Healing Words

    For several decades, I suffered from something like fibromyalgia. During that time, I read countless articles and many books about nutrition and health, but I found that the most helpful instruction came from the Bible.

Over a period of several years, I compiled a number of references to passages in the Bible that spoke about physical, mental, and spiritual health, and wrote short comments on them. You can find the results of this study in The Lord’s Healing Words, available from www.AuthorHouse.com.

The former dean of the medical school of the University of Virginia, Dr. Robert M. Carey,  wrote in his preface, “I commend this book most enthusiastically to you.”Dr. Francis MacNutt, author of Healing, The Power to Heal, and other widely-read books, said it was “Very well done.” Other readers have told me how much they have been helped by The Lord’s Healing Words, so I encourage you to find out for yourself.

The 200-page volume contains six months of daily readings from the Bible on physical, mental, and spiritual health, with brief commentary. The comments are meant to stimulate your own reflection, prayer, and action to produce substantial change in your health and overall happiness.

Without offering any guarantee of a pain-free existence, this book does uncover the wisdom of God’s Word for a healthy lifestyle. A special section on men’s health addresses common problems we men face and contains essential principles for along, effective, and joy-filled life.

TLHW is not a “page-turner”; nor is it meant to be. It works best for you to go slowly, one section at a time, thinking about what you have read and applying it to your own life.

Happy reading!

Wright

The Street Preacher

The Street Preacher 

            On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), I took the train from New Haven to New York, where I had a two-hour layover before boarding another train home to Charlottesville. On my first stopover in Penn Station a few days earlier, I remained below, enjoying the sights and sounds of the subterranean semi-city. This time, however, I decided to emerge from the “safety” of the train station to the busy streets above. I actually thought I might be able to catch a glimpse of the thousands of revelers.

            When I asked directions to the parade, I was directed towards Fifth Avenue, three blocks away. Crossing 34^th Street, I saw a middle-aged man standing not far from the corner, speaking to no one in particular as the crowds hurried by.

            I was about to pass him also, and did, but something in his manner and his message drew me back around to where he was standing, and I just stood there, quietly listening for almost ten minutes.

            This was my first real exposure to a street preacher. I’ve seen men haranguing a crowd, but never have I stopped to listen.

            Holding a little green Gideons’ New Testament in his hand, he cried out with a loud voice as he looked straight ahead and poured forth his message in steady, rhythmic cadences. I was skeptical, and sought to find fault with him. Not that I am opposed to such endeavors, which have engaged the energies of many great servants of God over the centuries, included John the Baptist, George Whitefield, Hudson Taylor, and Jesus himself. It’s just that I see these people as perhaps you do, maybe a little nutty.

            He was dark-complexioned, about my height, though a bit heavier, and with more gray hair. Simply dressed, even a bit shabby, he stood in front of a couple of large plastic bags whose contents I could not discern, but which just might have held his all his most valuable earthly possessions. Clearly, he was not getting rich by thus occupying himself.

            Nor was he acquiring fame. Tourists and travelers like me had other places to go and see, and headed for their destinations with cheerful determination. New Yorkers are too sophisticated, I suppose, to waste their precious time on a non-entity like this, or to halt long enough to hear a message that challenged their fundamental values. 

            For that is what he did, non-stop and with great passion. 

            “Friends, you can cancel your appointment with your hairdresser. You can cancel your appointment with your lawyer. You can even cancel your appointment with your doctor. But you can’t cancel your appointment with death.”

            “The Bible says that there is a hell, and that those who do not repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ are going there.” For his Roman Catholic listeners, he warned, “I have read the Bible many times, and in it I find no mention of Purgatory.”

            “But you say, ‘I have lost my job. My wife has left me. My children have gone off the right path. Cancer is eating up my body. I am already suffering enough. I am already in hell.’ Friend, I tell you that the pain you endure now is only a slight foretaste of the eternal misery you will encounter in hell if you do not turn from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ.” 

            He spoke of his own previous experience – drug addiction, immorality of all sorts, pride, envy, hatred. “But Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, saved me; he forgave my sins and made me a child of God. Friends, he can do the same for you.”

            The more I listened, the more I admired – no, envied – this man. He had it all:  a firm grasp of the entire Bible, it seemed; up-to-date knowledge of current events and cultural trends, to which he referred frequently; oratorical eloquence of a very high order; and fearless zeal for God’s glory and the salvation of souls.

            He paused only to take the shortest of breaths, so at length I just had to break in (for I did want to see the Empire State Building), and said, “God bless you, Brother. I am a preacher, too, but you are far better than I am.”

            At that he ceased speaking and put his arm around me.

            “Thank you Brother, he replied with a warm smile. Let me pray for you.” And he did, passionately, asking God to give me the fullness of the Spirit as I shared the Gospel.

            There we were, two middle-aged men, with our heads bowed and arms on each other’s shoulder, enjoying the immense gift of instant friendship. He was from Puerto Rico (I learned), where I lived for two years as a child. Maybe we were in San Juan as boys at the same time, unbeknownst to each other. At any rate, God had brought us together on a crowded and noisy street corner in Manhattan for a few brief and blessed moments.

            He returned to his preaching, pouring out his heart in the hope that some would find the freedom and joy and peace which had come to him, perhaps through another preacher on another corner.

            And I – I made my pilgrimage to the Empire State Building, symbol of man’s pride, and then into Macy’s, a place where all our material wants can be supplied (for a price). To be sure, I enjoyed myself thoroughly as a tourist in the big city.

            But in my heart the insistent voice of that faithful, courageous, street preacher,  pleading with all his heart, drowns out the din of downtown New York. At least for me, he re-defines success, and true joy, and the real purpose of this transitory life.

            Happy Easter.

Just How Bad Is It?

The young woman who asked that question over supper the other night wants to know whether to quit her job and travel the world. But her friends are telling her that we are in a recession, and some are even saying it’s going to be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Sadly, I had to reply, “It’s going to be really bad, and – yes – possibly worse than the Depression.” Asked why I was so pessimistic, I went on:

“My brother and I manage our sister’s part of the estate (mine having gone into our mortgage, a used “new” car, our daughter’s college education, and then her wedding). To be responsible, we have had to scour the literature for investments that are relatively safe. That has led us to several newsletters that, over the past decade, have proven to be remarkably accurate. So, while others have lost huge amounts of money, her portfolio has gone from $60,000 to $104,000 in the past few years.

“The newsletters we follow all predicted the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch, the looming bankruptcy of bond insurers, surge in the prices of oil and gold, rising inflation, and much more. They say that the worst is not over, and that we could be facing a collapse of the financial system or, at the very least, “stagflation” – the toxic mix of slow (or no) economic growth and rampant inflation. They believe that the truly mammoth pyramid of derivatives will collapse, and the entire financial bubble created by easy credit under Greenspan and now Bernanke will pop, with disastrous results.”

This did not comfort my friend, who asked, “So what should we do with our money?”

“They recommend various strategies, including (1) get out of the U.S. stock market; (2) invest in some socks based in other countries with better prospects for long-term growth; (3) put money into cash (such as short-term Treasuries); (4) get out of the U.S. dollar and into other currencies (such as the Swiss franc); (5) buy gold and silver – either the physical metals or safe substitutes, like an ETF or certificates that have your name and a serial number, stored in a really safe place; (6) buy stocks in commodities, such as oil, wheat, precious metals. They also have other suggestions, depending on their point of view.”

I promised to send her information via this blog, so here I am, passing on to you what my brother and I have found useful for our sister. I recommend that you look first at the Safe Money Report of Martin Weiss(www.martinweiss.com). Supplement that with the newsletter on currencies from Everbank (www.everbank.com); and fill it out with the newsletter on silver from Jim Cook of Investment Rarities International (Call 1-800-328-1860 and ask for Greg Westgaard; tell him I sent you. He knows me as “George” [my first name, which I use for business]). Ignore the hype in Weiss’ publications. He’s been right on, despite all the exclamation marks.

McAlvany’s Intelligence Advisor (www.mcalvany.com) is not for the faint-hearted, but it’s interesting to know that he was against the invasion of Iraq from the beginning, seeing it as a costly no-win boondoggle. He’s quite critical of the government (as are some of the others I’ve mentioned) and very pessimistic, which turns a lot of people off. But he does give news and analysis on the current economic and geo-political situation, with worst-case-scenarios worthy of the best “doom-and-gloom” prognosticators, except that he always ends with a strong affirmation of Christian faith and a reminder that we have no security in this world apart from God’s promise to take care of his people.

The March 16 New York Times carried two articles of interest: On the front page, a story on how Fed chief Bernanke has apparently thrown the “rule” books out the window in a frantic attempt to prevent a total financial collapse – which should tell us something about the seriousness of the situation -and, on the front page of the business section, a scathing criticism of the Fed’s bailout of Bear Sterns this weekend. Apparently, the writer thinks this sends the wrong message to irresponsible risk-takers, and presages the further decline of the dollar, inflation, and a loss of trust in the U.S. government and the U.S. market.

March 18’s Wall Street Journal used terms like worsening chaos, panic, collapse, etc.

Friends, this is the big one people have been warning us about for years now, made incredibly huge by the explosion of derivatives investments whose “value” now exceeds that of the U.S. economy.

Maybe during these coming months we shall have to re-think our priorities in life, tighten our belts a bit, and renew our commitment to seeking God’s kingdom first.

One thing we know: Psalm 23 has not been taken out of the Bible, and Matthew 6:33 is still true. We don’t have to worry. We just have to trust God and do what seems best for his glory and the good of our neighbors.

Three conversations

I took the train today to New Haven, changing at New York’s Penn Station. Getting off the train, I saw a young man with a cylinder slung across his back and asked what was in it.

“A poster,” he replied.

“Are you going to a scientific conference?”

“Yes, in Cold Spring Harbor,” he answered in a think European accent.

“Where are you from?”

“Poland”

“Oh, I greatly admire the Poles.”

“Why?”

“They have a noble history.”

“What was noble about it?”

“The Polish cavalry rode out bravely to meet the German tanks at the start of World War II.”

“How do you know that?”

“I read a bit here and there in history.”

“What do you do?”

“I lead a small think tank in Charlottesville.”

“What do you ‘think’ about?”

“China.”

“What about China?”

“Religion in China, and especially Christianity.”

“Oh? Is there any Christianity in China? I thought it was all wiped out.”

“Well, they tried, but now the Chinese church is growing fast, especially among intellectuals.”

He stopped in his tracks and fixed me with an incredulous stare.

“I don’t understand how this could be.”

Well, of course I was more than happy to tell him why many educated Chinese are becoming Christians in droves. That just mixed up the pieces of his little mental puzzle, as I described how really bright Chinese were not only looking for answers to questions of meaning, purpose, and social ethics, but also their own private dilemmas and conflicts, and how some of them are open to sharing their mental journey with us, and even seeking our advice sometimes.

“They must pay you really big bucks for that kind of advice,” he said, sincerely.

“Well, no. But they give us their friendship, which is worth more.”

He smiled appreciatively and we parted.

Briefly, the next conversation was on the next train with a young black student at Fordham University, whom I asked about what her classmates were thinking about life these days, and whether they were optimistic about their futures. In the course of our discussion, I asked what religion(s) her friends were favoring, and she said they were mostly atheists.

“How interesting!” I replied. “In China, among students, it’s just the opposite,”  and went on to explain. She was quite surprised, but didn’t pursue the matter. Too many text messages were coming in, I suppose.

The final conversation was with the Hertz d river who picked me up. He told of how his teenage daughter had reported on him for giving her his frank opinion on some matter of contention, and how the police had called him in the next day for “child abuse.” He is distraught by his inability to discipline his two daughters, even verbally. I sympathized with the  difficulties of rearing children these days, inwardly thanking God for my own mostly respectful daughter, but thought I had an opportunity to put in a word for faith.

“Have you thought of taking them to church?” I queried.

“I take them to church every Sunday but it doesn’t seem to do any good.”

Is there a connection between these conversations? I think so. The decreasing decadence of the West, and the turning of Chinese to  Christianity, having “been there and done that.”

Happiness and health

Happiness and Health 

            Notice that I didn’t say “Health and Happiness.” The order is deliberate. Though bad health can induce depression (I know from experience), the reverse is also true (as I also know from experience). Negative thoughts can ruin your health. That’s a fact so well established that I have heard one expert say, “It’s not a question whether much illness is brought on, or aggravated, by our emotions, but of how much. The debate (he claimed) is over whether 75% or 85% of sickness is psychogenic.”

            His figures may be high, but there’s no doubt that unhappiness is bad for your health. 

            So, what to do? Just “snap out of it”? It might not be that easy, but there are some action steps to take when you are feeling low. A few that work for me: 

-           Listen to “happy” music. Schubert’s Trout Quintet is helping me beat the blues right now.

-           Do something usefully physical (as distinct from punching a hole in the ceiling, as one young man I know did with a karate kick in a fit of frustration). I’ve read that you can’t exercise and be depressed at the same time. I just vacuumed the floor, which killed two birds with one stone – completing a chore I promised I would do and getting me to move around. 

-           Do something necessary. I plan to (try to) reconcile my checkbook after writing this. 

-           Look out the window. It somehow changes your perspective. 

-           Think of someone with real problems. You could start with Darfur, or the hundreds of thousands with frostbite in western China right now. They’re watching their herds and crops die under heavy snowfall and can’t do a thing to help. 

-           Praise and thank God. Not only does he deserve our worship and gratitude, but when we praise him and thank him at all times and for all things, such an action serves as an antidote to the blues.

            During and after starting to write this blog Saturday, several things went “wrong” for me. At first I was pretty frustrated; then I realized that these were opportunities to practice what I was “preaching,” so I deliberately began to offer thanks for each of the annoyances that had obstructed me from finishing this post. It worked! My mood went from grumpy to glad. 

            I hope this helps you as a new work week commences  after an early Daylight Savings Time has perhaps made it a bit harder to get up and face the day.

(Sorry I don’t know how to make the type the same size yet.)

Typo

Alas, I allowed a typo into one of the very first posts! I meant, of course, “What does God like?”

But this gives me a chance to admit, up front, that this blog will feature many mistakes, not by design but of necessity, since this blogger is both finite and fallen.

So, What is God like? must be answered, in part, with these comforting words: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” Psalm 103:8

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Or, You Can’t Take It With You 

            Yesterday in church I sat next to a friend who had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a few years back. This mountain is not technically hard to ascend, since its slope is not that steep, but the altitude at the upper elevations (the peak is higher than 19,000 feet) makes huge demands upon one’s stamina. As you go up, your body begins to crave oxygen and to lose energy. 

Her group started with ten climbers, four guides, and six porters to bring  necessary supplies for a five-day trek.  Each climber had to carry a pack with personal belongings, however. They had been warned not to try to sprint to the top, since there would be even less time to adjust to the thin air. Indeed, by the time they neared the summit, the party was reduced to one guide, three climbers, and no porters, for some had tried to go too fast and had collapsed. 

By this time, my friend was herself almost spent. She could barely put one foot in front of the other. The guide told her she must discard everything except the clothes on her back if she were to reach the goal. She must not be encumbered with any unnecessary weight. 

She faced a tough decision – to get rid not only of extra clothes, but also her notebooks, journal, Bible, and other items of great value to her; or to give up her quest and return with her possessions but without having attained a long-held dream. 

She chose to shed everything and press on towards the summit. With immense effort, she reached the top, where the view was stunning. More thrilling to her, however, was the sense of accomplishing an “impossible” task. 

As she spoke, I knew that God was trying to get my attention. Me friend obviously meant this as a spiritual parable, but how did it apply to me? What priceless treasures do I have to renounce in order to follow Christ? What precious things must I relinquish to gain the best that God would have in store for me? What unnecessary baggage must be left behind? What is weighing me down and hindering progress? 

Could it be my past, with all its successes and failures? Do I have the luxury of either complacency or regret, satisfaction or frustration, joy or sadness? 

Or is it my present? Possessions? Obligations? Relationships? 

Perhaps there is something about my future that I must hand over to God. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart,” wrote Solomon long ago. I am no exception. Hope, ambition, even fear: all these can cloud our vision of God’s mission.

All I know is that “climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro” will require all that I have, or hope to gain; all my energy, strength, and resolve; all my attention and concentration.

But the view from the summit, and the sense of having set aside lesser things in order to gain a greater prize, will be worth the cost.