Just in time…

August 13, 2018 Dr. J.D. Wilkins2 Comments

Just in time This is the Rocky Mountaineer engine which pulled our train from Seattle to Vancouver on the first leg of our fantastic vacation in May, 2018. As we boarded that afternoon I was almost overcome with excitement at what I would see and experience over the next week and a half. I remember the rush of adrenalin at the first movement of the train pulling out of the station, and the unmitigated sense of joy at being in that place, at that time.

I’m thinking this must be what it was like (in some greater way) for my dear friend Jay Wheelock, yesterday morning at 6:20 a.m. CDT., when Jay went to be with Jesus. His passing was difficult for me. I loved this man as much as I ever could have loved a brother.

He was in fact my brother, because I also had the rare privilege of leading Jay to trust in Jesus as his own personal Savior back in the late 1990’s. For the last 20 years or so Jay and I played lots of golf together. We went on many spiritual journeys together, as his mind led Jay to read the Bible constantly and come to me with a list of questions to help him make sense of it all. Now, looking back on all those years, and all that conversation and discussion, I miss him already. I’m sad… but it’s a joyful sadness. Because I know… that Jay now knows… the truth of all we discussed.

Consider for a moment these truths:

Psalm 139:16 ~ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Psalm 39:4 ~ LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is.

Romans 8:1 ~ So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:53-58 ~ Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

The schedule for the Rocky Mountaineer train journey was never precise, they always gave us a general arrival time span. This was because they shared the tracks with other trains and the train traffic controllers determined who went where and when.

However, in the Sovereign plan of God, laid out before Jay was ever born, God had it all worked out. And God is never late or imprecise.

The ultimate truth is crystal clear:

Romans 5:6 ~ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Thank you God, for my brother Jay, who now knows the truth of these words, and lives now in the power of your presence.

Lumbering through Life

July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 Dr. J.D. Wilkins1 Comment

Daily Post: Bumble

bumbling

One of my favorite Disney characters was Jumbo Jr. Here’s the child elephant which has extremely large ears, not proportionate to his body, so he’s ridiculed and cruelly tagged Dumbo. The moniker sends his mother into a fit storm that gets her chained up like a criminal. Jumbo’s bumbling accident wreaks havoc and several elephants are injured, so “Dumbo” is dressed up like a clown and given dangerous acts to perform. Finally all this leads to the discovery of how his humongous ears have a positive benefit, they enable him to fly. Now the bumbling elephant becomes the feature show at the circus.

Disney movies had a way of touching children with simple images and stories, while leading adults toward some serious self-examination, and contemplation of life struggles. There seemed to always be a “lesson” in the bumbling awkward telling of the tale. Here are a few just to get you thinking…

Lion King … don’t take life too seriously
Aladdin … it is what’s on the inside that counts, nothing else matters.
Cinderella … material possessions can be gone in an instant, but no one can ever take away your dreams.
Winnie the Pooh … close friends are life’s greatest treasures, cherish your time together.
Beauty and the Beast … true beauty is found not in how one looks, but in how one treats others.
Dumbo … what makes you different is also what makes you incredibly special.

I guess this lesson stuck with me. Within my own self-examination efforts there are times when I imagine myself no more than a bumbling, stumbling, lumbering human, whose awkward attempts at living fall miserably short of what I was designed to be. At times I’m heavy-footed and uncoordinated, galumphing along the daily path. Other days I’m tramping and blundering toward a goal, but doing it so ineptly. The lesson from Dumbo applies to me everyday… I am what I am, I am who I am, and what makes me different, also makes me special.

Profiling can be a very dangerous thing, as we’ve seen recently around the world, as every country continues to fight ISIS, and terrorism in general. However, there is an excellent way to come to understand the value of uniqueness that God designed in you. Dr. Mels Carbonell, President of Uniquely You Seminars and Resources, says, “Personality profiling can be a sensitive subject if you don’t explain its importance and function. The most important advice is to NEVER use the term ‘personality test.’ That definitely gives people the impression that some personalties are better than others.” The DISC personality profile is a great tool to bring understanding to who you are, and why you think and act in the ways you do.

The Bible is full of expressions regarding the uniqueness of you as well. While we are all designed in a general human subject context, we are each distinctly different in so many ways. Consider these verse today, and realize… what makes you different is also what makes you incredibly special... at least to Dumbo, as well as Scripture!

Psalm 139:13-14
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

1 Peter 2:9
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Psalm 119:73-74
Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. May those who fear You see me and be glad, Because I wait for Your word.

Jeremiah 1:4-5
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Psalm 139:16
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

Psalm 139:2-4
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

Don’t just go lumbering through life! Use these verses to find meaning and purpose in your life, serving the Creator in your own unique self.

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Eternal Dossier

March 13, 2017 Dr. J.D. Wilkins2 Comments

via Record

An obituary typically consists of a brief biographical sketch of the deceased person from the vantage point of a friend or relative. The view received from this information is still an earthly view. While it may have a spiritual synopsis of the person’s life, often it is more about the nature of their character, the sum of past achievements, genealogy, etc. I know a few folks who still read the newspapers, whose favorite section is the Obituaries, because they like reading these short biographies of those who have passed.

obituaries

Some people might even see this tribute as the “scorecard” for a life. However, keeping score this way may not necessarily be the healthiest approach to life here or the hereafter. If we are going to keep score, we might want to think more along the lines of what God keeps recorded in our eternal dossier. Of course, this assumes you know that God does keep records of some things, and those things are defined for us in the Bible. Allow me to give you a list of ten things God records, or has recorded over time; and will record until human history is over.

God records and stores all the tears we shed.
Psalm 56:8
You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your records?
God records my birth, my life, my death in days – before it happens.
Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.
God records the number of the stars and keeps record of their names.
Psalm 147:4
He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.
God keeps a Book of Remembrance of those who regard His name.
Malachi 3:16
At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name.
God keeps track of people’s heavenly investments.
Matthew 6:20
But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
God records the number of hairs on an individual human head.
Matthew 10:30
But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
God records every idle word a person speaks.
Matthew 12:36
I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.
God records every Godly work of a person.
Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints–and you continue to serve them.
God records the general life of all humans.
Revelation 20:12
I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
God records the name of every person who ever stepped over the line of faith into Christ.
Revelation 20:15
And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

An obituary is the record to be read by those who remain behind in this life, here on this earth. God’s records are for the person who has just passed. Specifically, God keeps a Book of Life where He records all those who have trusted Jesus as their savior. By definition this means there are those who haven’t, and what awaits them is not imaginable or desirable as an eternal destination. Does this give you pause? Because maybe it should. Maybe this is the moment of reflection and contemplation your whole life has been leading up to. In these ten simple statements you may recognize that all of life has meaning and purpose, but will your’s measure up to God’s standard?

What does your eternal dossier look like?

faster, faster, faster

February 28, 2017 Dr. J.D. WilkinsLeave a comment

via Quicken

Ask those who know me really well, and they will confirm for you, I’ve never been a very patient person. My kids learned their driving habits from me, so I’ve no one to blame but myself when they drive too fast. I used to drive really fast, and loose, and a little on the edge. I’m older and wiser now, but occasionally I’ll still need to lighten up on the accelerator, if you know what I mean. This lack of patience sometimes leaks over into other aspects of my past, present, and future.

I was so in a hurry to get through college, so that I could go on to Seminary. I knew I was headed there, so why focus on the now, when where I really want to be is there. In Seminary I was always in a hurry to get through each semester, so I could graduate, and get on with being a Pastor. Unfortunate circumstances (translation life-interruptus) caused there to be a 20 year hiatus on finishing that degree. I spent most of that 20 years in the computer industry as a career, and serving my ministry desires through lay-ministry in the church we attended at the time.

When I finally got the opportunity to go into ministry full time, and later finish my Master of Divinity education, then a Doctor of Ministry degree, I pursued each of these with the same vigor and lack of patience as before. I’ve been a driven person most of my life, always trying to go faster, faster, faster. I wasn’t trying to run ahead of God, so much as I just wanted to get there faster.

It reminds me a little of the disciples wanting Jesus to quit taking so much time setting up His earthly kingdom. They asked him after the resurrection, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 2:6] They were wanting to get there faster. The reply from Jesus is something we should really focus on here, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;“[Acts 2:7] Part of the problem with having this “faster” mentality is thinking God is just a slow-poke. But Jesus helps them (and us) understand that it isn’t just “kingdom” things that God has fixed in time, but that each minute of our lives is accounted for under God’s sovereign authority. God saw me before I was born. He knows the number of my days. Don’t take my word for it, look at Psalm 139:16 – “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.”

Today, most days, because we think God is a slow-poke, we become impatient about life, always wishing we could get “there” (wherever there is) faster, faster, faster. In fact it’s easy to get all wrapped up in “end of days” mentality, wishing God would get it all over with already, so we can all go be with Him in heaven. Trust me when I say, God isn’t even “nearly” through saving people yet! Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9] God isn’t about to end human history until all the humans who will be saved… are saved. God’s will is that all come to repentance.

So if you’re one of those who likes to see timelines and deadlines in the Book of Revelation, then let me offer you a small bit of advice. Slow down. Read the book, and study the book differently. It isn’t all about judgment and just getting to heaven. It is about God saving people who will say “yes” to His grace, even in the worst seven-year period of human history… the end of days. I can help you with this, if you’d like. Click to read more. BOOK