fleeting.

What’s the benefit of choosing to please God? Less stress. Because if God is happy with you, then you’re happy. And it helps you focus on living a life of service instead of self-absorption.

Those that joyfully serve others live much happier lives than people stuck in the never-satisfying cycle of self-promotion. At least that’s my observation, as a pastor and counselor.

For the Christian, Jesus Christ is the example of a life well lived. As he said of himself, “The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Many people try the path of selfishness only to find it empty and devoid of meaning. Greg Jennings, in an earlier interview, said he tried to live without God’s help, “but it didn’t work.”

Jennings told reporters that his father is a pastor, so he was brought up in the faith, but drifted away. When he finally came “face to face with God,” Jennings said he remembered that “to whom much is given much is required.”

So for Jennings, that post-game interview wasn’t just five words of lip service to God. It summarized his whole approach to life. What five words would describe yours?

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Tipping Point

Peace is unraveling in the Middle East. Is the world at a tipping point?

Former President Jimmy Carter said Sunday that the political unrest and rioting in Egypt “is the most profound situation in the Middle East” since he left office in 1981. What’s going on?

In my previous column, “Turbulent Times,” I wrote how 2010 was described in an Associated Press story as the “world gone wild.” Last year saw all kinds of freakish weather.

This year it not only continues (the media called the last Northeast storm “Snowmageddon”) but we can add to it political turmoil that threatens both the political and economic stability in the world. Carter described the tense situation in Egypt as “Earth-shaking.”

While Americans cautiously celebrated a recovering stock market and hoped the recession was ending, suddenly half the world seems to be “going to hell in a hand basket.”

Is this the tipping point that takes the world into chaos or the End Times?

“Now hold on just a minute! Aren’t you getting a little carried away?”

No more than Jimmy Carter. And since he’s credited with brokering the peace accord between Egypt and Israel in 1978 and knows the key figures involved, I’d say he has a better handle on the situation there than the average American.

Amazingly, Jesus Christ predicted the kind of events we’re now seeing. He said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Jesus was not speaking of the birth of a child. He was talking about the beginning of a new era. In Jesus’ day when the Jewish Rabbis spoke of “birth pains” they were referring to the sufferings that were to precede “the day of the Lord,” that is, the coming of the Messiah.

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, foretold such a time.

A good friend of mine, Micah Winefeld, is a student of Bible prophecy and the Middle East. He recently wrote, “If I were to write a script for a movie or play about world conditions before the Rapture of the church, I could not create one any better than the current events unfolding at this very hour. Our world is on the verge of economic meltdown, creating the perfect conditions for what many believe will be the beginning of a New World Order and a one-world currency.”

The “Rapture of the church” that he refers to is the return of Jesus Christ for his Church before a terrible time of judgment on the world called the Great Tribulation in Bible prophecy.

Now I am not, by nature, an alarmist. But as I observed last October in my column “Triple Threat,” the world may be about to suddenly change from what we have known.

I wrote that the three monotheistic religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all share similar, Messianic “End Times” expectations. And in all three groups there is a growing expectancy that Jesus Christ, or someone like him, is about to come.

One group of Shiite Muslims (Twelvers) believe that worldwide chaos and destruction will hasten the return of their messianic “hidden” or Twelfth Imam.

As I said last October, “Regardless of what you believe about the Bible and its prophecies, just a brief review of these facts should be interesting, if not disturbing.”

Is the world at a tipping point? Only time will tell. Come to Jesus Christ for an inner peace that the world cannot take away. That’s why the Bible calls him the “Prince of Peace.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!