This is part of
a numbered series of writings that began with the financial meltdown in October
2008. If you wish to receive the entire
series or no longer wish to be copied, contact chiefcredit@tcfbank.com
As
the markets began their melt down in earnest last year, and men’s hearts melted
right along with them, I began seeing the effects in my mirror each morning.
Discouragement was drawn in the lines in my face and I crawled into a hole and
pulled it shut behind me. In an effort to understand what was going on I
started tapping on the keyboard of my computer. Taking a chance, these musings
were sent to a safe, select few. That distribution has grown and now includes a
few dozen readers and those they forward them on to.
Several
of you have requested back copies or lost copies and a few have requested a
single complete collection for their study. Okay, here it is. In the future I
will place each new addition in this file so a complete set is always ready
and can be requested.
I
have spent a lot of time lately watching the markets implode, looking at the
faces of the people I work with and trying to buck up their courage by
reminding them that this deep downward cycle is just a another deep downward
cycle. It may be worse than anything we have seen in 25 years but it is still
just another cycle.
Have
you seen the movie "Master and Comannder" with Russsell Crowe. In the
middle of a horrible storm, a ship sinking storm, he is leaning out over the
windward side of his ship as the leeward side has its rail in the water,
holding on to a line while peering through the storm in search of his enemy-the
dreaded French. It is either a picture of courage or foolhardy
behavior. I choose to think of it as the former. He is not distracted by a
terrible storm and stays focused [okay, maybe obsessed] on his primary
goal-scuttle the French!
I
have a couple take-a-ways from this picture lesson.
Jesus Calms the Storm Matthew 8 23Then he got
into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious
storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was
sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're
going to drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are
you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it
was completely calm. 27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind
of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
First,
the Lord we serve can calm storms of any type. They are all in his hands. We
are all in his hands if we allow him.
Pressing on Toward the Goal Phillipians 3:12 Not that I
have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press
on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I
do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of
things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those
who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you
before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of
Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their
glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be
like his glorious body.
Second,
Press on! There are always distractions, fears, failures. The courageous press
on toward what really matters in their companies, families and their faith.
#2 None of us can stand
alone 10/22/08
Romans
15:30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the
love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
Well,
I am back at it again. I need prayer as the enemy attacks me on every side
during these times of extreme stress. It is amazing how many fronts the
adversary can attack from. I know that each of you are facing incredible
tests nearly every day and believe you are alone in the fight.
I
challenge each of you to lift up your friends in prayer each day and never
assume they are okay just because they have not reached out to you. Each of us
needs a brother who has our back when we are in a fight. The secondary outcome
of these prayers is the big arms of the God of the universe picking you up as
you bring others to him in prayer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
This week’s
installment comes a little late [for those of you who keep track of such
things]. I have been in a manure-icane, a crap-nado, a doodoo deluge, a
stinkstorm so I have fallen behind on my periodic posting. My wife is
reading the book of Daniel for a bible study so I thought I’d load the book on
my Kindle ™ to tag along with her.
The first
two chapters tell of the early days of his involuntary service to
Nebuchadnezzar, we will call him ‘Neb
Let me try
to bring this into a tighter focus:We serve without knowing what is produced by our service to the King…boss…supervisor…CEO
- God has a very clear, precise purpose for
us-right now
- We may be savings lives [Dan 2:24], jobs,
families, or even souls by being obedient in service
Can you
answer the king when he calls for you from down the hall [Daniel 6:20-21] for
the twelfth time today and cry out in worship and obedience to the Almighty
…”Oh King, live forever!”
#4 January
7, 2009 How will
they Hear?
Today was one of those very
rare days when I met my wife’s expectations. My old friend, Pain, greeted me
when I stepped to the floor as usual and most of you would be shocked to know
that I am not very warm or engaging in the early hours of the day and I was
about forty minutes behind schedule because I am certain it can’t be time to
get up if it is still dark outside. Anyway, before I left for work I stopped to
have a brief time of prayer with Nancy
“Lord, help us see you
throughout our day…” Other than some specific petitions about our daughter I
don’t remember the rest of the prayer that I mumbled over my French toast and
grape juice.
Hitting the road I fell back
into my routine of fretting over the headlines broadcast over satellite radio
on the Bloomberg channel #130 and cussing the drivers who can't seem to deal with
winter precipitation like I can with my V8 4x4 SUV. By the time I reached the
Stevenson Expressway the day was already sliding into the loss column and then
I remembered my words of prayer. … “Lord, help us see you throughout our day”… “Okay God, how do I do that in this traffic
mess with all these knobs all around me”, I pleaded and immediately realized
how stupid that sounded so I turned the radio off to have ‘a little chat’, as
they say.
In the silence my thoughts were drawn into
focus as I considered multiple lanes of traffic jammed with folks racing to
their place of commerce. Everyone moving at various speeds in differing degrees
of hurry to frenetically chase life to its very end. Even as I cursed the futility displayed all
around me the people somehow looked different now. No longer countless clumsy
commuters but six lanes of speeding souls with similar fears and dismay and all
surrounded by the compassion of a Savior desperate to speak hope and peace into
their day. “Well, God, how is that going
to happen?” I complained. “That’s where
you come in, Tim”, was the reply I heard in my head as Romans 10 came to mind.
Romans
10:13 for, "Everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How,
then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!"
No,
my feet do not look any better but my role on this orb is clear. Speak, show, and support the Good News to
everyone I can.
#5
Heart
Disease 1/12/9
As I write this, a 34-year-old man I work with is in the hospital to have a heart valve replaced. I had the privilege of sharing Aaron’s priestly blessing with him [Numbers 6:25] before his first procedure this morning. Most of you know that I too have gone under the surgeon’s knife, on several occasions, to address my heart disease. In both of our cases something was terribly amiss and the doctor’s knew that the most radical surgical procedures were necessary to address this condition.
Describing Heart Disease is simple
when you describe this organ as the pump in your chest. Anything that reduces
its pumping capability is included in the description of the disease so bad
valves, clogged plumbing, irregular pulses and eventually aged mechanicals all
come into play. We are all very familiar with the symptoms of Heart Disease
because we’re reminded of them constantly when we go see our doctors and they
ask us those questions we have memorized by now. Shortness of breath, abnormal
EKG, irregular hearth rhythm, and, of course, angina pain are the things we are
asked about for they provide the best tell tale signs that something is amiss
in our pump room. The causes of this malady are well known too and DNA remains
the best predictor of difficulties down the road.
What about the Heart Disease described
in that big black book getting dusty on your coffee table? How do the multiple
writers depict a diseased heart in their contributions to the 66 books
contained among its pages? Hard, deceptive, stubborn, calloused, proud, unyielding,
haughty, astray, and unbelieving are listed throughout scripture as well as
melting, faint, terror filled and a host of other symptoms. Anything register as a familiar symptom in
that list? We all have Adam’s DNA so the family tree is working against us too.
How
about measuring your heart against the character and qualities of a properly
functioning heart those same writers gave us as clear indications of what a
good heart acts like. Humble, pure, upright, undivided, contrite, steadfast,
loyal, integrity, wisdom, joyful and sincere are repeated throughout the book
as the tests of a healthy heart. Does your heart function in that fashion?
In
prior notes I have confessed to you that, like St. Paul
Psalms 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
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