I don’t pay much attention to my scars, although I do have a few. Some were, honestly, not my fault. I was neither the passer nor designated receiver of the football that knocked loose the ceiling light fixture that then fell, shattering on my knee. Nor was I the instigator of the military surgery experiment, removing my appendix and leaving what is now a fine line at my waist. I do admit, though, that most of my wounds were results of bad choices. How many times must I burn my forearm on the wood stove before I wise up? And why did I not foresee the outcome of the ridiculous use of my hand as a vice that left my finger in stitches? I will also admit to a few emotional injuries that have scarred over. We’ve all got our share of those but no one else can see them. Even the owner doesn’t really know how well healed these wounds are until they get poked by a memory or stray thought from the accuser. Then we find out if they are scarred over or still in the healing process. The thing is, though, that most of my scars are barely noticeable now. Scars, it seems, fade away with time. My research found that most definitions of the word ‘scar’ suggest that it is a mark resulting from an injury. One, though, suggests that it is a wound that has not yet fully healed. With that thought in mind, I suggest that most of my wounds are near fully healed. You would not notice them if I didn’t point them out. But, if you ask, I am happy to show them off and share their stories! How about you? Look at one of your scars. Go ahead and examine it. You probably haven’t done that in a while. Do you remember when it was a fresh wound? Look at how far that healing has come. How did the experience affect you? How have you changed? Where are you stronger having come through that recovery process? God’s word explains that we are wonderfully and fearfully made! We can easily handle the “good life” but also the tough times. I believe that the wounds we experience are markers, or mementos, of tough times that are placed on our timeline. The healing process, as we recover and overcome, serves to measure the months and years since an event, and the scarring reminds us of how resilient we are. Every scar has a story attached to it that reflects the way we have participated in life, the challenges we have faced and our success in overcoming difficulties. Each is a banner of our success in handling what life throws at us. Jesus told us that, in this world we will have trouble. He wasn’t kidding. But He also said, “don’t get overwhelmed, for I have overcome the world.” You and I have overcome every negative event that has ever happened to us. Do you need proof? Look to your scars. Some are fresh while others are hardly visible but, if you look closely, you can recall the challenge you faced and bested! You can celebrate the victory, and know that, in Him, you can do all things. Most people with any life experience have specific instances that they remember with vivid detail. I can easily picture where I was and what I was doing when news of the airliner crashing into the World Trade Center hit. That is a marker on my timeline! I don’t much remember my first date, but the first breakup is in full living color. Marker! Car accident. Marker! Death of a loved one. Marker! All of these events drop anchors in our memory. The cuts, wounds, broken bones and even illnesses leave these markers too. With time all of these injuries heal and fade but, look closely and you will see the markers are still there. Every one of these scars is a flag that represents a hardship that you didn’t see coming. The injuries occur in a moment. The burn at the stove or the cut hand in the garage. The heartbreak of a failed relationship, the loss of a good friend to soon, and the unexpected diagnosis. In a flash, the injury hits and seconds later, the pain flashes and that pain is real! It is impossible to ignore the early stages of an injury. There is mess and drama. There is pain and panic. There is learning and adjustment. Initially, you can’t look away from your personal disaster. It holds full attention and requires treatment through first aid and initial care. Cleaned and treated, though, soon the open wound scabs and the flesh begins to renew. As time passes, the scab drops and exposes the pink flesh. Notice how much healing has already occurred and admit how much better you are as you overcome another of life’s surprises. The memory is still vivid, but you are dealing with it. The scab is gone, and the injury is now pink and fresh, yet a little sensitive. Protect it, as it only takes a little jolt to bring forth pain, but it no longer consumes your attention. The healing is progressing, and the sensitivity is fading away. Soon the pink flesh thickens and becomes fibrous tissue with no nerve endings. The injured area becomes tougher than the tissue surrounding it and, in numbness, unwilling to acknowledge further assault. Prod the developed scar and notice the lack of feeling there. Likewise, our mind takes a defensive stance after an emotional injury to callously protect our self-image and self-worth. Our psyche casts a dome of protection over our heart as we recover from a hurt left by someone we love or respect. This numbness, like the dead feeling of the scar tissue, is healthy in the short run of recovery but these nerves recover, and we will learn to feel again. In time, even the scar begins to fade along with the memory of the event. The vivid recollection is being replaced by a blurry image. No doubt the event happened, and you were injured, but you are bouncing back and beginning to test the healing, and, in that process, we expose the injury to increasing doses of life. Just as you take an injured leg through the healing stages, so every wound heals. From a wheelchair to a walker to a crutch to a cane to a limp to a walk to a jog. And now, the area is stronger having been injured and recovered than it was initially. These markers on our timeline ensure that we don’t forget the many wounds and injuries we have suffered. They remind us of how weak and vulnerable are even the strongest among us. None of us are invincible, but we don’t focus on the weakness or the trauma. That focus will would leave us weak and stuck reliving the same painful event over and over. Instead, we look to the victorious path traveled since the trauma. We recognize the miracle of healing that has occurred. We hurt and then heal. We are a resilient creation!

Consider all that Jehovah God has brought you copy of VOICES! through in life, all of the painful events and traumatic experiences that have struck at your mortal being and have planted markers on your timeline. But He hasn’t left you or forsaken you, but He has seen you through all things. You have healed and become stronger through the tests you have faced. Rejoice! You have overcome! You are still here, and your scars prove your resilience. A final thought: Walk under the protection of God and let His goodness become the markers on your timeline. Write Psalm 91 on your heart by reading it aloud every day. He will give his angels charge over you…

This scripture is likely the most well know verse even among atheists.  Often quoted using the “unto” word, there are a couple of things that make this passage important to me.  The first is, of course, Jesus said it.  More so, Jesus also said that “the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.,” so, that tells me that God said it first.  The second reason I feel that this is an important scripture is because of what follows it.  Jesus tells us that doing this will fulfill the law and the prophets.  In other words, me treating others well fulfills all that God has in mind for me.  It fulfills His expectation for my life.  I feel that those are two pretty good reasons to spend a little time with this verse.  When we do, we discover that there are three ways we can serve others that would satisfy our own wants.  We can give of ourselves through relationship, we can give of our resources, and we can provide help in times of need. 

Although our verse appears to be straight forward, let’s look at it a little bit differently.  Another way of saying this verse might be, “Give others what you would want if you were in their shoes.”  If you were in their precise situation, what would you want?  What would be the best thing for you?  What would you be looking for if you had the same health, family, finances, work situations, friends, upbringing, influences, and situations as “them”?  While this level of empathy is impossible to fully achieve, a good start is to begin to give of yourself and build relationship.

Perhaps, like me, you are not the most sensitive person.  I don’t profess to “need” people but, through my wife’s shared insight, I do notice that a day without good interaction leaves me a bit irritable.  I am blessed with a caring bride and best friend, but I sporadically consider what my life would be like alone, and I shudder.  Unlike me, many people do struggle through life alone every day and, even the most independent, need at least an occasional connection of understanding, encouragement, and concern.  No one should do life alone and if I were in the position of this “other” I would want someone to give me relationship.  I would like someone to come along side me occasionally and talk about what I find important, concerning, or bothersome.  Not someone to necessarily agree but someone to listen and hear me without a lot of judgement.  When that happened, I would likely open up a bit and divulge where I might have other needs.

Many people have needs and desires related to physical things.  Sometimes the right thing to do is to provide that thing.  It can be fast and easy for someone who is fruitful and has plenty to share.  Give a coat or gas money or food or help with rent.  Filling these voids are usually okay, as you are satisfying real needs.  Consider, though, that the deeper your relationship with a person is, the better you will understand the needs, how they developed, and whether funding them is likely to create improvement in their life or feed some other beast.

Only through the understanding found in relationship can I determine what I would want done ‘unto’ me.  In this situation, if I were “them”, the best thing for me might be to receive nothing or to receive based on the agreement that my beast, the pit that is sucking my sustenance or preventing my prosperity, will be addressed.  If we have a strong and trusting relationship, we can agree on how to provide informed and healthy giving to meet the needs and determine if a different type of assistance would be more appropriate, such as help in time of need.

This type of help is different from handing someone a dollar.  This help is more like planting seeds than handing out fruit.  This assistance comes out of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the giver and is often much more valuable than meeting an immediate need.   Further, there are untold number of ways to provide this help based on your own attributes.  Can you help someone write a resume?  Can you show someone how to set up a budget?  Maybe assist them to find a small group at church…or bring them to the church.  Examples are unlimited.  Fix a toilet; help with a job application, give a job referral or endorsement, babysit the kids, change the tire on the car or get someone else who has that skill to help.  This type of serving has the potential for long lasting, even generational, benefit when given unto others.

God has gifted each of us to love one another, to be fruitful AND to plant seeds.  When you contemplate how to serve others, start with the gift of relationship, then determine when and how to share what you have, your fruit, and when to invest into their life by planting seeds.  By blessing and serving others with that which God has blessed you with, you will fulfill the law and the prophets.

 Let’s admit right up front that we live in a fine land.  If you have been deprived of experiencing life in other countries, you may have no idea how wonderful our life in the United States of America truly is.  I am often frustrated by the ignorance of the ungrateful when I have seen with my own eyes the “normal life” lived in many lands that would devastate the spoiled U.S. consumer. 

Our “1st World Crises” include the inconvenience of having to visit another store to find our brand or panicking when our device runs out of battery.  We struggle when the electricity is out for a few hours while billions are pleased with electricity for an hour per day and consider our leftovers a feast.  We have a good thing going on, even if many who partake daily have no idea.  It is not a secret to the hundreds of thousands of people storming our southern border.  They are coming here for the goodness!

I believe the reason that we have such a great country and a great life, which draws millions to our country every year, is summed up in one word, “Freedom” -a term, that is severely misunderstood.

Probably like you, I’ve believed that freedom was the ability to do what I want to do, unconstrained, and live my life without being told what to do.  But that doesn’t really make sense, does it?  We all live within constraints and abide by rules and norms.  Our lives are dictated by laws and regulations and enforced by people who may, or may not, have our best interest at heart.  We have many restrictions on our behavior and how we live our lives.  How can we experience all these controls, and yet live in “the land of the free and the home of the brave”?

Freedom has nothing to do with the liberties you are afforded

What I’ve discovered is that Freedom has nothing to do with the liberties I am afforded--what I am allowed to do, not allowed to do, and the things I am forced to do have no influence on my freedom.   Freedom is not about any of the external worldly influences on my life but how I interpret the world in my heart and in my head.  The level of freedom I enjoy is dictated by what I think, what I believe and who I identify with.  My freedom is completely determined by one question…the right question! Look to the Old Testament Book of Joshua, chapters 5 and 6. 

Joshua, the new leader of the nation of Israel, was weighed down with the challenge of claiming the promised land.  The first conquest was to be Jericho, the town he was observing from a distance.  Joshua glanced down to check his rocky path and, as he looked up, there he faced a warrior standing with sword drawn.  Undaunted, Joshua approached the armed officer, ready to do battle, and challenged him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” That, however, was the wrong question.

Joshua’s question is the one we constantly get caught up in.  Our identities have always revolved around competition between sides. We grew up picking teams for kickball or soccer or pairing up in on-line gaming.  We had our cliques in school and vied together for glory…sports, debate, chess club…even band competitions!  As adults we are tempted with the same rivalries.  What neighborhood do you live in?  What pro teams do you root for?  Vaxer or Antivaxer?  Red or Blue?  Much of our lives are built around trying to figure out “Are you for us or for them?” That question, though, leads to the wrong answer.

The Warrior’s response was unexpected. “Neither!”, the opponent replied, “But I am the Commander of the Army of the Lord.  Now I have come.”  The angel answered the question that should have asked, “Whose side should I be on?”  Joshua was quick to recognize his error as he fell on His face and asked this Commander, “What do you want your servant to do?”  He had no hesitation in submitting himself to the voice of the Lord, humbly vacating his command of the nation, and gratefully accepting a support role on God’s team.  

We Americans are a prideful people.  We often forget, or maybe never recognized, that we are not the most important beings in our world.  In fact, our pitifully short lives are barely about us at all.  It may hurt your esteem to know, but we people are not the center of existence.  God is the center point…the focus.  We are all peripheral to Him and freedom comes from devoting ourselves to Him…signing up for His team and finding our name on the roster.  He has a position for everyone.  Literally everyone can be on His team!

There are a couple of scriptures that come immediately to mind to make this point but let’s use one that nearly everyone knows.  The first two words of the Lords Prayer, which I grew up referring to as the Our Father...and those are the two words.  “Our Father”—think about the implications!  He is not just my Father or your Father or Jesus Father or Uncle Bill’s Father or the Pastor’s Father.  He is everyone’s Father!  He is Abba of the person who cut in line ahead of you and Pappa to the person on the highway who doesn’t know how to drive.  He is Dad to the person with green hair, safety pin nose piercing and face tat.  We all came into existence through Him, and He loves us all and welcomes us all.  ALL!  We are all made in His image and eligible to be on His roster. That roster is where true freedom is found.

In that membership is liberation from all the things that hold our souls in bondage.  We can cast aside the chains, straps, ropes, and strings that hold us captive.  We can quit thinking that our “individuality” is so important.  We can stop gloating about sexual preference or gender orientation, as if it is a real consideration.  We can look away from the “influencers” who strive to make your life look like so much less compared to theirs. We can destroy the old hard drive that indexed all our hurts and shames.  We can put aside the worries of “what if?” and “how am I going to?” because God’s got it and those things aren’t our problem.  We are on His team!

In freedom we can build up positive beliefs about ourselves.  We can focus on what pleases Him instead of fickle people who try to push their views on us.  We can consider our lives in relation to the truth of God’s word and the eternal vantage point of his eyes.  We can base our thoughts on the truth that does not change with each fashion year and election outcome.  We can rely upon His involvement in our life focused on the success of His team, now our team.  We can know the promise of eternal life when this short earthly pause ends, as it eventually will for everyone.

With these bonds shattered, we can focus on the things that are important to God.  His desire is for a big happy family that cares for each other.   In joy we are free to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, bind up the injured and take care of widows and orphans.  We can find the lost and pray for the sick.   We can use our gifts from God to serve Him.  As we play for the team of God we have freedom that results in blessing upon blessing.

This same freedom is found in the origin of our country.  Our founding fathers sought after, chased down, and wrestled with God’s will and way as they established a new union.  Historical documents testify that they meditated memorized scripture and debated His will as they planned, prepared, and established a nation.  God is mentioned four times in the Declaration of Independence, including the first sentence. The phrase “In God we trust” has been on most coin since the civil war.  John Adams himself, said “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.”  We owe our national existence to a focus on God.

Our early nation thrived in freedom saturated in the Word of God.  Churches commanded the town centers.  Memorization of scripture was an expected youth activity and bedside prayer, the norm.  Youth sports, played in the evenings and on Saturday mornings, did not compete with God.  Stores were closed Sundays, so everyone had the liberty to attend.  Services happened on Sunday and people went.  Parents talked about God.  Teachers talked about God and led prayer in school.  Officials talked about God. The President respected God.  Of course, the pastor talked about God, not candy coating the message to tickle the ears but leading the flock in the truth.  Our nation was built around God because our founding fathers asked the right question, “Whose team should I be on?”

Our early nation’s behavior and our history has not been without serious flaw.  In freedom, many errors were committed at the individual and national levels.  We can’t dismiss the sins of our forefathers against each other and anyone of varied ethnicity, even in their contrasting devotion to the God of love.   Atrocities occurred for years and years.  As a people, we were not diligent in following God’s heart.  But, as a nation, we followed after Him. God blessed the land and slowly the scabs of sin have peeled away.  We became mighty under His hand. 

We can have true freedom again, as individuals and as a nation.  God is not hiding, and the way is clear.  The owner’s manual is direct in stating that there is “one way, one truth, one life.”  And, in that life is freedom and that freedom is found through Jesus Christ.  Scripture is bold in declaring, “…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).  Further, through our acceptance of Jesus as savior, we receive into us the Holy Spirit of God and, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2Corinthians, 3:17).  For those who already stand in the freedom of God, remember that “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

As we celebrate Independence Day, consider whether you are bound or free.  Are you led in the blessings of God as a humble member of His team or battling on every side in competition for what is always just out of reach?  Ask yourself the question, “Whose side should I be on?”  Then choose God.  Choose Freedom.  Choose Life.