Are Miracles for Today?

            Do miracles, impossible supernatural events by God, still happen today, in the year 2025? Is the miraculous supposed to be part of the average Christian experience? Is the modern Christian supposed to be having a life that looks like something out of the book of Acts in the Bible? Or are miracles a thing of the past that ended with the completion of the New Testament part of the Bible?

            I have experienced too many things that, from my perspective, are just far too unlikely to be merely written off as unusual coincidences. Three events spring to mind, for their highly unusual specificity, so I will share them here for your consideration.

            The first impossible event happened in 1985 or ‘86. I was a first year student at a Bible college while working part-time for the Sacramento Public Library. I had injured my back at work and it had gotten worse over time, so that I was walking slowly and bent over, like a little old man. I was also regularly committing a serious sin that made me feel incredibly guilty and full of shame. I began to doubt whether God still loved me or not due to the seriousness of my repeated sin. I attended a class on prayer that had a teaching time and then a practical aspect where we’d pray in class.

            Due to my shame, I silently prayed something like “God, if you still love me, please have someone I don’t know from the second year class (it was a combined class) come over, lay hands on me, and heal me.” That’s a pretty specific and unusual kind of silent prayer, don’t you think?

            Well, within a short time of praying that silently (out of great shame), a man I didn’t know, who was from the second year class (I knew everyone in the first year class) got up, laid his hand on me, prayed for me, and I started to feel better.

            Shortly thereafter, he asked me if I was okay and I said that I had hurt my back. He then spoke up to the rest of the class to come pray for me and they gathered round, put many hands on my shoulders and back and prayed for me. I was completely healed, free from all pain!

            Being skeptical by nature, I just had to ‘test’ my healing; so I carried a heavy box of books for my teacher and there was no pain. I also jumped down a small set of three stairs onto a brick courtyard and also no pain. So then, I finally accepted it. God had demonstrated great mercy on me by miraculously healing my injured back.

            Now this did show me that God still loved me, but it did not mean He was all right with my sinning. I still ended up later facing the full consequences for my wrong actions, but that is a story for another time.

            I don’t see how what happened to me can be logically explained by any other interpretation of the facts. Now, let’s go on to the next impossible event I have experienced.

            This occurred sometime around 2007. It has to do with one of my daughters during her teen years and her sudden declaration late on a Tuesday night that she didn’t believe that God was real. My wife and I were devastated. We began trying to convince her about the reality of God from the things which had convinced us. I talked about such things as the sheer volume of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible and their infinitesimal odds of being coincidence; how the answers about the most important and ultimate questions of life, which Christianity provided, made the most sense out of all of the world’s religions; and so on. I tried everything that I could think of to convince my daughter, but none of it worked. I didn’t know what else to do, so I prayed silently that somehow God would show my daughter that He was real and loved her.

            It was pretty late for a weeknight at this time, around ten p.m. My wife had reached her wits’ end and didn’t know what to do at this point either. All of sudden, our phone rang. Who would be calling us so late at night and on a Tuesday? It turned out that it was the pastor of our church. When I answered the phone, he told me that God had told him to call us. I quickly explained to him that my daughter didn’t believe that God was real. He told me to hand the phone to her, so I did. After that event, my daughter knew for a fact that God was definitely real and that He greatly loved her.

            For me, this is one of those unmistakable supernatural events that can’t possibly be rationally explained any other way. God stepped into the story of my family’s life and showed my child that He cared enough about her to tell a pastor to call our house late at night, just when we were having a very important discussion about God’s existence. Now my daughter has that event in her life as a milestone to remind her that God is real and that He loves her very much.

            The third incredible event happened much more recently, in the summer of 2024.

I need to preface this by stating that my youngest daughter is a missionary, stationed in Mexico, who works with an organization that sends teams of people all over the world on short term mission trips. This event happened on the very last day before she and her team of about twelve people were at the end of a two month trip to the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico, and the region around Bogota, Colombia.

            The mission team decided to pray and seek the Lord to see if there was anything He wanted them to do before they left Columbia. Various team members had different impressions from the Lord and had an interesting day following these “little nudges” and the encounters with people that they led to.

            One young man had three very specific impressions. He was supposed to find a red-haired man, dressed in a green shirt, who was depressed because his girlfriend had broken up with him. The day went on, and the team saw no red-haired man. Finally, it was time for some of the team to go back to where they were staying and prepare dinner. This man was chosen to go back with them. He was disappointed about not finding a red-haired man and assumed that he had not heard from God after all.

            This part of the team decided that they were missing some ingredients for dinner and needed someone to go to the store for them. This young man went. At the store, he encountered a red-haired man (less than 1% of the population in Columbia) who wore a green shirt, and he was depressed about his girlfriend breaking up with him. Actually, the red-haired man was planning on committing suicide on that day, and this young man got to show him how God loved him by telling him the amazing story of God leading him to this man.

            If that is not a miracle, I don’t know what is. Being a Christian, I am led by the teachings found in the Bible. So, what does God say in His special book about miracles and whether or not they should be a part of the modern Christian experience? What does the Bible say?

Psalm 77:14 says:

You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.

Luke 18:27 says:

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (speaking of gifts given by the Holy Spirit) says:

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

            I realize that picking and choosing a few Bible verses, especially out of context, is how a lot of false teachers can get away with some completely wrong beliefs. So, it makes sense me to look at church history and see what is recorded about this topic. I have read several books by missionaries that list miracles that happened to them out on the field.

            Practically speaking, I have to wonder two things: 1. What is the result of the miracles I have either seen myself or read about? Do they bring glory to God and give credence to his loving actions in this world?

            So, if God still does miracles today, why don’t we see more of them here in the U.S.A.? I have three quick thoughts. From my observations, it seems that God concentrates His miracles in places and situations where either the gospel is very new there or has not been proclaimed there before.

            Secondly, I think we don’t see more miracles in America because of our hard hearts and lack of faith. This is a tragic condition of much of the American church in my opinion.

            Third, sometimes God does a miracle, maybe not a grand one but a miracle nonetheless, just to show an individual or a family that He loves them.

            In conclusion, from what I’ve experienced in my own life and the lives of Christians I know currently, God is still in the business of doing the impossible today. From my perspective, It may not be in a great volume in the U.S., but out of His great love, power, and generosity, He still works in this way today.

            We should never rely on God having to do a miracle in our lives, but I see nothing wrong with having a hopeful heart of faith and asking Him to work on our behalf. Especially if it has to do with proclaiming the truth of the gospel and lifting up the salvation that He so richly provides for us through Jesus Christ.

Love in Action

               Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come for 2025. For the first time in far too long, I feel inspired to write my blog. To start it out on a dramatic note, I had to go to the hospital on New Year’s Day 2025 (six days ago now). I was just sitting in my living room and looking at my cellphone when I experienced a sudden severe headache. I then had my entire left side go weak and felt a strong tingling and numbness in my left hand and left foot. I also developed a sudden nausea that was made far worse by any movement. Fortunately, my wife was very alert and attentive and saw I was having some medical troubles. We hopped in the car and drove to the Emergency room right away. Along the way, my nausea got so bad, I lost my breakfast in the car. For the first time in a great while, I felt fear regarding my possible impending death. This was quite a surprise to me because I had an event in 2013 that I thought settled that question definitively for me. I then spent the next seven hours in a hospital gurney in “virtual” room 211 (a spot in the hallway with a little sign on the wall). I had a CT scan, an x-ray, a sonogram, and finally an MRI.

               As for what really happened to me, they were able to rule out a stroke (thank God!) but decided that due to lack of signs, that it was a T.I.A. (transient ischemic attack, a mini-stroke). I was already taking, as part of my daily 13 pill regimen, the suggested meds to help minimize the effects of what I went through, so they let me go home.

               During all this time, my dear wife stayed by my side and four of my six kids (all who were in the area) waited outside the emergency room for me. It was such a blessing to get a card they had all put notes in while I was in the hospital, and to be able to give them all big hugs when my wife wheeled me out in a wheelchair. Three days later, I saw my regular doctor. He was not satisfied that it was a T.I.A., so I’ve been referred to a neurologist.

               Why have I bothered to write about this? Five days after it happened, I decided to go to church. I was still pretty weak and probably should have stayed home and rested. However, I just really wanted to see everyone, to worship my God, and experience some normalcy in my life.

               At church I experienced something profoundly beautiful and very touching. Before and after both services, person after person approached me and expressed great concern and encouragement. I even got a few hugs. It was simultaneously a spirit-lifting and emotionally draining experience. I think that’s because, even though I love being around people now more than ever; deep down, I’m still an introvert. Regardless of those messy emotional complications, three big impressions have now dawned on me twenty-four hours later.

               Three Bible verses have burst forth in my mind now. Here they are.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

—John 15:12

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

—John 13:35

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

—1 Thessalonians 5:11               

               So, what are my conclusions about all of this? First, that God has strongly shown His great love for me through my church family. He actually commands us Christians to live in this new reality. It is part of how we show the world that God is real. Finally, and selfishly, it is so life-giving and encouraging to be loved by so many people. I hope this little vignette encourages you to never hesitate to show care to those you value. For in doing so, you may just be walking in the footsteps of our great loving God.

Sharing Some Pirate Treasure

            It’s been a while since this pirate last said anything on this blog, so I decided to speak up.

What are your greatest treasures in this life? No, I am not talking about golden doubloons and other stuff that you might find in a pirate’s chest or in a rich person’s safety deposit box. I am asking, when push comes to shove, what is it that you value the most in your own life, here and now?

            To be only fair, I will put my cards on the table first and say what this pirate treasures the most. If you were to open “the treasure chest of my heart,” there would be first, three things in there. In reverse order, there would be my children, in-law children, and my grandchildren. As a father of many, I can honestly say that I love every single one of them very deeply and that being around them brings me the greatest joy, far and above any material “stuff.” I know that I can bring nothing with me to heaven when I trod that celestial stairway one day; but I have the greatest hope that my children and grandchildren will follow me later to a wonderful eternity with our loving God.

            Why, you might ask, would I treasure my kids and grandkids? Yes, I have sacrificed much for them in many ways, and they have brought much heartache to me when I have experienced negative words or actions from them, or saw them pursuing something that I knew would hurt them or others. On the other hand, I have had the blessing of seeing them grow into amazing adults, despite having far from perfect parents and a background of great financial challenges. Each is unique, with their distinctive personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I have experienced the joy of making them laugh and having fun with them through play, storytelling, and having little adventures on camping trips and otherwise. I have seen the beginnings of their talents and abilities blossom in their youth and grow to fruition in adulthood, for my children specifically. My in-law children and my grandchildren have been incrementally more distant, as is only normal in this life; but I still value them greatly.

            The next bit of the most valuable of my treasure is my wife. She has been with me through thick and thin, through the good times and the incredibly hard times. We have driven each other crazy and also brought out the best in each of us. She has been used by God to shape my character more than anyone else in my life by far; and that is as it should be. We both have changed many times over the years (thirty-six and counting), but there is also a part of us that is still that pair of crazy kids who got married against all odds. She brings me great joy regularly and I try not to drive her insane with my idiosyncrasies. There is nothing like having a spouse and best friend to go through this life with. I know that God has intended the marriage relationship to be a great blessing when it is centered around Him, and I am very grateful that my marriage has been most of the time. God has demonstrated His incredible love towards me very strongly through my wife and used her to work on improving my character to become a little bit more like His Son’s.

            Now, we come to the “crème de la crème.” So, what is it that I treasure the very most in my daily life? If you were a fly on the wall of my house, and you saw what I spent most of my time on every day, what would you see? What I would hope that you would notice, if you watched me long enough, is an over-arching pursuit of a relationship with God.

            There are things that I intentionally do regularly to connect with and hopefully grow in my relationship with God, such as reading the Bible, praying, and spending time with my church family. So, why is God my greatest treasure? Now, we are getting down to the nitty gritty, where the rubber hits the road, as they say.

            I see three “layers” in which God expresses Himself as the greatest treasure in my daily life. First, there are the physical and practical necessities of life that God provides for not only me, but for the vast majority of people. What are the things we need most for life, the essentials to keep on going? What comes to mind are things like food, water, air, clothing and shelter. Where do all of those come from? Who graciously provides us with every single needed thing? The ultimate answer is that God provides these for us.

            Then there is another layer of things in the average life, things like truth, beauty, and love. This is what I would call the intangibles. It consists of things such as seeing the beauty of a sunrise, feeling the caress of a breeze on our skin, or hearing the songs of birds. It can also be someone smiling, giving a hug, or speaking kindly to us. Who is the Giver of all good things?

            The next layer is of the greatest value to me. Who is constantly with us, so that we are never truly alone? Who, through Jesus Christ, knows and accepts us fully, despite our brokenness and many faults? Finally, Who loves us so incredibly much that His great love is not only shown through every good person, experience, or thing that comes our way; but was expressed most strongly and definitely through the awesome sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the painful cross for us?

            I am reminded of the Bible verse, in John 15:13, where Jesus says:

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

            Companionship (especially in hard times), acceptance (fully despite my weaknesses and imperfections), and the strongest, deepest, most all-encompassing of loves. Jesus Christ, for me, is the One who gives me these three essential treasures. He is the Person Who I try to value most in my life, because He is always with me, knows and accepts me, and loves me so very much. God is my greatest treasure because He already treasures me.

            It is my hope that you know the wonderful Jesus Christ also, and that He is your greatest treasure as well. If so, you will discover that He is the treasure that nothing can separate you from.

Holy Fire

            My cross to bear lately consists primarily of three things: fatigue, limitations, and isolation. It seems like the flame of my life on this side of eternity is wavering and becoming smaller. I know that is a road that all who live long enough must walk, but it’s been a hard one for me lately. And to add to the struggle, this morning, an old insidious enemy of mine reared up its ugly head: depression.
            I have battled it before, and I thought it was set firmly in the distant past. I had a major change of heart, attitude, and focus; in which I set my face firmly in the direction of the Lord and His great love for me, humanity, and all creation. I could see His common grace, all of the good things that were in my life, as the huge first wave of the ocean of His love that daily swept over me. I then saw the even greater and more tremendous blessings of the new eternal life and the grace poured out on me through Jesus Christ. Having those two great pillars in my life turned me from a pessimist into an optimist who was tempered with a bit of the realist (but not much). Those realizations were such a strength in my daily life.
            Anyway, recently I have neglected the daily morning practice of connecting with my God through Bible reading, worship, and prayer. In my mind’s eye, the daily challenges I face loomed ever larger and more predominant, blocking out the light of the truth. As I write this, I begin to see more clearly the cause and effect of where I find myself emotionally today.
            Now for the good part of my life’s story for today. This morning, I grabbed my journal and wrote in it for the first time in a while. Part of what I wrote, as a prayer, was “Please help me to see, feel, and live in the light and presence of Your holy fire.” In my Bible reading soon after, I saw in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 28 & 29:

            “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.‘

            The way to strengthen the little flame of my life is to plunge it again into the greater and infinitely stronger conflagration of our mighty yet loving and holy God. To see afresh who I truly am in Christ and even better, to see more clearly Who God really is in our lives by the light of His great love is so life-giving and encouraging. To have the corruption, lies, and death of the sinful things of this world be burned away by Christ’s great sacrifice is so liberating. And, to have an unobstructed vision of the infinite power and majesty of our wonderful heavenly Father is invigorating like nothing else.

            Can a simple phrase from part of a single Bible verse do all that? Not by itself; but empowered by the Holy Spirit, it can help bring to mind the many wonderful truths of the Bible that I have encountered that point to all of the above statements and also the recollections of what I’ve experienced in my life with God these almost 40 years.

            To someone else, my wish for encountering God’s holy fire and then immediately seeing a Bible verse about it may just be a coincidence; but for me, it is a miracle and shows me and all who will see it, that there is a good and glorious God in our midst who loves us deeply enough to step into the story of our lives and make Himself known.

            There is a strong and holy wind in my sails now, enough for me to keep on sailing further on in this voyage of life and to help me reach those golden shores one day, by God’s grace, in what I hope is several years from now. God bless you and may you encounter His holy fire in a special way in your life this week.

Unto the Least of These…

Today, I had a new spiritual adventure. I went to a place called Loaves and Fishes and helped serve food to people experiencing homelessness. Despite their appearance or behavior, they were all, every single one of them, still made in the image of God and of great worth in His sight. I saw a parade of humanity that ran the gamut from old bearded toothless men, to average-looking cleanly-dressed people of all ethnicities (who I would never have guessed were in this terrible situation), to even young folks who looked like teenagers to me. And there were those who were very erratic in their movements and behavior, who were obviously under the influence of drugs or were mentally ill, and were not really able to communicate clearly.

It was a heart-breaking experience to see so many of my fellow human beings living in such an awful and tragic situation. It was an overwhelming experience for me at several points, to see hundreds of desperate ones and to think about the deep level of sorrow and loss in the lives of the people that walked past me. Most of the individuals, who were clear-minded enough, that I witnessed interacting with the volunteer staff, were grateful for the free meal.

I knew that I couldn’t solve the problem of homelessness all on my own. It would be like trying to empty an ocean with a bucket. But at least I could do something to help, and that was so much better than doing nothing; and that was definitely worth my time and energy.

I looked on the other side of the meal line. Who was I working with? To my left, there was a man who was in his fourth year of volunteering there. He worked tirelessly to move plastic trays, hand out “to go bags,” pass silverware, and greet each person with kindness and respect. To my right, was a young man followed by several elderly women. I was the “newbie” and they were all experienced “veterans” of this service ministry; who cared enough to return month after month; and some even served weekly. I felt privileged to serve alongside such caring people.

 Before I went, the passage from Matthew 25:31-40 echoed in my mind, especially the part that says:

‘…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

For a fuller context, here’s a bit more of the passage of Matthew 25:31-40—

31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

It is so incredible and mysterious to realize that whenever we help someone in need or who is downtrodden, that in God’s eyes, we have helped Him, the Creator and Sustainer of all reality. I admit to not understanding it fully, but I do believe that because He loves us all so deeply that it brings Him joy when He sees us loving each other in such a tangible and practical way.

I also remembered that special Bible verse called the “golden rule:”

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

—Luke 6:31 ESV

Jesus, in His divine wisdom, says simply to us a very powerful truth. The key to practically loving other people, no matter who they are, is to just treat them how you yourself would like to be treated. So, if I was the one on the other side of the counter, with an empty belly and no place to call home, how would I want the person giving me food to treat me?

To me, this shows the amazing power of simple human kindness; and how if we treat people with dignity, respect, and care; we are living and loving in the way that God intended us to from the very beginning. It is an often thankless and menial task from the outside; but when done with the right attitude and in the name of the Lord, this is a sacred and most holy work.

And you want to know a very meaningful bonus blessing, when we treat people like that, they often will reciprocate it back to us. To me, it’s like God is loving me back through that other person when they reflect back a little of the kindness I’ve tried to show them. And even if they treat you poorly, you can still have a clear conscience before God that you were trying to do the right and good thing. God says in His holy word that He sees all that we do and will reward us for it accordingly, (though I don’t think that should be our motive for doing it) so it does matter on an eternal perspective even if it appears inconsequential on the earthly side. And living like this does make life more of a supernatural adventure and helps to make a difference in the world. If you think that it might be a good fit for you, and you get the chance to love others in this very practical way, I highly recommend it.

The God of Second Chances

            Today, March 20^th, is the official first day of Spring, my favorite season of the year. It is when the coldness and darkness of winter is replaced by the light and warmth of a new season. There is new growth, pleasant weather, and the hills are covered by fresh greenery and beautiful wildflowers. It also heralds my favorite day of the whole year—Resurrection Sunday. It is God’s way of reminding us all through nature of the greater reality of the ultimate new life that He provides us through Jesus Christ.

            The idea that has me writing today is the wonderful truth that we have a God who specializes in taking people who the world have given up on, broken and outcast, and transforms them into someone who more closely reflects His great heart of love towards us, who work to honor Him, love people, and to change the world for the better.

            Jesus’ main message of repentance when He first walked the earth over two thousand years ago is still one hundred percent true today. Even for those who have followed Him for several decades, He offers this beautiful gift of the opportunity to come clean from our mistakes, to cry out to Him for mercy, and also most especially for the grace to become different and better. In Christ is the offer of laying aside the old dead selfish and destructive part of us; and to take up the new truly-living selfless person He wants to help us become.

            This world wants to have us focus on ourselves and what we want to help us gratify our cravings, feel happy and comfortable, regardless of the destruction and chaos it causes others and even towards us later. In Jesus Christ, all of the deepest needs of our lives are met to the highest degree. Through Him, we discover that we are loved to the utmost.

            If God can do it for Jonah, Moses, and Peter in the Bible, He can do it for us when we turn back to Him, even if it is for the one thousandth time. As long as we are sincere, and never take His grace for granted, He honors the godly sorrow produced by honest repentance.

            We are fully known, accepted, and taken into His great heart. We receive a love that is so all-encompassing that it can overflow out of our full hearts and express its light organically and supernaturally through us into the lives of the people around us. It doesn’t have to be mystical and mysterious (though it definitely can be sometimes) but it can be an ocean in which we live that permeates literally every area of our lives that we allow it to.

            Even when we are completely alone from an earthly perspective, we are never truly alone. God by His very nature is always with us. He is our closest companion, our dearest friend, and far better and beyond that, He is our God, the Author of our lives…the all-in-all of our life. He gives us love, meaning, purpose, peace, strength, contentment, wisdom, and a joy that the world cannot take away.

            Through the mysterious trinity, God can simultaneously be our perfect heavenly Father, our kingly elder Brother, and our deep Comforter and Encourager. I love that He is not a small fully comprehendible god. On this side of eternity, He is always only revealing the tip of the iceberg of His wonderfulness; it is all that we can take in our limited mortal forms for now.

            I have this smile in my spirit, like a kid on Christmas morning before he tears into the pile of gifts that are under the Christmas tree, when I think about what awaits me and all of us who follow Jesus when we step into eternity and experience Him in all of His glorious fullness directly. To be able to stand before the One who is love, truth, and beauty personified; and to know that I will be moving into an eternity in Paradise with He who loves me more than any other ever has and Who I have tried to love most is what makes me echo what Paul said in Philippians 1:

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

and

…I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

            The truths of what and most especially Who awaits us then is a treasure that this old pirate has as a song in his heart, that he turns to sometimes to help him make it through the hard parts of this sin-damaged world. I know that one day too that the Lord of the universe will return to dry every tear, heal every hurt, right every wrong, undo it all, and remake it into a perfect world that He will live directly with us in. After all, He is the God of second chances.

A Miracle in the Middle of Nowhere

         

            Recently, my wife and I went on a road trip that was over 2700 miles long and went through seven states, from southern California to Tennessee. It was in the dead of winter, starting out two days after Christmas. Why did we take a very long journey during the worst weather season of the year? Good question. My older son had just gotten married and then relocated to a much better living situation with his new bride. We used the excuse of delivering his new bride’s car to their new home as a way of getting to see and experience a part of this great big, beautiful country that we live in.

            Just in case you were wondering, this was during the time period when the central part of the country was recovering from a “bomb cyclone,” so we took a very southerly route which added a few hundred miles to the journey but spared us from most of the extreme weather (except for a tornado; but that’s a story for another time).

            During our travels, we stopped and hiked at Picacho Peak State Park in Arizona, the Guadalupe Mountains State Park in Texas; but one of my favorite experiences was visiting Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. It was like being transported to another world as we took the elevator 750 feet underground and wandered through the massive cavern with its stalagmites, stalactites, and many other bizarre and interesting rock formations. These events were not the high point of the adventure for me, however.

            We were in New Mexico, and after a long and tiring day of driving, we were very hungry for dinner. The nearest town at that point, Lordsburg, had less than 3000 people. It was so small that it only had two fast-food places and one regular restaurant. We wanted “real food” so we selected the regular restaurant; and we quickly scrambled inside to get out of the pouring rain. As we sat in our booth, I noticed that there were about thirty or so people in the place. Diagonally across the restaurant, I noticed three clean-shaven young men, dressed in white shirts and wearing ties.

            “Ah ha,” I thought, “those must be Mormon missionaries!” I was very, very eager to speak with them. I actually really enjoy talking with Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses, believe it or not.

            Now here’s where some background on me will help this make more sense for you. Before I became a follower of Jesus Christ, way back in 1983, I used to believe some outlandish things about God, Jesus, and what had to be achieved to be accepted by God. I actually followed the teachings of two different religious cults at the same time.

            Eventually, I was shown the truth of those teachings, that the leaders of both organizations didn’t even follow their own beliefs, but were in it for the money, recognition, or some other less than honorable purposes. Also, I was shown that the teachings weren’t reasonable, logical, or historical; and that they actually contradicted themselves. I had been sincere in my new beliefs and religious practices, but I had also been sincerely deceived.

            Later, after I had become a Christian, I always had a soft spot in my heart for others who I saw as being sincere practitioners of their faiths but were also strongly deceived into following irrational and unfounded teachings. Even though Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons use a biblical-sounding vocabulary, they actually both have very, very different beliefs, compared to historic biblical Christianity, about who God is and what it means to be a follower of Him.

            In the 1990s, I used to volunteer in an apologetics ministry, the very one that had helped me to discover the truth about Jesus Christ. Apologetics has to do with giving a defense of Christianity, such as answering objections to the validity of the faith. I see it as a kind of intellectual evangelism.

            As a result of my participation in this ministry, I was able to speak with a large number of people from both of those religions…the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons. I think that it was because they were the only groups who would go door to door and try to convert folks to their religions. They were some of the few who were actually open to discussing things that were very important to me, like God and the Bible. I studied their teachings and practices and was comfortable speaking with them. I think I could see my past-self mirrored in their zeal for their religion that was paired with their also being strongly misled.

            Back to the current time, late December 2022. At this point, it had been quite a while since I had talked with a Mormon, so I was eager to speak with them. I told my wife about my desire to get up, go over, and talk with them; but she urged me not to disturb them while they were trying to eat their dinner. I didn’t want to bother or offend them, and I was honestly very tired at that point, so I stayed in my seat, itching to speak with them, and just praying silently for them.

            After a few minutes, and after we had placed our orders for our meals, the three young men started to get up and began to leave the restaurant. It turns out that they had to walk past our booth in order to get to the exit that they were headed for. The first young man walked by us silently, the second also, and then the third one came near our booth. Suddenly, he stopped and looked right at me.

            “I’m really sorry to disturb you, sir. You must get this all the time, but I just have to ask. What’s the story behind the eye-patch?” I was flabbergasted. One of the people in the whole building who I most had wanted to speak with had initiated a conversation with me on his own and when I least expected it.

            I joked around about whether I should tell him the story I liked to tell the kids in Sunday School (“I lost a fight with a bear”) or the truth. I then tried to briefly summarize what had happened to me. Other than a few brave and curious children, he was actually the first adult to ask me about why I have worn an eye-patch over my left eye since the Spring of 2021.

            The other two missionaries stopped and came back to stand by their friend. I spoke with them about knowing that they were on their missions, and the respect I had for them willing to go to such lengths for their beliefs. I talked about some more particulars about their experiences, such as wondering how long they each had left in their terms of service, and if they knew any other languages besides English. I felt like I was making some good connections with them.

            My wife mentioned during our conversation that she and I were Christians, and then another amazing thing happened. The young man asked if both of us wouldn’t mind sharing how we became Christians. This was incredible to me because in all of my interactions with people of both of those religions, none of them had ever asked this of me before. Usually, they were always eager to share their conversion stories; not vice versa.

            So, we both shared briefly how we had become followers of Jesus Christ, and my wife strongly talked about how important it was to her to read and study the Bible every day. We discovered to our surprise that they were actually, even though they were supposed to be well-trained for these mission trips, relatively new to reading the Bible and hadn’t even read it all yet. One of them commented on how he was looking forward to reading the gospel of John for the first time soon. (one of the Bible books that people considering Christ and new believers in particular are urged to read).

            We didn’t convince them to leave Mormonism and become true Christians, but we at least “planted some seeds” of encouraging them to read their bibles and to strongly pursue knowing God. After they left, we both sat back, very surprised and with big smiles on our faces because God had jumped in and orchestrated our speaking with them.

            I know that for some, it was just an unusual coincidence. But for me, I see it as a “miracle in the middle of nowhere.” My great and loving God had incredible mercy on me and blessed my wife and I with a wonderful conversation with three young men needed to know the true Jesus Christ of the Bible and the salvation that He offers.

            Interestingly enough, in the men’s group called “Trek” that I attend at my church on Friday mornings, we had just finished studying a book called “Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More Believable” by Sam Chan. In that book, the author spoke of how in this post-modern age, that people are strongly impacted by the sharing of stories, from the Bible or from your own life, rather than convinced by logical arguments about Christianity.

            I am reminded of two Bible verses that have been very important in my own life and that I think are worth sharing with you. The first is 1 Peter 3:15 (old NIV, the version I memorized):

 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

 And just in case the above verse intimidates you, there is Luke 12:12 NIV to encourage you that God will help you in sharing the gospel:

 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.

             It is my hope that by sharing this true story from my own life that it would encourage you, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, to not be afraid; but to be more bold in sharing your own story of salvation with others, or the Bible story God inspires you to recount, when He provides the opportunity. It just may have a much more powerful effect on the listeners than you would ever expect.

A Dip in the Rollercoaster

            As many of you already know, I had a close brush with death back in April 2021. God, by His miraculous and mysterious grace, decided to keep me around on Earth for a while longer; and I am grateful for that. My health is erratic, with some days being good and productive, and others not so much. I have likened it to riding on a rollercoaster. I like riding on coasters except for the big drop at the beginning and actually I don’t like any dropping sections; but I like the twists, turns, and rolls just fine. I had a “big drop” in my life a few days ago, on Wednesday, January 18^th.

            I and my wife were watching a free YouTube internet streaming channel called “Drybar Comedy.” Over the course of the past two years, this channel has been a source of a lot of laughter and good feelings for us to help combat all the challenges in our own lives. After laughing very hard several times, to the point that I was short of breath and flopping back on my couch (my family has seen me do this many times over the years when I have viewed something I find particularly funny), this time my body had a very different reaction.

            According to my wife, my face became expressionless, my eyes stayed closed, and my arms were pulled up and started twitching in front of my chest (kind of in the pose that a praying mantis has its arms in). I was out for about a minute or less; and when I came back, I awoke to the frantic screaming of my wife as she was yelling for me to wake up. She was terrified that I was dying, and as soon as I opened my eyes and sat up, she started crying and hugged me strongly. I was totally confused by her actions at first and I had the strongly uncomfortable feeling of having lost some time, so I knew that something had gone wrong. I pretty much felt like myself so I didn’t know what had happened until she explained it to me. I felt very sad about having upset her so deeply because she has been through so much already on my behalf in the past two years, fighting for me to be alright; and I never want to do anything to upset her because I love her very much.

            This event had never happened to me before so we called the advice nurse and I ended up in the hospital emergency room. While I was there, after a relatively short period of time, I had another upsetting incident in which I felt nauseous, was instantly covered in sweat, and also strongly felt like I was going to pass out. A swarm of medical professionals got me hooked up to an IV with water in it and also gave me an anti-nausea medicine. I managed to ride that out and soon felt better. I was then subjected to a large variety of tests and scans. Then I was informed that they were going to hold me there overnight for observation. I assumed that I would be going home the next morning but found out later that they wanted to keep me until Friday morning for observation.

            I spent a long time in the emergency room and it was noisy, brightly lit, and they kept checking on me regularly; so I was very exhausted the first night and didn’t really sleep much at all. Then they moved me to a temporary overflow hospital “room” (the walls were made out of the hollow plastic stuff that sign-holders carry) with a curtain for the outer “wall” but it was darker and quieter than the emergency room so I was able to get a better amount of sleep.

            On Friday morning, the doctor came and told me that he really believed that it was a perfect storm of circumstances, in which I was short of breath from laughing hard, slightly dehydrated, and I have the condition in the back of my neck where there is a lot of clogging of the arteries, thus already limiting how much oxygen gets to my brain; so it culminated in my passing out (as his best guess). He then referred me to my cardiologist and my regular doctor on how to proceed at this point; and they got an appointment arranged for me.

            So, what am I to make of this latest little drama in my life? I have been looking at my life as if it were a kind of spiritual school in which God would allow something to happen to me and then He would teach me a specific lesson from it. I have been looking at my relationship with God as if it were a didactic kind of thing primarily (“So Derek, here is the point of this: you are to…”); kind of like how the apostle Paul gives a lot of this kind of direct teaching in his epistles in the Bible. However, there is a huge percentage of the Bible which is narrative, a recording of events, miraculous or otherwise, in which the author gives no direct lessons to us, but in which God is active either directly or behind the scenes. The biblical writer just tells the story that God wants him to pass on to us, and it’s up to us (with the Holy Spirit’s help) to glean from that what we can in the way of spiritual truths.

            So, after realizing all of that, I am going to change my approach to the School of Life blogs at this time. Rather than preaching at you directly all of the time, I am going to back off and let God reveal to you what He wants to. If I happen to feel that God is strongly telling me a particular truth, then I may still share that with you, but I no longer feel inclined to drag a clear direct teaching from every little part of my life story.

            Looking back on the events of the last few days, after a good night’s sleep behind me and feeling more rested and clear-headed, what were the God-things happening that I saw? First of all, this dramatic event happened just about two hours after we had been at our Wednesday night Bible study; and God had been sharing some important truths through His word and the lives of His people who shared there which we could apply to what happened to us later that night.

            Next, while I was in the hospital, I was able, after a brief period of fearfulness initially, to refocus my mind on the very comforting truth that my life is in God’s hands, that I can fully entrust Him with it and don’t have any reason to be anxious. After all, from my perspective, what’s the worst that can happen? I could die and then I would be in heaven (an eternal paradise) with God, which I am very much looking forward to. I also remembered that even if I had some hard thing to go through here on this earth, such as another major surgery and a long hard rehabilitation therapy, that God would be with me through each moment of that and would help me. Fortunately, He had mercy on me and I didn’t have to face that challenge this time.

            It looks like God is continuing to orchestrate events in my life to help teach me important truths. I can’t honestly say that I have deeply learned this lesson yet, but the theme that keeps cropping up for me these days is from 2 Corinthians 12:9—

            But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

            As I understand that now, it seems to mean that our weaknesses, when we bring them to God, are opportunities for Him to shine His supernatural power into our lives. I really hope that I can discover exactly what it means to bring my weakness to God and to then see His power manifested in my life. I hope that God helps you to realize this potentially great blessing and spiritual resource in your own life as well. Onward and upward, the adventure continues!

Beauty at Christmas Time

            I have been surprised in several ways by beauty this year at Christmas time. In the past, mainly probably because I was focused on not having enough money to get my six kids decent Christmas gifts, I was focused on all the negative things about this holiday season; like our culture’s materialism, it’s anti-Christian bias (“happy holiday” instead of “Merry Christmas”), and the emphasis on everything but the birth of Jesus Christ. I admit sadly to having had a very mister Scrooge-like negative attitude about Christmas and all of its ramifications and expressions.

            This year, for some mysterious reason, it has become a very good experience for me. I don’t really care about what I get for Christmas because material things just don’t matter to me like they used to. I guess the insanity and great hardship that I’ve had to live through since I almost died has been a clarifying and purifying experience for me.

            I used to be resentful about Christmas being celebrated far more than Easter. I thought that the Christmas trees and all the lights and decorations in people’s yards were just a big waste of electricity and money. I also was angry about so many people putting up decorations and celebrating Christmas when they didn’t really understand what the true origin and purpose of it was.

            Now, I see the bright lights, the pretty colors, and the silly yard decorations and after all of the stress and horror of so many bad things happening in our country (and it seems like all over the world) in the past year, that I can really enjoy and appreciate the beauty, positivity, and fun of it all. In fact, I actually saw a number of people put up their Christmas decorations earlier than ever before this year; on the day after Halloween.

            I’m seeing the actual historical and spiritual origin of Christmas with new eyes this year as well. This time, the great cost that Jesus paid in becoming human and being born into a poor humble carpenter family is apparent to me like never before. And the event of the magi coming to visit the baby Jesus shows me that the Lord intended for the arrival of His only begotten son to be a blessing to the entire world from the very beginning. The beautiful and supernatural informing of the shepherds shows me that God wanted the least of us to know the great good that He was bringing forth into the world; and since I feel most comfortable being with those sitting on the outskirts of gatherings and not being a part of the popular or “cool” crowd; I feel acknowledged and shown kindness and mercy in a new way.

            The other element that I like this year, and which I will admit to liking in prior years as well, is the giving of gifts. I don’t like shopping, but I do like giving gifts to dear ones on Christmas day. I admit to having had Santa Claus be a fictional hero of mine in the past. I love the idea of bringing joy to people, especially children.

            After having heard the same Christmas songs for literally decades, I was pretty hard-hearted; but this year, I am appreciating the richness of their words and the comfort of my familiarity with them (though my memory isn’t what it used to be).

            In fact, just yesterday, I got to do an activity which I have really enjoyed in the past. I went Christmas caroling in my neighborhood with several church friends from the choir. I can’t sing like I used to and it was painfully cold (around 40 degrees which is extreme for a weather-wimp Sacramento native like me), but to sing about my savior’s birth and to surprise my neighbors by being part of a friendly group serenading them with cheerful songs was a great joy to experience. Seeing people smile, cry, and sing along with us was such a blessing too.

            It also helped me to appreciate the blessings of singing together with a small part of my church family. We were united in worship and wanting to share the true joy of Christmas. One of my favorite neighbors, a very encouraging sister in the Lord, even spontaneously tagged along with us as we continued down the block.

            I believe that songs are the universal language of emotion and that by singing worship songs it is not only a powerful way of expressing the deep emotions that the miracle of the incarnation of Jesus can stir up; but it is an invitation for others to join us in that sacred celebration of a mysterious but loving God and His great kindness towards the whole world.

            May you, regardless of your circumstances, be able to enter into the joy of the true meaning of Christmas this year, and may it give you peace and deep fulfillment as you let the beauty of the season soak into your soul.

The End of the Pirate?

            Back on April 19^th, 2021, I became a pirate, complete with an eye patch over my left eye. I assumed that, several months later, when my condition had not improved, that the patch would be with me always, to the end of my days. Today, on November 26, 2022, just a couple of days after Thanksgiving, and a day after my older son left with his new bride for the faraway state of Tennessee, I decided to try to go without my eye patch.

            The longest I could usually go was three hours max, and the shortest had been twenty minutes. I woke up at 8 a.m. today and its 9:30 p.m. now, and I have not had to wear the patch once this entire day. I think that the pirate may be gone for good, having sailed past the horizon.

            I used to have to wear the patch because I still had about 10% vision in my left eye, and I would feel like a sword was being stabbed in my head if I didn’t cover it up after a certain time had passed. It was like my brain couldn’t process the visual input from both eyes after my stroke.

            Today, I noticed that my left eye was seeing much less, maybe 5% maximum and also more dimly and less clear. I kept expecting the terrible headache to attack me again, and it made a weak appearance briefly a couple of times but that was it. I guess that now that I see hardly at all in my left eye, my brain can handle it.

            I’m a little sad to see even less with my already basically blind left eye, but if I can live life patchless, then I am glad about that. Now, I will no longer get those looks of fear from children, who thought there was a gaping hole behind the patch, or second looks from adults passing me. I can blend into crowds once again; and no longer be sticking out in a room.

            I used to like feeling tougher with my eye patch, and I admit to liking the thought of identifying with being a buccaneer or swashbuckler; and pretending that I had lived a life of adventure out on the open sea, sword in hand, with a brave heart, and living life on my own terms. There was something somehow noble about facing life with bare honesty, toughness, and with facing challenges head on, come what may.

            I also liked having a new scapegoat in my life. I blamed the pirate in me whenever I did the wrong thing. I also used it as an excuse for breaking rules when I felt like it. I studied up on pirates and their history, since I thought I would look like one for the rest of my life. I discovered that they were all bad guys, but I was determined to be an exception, a good pirate; the Presbyterian pirate. Now, if this continues, I’ll just have to wait for my eye patch tan line to fade away; and the pirate will vanish into my history. Note: it has now been six days of patchless life.

            Is there a spiritual lesson in this somewhere? I can think of a few. If a pirate is representative of the sinful nature part of me, then the reality is that he will always be a part of me until I step into eternity. And this also means we all have a pirate inside us to deal with; to tame or redirect towards goodness, with God’s help.

            Is there anything else I can glean from this change in my situation?            I can be less self-conscious and just focus more on loving others now; so that is a good thing. With the pirate persona fading away, I can resume being who God wants me to be; the true me, a man trying to grow in my relationship with our great God and who seeks to have my character mirror that of Jesus Christ more and more; and that can be liberating.

            Another lesson may be that it is not always a good thing to want to just blend in with the crowd. As Christians, we are to be distinctive, the salt of the earth and a city on a hill, to cite a couple biblical images which Jesus Himself stated. Isn’t my wanting to blend in with the crowd being fearful, lazy, or compromising in a bad way? Isn’t that one of the great temptations of our age, to just be an “undercover Christian” and not live in a way that is intentional in sharing our faith, with all of the risks that implies in our increasingly anti-Christian culture?

            Do I want to go back to living my life in fear? Never! I don’t know if this is just the pirate speaking or not, but I absolutely never want to go back to that poor excuse for a life! It’s a miracle that I am still alive after everything I went through medically in 2021; and I want to use my remaining time in the best possible way to point people to the reality of the existence of a powerful, loving God and the wonderful salvation that He offers us through Jesus Christ!

            The greatest treasure that anyone can discover is how much they are treasured by God, not only in eternity, but in our daily lives right here and now. God intends for us to live in a bigger, fuller life that is definitely harder in some significant ways, but is also far more fulfilling in all of the most important ways. I challenge you to dare to join Jesus Christ on the greatest adventure of all…living a supernatural life of great love for Him and for all human beings.