Are you a statistic or a testimony? (This is a long one)
This is one thing I ask myself each day as I wake up.
You may wonder why I called the blog "Forged Together." About year and a half ago I was cleaning my apartment when I heard God say to me that He would give me a ministry to call marriages back to healing from their brokeness. As I was listening to what I heard I was told that marriage was meant to be "forged together."
Late that night I was thinking about this word I received and I remembered a scene from “Lord of the Rings-Return of the King,” where there was a sword that was broken called the “Shards of Narci” by the evil one. This sword was forged back together to conquer evil. The sword was given to Aragorn for battle. Upon wheeling the sword a line is said that is very interesting “I give hope to all men.”
When I looked up what it meant to be forged together I was stunned. To be forged together is to be reshaped under extreme heat and pressure.
Marriage is no different. For those who have been married for any number of years you realize that the pressure, heat and beating you are under is far greater than anything you could ever anticipate.
The funny thing is so is divorce. The bad thing is divorce turns you into that of the shards of Narci. Unless you are willing to go through the intense heat and allow yourself to be reshaped by God you find yourself useless in battle or part of the walking wounded at best.
As I talked to a friend today the imfamous question and comment came up. I have no idea how many times I have heard this, but it is more than I can care to count; no disrespect to those that ask. (I must be careful how I approach this for the protection of my family and wife).
Here is the question I was asked and the comment that was said to me many times before. "Chris, I am so shocked at what has happened in the life of your family. What happened? Looking at your family we felt you to be the role model of a godly family for us. When we thought of how we wanted our family and marriage to be; we wanted to be just like you." No disrespect to those who have said this or even thought this, but it made me realize that our lives are one of two things a statistic or a testimony.
Here is the difference between being a statistic or a testimony (remember you will be remembered as one or the other). A statistic is one who goes with the crowd, falls to the pressures of life and when they are dead and gone are nothing more than a fleeting thought. On the other hand being a testimony is someone who has left a lasting impression and a legacy that is not easily forgotten.
Putting it into simple terms a statistic would be the tombstone in the cemetary as the testimony would be the inscription upon the stone. If you are to read what is written on the stone it is much easier to remember than the stone itself whether it is by color, shape or size.
I was a little curious to see what the effects of divorce was from country to country. I sat down and took 5 countries based on popularity and population. The countries I chose were 4 of the top ten most populated countries and the fifth one being the highest rate of divorce in Europe. Here is my findings which may surprise you as it did me.
China: #1 in population in the world with more than 1.3 billion people. The number of divorces in 2010 totalled 1.058 million people or about 24% of marriages ending in divorce. This is about 8.14% of their entire population. They raked at #17 out of 35 nations for divorce.
Brazil: #6 in population in the world with more than 169 million people. The number of divorces in 2010 totalled 43,940 people. This is about 0.026% (less than 1%) of the entire population or less than 2% of marriages ending in divorce.. They ranked at #33 out of 35 nations for divorce.
Russia: #8 in population in the world with more than 143 million people. The number of divorces in 2010 totalled 480,161 people. This is about 0.34% of their entire population or about 43.3% of marriages ending in divorce. They raked at #3 out of 35 nations for divorce.
England: Having just under 52 million people rank #4 in the world or #1 in Europe in divorce with just over 158,000 people. This is about 0.30% of their entire population or 42.6% of marriages ending in divorce.
USA: The US is by far the most sobbering place for divorces in the world. With more than 311 million people there is more than 1.5 million marriages ending in divorce. This is about .5% of the population as a whole but more than 54.8% of all marriages ending in divorce.
(Nationmaster.com)
After looking at the state by state demographics the numbers vary across the board ranging from as low in some states as 43% to as high as 63% (National Vital Statistics Report, August 27, 2010). This should be of great concern as a country that is to be the leading nation in the world. The unfortunate thing is we are leading in the wrong way.
You may look at these numbers and say "That's just part of life." The question really is "Is THIS part of YOUR life?" As the world goes so do our lifes, our morals and our thinking. This is not what God has called us to. The second we ignore the effects things have on our socity, it is too late to protect ourselves and families from those same dangers that are on our door steps.
You would not lock yourself in your house if you know that it is in the path of a mud slide would you? Then why do you ignore those things that come to kill, steal and distroy that which we were given by God; our lives and our families?
Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So again I ask you "Are you a statistic or a testimony? Are you going to shine the light of truth or just fade into the darken?"
CAL
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Letters To God
A couple months ago my children told me about a movie they watched and really liked. The movie is called "Letters To God." Trust me if you watch it make sure you have a box of tissues at hand as well as an Advil.
The movie deals with a child dying of cancer who brings hope and joy to others with his letters he sends to God through the US Postal Service. The young boy knows he is going to die, but his family cannot come to terms with the fact seeing that just three years earlier the father/husband died of cancer.
The movie was excellent, but that was not what caught my eye as much as what was at the end. Here is what I found in the movie that stuck in my mind.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.
Prior to watching the movie I spend the majority of the day mowing grass at my church. As I sat there riding on the mower I found myself getting consumed by depression due to all of the tragedies that have bestowed me over the past 18 months and just loosing hope in everything. The feelings of guilt and shame overshadowed me and haunted me to the point of loosing focus on God's promises as had been given in my life.
You see over the past 48 hours I have been finding myself tormented by dreams and sorrow just over my family and many other things. When it seems as if your life has just imploded by the strength of an atomic bomb you start to loose the vision of what God has in store for you and even get to the point of loosing sight of His promises for you.
The reality, which was found for me in the movie came back to that verse as well as a comment stated by the boy with cancer. He stated to his mother to not loose hope because God chose her to be his mom.
Very powerful! God has chose us for the journey at hand regardless how hard it is and how hopeless it may seem. You are that living letter. Sometimes there are things that are painful as other times there are things to bring joy. The truth is God has not forgotten you He chose you for the challenges because He believes that you can do it and make it to the other side.
Take a look at what Jeremiah was told by God who doubted his abilities and the journey he was about to go through.
Jeremiah 1:5-8
5"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that's what I had in mind for you."
6But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"
7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'
I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there.
I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it.
Don't be afraid of a soul.
I'll be right there, looking after you."
God's Decree.
God knows our journey and knows the hits we are going to endure. But do you know He also knows the victories we will achieve if we stay the course and the rewards that are on the other side? Sometimes we stop at the fact that God knows the issues we will go through giving the enemy the opportunity to doubt Gods end product for our lives.
This is the way we need to look at it. For those who do not know me I like to cook as much as I do eat. When making something you must prepare all of the ingredients to a dish, add them together at the proper time and cook at the proper heat and time. Not following the steps or diverting from the directions can result in a catastrophic disaster. The earlier you catch the problem the better chance you have to have an end product that is perfect in the end.
The other day I made pasta sauce. I never made it because I defaulted to that being my wife's specialty and was nervous to venture out. As I reflected on what I observed and what I have tasted I came up with a product that turned out good. If we allow our fears to dictate our directions or desires we will never be on the road to where God needs us to be, missing out on His blessings.
God wrote His plans on your life before you where even born. It was not by hap-chance, but by divine design. Furthermore the things you go through and experience are not a punishment or something by chance but by divine desire for God's glory through your life.
Think about it, you are a chapter in a volume of books in God's library that He cherishes. The question remains do you want your life to be just a footnote or do you want it to reflect a chapter of adventure.
I believe we are either a testimony or a statistic. Which do you want to be?
CAL
The movie deals with a child dying of cancer who brings hope and joy to others with his letters he sends to God through the US Postal Service. The young boy knows he is going to die, but his family cannot come to terms with the fact seeing that just three years earlier the father/husband died of cancer.
The movie was excellent, but that was not what caught my eye as much as what was at the end. Here is what I found in the movie that stuck in my mind.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.
Prior to watching the movie I spend the majority of the day mowing grass at my church. As I sat there riding on the mower I found myself getting consumed by depression due to all of the tragedies that have bestowed me over the past 18 months and just loosing hope in everything. The feelings of guilt and shame overshadowed me and haunted me to the point of loosing focus on God's promises as had been given in my life.
You see over the past 48 hours I have been finding myself tormented by dreams and sorrow just over my family and many other things. When it seems as if your life has just imploded by the strength of an atomic bomb you start to loose the vision of what God has in store for you and even get to the point of loosing sight of His promises for you.
The reality, which was found for me in the movie came back to that verse as well as a comment stated by the boy with cancer. He stated to his mother to not loose hope because God chose her to be his mom.
Very powerful! God has chose us for the journey at hand regardless how hard it is and how hopeless it may seem. You are that living letter. Sometimes there are things that are painful as other times there are things to bring joy. The truth is God has not forgotten you He chose you for the challenges because He believes that you can do it and make it to the other side.
Take a look at what Jeremiah was told by God who doubted his abilities and the journey he was about to go through.
Jeremiah 1:5-8
5"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that's what I had in mind for you."
6But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"
7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'
I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there.
I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it.
Don't be afraid of a soul.
I'll be right there, looking after you."
God's Decree.
God knows our journey and knows the hits we are going to endure. But do you know He also knows the victories we will achieve if we stay the course and the rewards that are on the other side? Sometimes we stop at the fact that God knows the issues we will go through giving the enemy the opportunity to doubt Gods end product for our lives.
This is the way we need to look at it. For those who do not know me I like to cook as much as I do eat. When making something you must prepare all of the ingredients to a dish, add them together at the proper time and cook at the proper heat and time. Not following the steps or diverting from the directions can result in a catastrophic disaster. The earlier you catch the problem the better chance you have to have an end product that is perfect in the end.
The other day I made pasta sauce. I never made it because I defaulted to that being my wife's specialty and was nervous to venture out. As I reflected on what I observed and what I have tasted I came up with a product that turned out good. If we allow our fears to dictate our directions or desires we will never be on the road to where God needs us to be, missing out on His blessings.
God wrote His plans on your life before you where even born. It was not by hap-chance, but by divine design. Furthermore the things you go through and experience are not a punishment or something by chance but by divine desire for God's glory through your life.
Think about it, you are a chapter in a volume of books in God's library that He cherishes. The question remains do you want your life to be just a footnote or do you want it to reflect a chapter of adventure.
I believe we are either a testimony or a statistic. Which do you want to be?
CAL
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