God of All Comfort

 Six years ago, two weeks before Christmas, our daughter-in-law was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer.  Her children were all still at home.  She endured the chemo treatments with courage, determination, optimism and faith. Her family and friends gathered around her with encouragement, support, and love. Her faith and marriage with our son grew deeper and stronger. 

 After achieving remission, she returned to work, and, as our grandchildren left for college, she returned to school.  In May of last year, she graduated with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.  But, again, shortly before the holidays, the cancer was back.  She opted for a double mastectomy and underwent surgery two days after our family gathered to celebrate Christmas. Knowing that there are many who are entering this new year facing personal challenges, I thought you would appreciate, as I do, what she wrote last week:

 “All is good. Except for that evening call from the oncology surgeon. Plans are derailed, and emotions are high because now it is back to battle. Plans are different this time, previous options are not acceptable; double mastectomy surgery planned in 2024 so that the holidays with family won’t be disrupted. The family! How to tell them that the silent nagging worry was real again?

 Internal reserves are just not available to care for the emotional needs of others. It all feels like too much, even to answer a text or leave the house. This time it will be a quiet battle. It is hard, but with prayer and support it is going to be okay. Attempts at normalcy: meaningful work, a long-planned trip to paradise with loved ones, and preparations for precious family time. My grandfather, the family patriarch, hero of so many over his 103 years of life, passes away leaving an emptiness felt by all.

 Then the call that the battle will begin December 19th. That gives less than a week to completely rearrange life yet again! Now the battle must be shared with others so that life can move forward with additional support. The love and acceptance, willingness to accommodate unexpected needs, complete assurance that worries from home would be attended to without a second thought lifts and humbles. Holidays are celebrated early and joyfully cherished. Everything is okay.

 Weakness and new battle scars received. Rest and recovery are all that can be done now. Wheeling down the halls of the battleground, looking into the eyes of those just inducted into the battle, praying for peace as they learn their battle plans. Seeing those already in the battle, praying for comfort and strength as they endure the daily trauma. Searching the faces of those with shared battle scars, praying for hope and health. The atrium is just ahead, and glorious sunshine is pouring in. Eyes closed, face lifted to the light like a sunflower, kaleidoscopic shapes of yellow and orange dance beneath eyelids while warming rays saturate skin. A wave of peace and assurance that God is in complete control washes over this space. All is well!”

 As I read these words from my daughter-in-law I thought of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Back to the Moon?

 On January 8 the first lunar rocket since 1972 was launched from the United States at Cape Canaveral, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  It is an unmanned, robotic, mission. Only the US has ever landed a man on the moon and that was over 50 years ago. This could be the year we return.  NASA hopes to launch the first manned mission to the moon in November and hopes not just to visit, but to live there by the end of the decade. China hopes to have humans living on the moon by 2040.

 I remember those first manned missions, launched long before personal PCs, smart phones and the internet were thought of.   By today’s standards that world looks archaic. But the accomplishments by NASA and a group of astronauts with the “right stuff” is still impressive.

 My wife and I married on December 21, 1968, the day Apollo 8 was launched to carry the first men to orbit the moon.  They reached the moon 3 days later. On Christmas Eve, just before they disappeared to the other side of the moon and lost radio contact with the earth, Borman and his crew read the Genesis account of creation.  (Genesis 1:1-10).  In the distance the earth appeared as a fragile planet on the moon’s horizon. Six and ½ months later we sat in front of our black and white TV and watched Neil Armstrong leap from the last rung of the lander to take “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  On board the lander, while they waited, Buzz Aldrin observed Christian communion.

 James Irwin served as the commander and pilot for the lunar lander on Apollo 15.  He became the 8^th astronaut to step foot on the moon.  After his return Irwin founded the High Flight Foundation as a non-denominational evangelical organization based in Colorado Springs.  He said, “Some people make light of it and ask. ‘How can a technical person, an astronaut, believe in the Bible?’  I guess I also was a skeptic in my early days, but I have come to believe what the Bible says as being true.” 

 The last man to walk on the moon was Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972.  As he departed the moon he said, “We leave as we came, and God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”  Cernan later described his experience. “I felt the world was just too beautiful to have happened by accident.  There has to be something bigger than you and bigger than me. … There has to be a Creator of the universe ... .”

 I do not doubt that God welcomes us to explore His universe, to experience the majesty and mystery of  the moon and beyond.  But, when we do, it is important that we do so with the humility and faith demonstrated by these men who accomplished what no one has been able to do since.

 The Scripture says, “When I ^[c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which You have set in place;  what is man that You think of him,
and a son of man that You are concerned about him?  Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!  You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, ... Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9).

2024 New Beginnings

 We have officially celebrated the beginning of a new year. Thousands made the trek to New York to watch the ball drop at Times Square.  Others went to Pasadena for the Rose Parade and the thrilling playoff game between Alabama and Michigan while the Longhorns and the Huskies fought it out in New Orleans. Most of us gathered with family and friends to welcome 2024 with hugs and kisses. It is time to look forward. To engage the year to come. If our minds are open to new things, and our hearts are open to God, 2024 can be the start of something special, a new beginning!

 New beginnings are always exciting: weddings with candles and flowers, beautiful bridesmaids, handsome groomsmen, laughter, toasts and dancing; the birth of a baby wrapped in blankets, showered with gifts; graduations with speeches about dreams and possibilities followed by posed photos that will hang on living room walls; a new job; a new home.  Starting anew stirs our imagination. 

New beginnings are filled with excitement, optimism, and hope as well as fear, doubt and worry.  Weddings are fun but making a marriage can be hard work.  Babies are cute, but raising a child can be difficult. Graduation marks a significant achievement, but finding a job and advancing in a chosen career can be daunting.

 We cannot predict our future.  Not all newlyweds who leave the marriage altar showered with rice, petals and birdseed will experience a life-long relationship of love and fulfillment.  Not all babies will grow to maturity.  Not all graduates will find career positions for which they prepared.  But we are all called to something new, something significant.                                                                                              

God always calls us forward into new beginnings.  He beckons us to leave the old and familiar to follow Him on a journey of discovery into places we have never been.  He encourages us to calm our fears and exchange our doubts for faith.  He challenges us to trust in Him for a better future and a better day.

 When God called Abraham, He called him from his familiar home to follow Him into a strange land.  God said, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you; and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2).   Abraham’s step of faith to follow God into a new beginning changed history.

 To Isaiah, God said, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isa. 43:18-19).   Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone. The new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17).

 My hope and my prayer for you is that 2024 will be the start of something new, something special.  May each of you be blessed, as Abraham was, and may God make you a blessing to others.

Imagine a New Year

 If this New Year’s Celebration at Times Square follows the pattern set since 1986, just before the ball drops and we turn our calendars forward, someone will sing John Lennon’s classic song, Imagine. It is a good thing to close out the past and look to the future by imagining the world as it could be. 

  John Lennon sat down at his piano in Berkshire, England one morning in early 1971 and composed the song that became his most popular single.  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named it the greatest song of the last 100 years.  Australians chose “Imagine” as the greatest song of all time. But for many of us, there is a greater vision of how the world could be.

 Every time we quote the Lord’s Prayer we are invited to imagine the world as it is meant to be.  Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven …” What would the world look like if that prayer were answered?  How would the world differ from the world we know? 

 If God’s will were done on earth, there would be no more crime. Theft, violence and murder would end. Prisons would empty.  Neighbor would no longer sue neighbor.  Court dockets would clear.

 Employers would forego extravagant profits in order to pay higher wages to their workers.   No child would go to bed hungry or unsheltered.  Those who possess the food and resources of the world would share with those who have none.

 Corruption, graft and greed would disappear. Wars would cease. Politicians would serve the best interest of others with honesty and integrity.  Fairness, kindness, forgiveness and generosity would prevail. 

 Husbands would love their wives seeking what is best for them and striving to please them.  Wives would love and respect their husbands, building them up and encouraging them. Children would honor their parents and obey them, trusting them in the knowledge that they want what is best for them.

 Racial, cultural and sexual prejudices would vanish.  Discrimination would disappear. Every human being would treat every other human being with respect.  The strong would help the weak.

 None of us are in the position to effect such a whole scale change for the world in which we live.  But we are each able to change our little corner of the world.  We can put into practice the answer to the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. His Kingdom can come and His will can be done in us and through us. 

 In 2024 we can be a part of the answer to the prayer that has been prayed for more than 2,000 years.  What if His kingdom were to come and His will was done on earth as it is in Heaven this day? Just imagine!

A Christmas/New Year gift: Bill Tinsley's children's book, Buddy the Floppy Ear Corgi, free eBook on Amazon December 26-30.

When the "Most Wonderful Time of Year" Becomes the Most Difficult

 For most of us, the holidays are a time of joy and celebration, stretching from Thanksgiving through Christmas and the New Year.  But for some, it can be the most difficult time of year.  We may feel the keen absence of a loved one, the anxiety of measuring up, the pressure of trying to please those we love with gifts we cannot afford. We are constantly bombarded with images of perfect families and happy faces exchanging perfect gifts. All of this can lead to “holiday depression.”

 Depression is widespread. For most of us it is temporary and seldom. For some, it is a lifelong and constant companion. It affects the rich and poor, the unknown and the famous.  Abraham Lincoln was well known for his bouts with depression. His law partner, William Herndon observed, “His melancholy dripped from him as he walked.”

 According to Mayo Clinic, “Depression is a medical illness that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” We all know it when we feel it: the heavy weight that seems to bear down upon us, sapping our energy, dragging us down, emotional shackles that reduce our steps to a shuffle, the thief that robs us of creativity and destroys our dreams.

 Here are a few proven steps to combat depression, some from Lincoln himself:

 Refuse to surrender to depression’s emotions. Lincoln learned this discipline and encouraged others to follow it. In 1842, he wrote, “Remember in the depth and even the agony of despondency, that very shortly you are to feel well again.” In his famous letter to Fanny McCollough, he said, “You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say.”  Get up and get out. Exercise, walk, run, play.  Exercise of the body somehow releases a wind within that can blow away the dark clouds that close in on us.

 Get with people. Loneliness is depression’s partner. When I was a teenager, I read a little known book by a Christian psychiatrist named Henry C. Link entitled Return to Religion. Basically, the book said that church is good for the human psyche.  Going to church is good for us. 

 Do something good for someone else. Guilt and depression are common companions.  The acts that make us feel guilty often become the seeds of depression.  Acts of altruism will punch holes in the darkness and let in the liberating light.  Accept God’s forgiveness for your sins, and then go out of your way to do something for others.

 If depression persists, seek professional medical assistance.  We are complex creatures with a complex chemical balance that affects our moods.  Proper medication, administered under the careful supervision of a doctor, can help. Speaking of his own depression, Lincoln said, “Melancholy is a misfortune. It is not a fault.”

 Trust in God who cares for you. Look beyond and beneath all the holiday hype to remember the basic message of Christmas.  God has loved you so much that He has given His only begotten Son, just for you.  God loves you just as you are.  He is reaching out His hand to you!

Where Christianity is Growing Fastest

 If I were to ask you where Christianity is growing fastest in the world what would you say?  No, not the United States.  Most of us are aware that Christianity is declining in the U.S. as well as Britain and Europe.  Several years ago, the geographical centers for Christianity shifted to the southern hemisphere: South America, Africa and Asia. 

 But what country is experiencing the greatest growth in the Christian faith?  Would you be surprised if I said, Iran?  Well, so am I. But that is what the reports indicate.  In the last few years Christianity has grown  faster in Iran than in any other nation.

 Some of us remember 1979 when the Shah of Iran was deposed and the Ayatollah Khomeini set up a strict Islamic state in Iran.  For the last 44 years Islam has held a tight-fisted control of the country. But recently, while the world wasn’t watching, a surge of faith in Christ has taken place in Iran.  A little over two years ago Newsweek quoted Shay Katiri of Johns Hopkins University who wrote of Iran, “Islam is the fastest shrinking religion there while Christianity is growing the fastest.” 

 Iran appears to be experiencing what other nations have seen under persecution.  The Christian faith goes underground.  Small cells of believers begin to multiply without clergy or buildings.  A rapidly multiplying network of disciples starts to spread, much like the early Christian faith under Roman persecution. Some estimate a million new believers in Iran.  Others think the number could be far greater.

 At the same time, Iran remains one of the most brutal countries for persecution of Christians. According to Open Doors, that focuses on the persecuted church, “The outlook for Iranian Christians, in particular converts from Islam to Christianity, is by no means improving. Pressure remains extreme against Christians in all spheres of life.”

 Lela Gilbert, an adjunct fellow for the Center for Religious Freedom recently wrote, “As I’ve learned about the many abuses suffered by our sisters and brothers in Iran, I have also been awestruck by their courage and boldness — and by the remarkable results. More than a million new converts — called Muslim Background Believers (MBB) — are reading the Bible for the first time, praying, gathering in small groups, and sharing their new faith with friends and family, despite the risks. Their faith is amazing, encouraging, and inspiring.”

 As we celebrate this Christmas season, we all remember the Magi, the Shepherds, and the angels singing.  But we overlook the persecution that fell upon Bethlehem. “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted because they were no more.’” (Matthew 2:16-18). 

 At this Christmas season when we freely, openly and joyfully celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us remember the millions of Christians world-wide who do not share this privilege.  While we attend our parties, concerts, family gatherings and gift-giving, let us pray for those who risk their freedom and their lives to embrace Jesus as their Savior.

Sunrise Season

 I sat in the pre-dawn dark, watched the gathering glow in the east and heard the first bird break the stillness with song. Soon others joined him in the gathering light until the air echoed with a chorus of calls celebrating the break of day. It was as if the birds had waited through the long hours of darkness wondering if the sun would return, and, once it did, they were delirious with joy.

We sometimes feel that way, when we consider the darkness in which our world exists: continued wars in the Ukraine, Israel, Myanmar, and Sudan; Jihadist insurgencies in Niger, Burkina Faso and Tunisia; daily reports of sexual abuse, domestic violence and prejudice.   We sometimes wonder, as the birds seem to do, if the dawn of light and goodness will again dispel the darkness of violence and suffering .

I have watched the sun rise over the snow-covered hills of Minnesota, painting the landscape with crimson and gold, its light sparkling like diamonds on ice covered limbs. I have watched the sun stain the eastern horizon with purple and gray before penetrating the breaking clouds with shafts of gold. I have watched the day dawn over the mountains of Montana and Switzerland. I have seen it transform the sea into pink and purple waves. I watched the sun rise on the first day of the new millennium, bursting above the horizon as a brilliant ball of light in a clear blue sky.

Sunrise is the perfect symbol for God’s intervention into our world at this Christmas season.

When the forerunner, John, was born, his father, Zechariah understood the importance of his birth. For nine months he had reflected on the angel’s announcement in the temple, that he would have a son in his old age. He had remained mute throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But when John was born, his tongue was loosed, and he burst into praise. He said, “And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;  to give His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79).

Every generation has witnessed the sunrise of God. Darkness cannot conquer it. Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoffer saw it during the dark days of Hitler’s holocaust. Louis Zamparini discovered it after surviving the Japanese POW camps. Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall bore witness to it during the massacre at Columbine. The light from on high refuses to be extinguished by the violence and suffering of this world.   

This is what John meant when he wrote, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:4-14).