Sunday, November 27, 2005

Suffering mixed with blessings

This has been a difficult year in a lot of ways for my wife-Amy- and me. Amy was diagnosed with a serious neurological condition that has greatly affected her walking and general day-to-day mobility. She was also diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor which needs to be surgically removed. Doctors tell us that these two conditions are unrelated. The odds of her getting both are at 1 in 2.5 billion- almost statistically impossible. At 36 years of age, my wife never expected to go through the trials with her health that she is experiencing.

We have been reminded that this world is under the curse of sin and that we will experience suffering in this life. Yet in spite of these trials, we have so much to be thankful for. We have a healthy 20-month old son that has been a blessing to us beyond words. We have tremendous friends and family that have bent over backwards to love, pray for, cook for and help us with our son's care. I am thankful for a good business and clients that I enjoy serving. Life is a mixture of blessings and suffering.

I cannot imagine living in a world that was all suffering and no blessings. That kind of world would be literally hell. The Bible communicates that this is the fate of all who reject God in the flesh- Christ. They will live in a world for all eternity that is completely removed from the presence of God. My heart breaks for anyone on this path. I hope that they turn to Christ in faith and repentance before it is too late.

On the flip side, I enjoy imagining a place that is all blessings and no suffering. This is described in the Bible as Heaven- the renovated earth. This is a place where there is no curse, no sin, no evil, no suffering, no hatred, no wars, no crime, no perversion, no injustice, etc... Most importantly, it will contain the continual presence of God- revealed in the Father, Son and Spirit. I long for the day when our bodies and minds will not break down and will be redeemed along with all creation.

Until that day, I am content not to seek heaven on earth, but instead seek heaven in Heaven. God graciously mixes His blessings in a world that is groaning under the curse of sin- Romans 8:18-25.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Monday, November 21, 2005

Napa Valley trip

My wife and I just returned from a five day trip to Napa, California. We attended the wedding of a family friend and were able to soak in some of the culture of this beautiful region. We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast in Napa which we would highly recommend if you are ever in the area- http://candlelightinn.com

I want to relay two extremely strange events that happened to us on this trip that were reminders of God's providence over all things. On the plane ride to California, I finished the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn.

It was a beautiful clear day. I was so engrossed in the book that I rarely took time to look out the window. I finished a sentence in Alcorn's book on page 251 that read, "We will find rock formations more spectacular than Yosemite's (in the New Earth/Heaven)." Not even thirty seconds after I read that sentence, the pilot of the plane tells the passengers over the intercom to look out your window for a "spectacular view of Yosemite national park." I found that event more than coincendental.

The beauty of Northern California is a reminder to me that God has a restored paradise in store for His people that will baffle our minds. Imagine a world that is released from the curse of sin! We were created for another world. As C.S. Lewis stated we are able to enjoy some nice inns on this pilgrimage from time to time, but we are travelers heading for a better home.

The second strange event surrounded the Candlelight Inn where we stayed. My wife- Amy- used a magnifying mirror to put on make-up. She decided to leave this mirror and make-up bag near the South facing window of our room. After breakfast, we left the inn to visit some wineries and enjoy the countryside. Normally, we would stay gone until late afternoon. But this particular day, we returned early to our room- around 2pm.

We walked in the door to our room and immediately smelled smoke. I glanced over to the window and discovered Amy's make-up bag on fire. The magnifying mirror had concentrated the light of the sun on this bag and the bag was in flames. There was a stack of books right next to the bag which would have provided nice kindling for the fire had we not entered the room when we did. Thank God we were able to put out this fire easily and avert disaster.

These two events are reminders to me that life is not an accident. If only we could see the hand of God more clearly in sustaining us and protecting us from disasters. If we open our eyes, our hearts will be more prone to worship God with gratefulness.

In Christ,

Ashley Hodge

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Rewards for stewards

This past weekend, I finished the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I don't remember reading these books as kids. But after reading them, I realized that the books are really intended for adults to bring out child-like enthusiasm for Heaven. I predict that there will be widespread interest in these books and ideas with the upcoming release of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe as a full-length movie.

God created in each of us a void that can only be filled by Him. He created us to be stewards over all creation and to walk with Him in faith- Genesis 1:28. Something has gone terribly wrong with this world. Winter has fallen over creation. Sin has marred nature, our work, our minds and our hearts. We live in a world that only provides glimpses of Heaven.

Stewardship is the call of every Christian because this is God's original mandate to Adam & Eve. We are called to glorify Him with MATH- money, abilities, time and health. This earth is training for eternity. Imagine exploring the potential for which we were created in a world where sin is absent and God is present.

I love the city in which I live- Dallas. I see two cities within the one. I see a city where crime, poverty, corruption and perversion exists and it makes my heart long for a world where this doesn't exist. But I also see so much potential for this city because many of the people have hearts for God and others. I see churches doing God's work, honest businesses, joyful families, open hearts and homes. It makes me long for a day when this will be the norm not the exception.

I live in a neighborhood that is slowly transitioning from an older 1950's ranch style neighborhood to a place where young couples are buying homes and renovating the older styles. I love to see revitalization, restoration and renovation. It reminds me of the work that God is doing in the hearts of believers and also what He has revealed about His plan for all of creation.

God promises that a day is coming when the earth will be renovated- II Peter 3:13. Peter implores us that since we are waiting for these things, what type of people should we be? We ought to live holy and godly lives. He tells us this in verses 11, 14, 17 and 18 of the 3rd chapter of II Peter.

Friends we are called to be stewards of this life. We need to be diligent, watchful, prayerful, striving, warring against sin, the ways of this world and our Enemy. The time of rest, relaxation and peace is to come. This is our time to sacrifice and deny self for the sake of leading others to Christ. Seek Heaven in Heaven and not on earth. Be good stewards over the MATH that God has given you. Read Luke 12 and meditate on verses 41-48. All of these resources come with responsibility. We are to maximize all things for His glory.

In Christ,

Ashley Hodge

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Prayer

The stewardship of prayer is a vital topic to the life of a Christian. Personally, it is a topic that I write about out of weakness and not strength. God has wired me to enjoy reading, study and research. But prayer has always been a labor for me. Hopefully, through the power of God's spirit this will change over time.

I am preparing a sermon to deliver at Graystone Church in Georgia on Luke 15:8-10. It is the story of a woman who loses a coin and searches diligently until the coin is found. The story paints a picture of how the church needs to be committed to the ongoing pursuit of praying for lost souls. We need to persistently seek others until they are found by Christ. God can do amazing things through His means of grace- preaching of the gospel, works of service, giving and prayer to name a few.

James 5:16 tells us that "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." We are commanded to "pray continually" in I Thessolonians 5:17. If you struggle in praying for others like I do, I have some suggestions for how to structure your prayer life. This structure has helped me focus on the critical discipline of daily prayer:
  1. Pray as the first business of every day. I concentrate on listing four things that I am thankful for that come from God. Cultivating a spirit of gratitude each morning for me is a critical exercise. I then list four sins that I am actively going to war against during the day and ask for God's power to help me in the battle to suppress all sin. I also concentrate on four specific prayer needs for the day. I keep this prayer journal in a computer file and every Thanksgiving, I review the year's worth of gratitude entries. I review on January 1st the year's worth of daily prayer requests and record God's faithful answers for the year. Seeing God work through the prayers of such a weak person as myself is inspiration to persevere in daily prayer.
  2. I have a system to pray for specific people during the week. The system that I use is to pray for: family on Sunday; out of state friends on Monday; Texas friendships on Tuesday; suppliers/vendors to my business and home on Wednesdays; clients on Thursdays; ministries around DFW on Friday; souls of those I am concerned about on Saturdays. This system helps me remember to pray consistently for others at least on a weekly basis. I supplement this by keeping a one page prayer list. On this list, I pray for conversions, neighbors, children of friends/neighbors/clients/family, healing, marriages, ministries, financial needs and also those who have expressed the desire to be accountable for stewardship goals.
  3. I keep a journal where I write prayers to my son on a weekly basis. I did this on a daily basis during the first year of his life, but plan on doing it on a weekly basis from here on out. This reminds me weekly to pray for specific areas of character development in the life of my son. It reminds me of the stewardship of his soul that has been entrusted to me.

If you have other ideas that are helpful to you in staying focused on prayer throughout the day, I would love to hear them. I also attempt to make my time in the car by myself to be prayer and Scripture memorization time. Quiet moments around the house are rare and this allows me to re-focus my thoughts on God. The struggle of every day is to abide in Christ and not to be distracted by the cares and snares of this life in the flesh. I relate to the hymn writer's words, "prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."

For God's glory,

Ashley Hodge