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| Top Stories in A Friendly Reminder |
| Valleys of Shadow | | Date Created: Dec 04, 2005, 04:59 PM |
From the Study Desk of Pastor Clair
http://homepage.mac.com/bclair/blogwavestudio
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me..." - Psalms 23:4
This time of the year has been hard on me for the last three years and probably will be for the rest of my life. |
 The day after Thanksgiving in the year 2002, I began to walk with my friend Terri Baker through the valley of the shadow of death. |
| Rosemarie and I will be eternally grateful for the intimate relationship we enjoyed with Terri. She was a trusted co-laborer with us from day one of our formal ministry. She was at every holiday and every birthday party we ever celebrated for 15 years. She is on every home video, and in every packet of pictures from every significant event in the life of our family. |
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| Terri was born with a weak heart. In her lifetime she had three open-heart surgeries. I was with her the second time she had her mitral valve replaced. As her pastor and friend, I sat by her bedside all night long awaiting her surgery. In those dark and anxiety ridden hours of the evening, she confided in me about her fear. Having suffered debilitating pain and loneliness for most of her life, her terror was that she would not be able to feel the Lord’s presence as she woke up out of surgery. In an attempt to comfort her I devised a code. I would be at her bedside when she returned to consciousness, "Squeeze my hand if you sense God's presence and you know that He has not abandoned you. If I don't feel you squeeze, I'll squeeze your hand to remind you that God is still there with you." |
When I entered the recovery room, I was overwhelmed by all the medical machinery packed into the room. There was a respirator hose down her throat and another in her nose pumping air into her lungs. There were intravenous tubes hanging everywhere and electrode wires snaking from her bed. I'll never forget that moment when her eyes flickered to life. Within seconds she was squeezing my hand. I wept at the goodness of God. Her unsaved brother, who was aware of the code, broke down right there and came to saving faith in Christ.
Ten years later, she was very sick and facing inevitable death. Again, she confided in me her same fear. She said, “I’m afraid that at the time of my death I will be in such pain that I will not feel the presence of God in my life." I was able to remind her of her surgery. God had not abandoned her then, He would surely be with her at the hour of her death. |
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The last week of her life, she never faltered. December 14, 2002, Rosemarie and I sat at her bedside singing and reminding her of the faithfulness of God. I stepped out of the room to get a couple of minutes rest, Hairold Gregory and other family and friends were with her when she breathed her last. Right up to the moment of her death, God was faithful.
Here's what I've learned through that shadowy valley experience. First, I've learned that death is just a shadow. Sure, it's dark, unknown and scary, but it's also a part of life, the true beginning. Second, I've learned that through some experiences The Shepherd leads us, and through other experiences The Shepherd walks with us. He goes ahead to protect and provide, He comes close beside to comfort and support. |
 Brian Doerksen in his song "Your Faithfulness" writes,
"I don’t know how or when I’ll die
Will it be a thief or will I have a chance to say good-bye?
I don’t know how much time is left
But in the end I will know Your faithfulness."
There will be other valleys of shadow that I will go through, but with my Shepherd, I'm never alone.
Blessings.
Pastor Barry Clair (Brian)
brclair@adams.net |
| Comfortable Ruts and Polluted Ground | | Date Created: Nov 07, 2005, 11:21 PM |
From the Study Desk of Pastor Clair
"He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." - Psalms 23:3 |
 When Isaac Newton articulated what has come to be known as the first law of motion, I'm sure he had no idea that not only was he talking physics, but human nature as well. Sometimes called the Law of Inertia, it states, "A body at rest tends to stay at rest..." As human beings we tend toward inertia. We are either unable or unwilling to move. Even worse is the detrimental law of human nature that causes us to repeat patterns of motion. We have the inclination toward repetitive patterns of harmful behavior.
In his book "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23," W. Phillip Keller says, "Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites.... All of this happened simply because the sheep, instead of being managed and handled with intelligent care, had been left to struggle for themselves - left to go their own way, left to the whims of their own destructive habits." |
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When David acknowledges the leading of the Shepherd in paths of righteousness, he is admitting he needs help to overcome inertia and the leadership of a benevolent guide to steer him on the right bearing.
One important and often overlooked discipline of spiritual formation is guidance. Every Christian is a sheep and in serious need of constant guidance. We need two aspects of movement working in our maturation process. They are motion and direction. I'm comforted by the fact that the "Good Shepherd" is there to provide both.
Some of us have been at the same spiritual level for years. Inertia has overtaken our Christian walk. Others of us are traveling the known and comfortable ruts of the polluted ground of whim. Comfort is usually not healthy and well worn ruts are usually no longer nourishing. We need to get moving again and gain momentum finding our stride along the path of the Shepherd's choosing. Around the bend is the next "pasture of plenty" and the thirst-quenching still waters.
To have goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our life, we must be moving. One cannot follow something that doesn't move. Many of us need to get moving toward being still.
What is at the end toward which I move? What awaits me at the end of the path of righteousness? -- The glory of God. He guides me... for His name sake. He directs me... for the glory of God. Isn't that supposed to be the chief end of man?
Blessings.
Pastor Barry Clair (Isaac)
brclair@adams.net |
| When My Heart Is Overwhelmed | | Date Created: Oct 22, 2005, 02:19 PM |
From the Study Desk of Pastor Clair
"He restores my soul..." - Psalms 23:3
Her voice cut through my anxiety. "Your circumstances are what they are, stop being overwhelmed. It doesn't help!" Of course I was over my head, I had four papers due in days, our house closing was stalled in paperwork, all our belongings in the world were packed into a truck, I was to preach in three services over the next two days, I was to fly to southern Europe on Monday for a mission's trip.
Everyone, everywhere finds themselves here once in a while, with too much going on to process. Your brain becomes a choke point and you can't sort it all out. You know you don't have a moment to spare but you seem paralyzed with panic. The prophet Elijah was here after his fight with the prophets of Baal and Jezabel. He found himself on his back, under a tree, praying to die (1 Kings 19:4).
The immediate temptation is to think that the "Good Shepherd" has abandoned you. He has led you to a place of impossibility and left you alone. What do you do when that happens?
What I'm beginning to understand is that this situation arises when I lose perspective. The Psalmist says in Psalms 61:2 "...when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (K.J.V.) In other words, "Give me a perspective that transcends mine." See, my soul is restored when my perspective rises. |
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Recently, I found myself in the very prison cell occupied by the Apostle Paul. On his second imprisonment in Rome he was persecuted by the mad emperor Nero, who disregarded Paul's first acquittal and eventually had him beheaded. Even after thousands of years, this dungeon cell is still small, dark, moldy, smelly and cold. It was from this location that the Apostle Paul, who by this time had written more of the New Testament than any single author and founded more churches than any single Apostle, wrote to encourage his young protégé Timothy. Listen to what he says and try to picture him writing this from a dungeon.
"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:5-8) |
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Here is probably the greatest man to have ever served God, under the worst set of circumstances, about to be unjustly martyred, but instead of feeling overwhelmed, his soul is restored. He is selflessly pouring his wisdom on another and anticipating his reward.
Let me share what I learned while repenting with weeping in that ancient Roman prison cell. It's all about perspective. Attitude is everything. When my heart is overwhelmed, it's time for a change in perspective. And I got one that day.
God help me to never doubt that the "Good Shepherd" cares not only for my physical needs but when my heart is overwhelmed... He restores my soul.
Blessings.
Pastor Barry Clair (Tim)
brclair@adams.net |
| Articles in A Friendly Reminder (Total Entries: 43) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Immanuel
Date Created: Dec 24, 2004, 03:17 AM
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