Paul

You may have never heard of Paul John Tomastic. He did not have a Wikipedia page or a YouTube channel. He did not have a college education, so you will not find any scholarly journal articles or books authored by him.  He did not have his own reality show. He was not a professional athlete. He was not mentioned in any of the Forbes’ lists this year.

Before about 4 years ago, I’d never heard of Paul John Tomastic, either. You see, my husband and I joined one of the many Sunday School classes at our 4000+ member church in the Midwest. The name of our class is called “Truthseekers”. We joined that class because the teacher did/does a fine job of teaching God’s Word and it was very diverse in that about half of the class is disabled in some way-physically, mentally, or both. Everyone has a story. I wish I had taken the time to know Paul’s story. Paul was physically and mentally disabled-bound to a wheelchair, yet he came to church as often as he could. You see, coming to church was more than a notion for Paul and our other friends as it involved the need for reliable wheelchair-friendly transportation. But, he came. . .until he could not anymore.

A couple of years ago, Paul was hospitalized, and it was determined that he could no longer breathe without being on a ventilator. Paul had a choice. He could either remain on the ventilator or go and be with Jesus. In this day and age, phrases like “consider your quality of life” are thrown around often. Courage and perseverance are rare qualities, yet Paul possessed them both. He decided to spend the rest of his days on a ventilator in a nursing home until the Lord called him home to Heaven. I am very confident that during these last years, he has blessed beyond belief those with whom he came in contact. He blessed my life. He had this incredible joy that only comes from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. His smile was absolutely amazing! Ten months ago, we relocated from the Midwest to the West Coast. Recently, we sent graduation announcements for our oldest child and requested prayer for our second oldest child to our family and friends. One of our dear friends from our Sunday School class visited Paul and he shared the photo of our oldest as well as the prayer request with Paul. Our friend sent us the photo of Paul flashing the biggest smile ever (in a photo) congratulating our oldest and committing to pray for our second oldest. That warmed my heart beyond words. Less than a month later, he is no longer with us.

I began by telling you about what Paul did not have or do because for some reason, our society seems to judge one’s worth based on those things. Paul was an amazing man who lived and suffered well for his Savior Jesus Christ. And now, he gets to worship Him face to face. It saddened me to hear of Paul’s passing. My life is richer for knowing him. But, it was almost immediate that I went from mourning to rejoicing in the fact that Paul is no longer limited by wheelchairs and ventilators, physical and mental limitations. He is healed! And that makes me smile.

When I think of Paul, I am reminded of James 1:2-4 (ESV):

Count it all joy, my brother, when you meet trials of various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete,

lacking in nothing.

Paul John Tomastic
1957-2019

What Matters Most

My cousin, Tammi, is dying. The truth is we all are dying, but she is in hospice care even as I write.  My husband and I have 5 children, ranging from 17 to 4 years of age. While one child is trying to decide where to go to college after graduation in 4 months; another child is in speech therapy to help overcome a speech delay.  There are piano lessons to take; homework to finish; and behavior issues to manage.  It can all seem so very important. You can relate. Who has declared their candidacy for the 2020 Presidential race? Will President Trump build “The Wall”? Will we ever get a handle on global warming? Who is going to host the 2019 Oscars? Was this year’s Super Bowl Half-time Show indeed an epic fail? It can all seem so important, but it isn’t. It doesn’t matter. Repeatedly, the book of Ecclesiastes says, “All is vanity”.

Tammi is where we all will be one day. The way in which we get there will vary, but we will all be there. . .about to enter into eternity. It doesn’t matter if Tammi eats a gluten-free, plant-based diet or one of ice cream, cookies, and gummi bears. It doesn’t matter if Tammi earned a Ph.D., in Physics or not. It doesn’t matter if she is married to the love of her life or not.  Tammi babysat me when I was little and took good care of me. She has been a loving grandmother to her grandchildren. Na Na, as Tammi is affectionately called, is loved by her baby sister, nieces, and nephews. Her children adore her and are amazed by her strength.  While that is important, it pales in comparison to what matters most and that is. . Does she know Jesus as her Savior?

³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  John 17:3 ESV

⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  Romans 10:9, 10 ESV

When I talked to Tammi back in the fall and asked her if she knew Jesus as her Savior.  She said, ‘Yes, I know Jesus. I have a personal relationship with Him.” Based upon her testimony, she has indeed concerned herself with what matters most. Now, the question is. . .Have you? Have you acknowledged/confessed that you are a sinner, and have you repented of your sin? Have you believed that Jesus is who He says He is-the One who absorbed all your sin and all of God’s wrath for your sin in your place? If not, let this be a nudge to address what matters most.

So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 ESV

This Bears Repeating. . .

I went to a viewing today and it reminded me that regardless of who we are, what we have or have not achieved; what we have or do not have; we will all leave this place at some point. Tomorrow is not promised! And whether you believe it or not, we WILL meet God.

Do you know God?

The only way to know God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 14:6 (ESV) says, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.’’  John 17:3 (ESV) reads,” And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know Him as Savior and Lord of all?

Please understand, I am NOT asking if you go to church every week. I am NOT asking if/when you were baptized. I am NOT asking what ministry you serve in at church. I AM asking if you know that God is Holy (among other things) and that sin is offensive to Him? I AM asking if you know that you were born in sin and that you have no power in and of yourself to get rid of your sin? I AM asking if you have acknowledged your sin and turned away (repented) from it? Romans 6:23 (ESV) says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Jesus died on a cross several years ago and the shedding of His blood on that cross paid the price (death) of the sins of all of mankind. This means He died for you. Then, three days later, He rose from the dead.

Do you believe that?

Romans 10:9-10 (ESV) says, “. . .because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Believing is a verb. It is action. So, if you are one who claims to believe this about Jesus and knows Jesus as Savior and Lord, from that initial point of belief, do you spend lots of time with Him, in prayer and in His Word? After all, that is how we get to know others. And, have you lived your life in such a way that points to Jesus? If you have not strived to do so, you may want to revisit whether or not you truly know Him.

This is crucial because when we die, we will go to one of two places-Heaven or Hell. Most of believe in Heaven, but many of us question whether Hell really exists. As a Christian rapper put it, “Hell is real and Hell is hot, Y’all!” Revelation 20:10 (ESV) says, “. . . and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”.  And, Revelation 21:6-8 (ESV) goes on to say, “And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death’.”

Simply put, those who know God through His Son, Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will inherit eternal life in Heaven when they die. Those who do not know Jesus will go to Hell.

Fair to Midland?

My aunt was dying. One day, I was visiting with her in the hospital when the occupational therapist smiled and asked her, “How are you today?” My aunt cracked a smile and said, “Oh, fair to midland”.  I remember my grandfather used to say that. I couldn’t believe it. Here she was in the hospital-cancer lining her left lung and a tumor the size of a grapefruit on/in her liver-and she said she was doing “fair to midland”? A nurse for 34 years, her cognitive function had now been compromised by a stroke just a few months earlier.  She was not doing well at all.  It hurt so deeply to see her this way, but at the same time, I witnessed something amazing.

My aunt was living out the very words of the Apostle Paul who said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  (Romans 8:18, KJV) What does that mean? Let me give you an example. My 3-year old son has become quite the runner. There are times when I have a little difficulty catching up with him and I used to be a sprinter! He’s pretty fast, but if I were to stage a 100m dash race between him and Usain Bolt, no spectators would come. As a matter of fact, Mr. Bolt would not show up because he knows that there would be no comparison. The gap between my son and Mr. Bolt would be so large, it would be crazy! My aunt knew that despite severely labored breathing, her extreme pain that required the likes of Oxycodone and Fentanyl to subdue, and her debilitated cognitive function, she would soon see her Savior face-to-face.  None of this (pain and sickness) would matter anymore as she would be free from it and the glory she would experience when she walked out of this life and into the next would be something she could have never imagined!

How is that possible? In her thirties, she acknowledged her sinfulness and repented (turned away) of her sins. By placing her trust in Jesus Christ, she received remission of her sins.  And therefore, she not only had a close relationship with her Savior here on earth which produced this peace of mind, but it also secured her a place in Heaven where the absolutely worst thing you can possibly think of on this earth does not compare its glory.

My aunt passed away four days later. Oh, how I miss her, but I can only imagine what she is experiencing now. Needless to say, she’s doing better than “fair to midland”. As my 8-year old daughter put it, “She’s in Heaven with Jesus and eatin’ macaroni and cheese”. What could be better than that?

Follow the Leader

I have to admit that recently, as a result of difficulty in my personal life and in wake of national and international tragedy, ashamedly, I have sought the Lord my more intensely than I have in a while. I say “ashamedly” because for all that He has done for me, I should always seek Him. But, let’s face it, hardship causes us to seek wisdom. I was reminded from a Christian radio program of James 4:8, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you”. Taking Him at His Word, I have done so and as promised He has drawn near to me. He has provided comfort and peace during difficult circumstances, but also He has opened my eyes to truth. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth: your word is truth”. He has done exactly that!

Several years ago, I was convicted by the fact that having called myself a Christian for about 20 years, I had not yet read the Bible in its entirety. I’d like to say that I was fully obedient to that “assignment” that God gave me, but I wasn’t. I did read it all, but it did take me a few years to do so. Better late than never, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, because I learned so much from doing that. No, because 98% obedience is still disobedience. In school or college, if you are told that an assignment is due on a particular day, but you turn in the assignment after the due date, depending on the teacher, you may still get credit for it, but not as much as you would have if you completed it on time. In some cases, some teachers would not even accept it. All this to say that it is important to obey what the Lord has said to do when the Lord says to do it.

As I read the Bible, I realized that there were some differences or inconsistencies in how we, American Christians, interpret the Word of God in our behavior and how people who were followers of Christ in the Bible lived. I tried to rationalize it by thinking that we are living in modern times and “things were different back then”. I started hearing sermons about while some may call themselves Christian, go to church every Sunday, read the Bible and do good to others; some will not go to Heaven. That was a wake-up call! So, for the last several years, I have wrestled with whether I am a Christian or not. It was difficult to put into words when I would share these feelings with others. Now, after reading just a small portion of Multiply: disciples making disciples by Francis Chan with Mark Beuving and listening to some sermons by David Platt based on his book, Radical, I realized why I have felt so convicted. Chan says “Basically, a disciple is a follower, but only if we take the follower literally. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is as simple as obeying His call to follow.” (p. 16) This made me think of the game that we played as kids, “Follow the Leader”. I looked up the basic rules of the game on Wikipedia. It says,

               “Follow the leader is a children’s game. First a leader or head of the line is chosen, then the children all line up behind the leader. The leader then moves around and all the children have to mimic the leader’s actions. Any players who fail to follow or do what the leader does are out of the game.”

So, my question is do I read the Bible enough to know who Jesus Christ is, what is important to Him and what He has done? Do I read the Bible enough to know what He commands of His followers? What did He do while He was here on earth and do I do the same things He did? He obeyed our Heavenly Father to the point of death, do I obey with the same fervency? If not, then I have to question whether or not I really believe Jesus Christ is who He says He is and question whether or not I really believe His Word, The Holy Bible, is true. Naturally, I then have to question, am I truly a follower of Christ? Notice my questions are NOT do I go to church and how often? Nor is it do I participate in a Bible Study? Nor is the question, on how many programs or committees do I serve?

I am not trying to suggest that our salvation is based on what we do. Romans 10:9, 10 says, “. . .because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” If Jesus is my Lord and I believe that every word He says is true, then I will do what He says when He says to do it. Plain and simple.

So, my question to you . . .is Jesus Christ your Leader and do you follow Him?

The Faith and Obedience of Abraham: Is This Your Story, Too?

I have read the book of Genesis a number of times, but yesterday, I think I began to really understand why Abraham is listed in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11. I don’t know, but the words just seemed to jump off the page at me. God spoke to Abraham and told him to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering.  Genesis 22:3 (ESV) says, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him”. As crazy as that may have sounded to him, Abraham obeyed. Here are a few observations I made (and questions I asked myself) when reading the account of the offering of Isaac:

1   Abraham knew it was God talking to him. Do I recognize God’s still small voice every time He speaks?

2   Abraham rose early to do this “crazy thing” that God told him to do. Do I obey God’s voice immediately? While God encourages us in His Word to pray (without ceasing) and fast, I think it is important to notice that it does not say that Abraham fasted and prayed. While seeking wise counsel is also advised in the Bible (Proverbs 11:14, 12:15), this portion of Scripture does not say that Abraham consulted with his wisest advisors on whether that would be a good move make.  The Word does not say that Abraham developed a 30-day strategic plan to accomplish this task.  The Word says in Genesis 22:2 “He said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac . . .’, and in the next verse, Genesis 22:3, it reads, “So, Abraham rose early. . .”

3   Abraham obeyed regardless of his feelings. While the Word does not tell or even imply how Abraham may have felt when God told him to offer up Isaac, in verse 2, it does say, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. . .” With that said, I think it is safe to say that Abraham was not tickled pink about this whole thing, but he did what God said. I must ask myself, “Do I grapple over how I ‘feel’ before I even think about obeying God?” While He loves us with this unfathomable love, He expects us to obey Him, period.

4  Abraham’s obedience brings new meaning to Proverbs 3:5, 6 (ESV), which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths”.  You see, as we follow Abraham down this path of obedience, we see Isaac wondering where is the lamb for the burnt offering. Genesis 22:8 says”Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.” This is my opinion, but I do not think Abraham had a clue as to what God was going to do, he just obeyed and trusted that God with the rest.  God did provide.  I have to be honest, while I desire to obey and have the faith of Abraham, as one who is always planning and looking ahead, I struggle with just trusting and obeying. What about you?

      What I have learned is that this kind of faith comes by walking closely with God. As we spend time with God in His Word (reading, studying, and applying), we get to know Him. We learn of His love for us. We learn of His power, His sovereignty, His promises, and His All-Around Awesomeness. We begin to know him as Abba or Father or most affectionately, Daddy. Think about God’s idea of the relationship between a Father and his child.  You know that they love one another and the child always wants to please his daddy without argument. The child trusts his daddy and knows that Daddy will always protect him and would never tell him to do anything that would harm him or others. May we all be encouraged to draw close to Our Father in Heaven.

So, This is Working for My Good, God? Part II

You know when bad times come or there is a death in your family and a friend says, "I'll pray for you" or "You're in my prayers"? Do you ever wonder, what are people saying in their prayers during those times? Are they really praying at all or is it just something nice to say? Is God really listening? Well, I realized that people do indeed pray during those times and I found out just what kind of God I had been serving all these years. I do not know exactly what people were praying, but Matthew 18:20 (KJV) says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".  I know for a fact that my mother, my aunt, my brothers, as well as my in-laws were praying for us.  I know that my best friend and her prayer partners were praying for us. I also know that our Sunday School classes (mine and my husband's) were praying for us as well as countless others. So, I know that Jesus Christ was in their presence as they were praying and Romans 8:34 says that He also intercedes for us in prayer. My Savior knew I was seriously struggling with whether or not He was worth serving and so, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that while this was an extremely difficult thing to deal with, He still loved me, He had not abandoned me through all of this, and He was (and still is) good!  Our family, friends, church family, and even people we did not know stepped up to be the loving arms of Jesus by taking our kids on play dates, transporting our children to and from their activities, preparing delicious meals ( I must say, these people of the Palouse are some of the most amazing cooks this side of the Mississippi!), sending cards and flowers, making gifts in remembrance of our precious twins, making phone calls, and sharing kind words of encouragement among other things.

My eyes were also opened to another fact. While I do recall experiencing some back pain a couple of days prior to finding out about our twins' passing, I did not experience any cramping or bleeding that would have alerted me that "something was not right". The night before the appointment, my husband was up late trying to complete a take-home exam between vomiting sessions of our middle child, and so we had contemplated not driving an hour and a half to the appointment, by my husband was convinced that we should. My next OB appointment was not scheduled for another 2-3 weeks. Had we not gone to this appointment, my life could have also been in jeopardy as I would have been carrying  lifeless babies in my womb and infection could have set in. . .but praise be to God who was looking out for me. . .looking out for us!  After I was made aware of that, the Holy Spirit continued to show me instance after instance of His goodness.

So, while that was an extremely difficult thing to go through-I miss my babies and I look forward to seeing them one day-He showed me in so many ways (more than I can write about in this post) that He is good and allowing us to experience this loss was indeed for my good. And then 14 months later, He blessed us beyond belief. . .

How's that for God's goodness?! 

O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever. . .Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:1, 21