Author: Michael Rueffert

My body…your body

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 3 Comments

“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.”

President Ronald Reagan

 A friend sent me an illustration of the profile of a pregnant woman, which included an unborn baby in the mother’s womb.  The illustration makes a point of clearly stating and showing the woman has a body…and…the baby has a body…not the same body.  The illustration, meant to challenge those who would use the statement, “it’s my body” or “it’s your body” as an argument to justify the abortion of an unborn baby.not your body

This illustration is logical, convincing, powerful and backed up by science.  It should give anyone, who may consider the “it’s my body” argument to be valid, pause…to reconsider.  The baby’s body is no more the mother’s body than it is the father’s body.  Neither parent has the right to declare if the baby should live or die.

Person: a human being, especially as distinguished from a thing or lower animal. Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language – 1956 

I AM WRITING TODAY in recognition of the over 50 million American babies (55,772,015 per recent statistics, which I include because I believe each of these innocent, lost lives should be recognized) whose lives have been cut short since the January 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is the United States Supreme Court  decision establishing that most laws against abortion violate a constitutional right to privacy, thus overturning all state laws outlawing or restricting abortion.

Note: If you are not interested in 1973 court information or expert opinion, then scroll on down to 2016 and meet my granddaughter…

I took the time to read most of the Syllabus relating to this decision. It is actually, despite the erroneous conclusions, an interesting history lesson of law. The whole conclusion of Roe v. Wade, from a Constitutional standpoint is dependent upon the definition of “person”. The entire decision falls apart, Constitutionally, if a child at conception can be established as a “person”.

The Syllabus reads at one point: The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a “person” within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case, of course, collapses, [p157]for the fetus’ right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment.

However, they then go on to say (excerpts from the Syllabus):

  • The Constitution does not define “person” in so many words.
  • …the law has been reluctant to endorse any theory that life, as we recognize it, begins before live birth, or to accord legal rights to the unborn except in narrowly defined situations and except when the rights are contingent upon live birth.
  • …new embryological data that purport to indicate that conception is a “process” over time, rather than an event…
  • There has always been strong support for the view that life does not begin until live’ birth.
  • …the word “person,” as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn.
  • In short, the unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense.

 That was 1973...

 1981 – Expert Testimony

Dr. Jerome Lejeune of Paris, France (died 1994), was a physician and Doctor of Science and Professor of Genetics for 25 years. Dr. Lejeune discovered the genetic cause for Down’s Syndrome. He received awards such as the Kennedy Prize and the Memorial Allen Award Medal; he was a member of The American Academy of Arts and Science, the Royal Society of Medicine of London, and the Royal Society of Science in Stockholm.

  • Dr. Lejeune testified before a United States Senate subcommittee in 1981: ‘To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence’.” Jason M. Steffens, “The ‘Peculiar’ Being: The Rights of an Unborn Child in Iowa,” 88 IOWA L. REV. 217 (1988).

1989

  • In 1989, during testimony on The Seven Human Embryos in Tennessee, Dr. Lejeune made the following observation: “…as soon as he has been conceived, a man is a man.” Dr. Lejeune noted that the very first cell, the fertilized egg cell or zygote, is “the most specialized cell under the sun”.
  • In the words of Dr. Lejeune: “Each of us has a very precise starting moment which is the time at which the whole necessary and sufficient genetic information is gathered inside one cell, the fertilized egg, and this is the moment of fertilization. There is not the slightest doubt about that and we know that this information is written on a kind of ribbon which we call the DNA…Nature has used the smallest possible language to carry the information from father to children, from mother to children, from generation to generation…At no time is the human being a blob of protoplasm. As far as your nature is concerned, I see no difference between the early person that you were at conception and the late person which you are now. You were and are a human being.”
  •  When Dr. Lejeune testified in the Louisiana legislature he stated, “Recent discoveries by Dr. Alec Jeffreys of England demonstrate that the information (on the DNA molecule)  is stored by a system of bar codes not unlike those found on products at the supermarkets…it’s not any longer a theory that each of us is unique.”
  •  1996 (the term “pre-embryo” deemed inaccurate)

“Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed (emphasis mine)…. The combination of 23 chromosomes present in each pronucleus results in 46 chromosomes in the zygote. Thus the diploid number is restored and the embryonic genome is formed. The embryo now exists as a genetic unity.”
[O’Rahilly, Ronan and Müller, Fabiola. Human Embryology & Teratology. 2nd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996, pp. 8, 29. This textbook lists “pre-embryo” among “discarded and replaced terms” in modern embryology, describing it as “ill-defined and inaccurate” (p. 12}]

2016: Location…location…location

Still unconvinced that an unborn child is a separate, distinct, valuable person?

Answer this question: Should your environment be a determining factor in your value as a human being?  Not sure how to answer?  Click on the link below for help…(you may need to copy the link to your browser or open in a new window to open)

S.L.E.D. Test Part 3 – Environment – https://youtu.be/WgqMptoeqY0

My Grandaughter…Mackenzie Ann at 6 1/2 months old…before she was born:

We watched, in a comfortable room with a big screen TV, as an ultrasound technician moved a “magic wand” over the expanded mid-section of my beautiful daughter-in-law.  The 4-D images of my brand new granddaughter, alive, moving, beautiful…brought the words and emotions:“Wow!  This is amazing”…as tears filled my eyes.
Introducing 6 1/2 month old, yet to be born…Mackenzie Ann Rueffert…
   Mackenzie Ann1

 Mackenzie Ann2 Machenzie Ann3 Mackenzie Ann4

Mackenzie Ann today:

DSCN0897

Mackenzie Ann Rueffert…a fearfully and wonderfully created work of God!

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”

Jesus… as recorded in Matthew 18:5

 Scripture (yesterday, today and tomorrow):

 THERE ARE MANY SCRIPTURES clearly indicating that God’s sovereignty extends to the conception of a child…and earlier. I believe this sovereignty is both specific and universal. God is involved!

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16
 “You shall not murder.”
Exodus 20:13(NIV)
 Note: the Hebrew word for “murder” in this text is “ratsch”, which means “to dash to pieces, to kill a human being, to murder, to slay, to commit manslaughter; to destroy, to crush; to be crushed”.

GOD HAS ALWAYS KNOWN that an unborn child is a “person” – “distinguished from a thing or other animal” (see Genesis 1:26). Science now confirms that truth. Human law and politics are still “reluctant”to endorse any theory that life begins before live birth, or to accord legal rights to the unborn. It is time to end this slaughter of innocent, unborn children!

Still Unconvinced?

180 Movie – You may or may not want to see this 33-minute documentary. It is graphic and moving. Click on the link below if you are not yet convinced that an unborn human baby is a “person” worth saving.

click here – 180 Movie – click here

If you have persevered this far I want to leave you with a message of hope. You, or someone you love, may have been involved in an abortion. This message today is not meant to condemn; it is meant to bring awareness and, hopefully, save the lives of unborn children yet to be conceived. There is forgiveness in Christ Jesus. There is redemption and reconciliation…and it is free. Just ask! Read below:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4 (Please read Romans chapter 7 & 8 for context)

Your fellow “person”…

Michael Rueffert

Freedom from…Death.

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 4 Comments

 

Freedom….how would you define it?

My dictionary defines freedom as “the state or quality of being free…implies the absence of hindrance, restraint, confinement, repression, etc.”, and then goes on to say that the word “liberty” is “often interchangeable with freedom, strictly connotes past or potential restriction, repression, etc….”.

“None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence.”JOHN MILTON, Tenure of Kings and Magistrates

In the past two years, due to my own negligence, I have had some of my freedoms restricted.  I took many of them totally for granted and never imagined they would be taken away.  I, irresponsibly, used my freedom as license.  As a result…freedom has become very dear to me, however I now have a much deeper perspective…True freedom is internal…it is not conditional; it is not dependent upon the external.  The loss of my external freedom does not then mandate the loss of my internal freedom.

The External Perspective “…“If my ability to do what I want is taken away I cannot, will not be free.”

What do you think of a king, president,  political, social or religious leader who demands loyalty but offers little or nothing in return? We have, unfortunately, witnessed throughout human history, and are witnessing today, this type of mandate…follow or lose your freedom,  your freedom to choose…or your life.  From ISIS to The Affordable Care Act we are hearing this message.

For an historical perspective…see what the Founding Fathers of the United States of America stated about freedom & liberty on July 4, 1776, relating to British repression. They wrote:

“A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Brave men and women throughout the history of the world have stood and died to preserve their external freedoms.  Freedoms, which should be valued and protected.  But to stop there, given the human propensity for self-centeredness and a lust for power, leads to license…not true freedom.

The Internal Perspective…Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.              The Apostle Paul as recorded in 1 Corinthians 9:19 (NIV)

Again…I reference The Declaration of Independence:  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,…”  Click here:  All men are created equal…  to read the Declaration, the list of grievances and the list of signers.

Roger Pilon, senior fellow and Director of Cato’s Center for Constitutional Studies, states in the preface to the Cato Institutes’s 1998 published copy of The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America,

“Appealing to all mankind, the Declaration’s seminal passage opens with perhaps the most important line in the document: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’  Grounded in reason, ‘self-evident’ truths invoke the long tradition of natural law, which holds that there is a ‘higher law’ of right and wrong from which to derive human law and against which to criticize that law at any time.  It is not political will, then, but moral reasoning, accessible to all, that is the foundation of our political system.  …liberty is its aim…We are all created equal, as defined by our natural rights: thus, no one has rights superior to those of anyone else.  Moreover, we are born with those rights, we do not get them from government…”.

The obvious implication in this statement, and in the Declaration, is that there are “absolute moral truths” that govern mans very being, of which, no man-made law can supersede.  Absolute-moral-truth can be defined as “that which is true for all people, all places, all times”.  The Constitution identifies these truths as “unalienable Rights”.  Rights which cannot be transferred, estranged or separated from “all men”…Internal-freedoms which are innate and immutable.

If the high ideals of the American Founding Fathers are eroded to the point that these absolute-moral, self-evident truths are ignored…or the United States government,  having been instituted by men, and restricted to deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed, ignores this basic restriction to its power, “enslaves” me and thus removes most or all of my external freedoms… am I no longer “free”?

It was in the midst of losing my freedoms that I found the answer to that question.  The difference between external-freedom and internal-freedom was made clear and evident, not by choice, but by experience.  The “mask” was removed.  I was forced to realize that prior to losing my external-freedom, internally I was not free.  I had constructed a prison of deception and lack of transparency that locked me behind walls that were nearly, by human standards, impenetrable.  And I knew Who had the keys to unlock that prison.  I simply did not have the courage to reach out and take them.  I used my external freedom to abuse…freedom.  It is in that abuse that my lack of internal freedom, the freedom that can come only from God, was revealed.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?  Galatians 5:13-15 (Message Bible)

Freedom from Death…came to us in the form of a baby

Freedom from death came to us in the form of a baby.  The Incarnation; God became man…one of us to free us from the bondage of sin and rebellion, which had enslaved us and taken away our ability to experience True Freedom, independent of the external and expressing itself through the internal revelation of God’s grace and mercy through His Spirit.  He did this by taking our sin, our rebellion upon Himself, inviting us to follow Him not as a tyrant, but as a Servant-leader; offering us not little or nothing in return as would a human king, but willingly giving His life so that we may live in True Freedom…Freedom from Death.

The way of man and nature is death…the way of the Spirit of God is life.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.  Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.  For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Romans 8:18-22

Many of us, on December 25, both individually and corporately will be celebrating the Incarnation (the act of being made flesh).  Jesus (God saves) Christ (The anointed or chosen one) was born of a virgin, lived, grew in wisdom, ate, laughed, cried, taught, prayed, bled, expressed sorrow and anger, and though tempted as a man…lived a sinless life, gave His life in our place as an atonement (satisfactory substitute) for our sin and rebellion and rose to eternal life…defeating death…providing us with reconciliation with our Creator God…and Freedom from Death.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit”( 1 Peter 3:18).

May you, not only on December 25, but each day celebrate Freedom from Death.

Merry Christmas!

Michael Rueffert

 

 

 

 

Some things never change…

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 5 Comments
For the past two years I have, with few exceptions, stayed away from news/media broadcasts from any source.  The hyperbolic and sensationalized messages drove me to seek cleansing from the constant diatribe of negativity. With caution and apprehension I have begun to emerge from my media-blackout-cocoon.  This has not been encouraging.

As I have “emerged” I recently came across an article I, myself, had written several years ago at Thanksgiving relating to, and disparaging, an email sent to me entitled “7 Reasons to Worry About Next Week”.   It was clear to me that the message contained within this “Headline of the day”, written a couple of years ago, could have been written today.  Some things never change…

With a measure of misgiving I decided to view some recent news articles regarding worry to see what the purveyors of contingent information are telling us today.  They say… we should be worried about “the Fed rate, global warming, the economy, shingles, long-term care insurance, email, Social Security, antibiotic resistance, loose radiation material in Europe, Russia invading the Baltics…and on and on and on.  Some things never change… 

Below is the heading of the note, mentioned above, that came across my computer a couple of years back, as well as my response:

Headline of the day…  

7 Reasons to Worry About Next Week  “It’s the time of the year to be thankful, but that’s hard to do when the European debt crisis isn’t getting any better and the MF Global fiasco is getting uglier. There’s also more uncertainty from companies that aren’t necessarily insolvent. Just wait until you hear what Corporate America has to say next week.” 

My Response…

worry…there is a “time of year” to not be thankful…

It was not just the overall, negative message of this headline that caught my attention, it was the word “worry”, plus the implication that there is a “time of year” to not be thankful.  This truly is a worldly message and probably designed by some financial guru to sell me his self-proclaimed remedy for worry and philosophy on situational-thankfulness.

I did not open his message or look at his 7 Reasons.  Instead, I went to the Bible, a source I trust, to see what God has to say about worry and being thankful.  I found that nearly every admonition relating to “worry” began with the words, “do not”.  The teachings relating to “thankful” began with the words “be”, “being” or “I am”.  

“Do not worry” and  “Be thankful.”

We need a different Headline of the day…

Headline of the day…though written two millenia ago…some things never change…

7 Reasons to Not Worry About Next Week (a message from Jesus as recorded in Matthew Chapter 6)

  1. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”V. 25
  1. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” V. 26   
  1. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” V. 27
  1. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” V. 34
  1.  “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” V.28-30
  1. “So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” V. 31,32
  1. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” V. 33

May you, today, this week, this Thanksgiving and always…

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

Have a blessed, worry-free, Thanksgiving Celebration,

Michael Rueffert

PS  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus as recorded in John 16:33

“Great men are almost always bad men.”

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 4 Comments

 I was sent an email containing a photo of President Obama next to a photo of Adolf Hitler.  The intended implication was obvious.

According to Hannah Arendt, the author of The Origins of Totalitarianism, the source of the mass appeal of totalitarian regimes is their ideology, which provides a comforting, single answer to the mysteries of the past, present, and future. For Nazism, all history is the history of race struggle; and, for Marxism, all history is the history of class struggle. Once that premise is accepted, all actions of the state can be justified by appeal of Nature or the Law of History, justifying their establishment of authoritarian state apparatus (Wikipedia).

There is no human-conceived government that can provide eternal hope.

Neither totalitarianism or authoritarianism are in and of themselves “bad” unless, their intent and source of power is corrupted by human inadequacies. There is no human-conceived government that can provide eternal hope. Human-influenced leaders elevate themselves to gain power and, if there are no boundaries, will justify their continued gain of more and more power to control and influence others for il-conceived and selfish reasons. 

“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.” William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1778

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton – Lord Action (1834-1902).

The authors of the U.S. Constitution purposely included boundaries in the form of “separation of powers” (three independent, distinct centers of power intended to provide for a check and balance system to prevent abuse of power). Conceived, in part, by a Frenchman named Montesquieu, it is not perfect but will hopefully prevent Obama, or any President, from becoming a Hitler.

So…what is the difference between a human-ruled or God-ruled government? Read below:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and very tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

Godly boundaries and focus based upon selflessness and servant-leadership, which exceed anything that is humanly conceived or possible… is the difference.

May you today…this week look to God, not man, for Hope; both now and for eternity.

Michael Rueffert

If that were the case…God would be a failure.

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 3 Comments

“I do not understand what I do. 

For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do.”The Apostle Paul -Romans 7:15

About a year ago, in the wake of my own failures and in the midst of depression, I received a letter from a young man. I met him in a youth institution, where I served as a volunteer, over 14 years ago. We have remained in contact. He is now 30 years old. I have received several notes and letters from him over the years. In one he wrote: “I never express how much I appreciate you and your friendship. You have never given up on me and you are the one true friend I’ve ever had. I’ve found  and I will always remember you for being you. Thank you so very much for always being there by my side and never giving up on me. You have always seen me for who I really am and I’m truly sorry for ever disappointing you…”

In his most recent letter he wrote: “…I’m truly sorry that you are going through the stuff you are going through. I just want you to know that you have always been there for me and you will always be my friend. No matter what happens Mike, you will make it through…you will always have a friend in me…don’t lose faith…you will always have my support.”

Love ya Mike.
Your Friend and brother through CHRIST
P

I read his letter and immediately had several thoughts and emotions. I was, of course, very thankful for his unwavering love and support, however this thought went through my head: “Mike, you have failed. You have failed him, your family and your God.” The reason is because this young man sent the card from an adult correctional facility. He was back in jail.

If that were the case…God would be a failure.

I remember I went to church soon after reading one of his letters. Pastor Doug’s message was on “Failure”. I am sure this was just coincidental…right? I don’t think so. Through his message I was reminded that failure may simply be opportunity in disguise. I wrote down three main points:
1. Failure happens to all of us… (Proverbs 24:16)
2. God is there in the midst of failure… (Psalm 37:23,24;145:14)
3. God can turn our failures into opportunities. (Romans 8:28)

It also became clear to me that even though we experience failures…we, ourselves, are not failures. To experience a failure is momentary…temporary. To be a “failure” implies permanence and condemnation. We may fail at times, but that does not make us failures.

You and I may be in relationship and fellowship with another person, such as the young man above, with the intent of bringing them health and success; yet when we fail that does not make us failures.   If that were the case…God would be a failure.

Take a look at many of the Biblical characters throughout history. These were sons and daughters of God, in relationship and fellowship with Him, yet they failed over and over. Does that make God a failure?

‘”My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”‘
2 Corinthians 12:9

You may be in relationships that are filled with multiple failures. A wayward child; a struggling marriage; a friend who keeps returning to the same destructive addictions, like my friend above…or your own addictions and destructive behavior. I have faced each one of these on a very personal level. Take heart and be encouraged…neither you nor they are alone… neither you nor they are failures. God is with you. Turn to Him, persevere…He can turn that which looks like ashes into great beauty.

Don’t give up on your wayward child…don’t give up on your struggling marriage…don’t give up on your friend…don’t give up on yourself. The answer and the hope, for all of us, lies only in turning away from sin and destructive behaviors and turning to God.

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,…
Hebrews 12:1a,2b

May you today, this week…turn to God. May you persevere in the face of your failures and the failures of those in your life. May you be amazed and wonder-filled as He turns ashes into great beauty.

Turning to God and trusting in Him…

Mike

Sin…Depression…Forgiveness…Love…Hope

~ Michael Rueffert ~ Leave a comment

This past week our Pastor began a series on the Biblical letter 1 John, which is believed to have been written to first century Christians.  An immediate emphasis in the first chapter is an admonition to acknowledge that everyone, even those who claim to have fellowship with God, has sin in their life.  John even goes further and underscores not only the need for confession of our sins…but also two great benefits…forgiveness and purification.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

My understanding of the key words:

Confession…of our sins, with honesty and transparency, exhibits that we are looking upon sin the same way that God does.  If we don’t view sin the way God does we will not see a need to confess.      Sin... in the context of 1 John chapter 1, can be understood as “missing the mark”.  The “mark” is God’s divine standard or norm.  It can also be viewed as “rebellion”…meaning to consciously deviate from God’s standard.      Forgiveness…God is choosing to “lay it aside”, “let it go”.  He is extending His grace (undeserved favor-getting what we don’t deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve) to us, the confessing, repentant sinners.  We don’t deserve to be forgiven, yet God offers it to us anyway.      Purify…we will be released from the bondage of the sin in our lives when we acknowledge and confess our sins.

As the Pastor spoke, tears filled my eyes remembering that two years ago to the day I was being confronted with the consequences of my rebellion. Unconfessed sin in my life was being laid out in front of me in a very personal and public way.  I had to face the truth that I did not view sin as God does; I missed the mark; I was in rebellion against God and I was in bondage to sin.  Because I did not want to face any of these truths I entered into a deep depression.  

But it was in the midst of that depression that I found love.

I found that honest confession brought freedom from bondage.  It brought a new understanding of what it means to be in submission to God rather than being in rebellion against Him.  And it brought forgiveness from family, friends and God. Receiving their forgiveness was key…forgiveness is the expression of love that brought me out of depression.

After the church service last Sunday I decided to look back in my journal and found that for almost that entire first year my thoughts were mostly dark and depressed.  I wrote things like: “Traveling through a dark tunnel.”  “Depression has returned.”  “Lord, please not another day.  Not another sunrise!  Just let me sleep.” “God help me…please!”  Then…   almost exactly one year ago to the day, November 1, 2014, I  saw that I wrote this in my journal:

“God has placed me in a desert the past year.  He had to in order to get my attention.  I was headed for certain destruction.  He saved me!”  

The very next day, November 2, 2014, I made a list of those “things” in my life that I love. I was awakened to the realization that the desert was actually filled with life-giving water that I had not been able to see.  I was blinded by my desire for secrecy and a longing to reinstall the mask of deception.  I realized that in my depression I actually preferred the bondage to sin over the freedom offered to me through confession and transparency.  I determined not to accept that any longer!

  I wrote in my journal: (there are over two pages, however I will only list a few here)

“I love:  My Caroline, my children, my grandchildren, my Denise and Lin and Dan and so many other family and friends.  I love their unconditional love for me.  I love the rising sun, feeling the warmth on my face and thinking about the prospects of a new day.   I love hikes in the woods.   I love to see flowers blooming in the Spring.  I love cross-country skiing on a crisp, cold winter day.  I love the stillness in the woods when you can actually hear snowflakes falling on the trees.  I love Smokey (my cat) sleeping on my lap and Toby’s (my dog) excitement when he see’s me.  I love hearing the wind blow through the trees.  I love reading books that inspire me to be a better person.  I love projects.  I love fixing the broken.  I love seeing how much our kids love Caroline.  I love thinking about the potential of a seed; then planting it and seeing that potential realized.  I love the ability to love and to be loved…………

I wrote much more and I can tell you it was a turning point for me.  The life-giving water began to flow and the desert began to bloom.  There are still moments of sadness.  I am still, as are you, in the “desert-of-this-world”…but it is now, again, filled with hope.  I can see past the desert to the purpose for which I was created…and the world beyond… To know Him…and to make Him known.

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7:17

Mike

PS  Many of you reading this post are those who have walked beside me on this journey, and continue to do so.  If I have not told you recently…I tell you now…I love you.  Thank you for loving me.

Pursued by the King

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 1 Comment

Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  Jesus as recorded in  Revelation 3:20

Caroline and I watched the movie Cinderella 2015 the other night.  Of course, as with most of us, the story has been known to us for a long time.  No surprises…right?  However, I was intrigued by a question/statement made by the narrator, as Cinderella, anxiously, approached the king who had been purposely searching for her…pursuing her.  

The narrator said: “Would who she was , who she really was, be enough?  There was no magic to help her this time.  This is perhaps the greatest risk any of us will take.  To be seen as we truly are.”  Then, Cinderella approaching the king and knowing that he believed her to be a princess,  said to him, “Will you take me as I am?”

Almost immediately I  hit the “back” button on the remote and listened again.  My mind went to the truth that I too would one day be approaching, standing before, the King who has been pursuing me all of my life(see Romans 14:10-12).  

At that moment I deeply felt the discomfort, and at times the horror, of being seen as I truly am.  I remembered the thoughts that I had…“If they knew what I had done or the thoughts that have gone through my head, they would never love me; they would never ‘take me as I am’.”  But the King I speak of, unlike others, knows what I have done and knows my thoughts (see Hebrews 4:13)…and still “takes me as I am”(see Romans 5:8).

Cinderella 2015 is a fairy tale…my life and yours are not.  Yet the parallel of a King who takes us as we are is true.  He says this: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Jesus as recorded in Matthew 11:28-30.

I will stand before Him…and so will you.  And when I do I hope to do so, not with anxiety…but with confidence and assurance that, as He says, He will take me as I am…not because of me…but because of what Christ did for me.

Michael Rueffert

PS  Be blessed as you listen to this music video “I can only Imagine” by Mercy Me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vx4kP7X-k

I am not who I was…

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 1 Comment

My personal legacy has been on my mind lately.  Not so much in a material sense…but in the non-material.  When I am no more than a memory…what will that memory be?  Due to an abundance of mistakes and poor choices, my fear is that they, my poor choices, will overshadow all else.  I hope not.

 Many of those reading this note will recognize the name of John Newton.  If you do, what comes to mind?  Perhaps it is the hymn “Amazing Grace”,which he wrote later in his life.  Perhaps it is the fact that during one period of his life he had also been the captain of a slave ship.  Do the mistakes and poor choices at one time in his life overshadow the things that he did right?  

  Or, perhaps, does the combination point to a power for change?  A Power that is sovereign, abounding in grace and patient…not wanting anyone to perish.  I hope so.  And if so…the change will direct others, not to the one who was changed…but to the Changer.  That is the legacy I hope to pass on.

 John Newton wrote:“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”.  Newton’s “I am” statements point not to himself as the power behind his changed life but the great “I AM”.   The Eternal, Self-existent One who revealed Himself to Moses (see Exodus chapter 3).

 “Amazing Grace” is about a changed life.   A life that was “lost” but now is “found”.  A changed life…a transformed life…a new life.  Beauty out of ashes.

Watch this Beautiful Things – Gungor Lyric Video

Mike

Inner Conflicts…

~ Michael Rueffert ~ 2 Comments

I have heard it said that confession is “telling God what He already knows”.  So why do it?

In the midst of a traumatic period in my life and facing the very difficult consequences of my failures, I read a short devotional from the Our Daily Bread publication.  The article was written by Julie Akerman Link and entitled “On Being Known”.   She speaks of the cognitive distortions…the “inner conflicts” waging war within our hearts and minds relative to “our desire to be known versus our fear of being known”.  She speaks of the healing that is available to anyone who has the courage to be transparent about their failures.

It was during this time of trauma that I found how easy it was to confess my failures to God…but how very difficult it was to confess to my family and friends. But as difficult as it was, I found that it was only in transparency with both God and others that I found amazing expressions of grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, healing…and freedom.

Take a look at “On Being Known” at this link:

 http://odb.org/2014/09/19/on-being-known/

You will be blessed.

Michael Rueffert

Symphony in the Trees

~ Michael Rueffert ~ Leave a comment

Symphony in the Trees by Michael Rueffert (I wrote this following a day in the woods with my dog. These times in the woods are therapeutic for me. I call them my “woods-fix”. God is the Therapist and He speaks to me through His creation)

It has been said that wind is an example of faith in God. We cannot see it, but we can see and experience the impact, the results, and the evidence of its existence. Tree and mountain viewCreation is evidence of the reality of an intelligent Creator…God. The Symphony in the Trees is evidence of the reality of wind. Though unseen…very real. Each tree, just as the many instruments in a symphony, is a unique size and shape with a specific purpose and expression. Each tree dances in the wind as if responding to a different mechanism, a specific instruction from an invisible conductor. Each trunk, each branch, each needle and leaf twisting and swaying as if listening to its own drumbeat.

Yet, just as with a well-organized symphony, with each instrument playing its own notes, moving its own direction, expressing its individuality, the beauty of that which results is without parallel. Listen…listen.

The evidence points to a divine intelligence; a skilled Conductor.The sound…the beautiful sound.  There is no compare.

It is pure harmony…
pure beauty…
pure peace.

Thank you Lord…for the Symphony in the Trees.

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses. Psalm 135:7