Does It Pass The Philippians Test?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Whatever we watch on TV, the music we listen to, the books we read, the people we listen to--such things affect us emotionally and mentally and also affect our spirit.

I try to be an optimist when I see a promising new TV series or movie that looks interesting and give it the benefit of the doubt that it will be something worth watching. Yet my optimism is rewarded less and less over time as society and its artists and writers sink deeper and deeper into the muck.

It is hard to believe now but there was a time when nearly every television show and no few movies we imbued with Christian ethics. Parents seldom worried about what their children ingested on television, or what music they were listening to, or about the books they were reading.

We live in a different time now and for the Christian it is even more critical that we guard our hearts and do not grieve the Holy Spirit by what we consume and allow into our lives.

There are some of us who are more sensitive than others, and we need to make allowances for that. We will not always agree on what is acceptable in every case. Yet we can see patterns and clear offenders that we would not let our children watch or be involved in, and in many of those cases neither should we partake of such entertainment.

Why does this matter so much? Because we are all affected by what we consume regarding art and entertainment and by other things we allow into our lives. Those of us with health issues and or mental and emotional problems must be even more cautious about troubling our soul with the vulgar and filthy garbage this world throws our way. We need good, positive, healthy entertainment that feeds our soul and spirit to strengthen and better our overall condition. We need to be surrounded by good things and good people who make us better, and not worse.

“You are what you eat” has been a popular saying, and it applies very much to what you feed into your soul and spirit. If you are diligent and discerning you can still find things that have some value in art and entertainment, but it has never been more difficult to wade through the filth, dig through the garbage and find the few treasures that remain.

It is easy to get caught up into the flow and to want to join in the conversations about the newest television series or movie, but now more than ever we need to guard our hearts and minds and avoid getting caught up into the worthless and useless things society throws our way. Think on good things. Focus on the positive, and your soul will thank you for it.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive us for not being more diligent and discerning and for the times we have grieved the Spirit. Make us wise and strong to resist the filth that surrounds us. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

Diligently Guard Your Heart

Above all else, guard your heart,
   for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Your heart is the core of your being, it is priceless and precious. How you feed your heart, what you think upon, and your attitude affects your heart. You can meditate upon scriptures, think about good things, or you can let your heart become dark, negative, bitter, resentful and poisoned.

Each one of us in life will have to endure difficult times, and some of us will have to interact with negative and toxic people. It is so important that we keep a running account of positive influences in our life to overcome the heavy stream of negativity.

I have met people who lost control of that very important part of themselves. Instead of being able to focus upon, or even see the blessings around them, they were consumed with the darker aspects of life and overcome by bitterness and resentment toward the world at large. It was as if everything they saw entered them through a dark glass leaving them unable to see any light or goodness around them.

We do not bury our heads in the sand. We realize there is much negativity and much that distresses us in life. It takes effort to stay positive in a negative world. It is no easy task to swim upstream against the heaviness and darkness of this world. Guarding our hearts, praying, focusing upon the Lord, and meditating upon scripture can be the tonic we need to drive away the shadows and free us of the darkness of this present evil age.

Those of us with constant afflictions are even in more danger of getting caught up in negativity and bitterness as our problems and pain come crashing upon us. While it seems like an additional insult that we must fight even harder to overcome darkness and negativity while dealing with other afflictions, we have no choice for we cannot afford to be carried away by shadows that make the heart bitter and toxic.

While it is a challenge to stay positive in a negative world this is exactly what Jesus commands us to do--be lights in the darkness. Set a strong guard over your heart and mind and fill yourself up with Christ and His Holy Spirit and you will overcome the darkness by having a heart filled with light.

Prayer: Dear Lord, darkness assaults us, negativity bleeds into our soul, break through the darkness around us and fill us with Your light and love. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

Being A Man Who Lives With Illness

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

What does it take to be a man? Must one be stoic, never showing any weakness? Should a man hide his feelings, and pretend that everything is fine, even when it isn’t?

It is my experience that women are generally more willing to discuss their problems than men. I think it is safe to say that men do not easily admit weakness, and they rarely share problems with other men. This is especially true of the older generations of men.

Many men suffer affliction in silence, feeling it is their duty to bear their burden alone, and that sharing that burden with others is somehow wrong. I would remind Christian men that not only are we to take our burdens to the Lord, but we are to help each other with our burdens. No believer stands or succeeds alone. Our victory is through Christ and with our brothers and sisters.

It is not easy for men to admit weakness. By nature we are competitive, geared to succeed, and generally gather with other men for common goals and interests, and not to share burdens with one another. It somehow seems unmanly to admit we have weaknesses, afflictions, troubles.

It is not just men who have unrealistic expectations of other men. One of the strangest backhanded ‘compliments’ I ever received was from a woman who had read an article about me suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that had just appeared in our local paper. I’ll never forget the day this elderly Christian woman approached me and said, while patting me on the arm: “My husband is not a man either.” I guess it is no wonder some men do not want to express their challenges openly.

You develop a thick skin after a while. You have to when you suffer from affliction. All that really matters is what the Lord thinks of you, and what you think of yourself. The thing is, if you belong to the Lord, you are already a child of the kingdom, with a high standing in God’s eyes. But if you only measure your worth by what you can produce, or by what others think of you, based on your affliction, that is a dead end that can only cause you pain. You are a true man if you belong to Christ, and His love and grace is in your life, regardless of your physical abilities or limitations.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I pray that every man who reads this will evaluate themselves based upon Your presence in their lives. And I pray that every woman who reads this will also evaluate the men in their lives based upon their relationship to You, and not some unrealistic standard found in our culture. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

The Joy Of Music

“David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.” 1 Chronicles 15:16 (NIV)

Music has always been a part of my life. Certain songs evoke particular memories. From childhood, and especially through my teen years, music helped and blessed me through hard times and good times.

If we were to try and explain music to an alien from another planet we would probably fail miserably, for music is not meant to be explained, but rather experienced. It affects us in our heart and soul.

There are times that music can express what we feel when words fail us. Music is poetry put to rhythm. It is rhyme put to a steady beat. It is a power that moves and stirs the soul. It is a gift from God.

Music can be therapeutic. It can lift us when we are down, and bring catharsis to our wounded spirit. Music can enable us to lift our voices to God in praise and worship. Music is one of God’s greatest gifts.

Those who suffer affliction are wounded souls. Those who suffer chronic or continual affliction badly need a salve for their souls.
Music can be a perfect salve for the sorrowful soul.

Lift your soul with music. Let it carry your praises and appreciation to God even in your times of sorrow.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we live in a world of sorrow. Thank you for music that lifts our soul. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

The Battles We Fight

“‘With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.” 2 Chronicles 32:8 (NIV)

Anyone living with chronic afflictions will have battles. Sometimes it seems we are living in a constant battle. Old afflictions don’t go away, new afflictions arise, and it often feels like we are in a holding action just trying not to lose any more ground.

Some battles we can’t help but fight, yet I try to hold to the wisdom of “choose your battles wisely.” There are battles we choose to get into, perhaps a dispute with our spouse, co-worker, children, family, friend, or neighbor. We need to be very wise about the battles we chose to get into.

When raising our child I had a constant battle with my wife about discipline. I knew from scripture and otherwise that a child very much needs discipline, but my wife was not too crazy about it. I refused to give ground in that battle and our daughter is now a successful adult.

There are battles that we choose to fight and must fight.

Yet there has been many times in my life when I chose to enter a battle I should have stayed out of–too many times. Hopefully we get wiser as we get older.

When it comes to our health, this is a battle we must fight. I think we begin a successful strategy by calling upon the Lord for His wisdom and guidance. There are things even good doctors do not know, and no one knows us better than the Lord. We will need His help in the battles we fight.

You may be fighting a new battle in your health-woes-war or you may simply be trying to hold your ground in an old fight with your health.

Whatever you are facing, go to the Lord, take your concerns and requests to Him. He will give you strength and wisdom for the battle.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we need Your help in the battles we face. And please give us wisdom to avoid the unnecessary battles. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

Taking Little Steps Of Faith

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”Hebrews 11:1(NIV)

Though ultimately it is our faith in Jesus Christ that is most important, everything in life takes faith. It takes faith to get married, to have children, to go to work every day, to get out of bed every morning–everything in life takes faith.

We have to trust people every day. When we pick up food, or go out to eat, when we drive down the road we are trusting that others will obey traffic regulations like stopping at red lights. Nearly everything we do involves some small act of faith.

It is no wonder that God values faith so highly. He wants us to trust that He is taking care of things even when we cannot see how He will do so. We trust doctors, dentists, health care workers of all sorts. We trust that the pharmacist has correctly filled our prescriptions when we take our medication. Life revolves around faith and trust.

For those who suffer from chronic afflictions faith and trust can be hard to come by. We have at times been disappointed, from doctors and other health care providers, from friends and family, and at times we are even disappointed in ourselves when we fail to meet our own expectations. I think we also are sometimes disappointed in God. We wonder why He allows so much heartache into our lives, and why He doesn’t put an end to our hardships.

This brings us back to faith. The myriad of hardships and frustrations in our lives can cause us to question God’s goodness. But if we dig a bit deeper into the question, beyond the obvious problems and hardships in our lives, we could just as well ask ourselves–why not me? Why am I still alive when so many others have passed on? Why am I allowed to spend time with my family and friends when so many have neither family nor friends for comfort and support? Why does God continue to bless us even in the midst of our afflictions?

We may not feel capable of big leaps of faith, yet every day we live on this earth takes an act of faith, or more precisely, many little acts of faith. We can take our frustrations and disappointments to God because we have faith that there is a God. We can lean upon family and friends in tough times because we have faith in the love of family and friends. We can find our way through every difficult and trying day because we have faith that there is a God that cares about us, even when we feel frustrated toward Him because of life’s circumstances.

I would encourage you this week not to focus on huge leaps of faith, but instead to focus on the many small everyday ways we incorporate faith into our lives, then expand that understanding of the small steps of faith to begin piecing together the larger mosaic of faith that ties together all the elements making our life one continuous walk of faith hand in hand with God.

Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes we feel frustrated at the irritations in our lives, but we can step over everything blocking our path because of our faith in You. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

A Funeral And A Wedding

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7 (NIV)

Tomorrow we go to a funeral. Like many of you reading this, a funeral is the last place on earth I want to be, yet not every funeral is bad. The dear soul whose funeral this is suffered many long months with pain as cancer continued to destroy her health. She was ready to go long before she went to be with the Lord.

It is painful to lose a loved one, yet there is comfort in knowing that the suffering individual has gone on to be with the Lord where there is no pain or suffering or tears or sickness. We mourn our loss of those who have gone on, but we have peace in knowing they are in a better place.

I loved the following dialog from the “Return Of The King” movie when it looked like all was lost and the Hobbit named Pippin turns to wise Gandalf and says:

Pippin: I didn’t think it would end this way.
Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path. . . One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. . . And then you see it.
Pippin: What? Gandalf? . . . See what?
Gandalf: White shores. . . and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin: [smiling] Well, that isn’t so bad.
Gandalf: [softly] No. . . No it isn’t.

We recognize the truth in those words. We are on the path to heaven, and there awaiting us is the Great Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God. Jesus is awaiting us, and that isn’t so bad.

Those with chronic illnesses often find that death’s door draws close, but whether we are given more time on this earth, or go on to be with the Lord, God’s goodness is with us always.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You died so that we would have eternal life, thank You for that wonderful gift and the better life awaiting us all. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

Do You Listen To Your Counselor?

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. John 14:16 (CSB)

The greek philosopher Socrates believed he had a guiding spirit of reason. The Stoics believed every person had within them a “fragment of God” that enabled them to live a good life. The Eastern Woodland Indians of the United States believed they had a guardian spirit which gave them courage and strength. All of these were grasping at a truth that Jesus would bring.

For the Christian believers Jesus promised an amazing gift. Through the third Person of the Trinity, through the Holy Spirit, every believer would have direct contact and guidance from God. Jesus called Him a Counselor. A good counselor gives guidance, advice, encouragement, and teaches us to follow truth.

Some call this “inner knowing” intuition, wisdom, common sense, or a sixth sense. The Bible tells Christians that we have at hand every day in every hour a Spirit within us that will guide us into truth keeping us on the right path and away from danger.

I have long come to rely upon the Holy Spirit. In part I believe this is because of my afflictions. When you are weak, sick, downtrodden, and recognize you are in serious need of help, it opens you up to listening for that voice of wisdom and guidance.

You may ask: How do I know I am hearing from God instead of just myself or some other source? One way to guarantee that you are hearing from God is to read the Bible, for the Spirit of God will never tell you to do something contrary to the correctly understood word of God. The Bible keeps you safe, and over time you will know His voice and sense His presence more and more.

Prayer: Dear Lord, each day is an opportunity to hear Your voice and follow Your guidance in our lives. Help us to be discerning, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017