No Condemnation? ...Yes!

Don't Let Religious People Distract You!

How's The Recovery? It's Going Beautifully!

Thank you to all my dear online friends for your prayers and kind words of support. Your loving response to my surgery has been such a blessing. You folks are very considerate and compassionate. I am a blessed man.

The surgery procedure went well. I am experiencing some pain today but it is very tolerable. In fact, the pain even has tangible advantages because it’s getting me some tremendously kind sympathy around here. (And it’s really going to be worth it when my new bionic legs start functioning at full capacity.)

I think Lucy can actually perceive that something happened to me—dogs have a remarkable way of picking up on our feelings—she has been right beside me ever since I returned from the hospital. In fact, she typed up this post while I dictated it.

God is good and gracious!

E-Flash From Dan - Thanksgiving Eve, 11/23/16

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Are you experiencing genuine gratitude for the many blessings of life? I hope you are able to say a resounding “yes” in response to that question.

I can think of a great way to celebrate our joy and thankfulness. Yep, you guessed it: Join us at the Thanksgiving Eve service tonight, Wednesday, November 23^rd, at 7pm. The worship team will be leading us in a wonderful time of Thanksgiving praise; we will be celebrating Communion together; and I have a message which I believe will remind us and challenge us to be grateful to the Lord Jesus for His goodness.

Hope you can make it. You will be blessed!

Love and blessings,

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

E-Flash From Dan, 9/16/16

Dear E-Flash Friends;

This weekend launches our Fall Kick Off services!

You might be thinking, “Wait a minute… I thought it was still August!?!”

Nope we are more than halfway through September already.

“…Oh!”

We will begin a new series this weekend titled: “Good Thinking, Bad Thinking.” You probably already know this but what we think about matters. If you would like a further explanation of that concept…terrific! That is exactly what we will be doing over the next few weeks.

The worship team has a special time planned for this weekend. You will definitely want to join us!

I know it’s getting late in the week but there is still time to invite someone. Oh sure, it can feel risky to do so but why not give it a try? It’s possible God has already been preparing someone you know for these moments we will share together. It could be life changing!

The services are at 9am or 11am, Sunday, September 18^th.

I am really looking forward to seeing you and I’m already thanking God for the good things that will be happening!

Love and blessings,

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Do You Have An Incorrect View of Death?

I have noticed that many Christians have—from a biblical perspective—an incorrect view of death.

Death is, of course, sad and unpleasant. The circumstances which result in death can be terrible, tragic, senseless and evil. I am not trying to minimize the genuine grief which accompanies the death of people we know and care about.

Jesus wept at the news that his friend, Lazarus, had died.

Death is referred to in the Bible as an “enemy.” (1 Cor. 15:26)

So, I am not trying to promote the strange idea that death is insignificant or that we might consider it to be fun.

Death is significant and it is not fun. It is sorrowful. Quite frankly, I do not like death. And I’m pretty confident everyone reading this would agree.

However, when I write that many Christians have an incorrect view of death I am suggesting that far too many Christians understand death to be the worst thing that could ever happen.

This is not true.

By the way, please know I am directing this note to myself, as well. I have sometimes fallen into this incorrect type of thinking. So, I will write this for my own sake: As a follower of Jesus it is important for ME to remember that physical death is not the worst thing that could ever happen.

The biblical view is that physical death involves a transition to another realm. Existence does not end. In fact, according to the Bible, the existence of the follower of Jesus is improved and enhanced after we pass into the next realm.

The Apostle Paul addressed the issue of life and death contrasting the two options and wrote, “I’m torn between the two desires: I long to go and be with Christ [physical death] which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.” (Phil. 1:23-24)

Did you actually process that passage from Philippians chapter 1? Paul considered the option of physical death to be “far better.” How in the world could death be far better? Is he out of his mind?!? 

No. Paul could consider it to be better because physical death involved being with Jesus in a more direct and tangible manner. That is an extraordinary view. But it also represents the correct biblical view.

To leave this physical realm is simply to be present with Jesus in the next realm. (Check out 2 Corinthians 5:8.)

Again, those of us who remain behind will be sad. We will grieve. We will miss the person who is gone. But we should not understand the person’s death to be the worst thing that could ever happen because that is not true.

You might be thinking, “Why are you even writing this, Dan? This is a morose topic. Are you trying to make everyone sad? Why does this matter?”

I’m writing this because I have recently experienced the loss of a friend and I currently have some other friends who are dealing with serious life-threatening illness so the reality of death is on my mind.

I am writing this because I see some people I care about who have a biblically incorrect view of death and it is resulting in a degree of anguish and fear which is unnecessary. I wish this were not the case.

I am writing this because I see some other people I care about who are walking with Jesus in such a way that the idea of death—though sad—is nevertheless honestly viewed with an ultimate peace, assurance and hope rather than despair! This is remarkable and it is good.

I am writing this because whether we acknowledge it or whether we try to ignore it this is an issue which personally and directly impacts 100% of us.

I am writing this because expressing my thoughts in writing can be somewhat therapeutic for me. It can help me to clarify what I really believe. It can help me sort out the jumble of feelings I am experiencing.

I am writing this because I hope it might provide some small measure of help to you.

“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 5:1, NLT

E-Flash From Dan, September 2, 2016

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Jesus tells a group of people at a church in a place called Laodicea [my paraphrase], “You’re not hot or cold. You are lukewarm. It’s the lukewarm part that bothers me. In fact, it makes me want to spit you out of my mouth.”

I know. I know. That is a vivid metaphor and it is a pretty unusual thing to say to a church. You might be thinking, “What is He getting at?”

I’m glad you asked! That’s what we will be talking about this Sunday, September 4^th. We are finishing up our series on the 7 messages to 7 churches from the book of Revelation. It is going to be interesting, challenging and helpful. Really!

It is Friday night as I write these words and the worship team rehearsal just ended. So I know from firsthand experience, we will have some terrific music. God will be honored.

You won’t want to miss it!

I realize it is Labor Day weekend but it seems to me the best plan for Sunday morning would be something like this: Get up. Go to church, first. And then do whatever else the day holds.

(…Hey, a guy can express his hopes and desires, right?)

Speaking of expressing my hopes, I hope to see you this Sunday!

Love and blessings,

Dan

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

9am or 11am

Being Grateful

Sometimes in the give and take of everyday life I get grumpy and frustrated and I forget how blessed I am.

When I have some time to think honestly about these grumpy and frustrated moments it bothers me because the truth is that I am genuinely thankful for the wonderful life God has given me and I want to nurture a heart and a life which expresses authentic gratitude.

Most of the people I know—most of the people who will read this post—are extraordinarily blessed. What I mean is if we were to consider many of our life circumstances in light of the circumstances of a large percentage of people in the world, we are blessed with significant advantages and comforts in comparison.

I don’t raise this point in order to make us feel guilty, I raise this point in order to remind us to be thankful.

When I see in myself or others—those of us who have much—an attitude of ungratefulness it disappoints me. And to be painfully frank I feel like I’m seeing too much ungratefulness from people who should be incredibly thankful. Again, I see this ungratefulness in me, too, sometimes. So please understand, I’m not trying to pretend I stand above the fray as a beacon of perfection.

(By the way, I just looked up “fray” and it is a real word. And the dictionary says it is frequently used by people who are close to being beacons of perfection.)

It is interesting to know studies on happiness have found that being thankful tends to promote happiness. In other words, rather than thinking: “If I feel happy then I will be thankful about it.” It actually works better this way: “If I will cultivate an honest heart of gratitude happiness will follow.”

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Cardiologist Called

I went to the hospital a little over 3 years ago with chest pains. This was not the first time I had this type of experience. But in some inner sense I had a sneaking suspicion this time was going to be different.

I was right. It was different.

Tests revealed some fairly significant blockages in my arteries and I underwent a catheterization procedure to have a stent placed in the main artery in my heart. Then just a couple of weeks later I had to have another procedure. More stents were needed.

Apparently a strict diet of Doritos, Twinkies and Pork Chops was not a wise choice, after all. Weird, huh? Now, I primarily eat lettuce and once in a while for a real treat I’ll chew my way through a big pile of celery. (That’s for special occasions when I’m feeling wild and uninhibited!)

One of the main challenges of this time in my life was not physical, however. It was mental or maybe it would be more accurate to say psychological. (I’m not sure I know the precise difference between the two terms.)

When these medical issues happened I came face to face with this realization: I am getting older and I am going to die.

I know. I know. This realization is about as obvious as it gets, but it genuinely bothered me.

Oh, don’t get me wrong even though I can be a little bit slow sometimes I knew that the clock continues to tick and someday we will experience physical death. We all know that, even though some of us prefer to never think about it. When I say I came face to face with this realization what I mean is that these blatantly obvious truths became realizations for me in a new way. A more uncomfortable way. A more tangible way. A more present way.

I am not alone and that matters. Someone is walking through this with me. But these realizations of life can still hit us in ways which require a bit of mental adjustment.

In my mind, I always considered myself to be relatively healthy. In fact, I may have had an unrealistic overconfidence regarding my physical health.

My parents, who were overweight most of their adult lives, lived into their 80s (my dad almost made it to 90) and were relatively healthy into their 70’s and beyond. They went for years and years in their 40s, 50s and 60s without going to doctors. My brother and sister are—at least compared to me—relatively healthy. I assumed relatively good health was in the genetic cards I had been dealt. When all this occurred my understanding regarding my personal health took a big hit.

I did not like having to come to grips with the fact that I was dealing with such significant health issues.

I remember the first time I talked to someone after these procedures and I used the phrase, “My cardiologist…” Man! That really bothered me. It still bothers me.

I have a cardiologist?

How can a guy like me have a cardiologist?

What the heck is going on here?!? I’m not supposed to have a cardiologist! That’s for sick elderly people!!!

Ninjas don’t have cardiologists, they just chew on special, medicinal herbs based on closely guarded, ancient martial arts secrets once in a while and everything is fine.

“Where’s Kwai Chang Caine when I need him?!?”

About 3 months ago, I had another episode and ended up back at the Emergency Room. Another heart catheterization procedure followed and this time most of my major organs were removed and replaced with digital cybernetic parts. I feel fine but my friends and family have noticed I’m now speaking with a thick Austrian accent.

I’m writing this story because my cardiologist’s office called me about 25 minutes ago. “Mr. Marler?” the voice on the phone inquired, “We need to reschedule your appointment.”

“I’m sorry, who did you say this is?”

“This is Dr. __’s office. You know, your cardiologist.”

“Oh yeah, I have a cardiologist, don’t I?”

…Yep, things are different.

Giving Room For Mistakes To Those We Love

Most of us have had the experience of seeing people we love make mistakes and wishing we could stop what was happening. We don’t want people we care about to have to deal with the difficult consequences of unwise actions. It breaks our hearts to see them in pain.

But many of us have also discovered that there is a process of learning, growing and maturing that must take place in life. And an unavoidable aspect of this maturing process involves making mistakes. We cannot learn to walk without falling down.

Hey, think about it: there were people who loved us and they could not prevent some of the mistakes they saw us making. In a very similar way we will not be able to prevent some of the mistakes we see people making.

I’m not suggesting we can never help or give wise counsel when we see people heading in a direction that will cause pain. If we can intervene and prevent troubles, that’s great, we should do so. But sometimes they will not be ready to hear our advice and we will have to endure the heartache, be patient and… pray.

Keep On Trying... Again!

My last post was titled: Keep Trying.

This is yet another keep trying post.

Many of the things I have tried to do have not worked. I have had a few successes along the way sure but I have failed so often that it is embarrassing to me.

(I was going to list some of my really humiliating failures here but I can only take so much embarrassment.)

The worst part of failing, however, is that it’s fairly common to reach a point at which we say something like this to ourselves: “Well, forget it. I have tried and tried and tried and I have met with failure so often that the pattern seems to be very clear and well established. Failure appears to be inevitable. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to stop trying. Give up. Go lie down in a corner and take a nap.”

However, I am not going to stop. With God’s help I am strenuously avoiding pessimism and cynicism. (When I write, “with God’s help” I mean that in a very literal and intentional way.)

I am going to keep on working and keep on trying. I am even going to be ridiculous enough to be optimistic. That’s right, you read that last sentence properly. Optimism! Because with God all things are possible!

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Keep Trying!

Note to self: Keep trying.

I have the type of personality and temperament that causes me to become very embarrassed, discouraged and self-conscious when I make mistakes and disappoint others. But I also have the type of personality and temperament that has resulted in my serving in a number of leadership positions. Positions in which I have made lots of mistakes and disappointed others.

If you are one of the many people I have disappointed please know that I am genuinely sorry. Perhaps there will be some very small consolation in knowing I am disappointed, too.

So I understand how it would be easy to give up, go hide and not try anymore. I really do. I have felt tempted to do so. In fact, I’m writing this post from my secret underground bunker. (The freeze dried meals are not very tasty.)

But I mention this to remind all of us—including myself—not to give up.

It is important for us not to let the errors, failures, mistakes, embarrassments, disappointments and discouraging moments of life cause us to quit.

Most people who have achieved significant goals and objectives have done so after falling down. 

…. A LOT.

Keep trying!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9