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Start Your Week with a Spiritual Song in Your Heart

The Mystery of Faith and ‘Bad Things Happening To Good People’

4-7-25

There is a Bible verse about rain falling on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:5). King Solomon said that time and chance happeneth to all. Jesus says that the sun rises on evil people and the righteous alike, and rain – or misfortune – pours down on everyone. These are reality-checks, not notes of resignation. We are to be aware that not everything in life is specific to individuals, rewards or punishments on this side of Eternity, but rather that we must rise above our circumstances (yes, even look beyond blessings). And, importantly, that hope and redemption always are available to all.

Ultimately, these factors are all components of faith. When we are among the people who love God, accept Christ, and endeavor to do good, yet suffer misfortune, we affirm our humanity when we wonder, even for brief moments, why bad things visit us. Why? Why?

The hard answer is that there is sin in the world, a condition that transcends our righteous efforts, no matter how sanctified some folks might be. It is a world that God created, but that human nature has corrupted. Our charge is to resist evil, to be overcomers. As we travel life’s paths, we realize that God does not tempt us… but He does test us. This is not to play with us or our emotions; but it is to enrich our spiritual maturity, to strengthen our faith.

Some applications of faith come supernaturally. It is Biblical to not only exercise faith but to pray for faith, for an “increase of faith,” and to realize that the Holy Spirit was sent partly and specifically to gird our faith. God requires much of us. He has issued commands throughout human history. Jesus shared many lessons and “marching orders.” But faith is the virtual foundation-stone of communication with the Almighty, and receiving blessings.

This week I endured some “rain falling” in my life. Moving my household goods and a massive collection of rare books, original artwork by famous illustrators and cartoonists, complete runs of many vintage magazines and newspapers to the house I will share with my new wife Mickey, the moving van took a rainy highway exit too fast, rolled over twice, and spilled its contents. Not a stick of my furniture survived, and my archives spilled over the road and wet ground. It was a valuable archive that took a lifetime to assemble (and I am old). Friends try to reassure me – “it’s only paper”; “insurance might cover the loss” – but, signed first editions and such aside, that was my life passing before my eyes.

Yet what was catastrophic for me pales in comparison, I quickly remember, to life-altering matters I once shared. My late wife Nancy sustained health “challenges” all her life long: diabetes; celiac disease; five heart attacks; several strokes; cancer; amputations; a heart transplant; a kidney transplant; ultimately Lewy Bodies syndrome, a form of creeping dementia. “That all must have been hard on you,” friends again said, reaching for sympathy. Are they kidding? Even a spouse cannot fully comprehend such curses. In our case, everything I experienced were mere inconveniences… especially as I beheld her life of acceptance, optimism, witnessing to others. Faith.

Where does one find the kind of faith that, like peace, passes understanding?

An underlying message of all God’s instructions – the bedrock requirement of those who would be children of God – is that we have faith. Faith in God’s Word; faith in God’s promises; faith in revealed supernatural things. Faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11). If you have never found these characteristics difficult, you need a check-up from the neck-up. It is why we plead for the Holy Spirit’s help in times of emotional need. Can we be so faithful on our own?

Remember, we are told that to be saved it is as simple in God’s eyes as confessing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing that God raised Him from the dead. Faith.

I wrote a message some time ago that I had the “Big C,” and many readers thought I meant Cancer. OK, I rattled some cages, but what I meant by the Big C was… Christ. Faith in Christ does not make us immune from life’s vicissitudes; but it gets us through them, and even triumph over them.

This week, these truths – the only, only sane manner by which to endure and triumph over life’s storms – were brought home to me in ways I have not felt since the crises of my family’s “challenges,” even more poignant than my archives’ recent calamity. Pastor Loren Larson, of Family Worship Center, Baton Rouge LA, returned to the pulpit after months of coping with brain cancer, cancer throughout his body, attendant disorientation and, naturally, emotional distress.

His message is remarkable, and is Must-See TV for anyone dealing with cancer, suspicious of having cancer, a relative of a cancer victim… or anyone experiencing any challenges – shaky faith, lack of faith, or difficulty in exercising faith. Brother Larson admits, freely, to “human moments” when his fervent trust and beliefs were undermined; when those still, quiet moments bring terror instead of reassurance.

As he shared with prayer partners in the message, many of the tumors are shrinking, though some remain. He retains faith in the God who heals; and trusts that prayer can move the heart of God. Still, Brother Larson cannot shake the “human moments.” He praises God – not only for the evidences of healing, but reaffirming the truth that faith can heal the soul as well as the body. What can he, and we, do but trust and obey? Faith.

Faith in God is essential in our daily walk. Having, myself, chosen it (and often pushed into the mode by the Holy Spirit!) I cannot imagine going through certain situations without it… whether the situation is a little misplaced document or an impending life-altering calamity.

Faith in God is not merely the best way to navigate life’s journey, but the only way. It is God’s provision for us to keep dry from the “rain.”

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Click: I Believe, Help Thou My Unbelief

I’ve Got the ‘Big C’

10-2-23

I have come through a stretch where friends, or acquaintances of friends, have died or observed anniversaries of deaths, or have faced serious life-threats. There have even been sad stories of different people’s similar ailments, tempting one to think they are more than coincidences. Have you ever noticed such trends?

We wonder at those times: Is there something in the water? Conspiracies afoot? Phases of the moon?

There is something called apophenia – confirmation bias – that can fool our perceptions; self-fulfilling prophesies in our minds. Examples are when we take note of weather trends like global warming; or crime statistics; or cancer and other diseases – are things changing, or is there only better reporting?

Nevertheless, we sometimes want to toss statistics (whether affirming or contrary) and “expert opinions” out the window. For instance, when we see more children exhibiting signs of autistic behavior; or know of more folks dying of cancer than in, say, Colonial days; or hear about examples of more auto-immune diseases than existed years ago. If these are just perceptions, or heightened awareness, we can point to another adage – what the Romans called omne trium perfectum – that things come in threes. (Like my lists in these previous paragraphs!)

In fact our minds often run in threes. There are sayings that both good things and bad things happen in threes. The Bible, beginning of course with the Trinity, points to 3 as the number of perfection. Writers are taught to have three main “peaks” in a storyline; fewer are dull, more are confusing. Similarly, orators and pastors are taught to hold audiences with three main points. Homiletics: explanation; illustration; and application. (“Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them.”)

So… our minds want to “see” patterns in myriad ways.

Yet, to return to cancer. The disease does seem to be on the rise, at least in its horrible varieties… more than three, sadly. For all the accounts of “thank God it was detected early” – and we do thank Him in such cases – there are counter-balance stories. In my case, an old church friend whose husband was “opened up” to search for the cause of stomach discomfort… was quickly “stitched up” when many cancers were evident; he died soon thereafter. Another new friend’s son-in-law was diagnosed but surgery seems to have “caught” the suspicious lymphatic glands. But another friend’s husband went from diagnosis of brain cancer to death in five quick weeks. “Mercifully short”? Clichés are of scant comfort…

Cancer – the “Big C” – looms larger in our collective minds than almost all other diseases; perhaps more ominous than international crises or environmental challenges (which, in fact, might be closely related to the cancer epidemic), touching almost every family and neighborhood. The “Big C,” people call it.

It’s a little odd how humankind makes light of dangers. You know, phrases like “acts of God.” Jokes like “The devil made me do it!” Back to cancer again – smokers who cynically call cigarettes “C-sticks.” In fact, if we insist on reverting to shorthand or nicknames, let us adopt another use of the term “the Big C,” and apply it to the real Big C – Christ.

We, the human race, had our chance one time when Christ “became flesh and dwelt among us,” as the Bible refers to His earthly ministry. Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah prophesied and predicted, and even described what Jesus would look like… and how He would be treated by us: Despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. We hid our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Yes, the “Big C” came to earth, to teach and heal but mainly to Save – to offer Himself as the sacrifice for the punishments we deserve as rebels against our Heavenly Father.

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed. Full circle back to cancers and afflictions? Does Christ, by this, always heal as we would wish? Not as we would wish – my wife was miraculously healed of thyroid cancer… yet despite fervent prayers, she had to receive heart and kidney transplants. However she faithfully believed she was healed by the miracle of surgery, God’s chosen answer in that circumstance. And she was given a testimony to share.

If there are lessons through all these mysteries, it is that God is sovereign. We trust Him to answer prayer as He will. We praise Him at all times: that is faith. God’s “Big C” – our elder brother, Christ Jesus – is bigger than cancer and any other problems we face.

No matter what we call the challenges, we should call Jesus by Who He is – Christ, our Savior.

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A beautiful, pertinent song by cancer survivor Janet Paschal, written by her and her half-sister Charlotte Ahlemann.
Click: You’re Still Lord

It’s Funny How God Works.

3-22-21

Last week’s message on addiction excited a greater number of responses than I usually receive. I hoped that it would present a somewhat different perspective on this topic than we routinely hear; and perhaps that struck a chord.

I had not thought of this until I wondered at the feedback, but in a society where “victimhood” virtually has become a religion, it is refreshing to assert that we often are responsible, ourselves, for “challenges” we face. And, as should follow, that we can take responsibility as well for their solutions. Such resolutions represent more than coping, but rather liberation… second chances… new starts… a fresh excitement about life.

Several readers, and friends I have made in recent years, surprised me (and were glad to do so) with stories of their own redemption, of kicking addictions. My way of putting it with friends: moving from Alcoholics Unanimous to Alcoholics Anonymous; and, of course, other things than alcohol, which was the larger point of my essay.

There is another story about my unnamed friend from years ago whose situation inspired that message, and I will share the follow-up again, in a way of closing the circle.

It is a little more personal, to me that is. There was a tough period some years ago for my family – toughest most of all for my late wife Nancy. She had faced health challenges (what euphemisms we use) most of her life. She was an early diabetic, and that was the source of many ills, but not solely. When we met she monitored blood-sugar levels with test strips, and she (or I) would administer insulin shots by needle.

Eventually pumps and remote monitors were developed. During that technical evolution, her physical problems, some caused by the diabetes, raged. She virtually lost her sight twice; a miracle restored it once (unquote, incredulous doctors) and another by laser treatments. She had several heart attacks; and several TIAs, or minor strokes. She developed celiac disease, and had to avoid wheat, oats, rye, and barley; besides sugar, of course. The diabetes attacked more places than her eyes, and she had toes amputated. Cancer was discovered in her thyroid gland, and although one lobe was removed, it was devoid of cancer cells (another miracle, doctors could only call it). There were more medical problems too, like broken bones – all these before and after a heart transplant and a kidney transplant.

Nancy worried, more than about herself, for our three children. But they took strength from her faith and strength. We started a hospital ministry that lasted almost seven years… and might have have blessed us as much as the patients and their families.

We were without insurance, with me as a freelancer and she having (duh) pre-existing conditions. Things were tight, and emotionally stretched. At this time (while Nancy was in hospital, listed for compatible organs) my mother was dying, in hospice, in Florida, and I made the difficult decision to be there in her last hours. Driving to the train station in Philadelphia, my car was T-boned at an intersection and totaled. I was OK, and two days later I took that train. My mother lingered longer than expected; I returned home for Christmas, and got the message that she died while I wended north.

The transplants went well – in fact, she was almost like a poster child; no rejections, and living 16 years instead of the projected extra five. Until I could get a new car, our pastor lent us his van. Friends helped with watching the kids, and with meals. Neighbors helped with housework and chores. Our ministry continued, and my freelance schedule enabled me to take Nancy to the many follow-ups and lab visits.

We return here to my friend who starred in last week’s message, and was mentioned above. I related this litany to him with the appropriate “thank Gods” and gratitude to friends and neighbors. The whole “before and after” tale.

Ever the skeptic, he took the opportunity to teach me a lesson, to shake me back to reality. “You’re always thanking God for this and that,” he said. “But listen to yourself. It wasn’t Jesus who took your kids in when you had to go to Florida. It wasn’t Jesus who lent you that van. It wasn’t Jesus who brought you meals and cleaned your house… They were just friends and neighbors!”

My response came immediately, inspired by Someone else, because I wasn’t that clever myself: “You’re wrong. It WAS Jesus… working THROUGH our friends and neighbors.”

This truth is a way that God works, and a way that He often chooses to work. Not a fallback, but His intention. It is the reason Jesus came to earth… and, more, the reason He left.

But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you (John 16:7). And we yield to the Spirit.

We should be reminded here of bumper-strip theology that can have impact as it distills the Truth:

~~ You might be the only Jesus people ever know.
~~ Always share the Gospel – sometimes even use words.
~~ Be doers of the Word, not hearers only.
~~ Love one another, even as I have loved you,.
~~ Be imitators of Christ
.

Of all the experiences, trials, and acts I have mentioned here, none is too big for us to assume it need not be done. And none is too small to have a life-changing, eternal impact. It’s funny how God works that way.

Especially when it’s through us.

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An example of “how small” an act can be is in this song by Ray Boltz. It reminds be of a visit by a missionary family to our little church, and their slide-show about their work overseas. My little girl Emily was so affected that she decided then and there to go into missions work. Which she did.

Click: Thank You

This message, and this song, would seem like orphans if I didn’t invite you to visit the site of Grand Staff Ministries Grand Staff Ministries – Becky and Tracy Spencer’s remarkable missions program to the people of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) in Africa.

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About The Author

... Rick Marschall is the author of 74 books and hundreds of magazine articles in many fields, from popular culture (Bostonia magazine called him "perhaps America's foremost authority on popular culture") to history and criticism; country music; television history; biography; and children's books. He is a former political cartoonist, editor of Marvel Comics, and writer for Disney comics. For 20 years he has been active in the Christian field, writing devotionals and magazine articles; he was co-author of "The Secret Revealed" with Dr Jim Garlow. His biography of Johann Sebastian Bach for the “Christian Encounters” series was published by Thomas Nelson. He currently is writing a biography of the Rev Jimmy Swaggart and his cousin Jerry Lee Lewis. Read More