This week I’m introducing to you some of my heroes, men and women who quietly and humbly make a difference in the world, people who follow John’s advice to “not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (1 John 3:18).
Today’s hero is my dear friend Deanna Martinez. Deanna is a nurse on the frontlines, battling with COVID-19 and other diseases. Deanna cares for her patients with love and compassion, believing Jesus’ words that “when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40).
Whether it’s the elderly man who held her hand and said, “Doll, I wish you could come home with me” or the young farm worker, far from his home in Mexico, Deanna strives to follow Mother Teresa’s advice to “Do things for people not because of who they are…but because of who you are.”
Deanna is but one of the wonderful nurses and MAs I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. They are all heros in my eyes. Thank you Deanna and all the rest of you. Keep up the good work! You are making a huge difference in so many lives!
Do you have a frontline hero? Tell us about them in the comments below.
(For more Encouraging Words visit my blog, EncouragingWordsForToday.com)
This week I’m going to do something a little different. Instead of one long post I’m going to share a series of shorter posts, introducing you to some of my heroes. These are people who in this time of crisis have stepped up and answered the call, who, in big and small ways, are making a real difference in the lives of others. Each in their own way is bringing hope to a world in such desperate need of a little good news.
I know this is going to embarrass some of them, but their stories need to be told to remind us that, even in the worst of times, there is still good in the world. Hopefully, their example will also inspire us, that we too will “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24 NLT
First of all, I want to introduce you to Tim Riesenberger. I first met Tim when I worked with him in the Walk-in Clinic several years ago. Since then I have followed him on Facebook and have been impressed over-and-over by his love for God and his compassion for others.
Tim is an ER physician with a true heart for God. He has dedicated his life to serving others and spreading the good news of God’s love, sometimes in some of the most remote areas of the world.
Currently Tim is working in an ER, treating COVID-19 patients. Just last week he was sick himself, down with a fever of 103 and in self-isolation. Thankfully he is recovered and has returned to the battle, fighting, the good fight. So glad you’re feeling better Tim!
Tim is just one of so many physicians, NPs, and PAs in the frontlines, fighting to stem the tide of this pandemic. Enduring separation from families and spending long hours treating the sick, they risk their own health, following Christ’s admonition to “Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’” (Luke 10:9 NLT).
Thank you Tim and all the providers who are sacrificing so much in this time of need. We’re praying for you.
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Tomorrow you’ll meet another of my heroes, but until then I wonder, who are your heroes? Share them in the comments below.
Millions are waking up this morning to a world in crisis. Our lives have been forever changed as the coronavirus marches from nation-to-nation, leaving devastation in its wake. As economies reel from blow after blow and the death toll rises, thousands cry out with David and say, “Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.” (Psalm 55:5 NKJV).
As we strive to protect ourselves, donning masks and distancing ourselves from others, we long for escape. Like David we cry out “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.” (v. 6)
Unfortunately, we cannot just fly away from this crisis and for those of us under “Stay at Home” orders, we’re already getting too much rest. As far as wandering off to the wilderness is concerned, our state and national parks have been closed, so there’s nowhere to go!
So, where can we turn, when there seems to be no place to turn? There is only one safe place – in the arms of Jesus. When “fearfulness and trembling” come upon us, we, like David, must declare, “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me.” (Psalm 55:16).
In this time of crisis, “Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” (v. 17). No matter what worries beset you, what trials come your way, or what diseases taint the air you breathe, if you will but “cast your burden on the Lord…He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (v. 22).
James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” We may have to practice social distancing, but God never does. Run to His arms today. Give Him your worries and fears, and He will give you His peace, a peace “which surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7).
This Sabbath morning, instead of checking the latest news on COVID-19 and getting yourself even more upset, “call upon God,” “pray, and cry aloud.…” Take refuge in Him and “no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:10-11).
You can’t stop this virus from spreading, but you can stop your fear from getting worse. Remember “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1). He declares, “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4 NIV).
Today, instead of giving into fear, “cast your burden on the Lord”. He’s got this! Rest in His arms today and He will carry you through.
This has been quite a week, not just for our nation, but for the world. With the COVID-19 pandemic invading country after country, carrying with it suffering, death, and economic instability, our world has changed seemingly overnight. Millions have been told to shelter in place, businesses have been forced to close or decrease their hours, and hospitals are becoming overwhelmed and are fast running short on supplies.
The reality of this new normal was driven home to me, when I learned my office hours will be cut, starting this next week, due to the economic downturn. Thankfully, with some tightening of our budget, we’ll be fine, but it made me realize many, facing a similar situation, will not be able to absorb that type of loss and will face the prospect of not being able to pay their bills or put food on the table.
Most unsettling is the fact that this is just the beginning. In the coming weeks and months we are going to see things happen in this nation and the world we never dreamed possible. Thousands may be out of work, hospitals overrun, and store shelves stripped bare. Friends, neighbors and family members may grow sick and thousands may die. This is already starting, but it is going to get worse.
In the face of this impending crisis, how then should we, we who call ourselves Christians, respond? Should we, like so many, “faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world…” (Luke 21:26). Do we huddle in our homes, stock our shelves with toilet paper, and hunker down till the storm blows over?
The answer, of course, is a resounding, “No!” Remember “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7). Now is the time for us to step up to the plate like never before. Now is time for us, like Esther of old, to put it all on the line for God’s people. We live in a world reeling from this blow. It is time for us to step into the gap and share the love of Jesus with our neighbors and friends, with the suffering and those overcome by grief, for ‘who knows but that [we] have come to [our] position for such a time as this?”
It is time for us to set aside our self-centeredness, our bickering and quarrelling and “share [our] food with the hungry…provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when [we] see the naked, to clothe them, and not turn away from [our] own flesh and blood.” (Isaiah 58:7).
Even though our churches may be shuttered, our work does not end. Though we have to shelter in place, we can still reach out to others through social media and other means. We can still check on our neighbors, share our food with the hungry, and our clothes with the poor.
Too often overlooked in our concern with stopping the spread of this virus, is the mental toll on those forced into isolation due to the need for social distancing. We are going to see a dramatic rise in depression and anxiety and even suicide as people struggle with loneliness and fear. For these a comforting word or small acts of kindness may mean the difference between life and death.
Most importantly, in these uncertain times, when the very foundations of our society are being shaken, we must show people Jesus. We can share what He has done for us and of His love for them, giving His own life that they might live. In this time when so many are starving for just a little good news, we must share the promise of His soon coming.
We have been told we are in a “war” with an unseen enemy, one intent on our destruction. The truth, however, is this is but the latest battle in a conflict which started long ago in heaven. Revelation 12:7-9 tells us, “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
Ever since that day, Satan has been at war with God, determined to destroy as many of God’s children as he can. Ephesians 6:12 tells us “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Just as we cannot see the coronavirus, we cannot see our true enemy either, but we see the results of his work everyday. Through war, crime, famine and disease, Satan spreads misery and suffering throughout the earth, all the while blaming God for his own destructive work.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:21 in the last days “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” In fact it will be so bad that “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive…”
But there is Good News! Jesus is coming soon! Matthew 24:29-31 says:
“Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
The war is almost over! This conflict is almost won! “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:36). Until then we have a work to be done and Good News to share.
“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Let us put on “faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (vs. 8). Let us “encourage one another and build each other up…” (vs. 9)
Brothers and sisters, all around us are the suffering, the hopeless, those overcome with anxiety, “apprehensive of what is coming on the world.” Let us, by our words and actions, daily share with them the love of Jesus that they may too find a reason for hope when the world is turned upside down.
Daily let us “bind up the brokenhearted…proclaim freedom for the captives and release of darkness for the prisoners…comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve.” (Isaiah 61:1-3).
We live in a dark period of earth’s history, where men faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world. But there is hope for Christ’s “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Today, let us arise and be a light in the darkness, shining brightly in a world lost in darkness and despair. Let us by our words and actions pointing the way out the darkness to a Glorious New Day! May that day come soon, is my prayer!
Yesterday, while waiting for Costco to open, so I could join the mad dash for the last toilet paper rolls, I had to stand forever in a line outside the building, Okay, maybe it wasn’t “forever” (more like 15 minutes), but it felt like it. It was snowy and cold and I was wishing I could be anywhere else. Then, when we finally got in and I grabbed my TP, it took “forever” to check out.
Our human concept of “forever” is somewhat skewed. We talk about waiting “forever” for the light to turn, not seeing a friend in “forever”, or it taking “forever” for water to boil or spring to come. The truth is most of what we call “forever” is a very short time, mere seconds or minutes, or, at the most, days.
Perhaps our fascination with “forever” is because we realize we don’t have forever. Psalm 39:5 says God has “made my days a mere handbreadth;…Everyone is but a breath…” No matter how hard we fight it, we know life is short, that nothing lasts forever.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Some things last forever. Today, March 14, is National Pi Day, the day on which we celebrate a number that lasts forever. Pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter of the circle, is an irrational number. You cannot express it as a fraction and it never ends. It just goes on and on and on and on and…well, you get the idea.
That’s a little bit like God’s love for us. Like pi it just keeps going and going and going. Psalm 103:17 says, “from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him…” That means God loved you before you ever took a breath and He will love you long after you take your last one. He says his love is “an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Just like God, His love for His children has no beginning and no end. It lasts forever!
In fact, God loves you so much your lifetime isn’t long enough for Him to express all His love for you. That’s why “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Do you want to know what “forever” is really like? Believe in God’s Son!
So, this coming week, when you’ve been standing in line “forever” or it feels like spring will never come, remember two things – #1, Life is short, so enjoy every moment and, #2, like Pi, God’s love for you will never end. Give Him your heart today and learn what it’s like to really be loved – Forever!
This week we welcomed 24 new members to our family. Yes, that seems like a lot, but when they’re each only about 1-½ inches tall they don’t take up much space! They do make an awful lot of noise, however!
Now, don’t worry. We didn’t go and adopt an orphanage or something. Ana just decided it was time to refresh her flock, so now we have a couple dozen soft, cuddly, baby chicks in a large box in our spare bedroom.
One thing I’ve noticed about these little bundles of feathers is they stick together. They get as close as they can to each other when they’re feeling cold or they’re frightened. They eat together, sleep together, and they are constantly talking to each other.
The chicks remind me a lot of Luke’s description of the early Christian church. Acts 2:44 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” They prayed together, shared with each other, and “ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”
It didn’t matter what their social status, how much money they had, or what other differences they had. What mattered was what they had in common – a deep love for God and the determination to share Jesus with the world. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (v. 47).
If we want to see our churches grow, for God to start adding to our “number daily those who are being saved”, then it’s time for us to start acting like the chicks in our back room. It’s time for us to put aside our differences and realize we need each other. We need each other’s support, prayers and companionship, because “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
We need to spend less time bickering and more time studying together, eating together, and praying together. We need to remember Jesus promised, “…where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20). I don’t know about you, but wherever Jesus is is exactly where I want to be.
This Sabbath, let’s follow the example of our chicks and the early Christians and gather “together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God.” (Acts 2:46 and 47). Let’s draw together and “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2). Let’s keep each other warm in this cold and lonely world.
Baby chicks know being together is a lot warmer place than being alone. It’s time we learned that lesson too.
“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.”
Recently I had a patient who reminded me of these words sung by the band Three Dog Night many years ago. As he described his day, I could almost feel the loneliness emanating from him. Divorced, living alone, with only his cat for companionship, he woke alone, ate alone, spent his days alone, and fell asleep alone. Only at work did he have companionship and that did little to fill the void.
The truth is he is not alone, for far too many share his fate. Far too many of us have no one to talk to, no one to confide in, no one to hold. In a world where social media keeps us constantly connected, never have so many felt so alone.
We see the negative effects of this epidemic of loneliness all around us. Depression, anxiety, addiction, suicide, violence, are often a direct result of feeling alone, of not being understood, of feeling isolated, even in the midst of a crowd.
Yet as Christians we know loneliness is just an illusion, because, in truth, we are never alone. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He promises, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5).
Still, it can be hard for a person to relate to a God they cannot see, especially when all they really want is a flesh-and-blood hand to hold. That is where we, we who call ourselves Christians, come in. We must be the hands of Christ held out to our fellowmen, His arms to hold the brokenhearted, the lonely, and afraid.
Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 reminds us, “Two are better than one…If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” This coming week, why not look for someone who needs you to be their number two, to be there when they fall and help them get back up? The great thing is, when you become someone’s number two, they’ll be your number two too! Then neither of you will be just one!
One truly is “the loneliest number”. This Sabbath, let’s let the lonely know they are not alone, give the despairing a reason for hope, and show the unlovely they are loved. Let’s not just talk about God’s love. Let’s be that love in action. Let’s be someone’s number two!
Today would have been Dad’s 82nd birthday. Birthdays are usually times of joy, but sometimes, like today, they also bring pain. It’s still hard to accept I can’t just pick up the phone and call Dad to wish him Happy Birthday, to let him know how much I love him. It hurts to know that, in this life, I’ll never again hear his corny jokes or the sound of his laugh or feel his arms around me.
Yes, this is going to be a tough day for the Edison family. Yet, as difficult as this day may be, our family has so much to look forward to, because we know death is not the end. For those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, it is just a rest stop on the way to heaven.
Though Dad sleeps in the grave, though he will never again celebrate another birthday on this earth, we “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Why? Because Dad has one more birthday yet to come!
Someday very soon “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 NKJV)
When Jesus comes again, when the last trumpet sounds, not only Dad, but all our loved ones who have fallen asleep in the Lord, will be raised into new life. They will be reborn! “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53). That will be the best birthday they’ve ever had!
But, on that day, it will not be just Dad and those who have died in the Lord who will celebrate one more birthday. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 promises after the dead in Christ have risen, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
On that day we will all be reborn, but not to a life like we live now, a life filled with pain and sorrow, heartache and regret. 1 Corinthians 15:52 says we will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” We will be reborn into a life of never-ending joy, endless opportunity, a life where birthdays are no more, a life that never ends!
Today, if you too are missing someone who has passed away, “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” Shed a tear, but do not give into the sorrow or the pain. Instead, rejoice! Death is not the end! There’s one more birthday yet to come!
My poor wife has a serious illness that significantly impacts both our lives and the lives of others around us. It strikes about this time each year and we have yet to find a cure for it.
The first symptoms appear when the sun starts to shine a little brighter, the snow starts to disappear, and the robins return. The real trigger for this illness, however, is when the seed catalogs start arriving in the mail.
When I come home to find Ana pouring over brightly colored catalogs, oohing and ahhing over the newest varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes, and melons, I know the Gardening Bug has struck again!
This year Ana’s illness manifested itself even earlier than normal. In January she convinced me to build her a growing rack, so she could start her seeds indoors. That’s it pictured above. This has only exacerbated her symptoms, because she already has tomato, melons, and many other seed varieties in the soil. She checks their status everyday, eagerly waiting for the first shoots to break through. It’s very sad!
Thankfully for me, Ana’s Gardening Bug, has some very pleasant side effects, such as delicious tomato sandwiches, mouth-watering zucchini casserole, and savory squash. I’ve thought about seeking treatment for her, but my Mama didn’t raise no fool! If Ana were cured I’d probably starve!
2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Ana takes this promise very literally and thank God she does! Through the years we’ve seen our garden consistently produce far more than we can possibly use.
That’s one of the other nice side effects of the Gardening Bug. It often causes a secondary infection – the Spirit of Generosity. This virus blesses not only us, but others too. When we’ve canned all we can, stuffed every corner of our freezers, and sold bushels of tomatoes, what do we do with the surplus? We give it away! That’s when the fun really starts!
It’s so neat to see people’s faces when we show up at their door with a box of vegetables! They just beam! Sometimes we invite families to glean the plants at the end of the season and it’s so much fun to watch the children searching for tomatoes or cucumbers amongst the leaves. It makes all the hard work that came before worth it!
Maybe you aren’t afflicted with the Gardening Bug like my poor wife, but I pray God will still infect you with the Spirit of Generosity this year. It’s a very contagious illness, one with some wonderful side effects! I hope you catch it too! I promise it will change your life forever and could even change the world!
This time of year, we hear a lot about love. The stores are filled with pink teddy bears, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, and bouquets of roses. Brightly colored Valentine’s Day cards stuff mailboxes and little boys pass notes, tentatively asking, “Will you be my Valentine?”
We all long for true love, love that will stand the test of time, love that still loves even when we are unlovely. We talk about it, sing about it, search for it. We make movies and write stories about it. But for so many in this world this search for love seems a hopeless quest.
Why is this? Why are so many lonely, even in a crowd? Why are so many desperately looking for love in bars, in chat rooms, at the theater, on internet porn sites? Why do so many turn to drugs, or sex, or suicide, trying to hide from the pain of living in a loveless world? Why do so many people fall out of love and fall into affairs or divorce? With all this talk about love around us how come so many of us feel so unloved?
The problem is we don’t understand love very well. We are looking for love in all the wrong places. True love isn’t found in brightly colored packages, Hallmark movies, or boxes of chocolates. It isn’t found on the Internet or in a one night fling. It is found in only one place – in the arms of God.
1 John 4:16, 17 says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. This is how love is made complete among us…” It is only in growing relationship with God we can experience true love and it is only then we can truly love others and be loved in return.
Loving God makes everything else real. It makes beautiful words sound better, sunsets seem brighter and kisses taste sweeter. Loving God gives purpose to our lives, meaning to our faith.
God’s love transforms us. Instead of craving attention or possessions we joyfully give our last penny to the poor or our very lives to the flames, not to gain heaven, but so others may know His love too.
Are you lonely this Valentine’s Day weekend? Do you long for a love you’ve never known? Do you long for a friend you can trust, someone you can share the most intimate details of your life with, someone who cares about your hurts and pains, your joys and sorrows? God is who you are searching for.
In Him you will find a love you never dreamed possible, a peace that passes all understanding, a purpose for your life. In Him you will find joy beyond reason, a love that never ends, a friend that never disappoints.
God’s love is everything you need and it makes everything you want possible. His love is yours today, right now. All you have to do is accept it. Why wait? Give Him your heart today and discover what true love really means.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
