My Source of Strength

I have always enjoyed answering questions about my disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), mainly because I know enough about it that I can answer effectively. Questions like: what happened?, can you feel your legs?, or what is DMD? I can answer those easily after twenty-three years of experience. There is one question that I’m asked less often that has taken me years to form an answer to. How do you do it every day? I take this to mean, what gets me out of bed every day?

The answer I usually give is that I’m used to having Muscular Dystrophy and all that comes with it. This is the upside to a progressive disease, it starts when you're young and worsens as you get older. That might sound depressing, however, trust me, it’s not.

I know it’s hard for people who can walk to imagine not walking, but it’s equally as hard for to me to imagine walking. I haven’t walked since fifth grade, so the thought of walking does not even cross my mind. I count that as a blessing from above. I don’t want to have a longing to walk again.

For me, getting out of bed every morning using a Hoyer lift, using a wheelchair to get around, typing with a mouse and an on screen keyboard, not having a driver's’ license, going to multiple doctors multiple times a year, is all normal. I’m used to it. It's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, but it’s a lot better than it could be. My life with DMD doesn’t upset me as much as people think it would.

This answer, although true, doesn’t fully answer the question. God is how I do it every day. Not me or my own strength, but God and His strength. I don’t rely on myself to handle DMD, I rely on God. Or as 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” Isaiah 40:28-29 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Whatever ability I have to cope with DMD is from God; I can’t take the credit for any of this. As James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

In John 15:1-8 Jesus says,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

I will say that MD is a trial for me. I don’t always respond to this trial in the best way, but I have no anger toward God for it. James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” I try to remember this everyday. God doesn’t allow me to go through this for naught, He’s strengthening me through all of this.

A few more thoughts that get me the day are: the friends I’ve made due to DMD, the opportunities I’ve had due to DMD, the time I spend with my family, and the chance to write every day. When I make the mistake of complaining or trusting in myself instead of God, I remember all of the things God has done for me and all that he gives me.

No matter what abilities I lose and no matter what MD does to me, it will not take me away from God unless I allow it to. The only way this works is if I seek God’s help. Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” If I reach out to God and ask Him to give me strength, then He will. This isn’t my method, it’s from the Bible. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

So, the take home message is: I take no credit for dealing with my daily life, all the credit belongs to God. If you’re having trouble dealing with something in your life, then confess it to God and seek His strength in dealing with that. I’m no different than anyone else because everybody has problems in life. The thing is that you have to keep faith in Jesus.

"Start spreading the news"

This post is going to be totally different, I’m going to write about my recent trip to New York. A trip like this one is one of those that will stay with me and it changed me a little bit, not to sound cliche. I don’t travel enough to be a travel blogger (nor do I want to), so here is my one travel blog post.

Let me start by expressing that I’m thankful to the good Lord above for giving me the chance to go on this trip. Many able bodied people don’t get around to going to New York City in their lifetime and the number of disabled people that don’t get to experience NYC is probably even greater. I’m not bragging, rather, I’m truly grateful.

   

Niagara Falls and Canada

The first two days of the trip were travel days from North Carolina to Pittsburgh, PA, then from Pittsburgh to Niagara Falls, Ontario. We (my parents and I) did see one sight on the first day: the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. This bridge is the longest steel span in the western hemisphere and the third highest in the United States. It was a pretty cool sight to see.

Fast forward to arriving in Niagara Falls: when we were within about a mile of the falls I saw what looked like smoke, but it was actually mist from the falls. According to the locals, the mist freezes in the winter and covers the roads.

Our hotel in Niagara Falls had a view of the falls, which was awesome to see from the fourteenth floor. There were two gift shops, a TGI Friday’s, and a steakhouse. That's a whole other level of hotel right there. The hotel staff were really nice people also, very friendly and very helpful.

We ate at Friday’s for supper and they were showing the Bristol race, so I was happy. I didn’t know Canadians watched NASCAR.

Day 3 involved going down to the falls. There was a tourist-y building with gift shops, a couple restaurants, a theater, and the Behind the Falls tour. We went on the Behind the Falls tour, which is where you go down into tunnels that are carved into the rock behind the falls. The tunnels, as you can imagine, were crowded and dark. The views were worth it completely, but I didn’t like being in the tunnels. I’m glad I did it, I don’t want to do it again. After the tour we went back topside to saw the falls again from a different angle.

Canada was a fascinating place to visit. Everything was metric; I bought a bottle of Sprite that was 500 ml, the speed limit on Queen Elizabeth Way (a highway) is 100 km/h, and the temperatures were in the 20’s Celsius. (Metric actually makes more sense than imperial.) And the currency is the Canadian Dollar; the smallest paper bill for them is the five dollar bill and the coins go as high as the two dollar coin.

They do, however, drive on the right side of the road. Canadians drive pretty much the same cars as we Americans do: Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc. The people in Canada are nice, but they’re not much different than people in America. To me, and this could be incorrect, Canada is similar in some ways to Europe and similar in some ways to the U.S.: they use the metric system like Europe and their football is similar to American football.

More Travel

   

The fourth day was another day of travel, this time from Niagara Falls to New York City. We had to cross back over the border and go through Buffalo before we really got going. The majority of the parts of New York state we saw were farmland, mountains, or small towns and it was beautiful. I knew there was more to New York than NYC, but I didn’t realize it was that rural. The Empire State was so rural that it reminded me of North Carolina.

There weren’t many signs of city until we made it to New Jersey. Once we arrived in Newark it was all city all over. When I saw New York City across the river all lit up in the evening it was almost overwhelming. I found the Freedom Tower easily and it was awesome to see. I wasn’t done being overwhelmed until we emerged from the Lincoln Tunnel right in the heart of the city. I felt like an ant surrounded by all those skyscrapers. It’s difficult for me to express that feeling of wonderment into words.

We eventually got settled in our hotel sometime after ten probably, I had to get used to sleeping with the city noises in the background. I slept enough that night though.

NYC sights

On the first day in NYC we went to the Freedom Tower and the rest of the World Trade Center. The Freedom Tower is officially named One World Trade Center and it was completed in 2015 as part of rebuilding the WTC. One World Trade Center has an observation deck on the 102nd floor, which allows you to see the entire city and even Jersey City. Fortunately, the skies were clear and it was easy to see.

After the Freedom Tower we went to find food. There’s an area beneath the WTC that connects the subway station, the Freedom Tower, and Brookfield Place. The latter is a mall on like the bottom two floors of a building across the street from the WTC. For a country boy like myself that was an impressive mall. It had a food court with pretty much any kind of food you could want. And there was a complete Rite-Aid in this mall. I don’t know why that amazes me, but it does. We ain’t got pharmacies in malls in China Grove.

We went back over the WTC to see the reflecting pools in the footprint of the Twin Towers. It was humbling to see the names of all those who perished in the 9/11 attacks. That’s about all that words can describe.

We then went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, it’s beside the reflecting pools. In the museum there’s items from the original towers and 9/11, such as beams sheared from one of the buildings by the impact, a fire truck that was crushed by the collapse of one of the towers, and retaining walls from under the Twin Towers. Apparently, in order to construct the World Trade Center, it was necessary to build a "bathtub" with a slurry wall around the West Street side of the site, to keep water from the Hudson River out. This slurry wall is the one on display.

The fire truck was the item I remember the most, it was from Ladder Company 3. From the museum website, “Ladder 3 was parked on West Street near Vesey Street on September 11, 2001. The damage the truck sustained, as a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers destroyed the vehicle. The front cab was shorn off and the aerial ladder was partially crushed.”

The next day we went to Times Square and then we went to the concert that was the main purpose of the trip. First I’ll talk about Times Square. The first thing we did was go to one of those ‘I love NYC’ stores. That store was the biggest one I had seen by that point, so that’s the one I wanted to go in. That store had so many souvenirs; if they didn’t have it, then you didn’t need it. I bought a Yankees hat and a NYPD shirt.

After that we went to the M&M’s store, which was three floors high and full of candy and more souvenirs. The rest of the time we spent in Times Square, aside from eating lunch, was walking around looking. There were people everywhere and stores everywhere. It was neat to see, but I understand why locals steer clear of it: it’s full of tourists.

I’m going to move on to 8:00 that night for the concert. The concert was Jeff Lynne’s ELO, formerly the Electric Light Orchestra, in Madison Square Garden. I’m going to start by saying that everyone working the concert were very nice people. I’m a classic rock guy and so is my dad, so I’ve heard ELO songs many times in my young life and I like their music. Jeff Lynne is British and he’s 70, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. He sounded just like he does in the recordings from the 1970s and -80s. It was a great concert. I could keep going for a few paragraphs, but I’ll spare you that.

The next day we went to Battery Park and took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and then Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty was really interesting to see in person. I mean, that’s pretty much all there is to do on that island, aside from eating and looking at the gift shop, nonetheless, it was awesome to see. Ellis Island was the next stop.

Ellis Island is where immigrants to the US would enter the country and go through various examinations to determine whether they were fit to further enter the country or not. The main building used then is now the museum. There’s exhibits on different aspects of immigration, agriculture, the history of industry in America, etc. The exhibits, however, almost had too much information to fully take in. And I’ve seen multiple documentaries on immigration in the twentieth century. I don’t mean that I know everything about immigration, but I didn’t learn anything earth shattering. Ellis Island still was neat to see.

All I’ll go into about the ferry ride is: when we landed back at Battery Park that ferry was rocking and the ramp was bucking back and forth. I was not a fan of the thought of going down the ramp, but the crewmen got me off safely and I appreciate that tremendously. Those guys must be hard workers to work on those ferries.

On the final day in the Big Apple we went to the Empire State Building, Macy’s, and Central Park. The Empire State Building is, obviously, an iconic American sight, so I’m glad we went to its observation deck too. The inside of the building is nice, it’s definitely Art Deco. I’m a fan of practically anything historical, therefore, I thought it was amazing.

We went to Macy’s after that, not just any Macy’s, the Macy’s at Herald Square. Let’s be honest, I didn’t want to go in the store, seeing the exterior would have been enough for me, but we went in and it was not terrible. That store is nine stories high and the size of a block. Macy’s sells a lot of stuff at that location, from clothes to furniture.

After we left Macy’s, the next stop was Central Park. We had the taxi drop us at the Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. I would’ve wanted to go in the Met if we had more time, but the park was more important. I knew Central Park was big, but dang, it’s big. We walked to the reservoir and Cleopatra’s Needle, which took over an hour all together. I enjoyed seeing the park.

Cleopatra’s Needle is an obelisk that was originally built in Egypt in 1475 BC. The Romans moved the obelisks in 12 BC to Alexandria to a temple built by Cleopatra, then toppled around the same time. It was rediscovered the 1870s and the Egyptian government sent it to our government as a gift. William Vanderbilt largely funded the transportation of the obelisk across land to New York.

The next and final day of a trip was the drive from NYC back home. I knew we were back in Dixie when we rode on the Jefferson Davis Highway in Virginia. I didn’t want to leave New York, however, I was glad to be home.

The NYC atmosphere

I, admittedly, was skeptical that I would enjoy New York at all. I knew I would enjoy the concert and sightseeing, but I thought the city itself would be difficult for me to get around. I don’t like crowds at all because many people walk all over me, so I assumed that would be the case in New York City.

Another reason for my skepticism is that I’m too much of a country boy to like cities. I am happy living out in the country away from heavy traffic and city noises. I could spend a while explaining why I’m not a city person, but you get the idea. My only problem with living where I do is that restaurants don’t deliver food that far.

The first night in NYC didn’t change my opinion, however, we had about an eight hour drive to get there, so I was tired. The next day changed my negative opinion into a positive one. It started with the taxi ride. Some explanation is needed for those of you that don’t know me well or that don’t know much about handicap accessible vehicles.

We have a minivan with a ramp conversion, or a ramp van. Converting a minivan into a ramp van involves, basically, lowering the floor installing a ramp, and removing seats. A ramp van is the alternative to a van with a lift, I don’t like vehicles with lifts (that’s a story for another time). Another thing about me riding in a handicap accessible vehicle is that I feel almost everything (bumps, turns, acceleration, braking) more than you’d think. Since we have a side entry van I sit in the middle, in front of the ‘third row’.

The handicap taxis in NYC are all ramp vans, which is great, and most of our drivers were good. The taxis were rear entry vans, therefore I sat in the back behind the middle row of seats. In our van the entire floor was lowered, but in a rear entry van the section where the person in the wheelchair sits is the only lowered part. I couldn't half see out the windows much because of the lowered floor. That is probably a good thing considering the way people have to drive up there.

Most of the drivers were pretty good, but we had one guy that was like the Dale Earnhardt of taxi drivers: he knew how to handle a car. I mean this guy was navigating traffic like it was the Daytona 500, and he wasn’t dangerous about it, he was smooth.

Sidewalk traffic, on the other hand, wasn’t so bad. Most people walk at a brisk pace and they don’t walk all over everyone else. The people are a lot nicer than I thought they would be. Most people also gave me some room once they saw I was in a wheelchair. Some folks walk quickly and get around others however they can, but it’s not the majority of people. You learn to just go where you want and people move without being too rude. The sidewalks turned out to be easier to get around than I anticipated. I actually enjoyed ‘walking’ around once I got used to it.

Now the food, oh the food in NYC is great everywhere. There are restaurants of all kinds all over the place: italian, southern barbecue, chinese, thai, korean, burgers, pizza, greek, irish, mexican, etc. There’s a pizza place in Macy’s that even has good pizza. We ate at an irish pub one night and their fish and chips was so good it’d make you slap somebody. If I lived in NYC I’d be the size of a planet with all that great food. And I’m only halfway joking about that.

The Yankees

I just have one final story. I mentioned buying a Yankees hat, but what I didn’t mention is that I became a Yankees. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with baseball because I didn’t get it. I know it sounds weird, but being in NYC made me a Yankees fan. I think it’s that I enjoyed New York so much that I wanted to “be a part of it”, even at home. I can’t explain it any better than that.

My observation is that New Yorkers need something to do that’s a little slower than the regular hustle and bustle of the city, so baseball was just that. Plus, as with most sports franchises, it gives people something to unite behind. The Yanks fans are a tight group, they stick together. What’s more, the Yankees won the World Series after New York City survived the horrific 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Wrap up

My conclusion is that everyone should experience New York City at least once in their life. I do not want to live there, but it’s a magnificent place to visit. Even for a country boy like me it was fun. There are so many things to see and do up there that I want to go back. How’s that for a review of a city?

Obeying the Government

Mark 12:13-17 (also in Matthew 22:15-22 and Luke 20:20-26)

“Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.”

The above reading is one of the many examples in the Gospels where the Pharisees set a trap for Jesus and he, in reply, dodged the trap while teaching a valuable lesson. The lesson this in this instance is, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” This can be rephrased to instruct us to obey the government and its laws, wherever you live.

This was ultimately a trap set by the Pharisees for Jesus, but the lesson of paying your taxes is important. I know nobody particularly loves taxes nor does everyone agree with every fiscal decision their government makes, nonetheless we are instructed to pay taxes. Benjamin Franklin said, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He was right, there’s nothing a person can do to escape death or taxes, so we just have to deal with it.

The Bible doesn’t stop at paying your taxes, it goes further to instruct us to obey the government in all respects. Paul, in Romans 13:1-7, writes:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

In similar fashion, 1 Peter 2:13-17 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

We as Christians are supposed to obey all laws, pay taxes, and respect the government, regardless of personal views or political views. To be crystal clear: tearing up draft cards, rioting, rebellion, and treason are all things the Bible teaches us against. Laws and governments are put in place by God to keep order and prevent chaos. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”

There are many examples of people disobeying the law for a ‘good’ reason. One of my favorite examples is Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax, which he believed “supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest.” He was arrested in July of 1846 and placed in jail, without argument.

There is a famous story, which is apocryphal, that goes with this. It goes like this: his mentor and friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, supposedly visited him in jail and said something like, “Henry, why are you here?” In the story, Thoreau replied, “Waldo, why are you not here?” (This story was started after Thoreau’s death.)

Let me give Thoreau some credit. Number one, he went to jail peacefully and without argument. Number two, slavery was a terrible institution and it was abolished, thankfully. Thoreau did the wrong thing for the right reason. As Christians, however, we shouldn’t do things like this. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m just saying we shouldn’t. The only time Christians are allowed to disobey the law is when the law contradicts the law of God.

An example of this is in Daniel, the well known account of Daniel in the lion’s den. This account, recorded in Daniel 6, takes place during reign of Darius the Mede, after he conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire following the assassination of Belshazzar (son of Nebuchadnezzar). Daniel was so respected, by this point, that Darius planned to put him in control of the empire (Daniel 6:3). The other administrators and satraps were envious at this, so they conspired to discredit Daniel by looking for corruption. They failed at this (6:4-5).

They then convinced Darius to “issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you [Darius], Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.” (6:7) Daniel went home that day and prayed, and he would do this three times a day. The administrators caught him, arrested him, and took him before the king. Daniel accepted his punishment and was thrown in the lion’s den. The king was remorseful for punishing Daniel for this (6:10-17). Long story short, Daniel prayed to God and he protected him from the lions. Darius was overjoyed at finding Daniel alive the next morning the he praised God (6:18-28).

Now, the example of Daniel and the example of Thoreau may sound the same, but there is a major difference between the two. Thoreau broke the law to make a political point, whereas Daniel broke the law to stay obey God. God doesn’t care about politics, He cares about faith and obedience. We can’t allow our personal politics to get in the way of our obedience to God.

My final point about our obeying the law is that we are representing Christ and the church to those on the outside. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 says, “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” We are “entrusted with the gospel,” so we need to obey the law to set an example for others. If we Christians don’t obey the laws, then why would anybody see the difference between the body of Christ and the rest of the world.

In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we are told, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” Holy means set-apart, so we have to act it.

The take home message here is three parts: (1) obey the law and pay your taxes, (2) political or personal beliefs are not rationale for law breaking, and (3) obedience to the government sets an example for non-believers. I’m not going to lie and tell you that every law a government passes is good, however, unless it contradicts God’s law, we still have to obey laws. It isn’t always easy, but it’s the right thing to do.

Compromise

Martin Luther had critics that suggested he compromise on some key points related to the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Luther, in response to those critics, said, “Our stubbornness on this issue is pious and holy; for by it we are striving to preserve the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to keep the truth of the Gospel. If we lose this, we lose God, Christ, all the promises, faith, righteousness, and eternal life.”

Luther made the decision to have integrity and stay faithful to God by refusing to compromise his beliefs in the teachings of God. He wasn’t trying to please people, so he disregarded the dissenters and carried on. He made the right decision and by doing so, he was faithful to God. There should be no compromise when it comes to the teachings of the Bible.

Galatians 1:8-10 is applicable to this situation, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

With this example from Martin Luther in mind, let’s discuss compromise. Compromise is a commonly used word in politics; when two groups disagree, they compromise and take the middle ground. Compromise isn’t always bad in political situations, sometimes it’s the only road left to take. Another situation where comprise is okay is in a trivial decision, like deciding what to eat for a meal. Whether you eat tacos or lasagna is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Compromise is not okay, however, when it comes to God’s standards. We, as Christians, don’t get to cherry pick the Bible and decide to only follow certain commands. As stated in Deuteronomy 4:2, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Revelation 22:18-19 says something similar, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”

We also shouldn’t choose the way of the world over the way of God. The world teaches many things that do not line up with the Bible and those are the things we must stay away from. As Christians we only hear God’s voice (John 8:47), not the voice of any other god (1 Kings 18:21). Colossians 2:8 warns us to: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

The sinful things of this world are not from God, which is why we must avoid these things. “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:16-17)

Each day Christians are pressured by the world to compromise God’s standards and embrace the world’s standards. In Acts 5, when the apostles were arrested in Jerusalem after healing many people, they didn’t compromise even under the threat of arrest. This is when God sent an angel to release them and to tell them to go into the temple courts and preach the gospel. The Sanhedrin sent guards to fetch the apostles and, much to their astonishment, discovered they had escaped from jail.

Acts 5:27-29 tells us what happened next, “The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”  Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!””

This is a great segue to my final point. We can use our refusal to compromise as a way to preach the Gospel. 2 Timothy 2:24-25 says “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,”

Timothy includes that we, as the Lord’s servants, must be kind to everyone. People that seek for us to compromise on our beliefs need the grace and forgiveness of Christ just as much as we do. They may be opponents to our beliefs, but we should still speak gently and kindly to them just as we should everyone else. 1 Peter 3:15 reinforces this point, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

When your pressured to compromise remember to be stubborn in obeying God, just as Martin Luther was. God’s standards are the standards we should live by and not the standards of the world. Finally, remember that every situation, even when we are asked to compromise, can be used to share the Good News of Jesus Christ’s grace and forgiveness.

An intimate relationship with Christ

Intimate is a word that is commonly misunderstood in certain contexts, such as when talking about God. Jesus wants to have a close relationship with his people, this is what an intimate relationship with Jesus means. Think of it as the relationship with your best friend: you know what they think about most topics, you know a lot about their personal life, and you would trust them with your life. That is an intimate relationship.

God created you and he knows every single thing about you, but He still desires for you to talk to Him openly. Openness is the only way to demonstrate to someone that you trust them and it’s the same way with God. He won't interrogate information out of you, so you must be willing to open up to Him. Now, I will explain some methods to have an intimate relationship with Christ.

The first thing you can do is make God your top priority every day. I’m going to call your attention to Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand. After this miracle, Mark 6:45-46 says, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.” Jesus made God a priority in his life, therefore  you should do the same. He should be the first one you talk to when you wake up and the last one you talk to before you go to bed. Remember, the Lord is a jealous God. There are many things in the world that we allow to take precedence over God, but it’s a sin to do so.

After His resurrection Jesus had breakfast with his disciples and he asked Peter (he called him Simon this time) three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21) When Jesus asked Peter the first time he phrased it, “do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15) Some scholars take "these” to mean the other disciples, but I understand “these” to mean anything in the world. Peter should put Jesus first in his life and the same is true for us. For, Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Another thing you can do is study the Bible. To clarify, I used the word study instead of read. One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of study is: “a careful investigation or examination of something.” You can read the Bible all you want and learn nothing, but if you desire to truly learn from scripture you must study. You must make “a careful examination.” Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

D.L. Moody said, “Merely reading the Bible is no use at all without we study it thoroughly, and hunt it through, as it were, for some great truth.”

To study the Bible, you also have to ask God for wisdom. And it is as simple as asking God. According to James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Proverbs 2:1-5 puts it beautifully:

My son, if you accept my words    and store up my commands within you,turning your ear to wisdom    and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight    and cry aloud for understanding,and if you look for it as for silver    and search for it as for hidden treasure,then you will understand the fear of the Lord    and find the knowledge of God.

Yet another way to have an intimate relationship with Christ is to obey Him. In John 14:23-24 it’s recorded that Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

Obeying God demonstrates that you trust that His commands and rules are important, even if you don't understand their purpose. Once you give your life over to Jesus, you are abandoning your obedience to sin and replacing it with obedience to God; no one can serve two masters, Matthew 6:24. Paul, in Romans 6:16, wrote, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

To recap: a few ways to become closer to, or, rather, more intimate with Christ are prayer, study of the Bible, and obedience to God’s commands. God desires to have a relationship with you, but you have to meet Him halfway. He’s already done His part (1 John 4:10), so will you do your part too?