What Glenn Writes

A cold, cruel wind whipped in from the north, carrying enough chill to cut through to John’s bones. He pulled the edge of his cloak back over his shoulder and retied his belt, synching it tighter as if the belt itself would keep out the chill instead of the cloak it held in place.

A fine turn in the weather on one of the few days he had off from his labors! Patmos was nothing but rock and wind on this day, and reminders of the hard work waiting for him as the week would begin again the next morning. A brief vision of Emperor Domitian casually waving his hand to sentence John to hard labor on this backwater island flashed across his mind, then John closed his eyes and centered himself again.

He would not allow the emperor’s memory to invade his peace on his day off… there were times the memory was useful, but not on this day. He was not working with the stones or rocks, feeling the penetrating eyes of the overseers on his back, ready with their whips and cords to lay into any of the workers who appeared to slow down. Those were the times the memory was useful; when his muscles were so drained they threatened to betray him, when his strength was nearly gone… then he would allow the memory to burn a little fire of anger within him and he would somehow press pass the moment of fatigue. › Continue reading

Have you ever met someone or do you know someone making it their primary mission in life to cause division and strife wherever they go? This is a person who just seems to know how to push everyone’s buttons, find everyone’s last nerve to stretch it thin, and just basically serves as an emotional wrecking ball, yet in some way they do all this destruction in a subtle and understated way to avoid direct blame. They are usually the ones who just tick you off for no apparent reason, you just can’t put your finger on why, but man… when they are around, it is like an invisible cyclone whipped through the room and stirred up everyone’s emotions.

Our first reaction is avoidance, because really… who wants to be around them? While they may seem to get along with some of our friends, relatives, or coworkers, who really wants to be around these caustic centers of division? Avoidance seems like a natural response, and in many cases is the best response when we don’t have regular contact. However, what do we do when we have regular contact, when there are already relationships established, or we just have to work through the challenge?

We pray for grace. › Continue reading

I was nineteen. I was working for an engineering company with my sights on becoming one of the office emperors having an office along the wall instead of a mere cubical in the center of the huge workspace that served as an engineering worker-bee hive.

I had drive and ambition. I worked long hours. I wore a tie with short sleeves and I had a pocket protector. 

I was a working Dilbert four years before Dilbert was first published.

My drive and ambition pushed me through many hours of putting pencil to paper, of drawing lines, and putting numbers to designs. The worker-bee hive thrived with activity all hours of day and night, pumping in lead for the pencils, paper for the drawings, and coffee for the workers. The emperors stood in their office doors, smiling and sipping coffee, watching the pension funds grow with each billable hour. › Continue reading

I wrote in yesterday’s article about some personal battles and, win or lose, how these battles build on a foundation of faith. As believers, we have to understand we are not alone in the battles we face, so therefore we have a Strength beyond the battle. The Strength beyond the battle is interested in refining our faith and building our relationship with Him.

The toughest battles are when we are emptied. The toughest battles are when we are emptied of all other options, where the lies of the enemy are exposed and false assumptions wither away, then we are left with the only option of a miracle. These are times when life’s situations are beyond human hope - there is no counsel, no doctor, no medicine, no quick cure, and the situation has become impossible. The toughest battles are when we are emptied, but the toughest battles also build the purest faith.

We have a label for these times in today’s society; we call them a crisis. › Continue reading

I can honestly say the last six weeks have been the worse in my entire life. You might think I am being a little melodramatic or over exaggerating, but I think I am being spot on the truth and not a bit more.

I cannot go into the details as they involve the physical, emotional, and personal struggle of one of my children. Out of respect for my children, I believe these details should remain private. What I can tell you is we almost lost one of our children before the Christmas holiday. My understanding is had this condition gone for another week, it would have resulted in either permanent organ damage or organ failure, which would have brought on death if a donor could not have been found. › Continue reading

Last weekend, we drove by the house we lived in for over twenty-two years with all of us gawking at the changes. Most of the roof was tore off with a second floor being added, no siding, windows gone, doors being replaced, and just a complete rebuild happening. This renovation process included landscaping, as well – which is wild, considering it is winter here in Ohio, but trees are being dug up and others are being planted. It seemed like a Home Improvement, Extreme Make-Over Edition happening to our old house.

We were some serious gawkers.

I can confess to having an emotional investment in that house at one time. After we moved, just driving by would conjure up memories and flood me with all sorts of feelings. As a man, I have to say this is kind of silly… I mean, come on… the house is just a structure, the land is just a place, and all things considered, the property is just another address on the street.

All things considered, though… it was also a home. Our home. › Continue reading

Have you ever found your day following a Beatles song?

I know not all my readers appreciate the Beatles’ songs, lyrics, or music, but we all have differing tastes. I also know Christians who consider all the Beatles’ songs from the devil and call it a sin to listen to their songs. I don’t pitch my tent in their camp.

The one song I seem to be returning to on a daily basis is a Day in the Life. A little research on the song shows the collaboration of Paul McCartney and John Lennon bringing two completely separate songs together to make one. Two newspaper articles inspired Lennon’s portions, with McCartney’s portion stuck in between them with the following:

Woke up;
Fell out of bed;
Dragged a comb across my head.
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup;
Looking up, I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat;
Made the bus is seconds flat.
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke;
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream.
Ahhhh…. Haaa, ahhhh…

-The Beatles (1967) Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon

Maybe I keep coming back to this song because this best describes the way I have been waking up this week? For whatever reason, it seems I wake up and practically fall out of bed to get things rolling in the morning. I drag myself along until I can catch a cup of coffee, and by then it seems I am rolling late. Then comes the dream…

I am also considering the way this part of the song describes the awakening happening as an analogy to revelation, if this is not too sacrilegious or blasphemous to go from a Beatles song to Scripture…

What do I mean by the awakening?

There is reference in Ephesians to a revelation and enlightenment as a believer suddenly “gets it”, or gains a greater depth of understanding about all this “God stuff”.

This is from Ephesians 1:17-19:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

This is written by Paul, the Apostle not the McCartney, who was telling the Ephesians, “Hey folks, I am praying God will give you a fresh revelation, that you will wake up, fall out of bed, and open your eyes to the calling He has given you. I’m asking that when you open your eyes, find your way downstairs and drink a cup, that He will give you new understanding about your inheritance and all that God has for you.”

Yes, I know only a heathen would explain Scripture with Beatles’ lyrics. This is in no way an attempt to raise the credentials of the Beatles as it is to explain Scripture in common language. The revelation here is not for a select few who attend church and always dress proper, but for all to receive, understand, and grasp. The only qualification given in the above passage is that we believe. That’s it. No strings attached. No disqualifiers. No sub-clauses, terms, or conditions. Just straight up believing.
 
I believe our own personal “awakening” comes when we just get plain tired and realize there has to be more to life than just what is in front of us. There has to be more depth to the surface.

Whether our plans are working out perfectly or they are unraveling, whether we are living the dream or our dreams have been shattered, whether we are conquering or living as slaves, I believe there is a moment when we wake up, fall out of bed, and realize there is something more.
 
Are you ready to find your way downstairs to drink a cup? Is it time to believe?

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
Sign Up For Email Delivery For This Blog

Regular readers for my blog know I generally focus on encouragement in faith and our relationships with Jesus Christ. I rarely touch on politics. However, just for today, I believe it is important to deviate and expose a cover-up in our nation’s new healthcare reform.

I know I risk losing a few subscribers, however this topic is important and vital to our freedom. My concern is for the power given to one unelected official in government – that is, someone we, the people of the United States, do not elect or vote for election. It is estimated this one person will control over one dollar of every five dollars in circulation. Stop! Read that last line again and think about it for a moment… one dollar in every five dollars in circulation! › Continue reading

Somewhere along the line of owning a house, moving, renting, owning another house, and moving, I picked up a potbelly stove. I thought the potbelly stove would be a neat thing to install in a family room sometime, or possibly in a garage. I have moved this thing a few times and always found a place to store it wherever I lived. I usually parked it somewhere in the shed, basement, or garage and forgot about it… installing a potbelly stove was near the bottom of a long list of to-do projects.

I found myself at the home improvement store about a month ago trying to determine which of the least expensive wood burning stoves would be the best for heating my garage. I needed to heat the garage to accomplish a few projects around the house; primarily painting some shelves and trim. I went back and forth between the different models when it occurred to me one of them looked very similar to the potbelly stove.

Then it hit me… duh! So installing the potbelly stove moved to the top of my list.

I find it comical to suddenly remember or have the revelation that I don’t have to buy something I have had for years. Yet how many times do we do this with our faith and in our relationship with Jesus Christ? › Continue reading

First, it is only one cookie. I mean, really… come on, one cookie will not hurt a thing, will it? Of course not.

And so, what begins with one cookie, eventually becomes a two cookie habit, then sneaking cookies when no one is in the kitchen, stashing cookies in the office, bedroom, or out in the garage. They are just cookies, after all, and I can quit eating them anytime I want to quit. I am not addicted to cookies, I just have a habit of eating them when they are around. It’s not like I have sunk to the depths of buying black-market cookies in back alleys or on corners where the street lights are purposely broken.

We are only talking about a habit.

Habits, routines, or rituals. We can call them whatever we want, but these regular actions can define our days, define our weeks, define our personalities, and define life in general. These recurring customs can set the course for our families and determine the outcome of our relationships in many ways and on many levels. These daily or hourly traditions can influence our health, also. › Continue reading