Life Lessons

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“I Choose You!”

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.“
Ephesians 1:3-4 (NIV)

I just finished up a week where I had the opportunity to share my book, In Christ Alone: Discovering Your Identity In Christ, with people at the North American Christian Convention.  The reaction of people to the content of the book was a great encouragement and confirmation to me.  Time and again, person after person would flip through the book and with tears in their eyes say, “This is exactly what I need and have been looking for!”  To be able to give them a copy helped me to experience the truth of “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”  

I believe the book connects with people of all ages and from all walks of life because it was written through my prayer times out of my own struggle with my identity.  Day thirteen in my book is a reminder that “In Christ I Am Chosen.”  This is a truth that many of us have a hard time accepting because it often feels like we are someone who no one would ever willingly choose.  I still remember lining up at recess or in gym class and just longing to hear that day’s “captain” say to me, “I choose you.”  I was rarely chosen last, but definitely not chosen first.  I still remember wishing that some day, even just one day, I would be chosen first.

But it is not just in grade school where the picking and choosing takes place and we long to hear someone say, “I choose you.”  We fill out applications and polish up our resumé hoping an employer will choose us.  We look for that special person to be in our life who would choose us above all others.  We speak up wanting our voice — our opinion — to be chosen as the way in which a group would go.  When we’re chosen, we celebrate.  But when we’re not chosen, look out!  The thoughts of doubt and feelings of being unwanted creep in and before you know it they have taken over the mind.  It is at those times I need reminded that I was chosen and I was chosen first!  Before creation God chose me to be His and for me to live a holy and blameless life.

People will disappoint you.  There will be times you will expect to be chosen and find yourself overlooked.  There will be times that you seem to be chosen by others only to find that it was a temporary choosing simply to use you for their benefit and then you’re gone.  There will be times when people choose poorly.  There will be times when you choose poorly.  In all of it, I need to be continually reminded that God never disappoints those who seek Him with a whole heart.  He says that when we seek Him with a whole heart, He will be found.  And when we seek and find, we discover a welcoming Saviour who is calling out, “I choose you!”

In prayer,
Tom

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A Precious Gift

Happy Birthday Susan!

Happy Birthday Susan!

Today is a day
     that we celebrate.
The birth of a girl
     who really is great!
It’s not always easy,
     but so worth the price.
To be given a gift 
     that’s so very nice!

She came at a moment,
     just stepped out in time.
We all had each other,
     but barely a dime.
From the beginning,
     she was daddy’s girl.
With a smile so big,
     any heart would unfurl.

I owe her my life,
     and oh, so much more.
She gave me purpose,
     which had gone out the door.
In the midst of great sickness
     I learned to press on.
There are so many walks
     on which we have gone.

Some say she’s different,
     I suppose that is so.
For she’s filled with joy,
     more than anyone I know!
She’s an angel from heaven —
     at least in a way.
With a message from God
     that she shares every day.

She longs for heaven
     and it’s really not odd.
She teaches me much
     about talking with God.
If you should wonder,
     what her joy is about.
God’s presence is with her,
     of that there’s no doubt.

The labels are plenty
     to describe what she’s got.
But to describe her,
     those labels do not!
CP and autism,
     with seizures not few.
May be what she has,
     but they don’t define who.

A child of the King,
     a joy to mankind.
A sweeter person,
     you never will find.
There’s no fake about her,
     no motives to hide.
What you see on her face
     is what is inside.

Throughout the years,
     we have been told.
Prepare for the worst,
     she won’t get this old.
Perhaps a few weeks,
     even years may be seen.
But it’s not very likely
     to go beyond teen.

And so here we are,
     at twenty-six years old!
A gift straight from God
     that’s still ours to hold!
I don’t take it for granted,
     I thank God every day.
That He loved us so much
     to send Susan our way.

She’s not really ours,
     she is simply on loan.
And it’s a great privilege
     to give her a home.
How long she will be here,
     I really don’t know.
She longs for heaven
     and is ready to go.

As I sit in a hotel
     on this, her birthday.
Alone in a room
     many miles away.
I wake up early
     to spend time in prayer.
And God gives me this poem
     that I now share.

© 2015 by Tom Lemler

We celebrated Susan’s birthday Sunday as I was headed out Monday morning for the North American Christian Convention. As I woke up early this morning and was spending time with God, He put this poem in my mind about Susan. I pray that she has a great day and continues to be a joy and blessing to others as she is to MJ and I.

In prayer,
Tom

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The Silent Majority

Do we even notice
     those who walk by?
The tired, the hungry,
     those too numb to cry?
The heart that is broken,
     in a life that is rushed?
A soul that is empty,
     a spirit that’s crushed?

They are all around us,
     in line at the store.
They’re even in church
     as we walk through the door.
These people exist
     in numbers not few.
Perhaps they are me,
     perhaps they are you!

And if we should notice,
     just what would we do?
The answers are plenty,
     the solutions are few.
To treat one another
     as God treated me.
To serve and to love,
     all those we see.

To sit and to listen,
     to give of our time.
To share what we have,
     to our very last dime.
To lift someone up
     who is feeling quite down.
And comfort the sad
     who are wearing a frown.

But most of all,
     we share of our treasure.
A hope that God gives
     that is beyond measure!
The joy that we find
     with God’s Spirit inside.
We always must share,
     and never should hide!
© 2015 by Tom Lemler

I was spending time praying this morning about some lingering discouragement that tries to sidetrack me from time to time. As I did so, God put this poem in my mind to shift my focus to a world surrounding me that is full of unseen people who feel unnoticed and unappreciated. I pray that you and I are an encouragement to all those around us and that we are surrounded by people who will encourage us when we are down.

In prayer,
Tom

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Eyes That See

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“Ears that hear and eyes that see — the LORD has made them both.”
Proverbs 20:12 (NIV)

I’ve reached the point where I rarely  go anywhere without a camera.  I share pictures on social media so often that some may wonder if I actually do anything other than take photographs.  Surprising as it may seem to some, I don’t spend a lot of time taking photos.  I have simply learned to use my camera as a personal worship tool as often as possible.  

I receive a lot of compliments on my photos and the beauty they capture, as well as a few questions about where I find the subjects for my photos.  My “secret” isn’t that complicated!  While I do visit parks and scenic places when possible, nearly all of my pictures are taken in places where people pass by on a regular basis, often never seeing the things that I notice.  I consider the noticing of these things, and the capture of them in photos, to be a part of my personal worship of God as I continually marvel at His handiwork and creativity.  

The photos at the top of this article are an example.  The picture on the left is the seed head of a water-lily blossom that I noticed at a public garden.  The resemblance to a shower head caught my attention.  While the water-lily in full bloom next to it probably was the subject of many photos that day, I wonder how many even noticed the beauty of the seed head.  The picture on the right was taken as I walked down the city sidewalk on a family vacation.  These sand lizards are everywhere in Florida, yet when I saw this one on top of a small accent light he seemed to be begging to have his picture taken.  My wife joked about the Floridians probably thinking I was crazy to be taking a picture of something so common.  Yet it caught my eye and reminded me of the amazing God I serve and worship.

So, what do you pass by on a daily basis that ought to be prayer prompts and worship reminders yet are never even noticed?  What can you start doing that will help you better use the eyes and ears that the Lord has created?  For me, I am continually tuning my eyes and ears to see and hear the wonders of God all around me!

In prayer,
Tom

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The Invisible Man

It was a day
     like so many other.
He opened his mouth
     then wondered, “Why bother?”
No one would listen
     to what he did say.
They just looked right through him
     and went their own way.

He’s always alone
     even in a large crowd.
It doesn’t matter
     if silent or loud.
No one does notice
     if he comes or he goes.
He blends into the wall,
     alone with his woes.

He always is certain
     his ideas aren’t that bad.
Some of them better
     than anyone had.
But what good will they be
     if no one will hear.
The ideas will be lost
     is what he does fear.

You probably know one,
     an invisible man.
Describe him in detail,
     I doubt that you can.
He’s always around,
     but never really seen.
Were his eyes brown or blue?
     Or perhaps they were green.

We all are surrounded
     each day that we live.
By invisible people
     with so much to give.
Some are still trying
     so hard to be heard.
While some have just quit
     and they won’t say a word.

When we fail to listen
     to those we won’t hear.
It is a great loss,
     but there’s a greater, I fear.
For living within us
     is the invisible One.
Given for our own good
     by God’s only Son.

His Spirit within us
     has much He would say.
But so very often,
     we just go our own way.
His ways are much higher
     and better than man’s.
But we tend to ignore it
     and stick with our plans.

We get into trouble
     when we go our own way.
Then wish God was clearer
     in what He had to say.
A lesson I’ve learned,
     is a good life-long plan.
Pay attention and learn from
     the invisible man.
© 2015 by Tom Lemler

I know that I’m not known for talking a lot, but most of the time when I do it seems like I am the only person that can hear what I’m saying. As I was mowing this afternoon, I found myself thinking about my own experiences of presenting ideas and plans to various groups and people during my lifetime. A vast majority of them appeared to not even get a legitimate hearing because there was always someone with the right “sales” personality that would talk a group into a different idea — many which have proven over time to be doomed from the start. As I continued to think about these times, this poem showed up in my mind and God had me examining how often I treat Him and His Spirit in the same way as what I was feeling. I pray that this poem accomplishes His purposes and is an encouragement to you.

In prayer,
Tom

After All, It Was Just a . . . Piece of Fruit!
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After All, It Was Just a . . . Piece of Fruit!

 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
Luke 16:10 (NASB)

Fruit assortment

Just a piece of fruit.

When I read the Bible, I often try to put myself in the scene in some way.  To imagine myself in the skin of one of the characters or think about how I would react if I was the character.  When I read the beginning of Genesis, I think about Adam and Eve and why the temptation worked so well.  It’s easy to imagine because temptation is something we’ve all given in to.  The instruction from God was very clear yet Satan presented a case for why ignoring that instruction was actually to their benefit.  If they would just eat the fruit, their lives would be so much better.  They would be so much wiser.  They would be like God!  Surely the benefits outweighed any consequences and God would understand . . . after all, it was just a piece of fruit.

I doubt that Adam and Eve anticipated the shame and regret that would descend upon them so quickly — they had never experienced either before.  I’m not even sure they fully understood the severity of the consequences their actions produced.  What was death?  There is no indication they had witnessed death of any kind until God provided the garments of skin for them.  After being driven from the garden to live a life of hard work and painful toil just to survive, I wonder how often they questioned the appropriateness  of their punishment . . . after all, it was just a piece of fruit.

And from that time forward, mankind has followed in their footsteps.  We hear simple instructions yet we convince ourselves that the benefits of not following them somehow make the instructions irrelevant.  We see the short-term benefit while paying no attention to the eternal consequences of not being faithful in the little things.  We go about life as we want to live it, ignoring and dismissing all instructions that might inconvenience us in any way.  When called into account for our lack of faithfulness in the little things, we insist that it really shouldn’t matter . . . after all, it was just a piece of fruit.

As I was removing tape and staples (which should not have been there) from the auditorium wall at church, the verse at the top of this article came to mind.  It also brought to mind an incident from the first summer I was responsible for the maintenance at camp.  We were in our second season of using some very nice additions to the dining hall and health officer’s cabin at the camp and some very strict instruction and policy had been laid down to protect the huge amount of work and investment that had gone into them.  To protect the new walls, we had a very strict no tape of any kind on any of the painted drywall.  We made it through most of the summer until one week a volunteer came and insisted that they needed to tape decorations all over the back wall of the dining hall.  When they were unable to convince me that the benefit to them was worth ignoring the instruction, they went over my head to my boss who gave them permission to do what they wanted . . . after all, it was just a piece of tape.

When the end of the week came and all of the tape was removed, the effects were quite obvious.  When the tape came off, so did the paint!  My boss noticed it and remembered the words of the camp board at the building dedication, “Take a good look at these additions.  We expect them to look like this and be maintained in this condition.”  So, I was given instruction that I must repair and repaint the entire wall before any of the board members came on site.  Yet not once was there any acknowledgement that this was caused by a failure to follow simple instruction and policy . . . after all, it was just a piece of tape.

While this was a specific example that related to my frustration of once again removing tape and staples that should not have been present from a wall, this same mindset is far too common.  We adopt a belief that the ends justify the means so it doesn’t really matter how we do things as long as it brings a perceived benefit to us.  So we take things from work . . . after all, it was just a few things they didn’t really need.  We speed . . . after all, it was just a few mph over the posted limit.  We cheat on our spouse . . . after all, it was just some harmless fun.  We _____________ (you fill in the blank) . . . after all, it was just ____________!

I pray that when you consider the instructions given by God in His Word, including the instruction to obey those in authority, you would be found faithful in the little things . . . after all, it’s just the right thing to do!

In prayer,
Tom

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A Look Inside

Sometimes I wonder
     just how life would be.
If people around me
     could see what I see.
For good or for bad –
     could go either way.
There’s always a reason
     I say what I say.

My mind’s always thinking,
     I can’t make it rest.
It looks for the answers
     that always are best.
I wish I could say
     they always are found.
But some days I’m lost,
     just wandering around.

I’ve learned to examine
     these thoughts in my mind.
To see if their truth,
     in God’s Word I find.
If they don’t measure up,
     I know they’re not true.
They’re just random thoughts
     from out of the blue.

While something within me
     does long to be heard.
So often I’m silent,
     not saying a word.
For fear does take over,
     I’ve seen it before.
What if I speak and
     the response is ignore?

It’s happened too often,
     at least in my past.
The decisions are made
     before I’m even asked.
The pain is too great
     to think no one cares.
So my thoughts stay with me
     and they can keep theirs.

There is a problem
     with a conclusion like this.
To learn from each other
     too often we miss.
To speak and to listen
     are both hard to do.
Perhaps one for me
     and perhaps one for you.

So we make every effort,
     the bonds of peace to maintain.
Through the power of the Spirit
     and the Lamb that was slain.
We look at each other
     as a creation of God.
We may be unique
     but we’re surely not odd.

God has a purpose
     for someone like me.
I hold to this truth
     even if I can’t see.
He also has purpose
     for someone like you.
You’re His creation
     so I know this is true.

So when we differ
     in how we perceive.
Find our common ground
     in the One we believe.
Since we both have value
     that’s given from above.
Our response to each other
     should always be love.

© 2015 by Tom Lemler

I’ve been in the church building this evening cleaning and then waiting for some meetings to finish up so I can finish getting the building ready for tomorrow. As I waited, I went outside to walk the trails and spend time with God where this poem showed up in my mind. If I allow my mind to dwell in the past too long, it seems like I can find far too many times when I’ve tested the waters of speaking my mind or making my desires known only to end up with the feeling of being rejected as my requests are declined or I’m moved out of roles so they can be filled by someone with better credentials or pedigree. I’m not sure why God gave me this poem other than to offer the readers a glimpse into my mind — scary place that it is. 🙂 I pray that God uses it for His purposes and His glory.

In prayer,
Tom

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A Still Small Voice

I am often alone
     in the midst of a crowd.
My voice isn’t heard,
     for the noise is too loud.
The things that I say
     just bounce off the wall.
So the people I speak to,
     do stumble and fall.

I have much to offer
     if anyone cares.
But most are too busy
     living life they think theirs.
“I know what I’m doing,
     I don’t need help now.”
Is an often heard phrase
     just before things go “Pow!”.

“This is a no-brainer,
     it makes the most sense.”
“This is almost as easy
     as falling off a fence.”
“I’ll save up my questions
     for more important things.”
“I’m sure I’ll be happy
     with what my way brings.”

“And yes, I do listen
     to what others say.”
“As long as they tell me
     that they like my way.”
“So, God I am sorry
     that you feel you’re not heard.”
“I’m too busy right now
     to spend time in your Word.”

So, what will I do
     with the voice in the crowd?
The one I don’t hear,
     for the world is too loud.
Will I draw away,
     to a quiet place.
To spend time with God,
     and look on His face.

While the choice should be easy,
     I’m afraid it is not.
The world keeps on shouting,
     “Look at all I’ve got!”
So I must stay focused,
     on His still small voice.
So that hearing from Jesus
     is my plan of choice!

© 2015 by Tom Lemler

This has been a tough day/weekend for me as I reflect on past and present events and struggle to allow my spirit to be still enough to hear God’s wisdom as I ought. As I’ve been going through the sermon I’ll share later this evening, this poem showed up in my head and wouldn’t leave. While I thought the poem was starting out to describe how I often feel, God seemed to change the direction and focus of it as it appeared on my computer screen. I pray that God would never feel alone in a crowd because of my lack of listening but that not only would I listen, but I would also be an encouragement to others to listen. I pray that this poem accomplishes God’s purposes for it.

In prayer,
Tom