“The Voices We Hear”

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Tony Casson

“Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?”  Deuteronomy 4:33 ESV

When I talk to my sister on the telephone, I hear her voice in my ear.

In my mind, I can still “hear” the voice of my Mother, who left this earth for a much better place over 5 years ago.

Although it would be a frighteningly amazing experience to sit down face to face with God and have a conversation, and actually hear his voice (a concept almost too scary to even dare think about), He still speaks loudly to me through my heart.

These are the ways we ‘hear’ voices, but there is another very important way to ‘hear’ someone’s voice, and that is by reading someone’s words, just as you are hearing my voice now.

“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.”  Proverbs 12:15 NLT

That is not a cleverly disguised way of telling you I think I am wise. It is merely passing on to you the wisdom of God’s Word that teaches us it is a good thing to listen to voices other than our own.

We all do this in one way or another, of course, but are we really listening with our hearts or are we simply absorbing sounds through our ears? When we read the words of another, do we really appreciate what was involved in the creation of the passage we just read? What do we learn about the person who wrote it beyond what the words themselves tell us. What is the ‘voice’ we are ‘hearing’ actually revealing about the person ‘speaking’?

Take the following prayer, for instance. I read it this morning in a blog I follow called, The River Walk:

“God, You have not called us to an easy life. You haven’t called us to a comfortable or simple life. Thank you for that. Easy, comfortable, and simple are far too boring a way to live. You have called us to life more abundant. That means the challenges are going to seem insurmountable, the opposition more immense, and the valleys deeper. But it also means the victories will be that much sweeter and the mountaintops… beyond anything an easy life could have imagined. Give me a higher calling, Lord. Then give me the fortitude to walk it all the way to victory.”

The author, who calls himself “Beejai”, not only shares a well written prayer to God with us, his ‘voice’ also tells us many things about himself: 1) it tells us how deep his faith is; 2) it tells us he is thankful to God, even when facing trials, tribulations, and difficulty; 3) it tells us that we should expect more from ourselves because God has so much to give us; 4) it acknowledges that big rewards come at a higher cost, but it also points us to the source of our strength to deal with that cost; 5) his ‘voice’ also challenges us to ask God for big things, because He is no small God.

Another ‘voice’ I listen to is the voice of a woman whose blog I mentioned here recently called Anorexia Revealed. Her ‘voice’ is articulate, eloquent, and full of a burning desire to use the pain of her battle with Anorexia to point people to the victory which can be won when they allow Christ to help them fight their own battles.

I was reading one of her posts yesterday, and her ‘voice’ – while directed specifically towards those battling Anorexia and other eating disorders – literally shouted a solution for all who are in pain and struggle with any issue, be it drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, work, or any other life-controlling issue that destroys lives and drives a wedge between people – men and women alike, young and old – and those they love.

One paragraph in particular from the post I read yesterday had this to say:  “Jesus loves you so much. He was literally crucified because He loves you so immensely. And He loves you so much that He doesn’t force you to love Him back. And He loves you so much that He wants to take your eating disorder off your hands, so you don’t have to be imprisoned by it anymore.”

As in the case of  the prayer from “Beejai”, the voice of the young woman who writes “Anorexia Revealed” speaks loudly about her and what she believes. Anorexia is not the only thing that is ‘revealed.’ We also learn that: 1) it is obvious she is aware of the significance of Jesus’ death and the brutal nature of that death; 2) we can hear her confidence in the love that is available if we will only avail ourselves of it: 3) we can tell that she has laid her burdens at the foot of the Cross, and knows that is where we need to lay ours; 4) we can also tell she has a burning desire to help others and to show them where to go to ease their pain; 5) and we can easily see how she glorifies God and loves to hold Him up for others in order that they may see see how He can change their lives.

These are just a couple of the ‘voices’ I hear. There are many, many more, and I could go on, and on, but I think you all get the idea.

While you may be a very, very wise and learned individual, if yours is the only voice you hear, you are depriving yourself of the wisdom of other children of God, and in doing so you are missing the opportunity to see the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness of God at work in the world around us.

And that is a pity, for that work is truly beautiful to see.

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“The Walking Wounded”

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Tony Casson

Following the “Path to Freedom” is not a musical romp down the yellow-brick road. Those walking the path do so in a wounded state, since we are all wounded in one way or another.

The following words were written by a young woman who happened to ‘like’ something I had posted here. As a result, I discovered her blog, and what an incredible discovery that was! The title of the blog is “Anorexia Revealed” but if you think that is what the subject is, you are mistaken.

Well….sort of anyway.

“Glorious Wounds” is the introduction to the blog and we quickly learn that the journey we are about to embark upon is a remarkable testimony to the power of God and to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

You see, “Anorexia Revealed” is not just about this young woman’s battle with anorexia. It is about you, and me, and every other human being walking on God’s creation. It is about the trials and tribulations we all face on the “Path to Freedom”, and she points us to where our strength to stay on that path comes from with very eloquent, thoughtful – and sometimes very painful –  words.

As she so beautifully writes, “We are all wounded. Each and every one of us have scars that remind us of our sufferings and shortcomings. They are part of who we are. And try as we may to cover them up, we shouldn’t – because they are beautiful.”

I won’t spoil it any further. Read for yourself:

Glorious Wounds

I was listening to a talk the other day by Fr. Glenn Sudano, and it spoke to me so profoundly that I took on the task of writing this book. Allow me to recount what I took away from it.

We are all wounded. Each and every one of us have scars that remind us of our sufferings and shortcomings. They are part of who we are. And try as we may to cover them up, we shouldn’t – because they are beautiful.

Jesus endured the greatest suffering of all: the Cross. And when He rose again after the third day, He greeted His loved ones and showed them the scars on His hands where He had been pierced. Thomas even put his hands in the holes. His wounds weren’t infected, but glorious and glowing. They were a victory.

That’s how we need to treat our wounds. Are they infected or are they glowing? Our wounds are the signs of the suffering and trials in our life, and they need to be washed in His divine grace. We must allow His Light to shine out of them. For in our weakness, we are actually strong, through Christ. He suffered first, and won, thus allowing us to do the same.

Therefore, I am writing this deeply personal and oftentimes disturbingly honest account, revealing my wounds from the anorexia that ravaged my body eight years ago. I hope it offers insight into the insidious nature of the disease, so as to shed light on what your loved one is going through.

Through these words, I hope to expose the inner thinking of someone struggling with the disease. It’s what I wish I could have told my parents and loved ones at the time, but couldn’t. It’s what I wish they would have known. What I wish they would have understood.

I preface this, that this account is from when I was fully engulfed in my disease. My thoughts were not clean, nor pure. They were dark. Very dark. But it is in exposing that darkness that I hope to allow His Light to shine through these wounds so as to bring hope and help to others.

 *******

Sometimes we just know we have a monopoly on pain. Sometimes we just know that no one suffers as much as we do. Sometimes we just know that no one is worse off than we are.

Sometimes we don’t know jack.

Do yourself a favor, and click here to go back to the beginning of the blog. It takes a lot to expose yourself the way she does in her writing. I know this to be true. Make it worth what she must have gone through to write some of those words by reading them and thanking her.

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“Standing Still Moves Us Forward”

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Tony Casson

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:130 ESV

…..and simple-minded is how we act when we turn to our flesh for the answers that come to us in such devastatingly painful ways sometimes when that is where we look for them.

Psalm 119:130 contains a lot more wisdom than is immediately obvious, or can be gleaned from a quick reading as part of the whole Psalm, but if we look closely at what is actually being communicated, we discover several different things: We are given clear instructions on how to begin our day; we are shown how to illuminate the path on which we are walking; we reveal the source of our wisdom; and we learn where to point others for the answers they seek.

All of that is in the first seven words: “The unfolding of your words gives light….”

 “The unfolding of [God’s] words..” requires that we stop what we are doing and read the Bible. The simple act of taking time to put God first should help shed some light on what lies on the path ahead. As I wrote in the previous post, we tend to become so ‘busy’ – even busy doing ‘God’s work’ – that our lives become a blur. We get so busy that something needs to give and what is usually first to go is the time we spend with our Father.

But He should understand, right? After all, He gave us the work that so urgently needs to be done. He presented us with the opportunity that has us so wrapped up we barely have time to sleep and eat.

No. He does not understand, and it is not alright.

What our number one priority should be was made very clear by Jesus in His teaching: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:1-33 ESV

Seek FIRST.

One dictionary defines ‘first’ as: “The one coming, occurring, or ranking before or above all others.”

If we are seeking the Kingdom of God first, then we begin our day by going to the Lord in prayer, and by looking to His Word to see what will unfold before us and how it will illuminate our path. More important than that first cup of coffee is first thanking the Lord for the gift of the day that stretches before us.

Many of us have difficulty getting up an hour earlier to spend quality time with the One who gives us our time in the first place, but we have no problem staying up an hour later to watch TV or surf the internet.

Sometimes we don’t bother to pray because, well, He doesn’t always answer our prayers, does He? Wrong again. He answers each and every prayer. Seriously, He really does. Unfortunately it is not always on the timetable or in the manner we would like. More unfortunate is the simple fact that we very often miss the answer completely because we fail to stop, look, and listen as we race forward on what we think is the correct path.

Standing still can move us forward, if we are standing still to allow God’s words to unfold and reveal His wisdom us. Standing still can move us forward when we pray and then resolve to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open for the answer. Standing still can move us forward with confidence when we are standing still to seek first the Kingdom of God.

In my book “TODAY IS….A Gift From God” I wrote some thoughts on that very subject. Ironic, given that in the previous post I pretty much admitted to ignoring those words. I will reprint them here for all of us, and I will pray that they help us all to stand still for a moment so that when we do begin to move forward, we do so with the knowledge that we understand who the dictionary was referring to with the definition: “The one coming, occurring, or ranking before or above all others.”

 From “TODAY Is….A Gift From God”:

 May 27

TODAY IS…

……a great day to stop, look, and listen.

“When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.”  John 2:9 NLT

Coming upon railroad crossings that do not have signals, it is always a good idea to stop, look, and listen. Failure to do so could cause us to fail to see or hear a train coming, and that would have disastrous consequences.

Being alert to what is going on around us and paying close attention to the things that are influencing our decisions and driving our actions is always a good idea. Many of us ask the Lord for help in our lives through prayer, but then fail to do the important part: we fail to stop, look, and listen for the answer. Failure to do this could result in negative consequences in our lives. They may not be as disastrous as not seeing that train, but if we miss God’s instruction, then we are left only with our own ability to direct our lives.

Why is it important to stop, look, and listen? Because God sometimes provides us with the answers we are looking for in ways that might not be immediately apparent. It is not as if He makes an announcement or taps us on the shoulder each time He fulfills a request. Just as evidenced at the wedding, many times the work of the Lord is done quietly and without fanfare.

If we examine all of the things that are taking place around us, we can tell which things are results of God’s influence. It requires patience, and concentrated effort, but many of us would probably be surprised how many times we have missed the message because we did not heed the warning and “stop, look, and listen.”

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“Stumbling on the Path”

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Tony Casson

Recently I stumbled on my “Path to Freedom.”

My stumbling did not involve succumbing to the most destructive of the demons of my past; the drugs, the alcohol, the pornography. No, it was none of those things. Nonetheless, I did stumble by beginning to take credit for something I should have been thanking and praising God for on a daily basis.

I stumbled when I became too busy to spend adequate time with God because I was becoming more focused on what had been given to me than on the One who gave it to me, and the reason He gave it in the first place.

I stumbled by taking an opportunity that the Lord gave me in the most amazing display of His power since He picked me up off that bloody shower floor in August of 2010 and making it an object of worship when I should have been lifting my hands to Him in praise and thanksgiving for providing me with that opportunity.

In the process of making it about me, the opportunity itself became less exciting and more drudgery. The obstacles loomed large where previously they had been non-existent. I had lost the advantages that existed because I was being blessed by God.

I stumbled when the project I am working on became about me and not about serving God, and I was embarrassed and ashamed when I realized what was happening. I felt like the Israelites leaving Egypt and heading to the Promised Land. The excitement of leaving their old lives behind soon left them and their focus soon shifted to the difficulty of the journey rather than to the reward which awaited at the end.

“So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” Exodus 15:24 ESV

It all became about them.

I live in the Central Union Mission in Washington, DC which would be difficult to convince others is any sort of Promised Land, and maybe I have not completely arrived there yet, but I am close. So close that if I am not careful, I may wind up like Moses and be denied the last step into that Promised Land.

“For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.” Deuteronomy 32:52 ESV

I do not want to hear the same words spoken to me.

We all have our ‘Egypt’ – well, most of us anyway, and certainly if there is complete honesty applied. Mine was a lifetime of sin and willful disobedience to God. My ‘escape’ came when I tried to kill myself and I called out to God. My personal journey to the Promised Land took me through a little over 4 years in federal prison in Louisiana, to this place I now call home – the Central Union Mission, where I have resided for the past year and 2 months.

Recently, I was led to an opportunity to pursue a project that had originally been revealed to me in prison. Up to that point, I had been a cook at the Mission, content to serve God by preparing the best meals I was capable of with the food God provided through our donors.

An unfortunate incident led to the opportunity to work in the kitchen being taken from me. Not because of anything I had done while working, but because of my status as a result of the crime which had sent me to prison. But as that door slammed shut and I got up to leave the Executive Director’s office, it was as if God Himself placed His hands upon my shoulders, forcing me back into my seat, and commanded me to, “Speak up!”

It was then that I asked if I had ever mentioned an idea I had for the creation of a career-development program to prepare individuals for work through classroom training and hands-on experience in a retail business which would sell products men would learn to produce.

He liked the idea and over the next couple of weeks, I produced a more in-depth outline which ultimately led to my being hired to develop the entire program. It was, quite simply, a miraculous gift from God. There is no doubt that the entire process had His hands all over it.

For the past month and a half, I have been consumed with developing PowerPoint presentations, curriculum outlines, and myriad other details required to bring to fruition a training program which has the potential to positively impact the lives of some of the men we serve here at the Mission.

I should have been humbled. I should have been grateful. I should have been in awe. I should have been supercharged with excitement. I should have gazed upon the Promised Land that lay before me and tearfully thanked God for sharing His vision with me and bestowing upon me the ability to glorify Him through this endeavor.

I should, I was, and I did.

And then I stumbled.

I took my eye off the prize, and turned an incredible blessing, honor, and privilege into a job that consumed me and caused me to rely upon my own strength and ability. I forgot that I have no strength and ability that does not come from God. I lost sight of the true purpose for the project and I lost sight of God, who opened the door in the first place.

I figured this out yesterday, and I tearfully asked forgiveness before heading to a small men’s group Bible study last night and asking for their prayers that I will not fail to properly thank God, praise Him, and glorify Him as I continue to work, with abundant joy, on this project that will help to restore the lives of some of His children.

It’s OK to stumble on the “Path to Freedom.” It’s even OK to fall down.

As long as we know it is God who will be there to steady us, or to pick us up. As long as we know it is God who put us on that path in the first place. And as long as we know it is God who gives us the strength, courage, wisdom, and desire to keep putting one foot in front of the other as we continue our journey.

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“There Is Empathy In Harmony, And Harmony In Love”

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Tony Casson

Why is living in harmony important to us, why shouldn’t it be difficult, and how does it fit in with the overall theme of “Finding The Path To Freedom”?

Living in harmony is important to us because God says we are to love our neighbor.

It is impossible to love someone in the absence of some sort of harmony. At the least, harmony makes loving others easier, and thinking of the other person, trying to understand his or her position and circumstances in life, helps to create the harmony required.

In other words, we must learn how to have empathy for other people.

The first Biblical reference to the instruction to love our neighbors occurs when God is talking to Moses and giving him  the law: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”  Leviticus 19:18  NIV

After that, the commandment to ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ is repeated by Jesus several times in the New Testament.

Pay close attention to the wording used by Christ: “AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31 ESV (The emphasis is mine)

Were you paying attention? “Love thy neighbor as thyself’ is a commandment. It is not a suggestion, a request, or a passing thought. We are commanded by God to do this.

By and large, human beings fail miserably at this. I do not exclude myself from that group. In fact, I failed to uphold God’s commandment for the majority of my life, and that failure culminated in my conviction for possession of images of child sexual abuse.

While in prison, God gently guided me back through my life to help me see where I had sinned against Him. He did this, not out of a sadistic desire to hurt me, but out of His profound love for me so that I may begin to understand the events and situations that hardened my heart against Him and caused me to open the door to the evil that eventually controlled my life and, ultimately, almost cost me my life.

As a condition of my supervised release from prison, I attend weekly group counseling sessions. There are ‘homework’ assignments we are required to complete and each one has a specific objective. Working through each objective helps us to understand ourselves better, to grow as individuals, to mature, and to learn how to properly process – and deal with – negative situations in our lives, all of which had proved difficult for us to do in the past.

There are two of these ‘objectives’ which are extremely revealing, painful to work through, and quite liberating to complete. In ‘group’, completion requires ‘presenting’ the completed objective to the rest of the group, talking through it, and having everyone agree that the work put into the objective was thorough and sincere.

In a recent meeting, we were privileged to experience the presentation of one of each of those two objectives I just mentioned. The first presentation was made by me, and involved the cycle of my offense.

Preparing my presentation required taking everything God had allowed me to see and ‘plotting’ it on a ‘roadmap’ of sorts. That ‘roadmap’, while emotionally draining in its creation, helped me to clearly see how I progressed from being an innocent boy with an entire life full of promise before me, to being a 55-year-old man who lay dying in a pool of blood, from wounds caused by my own hands, on the floor of a shower stall in a dilapidated motel in south Florida while the FBI stood outside my door waiting to arrest me for the afore-mentioned crime.

With support, encouragement , and input from the rest of my group, I completed that objective and now have a much clearer picture of where the trouble started in my life, how I allowed it to take over my life and send me down a path of self-destruction, and how to work to prevent things from spiraling out of control in the future.

The other objective which was presented that night is one that awaits me in the near future. As difficult as the objective I presented was to complete and present, hearing the other person present his stunned me into the state of mind which prompted this article.

You see, the other objective involves the writing of 2 letters. One is from the victim’s point of view, written to ourselves. The other is a letter to the victim, from us, trying to explain our abhorrent behavior. Both of them requires us to find that part within us that contains our empathy for others. That ‘something’ within us that allows us to see things from another’s perspective.

In other words, to see the life of another human being through their eyes.

What I heard during that meeting demonstrated to me the remarkable ability of the writer to meet the requirements of the objective. It also set the bar for my turn at trying to empathize with the victims of my crime. In the case of the man who presented that night, as in my own, there were no real ‘victims’ in the sense that either of us had physical contact with anyone, but our crimes were most definitely not victimless. When viewed from the perspective of the children being abused to produce the videos and photos which we viewed and ultimately went to prison for possessing, our involvement was no different then that of the actual physical abuser who produced the material.

How shocking is the reality that we didn’t realize this before. How unnerving it is to realize we could not empathize with those poor children. I am grateful to God for His mercy, grace, and forgiveness which combined to save my life and afford me the  continuing opportunity to learn what I should have learned a long time ago.

All of that is informative, but what does it have to do with most of the people who will read these words? Most decent people would experience no difficulty empathizing with the children who are the victims of sexual abuse.

But how about the neighbor who is a different color than we are? How about the person we work with who struggles to make himself understood in our language, even though he is college-educated in his own? How about the person who is in prison for crimes committed that might not have been committed were it not for the brutal, unloving, uncaring childhood he or she experienced? Is it possible to empathize with the boy who was horribly disfigured, castrated, and left for dead by Boko Haram in an attack on Christians in his village in Nigeria? Can we truly understand the lives of those around the world who struggle daily simply to survive while we complain that there is ‘nothing to watch’ on televisions with 300 available stations? Do we have empathy for the dirty, smelly, drunken homeless person asking us for a quarter?

The commandment to love is non-negotiable. It is a command from God, and God never changes. He is the only constant in an ever-changing world.

The need for empathy to love others is obvious. There is empathy in harmony, and there is harmony in love, so don’t simply say “I love my neighbor.” That is not enough. We must all strive for harmony, and to achieve harmony we must understand what it means to have empathy for others and try to see life through their eyes.

It is a much more difficult proposition to truly feel empathy for another human being than to simply say, “I love you.” It doesn’t have to be as difficult as we might think it is, but it does require effort on our part. The effort we make will be rewarded by helping us to walk more confidently on the “Path To Freedom.”

The old adage, “Walk a mile in my shoes” takes on new importance when we realize the ability to imagine what it is like to do that lies at the center of our ability to do as God commands.

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“Stepping Through The Minefields Of Sin”

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Tony Casson

“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.”  Matthew 9:9 ESV

When Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, Matthew certainly could have allowed his lucrative job as tax collector stand in his way, but he didn’t. He immediately began walking on the path Christ was laying out before him.

Our innate willingness to make excuses for sin and allow it –  even welcome it – into our lives encourages the proliferation of obstacles in front of us which creates a ‘minefield’ of sorts, thereby making travel on the “Path to Freedom” quite perilous.

Stepping through that minefield involves not merely walking around those dangerous obstacles, but requires us to eliminate them completely as we go. In order to do that, we must give up things which seem to be generally accepted and legitimized by today’s society.

I thought it might help to illustrate what must be done by posting today’s devotion from my book, “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”.

July 22

Today is…

a wonderful day to consider what we are willing to give up.

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.” Galatians 5:24 NLT

What a beautiful statement Paul makes here. What are we willing to give up to belong to Christ? If we are going to “nail the passions and desires of [our] sinful nature to His cross,” we probably need to look at what, exactly, constitutes our “sinful nature.”

Let’s face the reality of the situation: Many of us have grown quite comfortable with our sinful nature. So comfortable, in fact, that in many cases, we don’t even recognize some of our behavior as being sinful. So much sin has been legitimized in society and has been thrust upon us as “our right” or as “legal behavior” that many of us fail to realize that simply because man says something is permissible doesn’t mean that God agrees.

Take profanity, for instance. There was a time when profanity was not allowed on television. Time, lawsuits, challenges and the relaxing of standards has changed all of that and profanity, from the ‘mild’ to the ‘wild’ is available for all to hear, to learn and to repeat. If it’s on TV it must be ok, right? Wrong!

While society’s position on profanity has changed, God’s position is the same today as it was yesterday, and as it will be tomorrow: “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”  (Matthew 15:11 NLT). And, writing to the Colossians, Paul said, “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.” (Colossians 3:8 NIV).

Are we ready to nail profanity to the cross? How about all those other things on Paul’s list? Are we ready to give them up as well and nail them to the cross? Do we allow pornography into our lives because society has accepted it? Do we commit adultery because “everyone else does it?”

To nail the passions and desires of our sinful natures to the cross of Christ, we must be willing to give up the things that we do, the things that we say, and the thoughts that we have that occur as a result of those passions and desires.

It is important to note that being a Christian is not a one way street. It is not just about what we are willing to give up. It is also about the things we are able to receive as a result of giving up our sinful passions and desires.

After we have stripped ourselves of sin all that is left is to, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” (Colossians 3:10 NLT).

And that alone is worth our giving up a lot of things that are worthless!

*******

Words are easy to write, even easier to read, and the ones above are no different than any others in that respect. The more society portrays sinful lifestyles as being the ‘norm’, the harder it becomes for us to nail those sins to the cross. The dangers continue to spread out before us, much like minefields which are used to slow the forward progress of opposing armies, and stepping through those minefields becomes an increasingly more difficult challenge to overcome. Far too often, it is deemed easier to let that minefield completely stop our progress along the path Christ lays before us than it is to actually clear it.

No one ever said following Christ would be easy, but is it worth it?

While I struggle with sin and fall short with greater frequency than I would like, I can honestly say that the vast majority of ‘mines’ that used to block my path have all been removed and nailed to the cross.

And I assure you, it is, indeed, worth it!

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“The Hope That Lies In Harmony”

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Tony Casson

”So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:8-9 NIV

“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.” Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6 NLT

At first glance, the above verses from the Holy Bible may seem to be contradictory. After all, if God wanted His children to live in harmony, why did He scatter them over the face of the earth and cause the various groups to speak in different languages?

That hardly seems like a sensible approach to achieving harmony.

Although that concept was likely in God’s plan when He created mankind, the simple truth is that there will never be complete harmony here on earth and God was well aware of that fact when He “scattered them over the face of the earth.” Once Adam and Eve created sin, everything changed. Once fallen, our willingness to place ourselves before God became possible, and with it, the desire to build monuments that glorified ourselves and not God. Hence, the ‘Tower Of Babel’ which was built to honor mankind, and not God.

Seeing this, God scattered His children and gave them different languages so they could not understand one another and could not help each other to give glory to themselves and not to Him.

Was it His intention to keep His children separated for all time? We know this isn’t entirely true for He gave us Jesus Christ, the Messiah who was born of a virgin, lived the perfect, sin-free life we are incapable of living, was brutally hung on a cross where He took upon Himself the punishment we deserve, died and rose again on the third day thereby clearing the way to God which is the “Path To Freedom” on which this entire blog is based.

Does God expect the entire world to live in harmony?

He knows this is an impossible thing. He knows that ‘world peace’ is something more likely to enter the public lexicon as a wish expressed by a beauty pageant contestant than as an actual state of worldwide harmonious living that can possibly be attained. There are too many incentives for Satan to allow that to happen. There are fortunes to be made on the backs of the poor, entire groups of human beings to exploit, and too many personal “Towers of Babel” to be built by those who live in willful disobedience to, and rebellion against, God.

So what did Paul mean when he said, “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.” (Romans 15:5 NLT) Well, He meant that all Christians are expected to live in harmony. This is an important distinction to make, because it is too easy to become discouraged if we attempt to live as Paul instructed when he went on to say, ”Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” Romans 15:7 NLT

Where our “Path To Freedom” is concerned, we should definitely rejoice and give praise to God if it is a ‘one way street’, because that means we are moving forward on the path with no setbacks. However, where ‘harmony’ is concerned, we need to pray to God for the strength to deal with the fact that it, too, will often be a one way street, but that is not a good thing. Unfortunately, no matter the effort we put into it, trying to live harmoniously with others will often be met with resistance or outright rejection. Those who reject the notion of harmony among people, for whatever reason, cannot possibly be followers of Christ, for we are told that is what we must do.

While we are praying for the strength to deal with those who reject ‘harmony’ in general, let us also pray for those doing the rejecting, in order that God may choose to soften their hearts. At the same time, we know that there is hope in harmony, for our hope lies in God and, as Paul stated, accepting each other and living in harmony gives glory to God.

The hunt for harmony can be a tiring and frustrating one, but finding brothers and sisters in Christ whom we can walk with, in harmony, can make the steps we take on the “Path To Freedom” steps that glorify God and enrich our lives here on earth.

 

 

 

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“The Steps Of Love”

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Tony Casson

I have neglected this blog and, in turn, my readers, but I have been quite busy these days. I have spent considerable time in May and June posting articles in “The Oakdale Chronicles” and I have undergone tremendous changes here at Central Union Mission.

All of the things that have been done, or have transpired, in recent months have all been part of God’s plan for me, and have been necessary for me in order that I may continue to follow the “Path To Freedom” that God illuminates before me.

Each step has been a necessary one. Some of those steps have been challenging and created a cornucopia of emotion, including tremendous sadness (such as reading, editing, and posting the powerful “Stories Of A Prisoner’s Wife” on “TOC”), while others have been enormously positive and uplifting (such as the emergence of a new direction for me as a servant at the Mission).

As each of us walks steadily forward along the path to freedom, it is often necessary to pause along our way and look behind us. Examining who we were and how we came to be that way are important steps to take. It is important to wake up those things inside of us that have lain dormant through the years of our rebellion against God. When we finally come to know His love for us, our ability to love – and  to express that love – begins to stir, and enhances all other steps we take.

It is important to understand, however, that occasionally our self-examination is accompanied by the realization that it is too late to correct a situation or – as was the case with me in the story that follows  – it is too late to tell someone we love them.

Or is it?

Rather than let the knowledge that the time to tell my Mother just how much she meant to me had passed, I decided to write her a “letter”. A “Letter To Heaven”, if you will. Taking that step unlocked the love God had shown me, and I am now able to put love into each step I take. Rather than be discouraged by what could have been perceived as missed opportunities to tell my Mother how important she was in my life, and how sorry I was for living such a self-destructive, rebellious life, I was, instead encouraged by the knowledge that the letter I wrote to her would be delivered by God.

The following article was posted in “TOC” on September 18, 2011.

“Letters To Heaven – Dear Mom”

“Memory is the treasure house of the mind”        Thomas Fuller

“May she who gave you birth be happy”      Proverbs 23:25B  NLT

Dear Mom,

Of all of the words I have written in my life, I have written the least number of them to you.

For this, I apologize, and I will not add insult to injury by offering any excuses.

In death you remain larger than life, and the words “I miss you” are woefully inadequate to describe the feeling of emptiness that moved in when you left and which has remained there for 3+ years.

I know you are happily at home with God and I am grateful that your long-time suffering has ended. When I see you in my dreams, I see a younger, healthier version of you with your eyesight, hearing and other physical ailments restored.

And, of course, I see that radiant smile of yours that so many people over your lifetime were able to see directed at them, making them aware that true goodness does exist on this earth.

Or did, anyway.

My time spent in prison, so far, has not been spent in vain, I don’t think, Mom. I know you cannot be happy with my being in prison, but I also know you can’t possibly be disappointed by how things are progressing so far.

Since the Lord saw fit to save me from death 2 years ago my heart has been filled with a faith that grows stronger daily. My love of the Lord, and recognition of all he has blessed me with, has led me to peace and contentment, even in this – the most impossible place imaginable where one would think those things could be found

And yet, I have found those things, and I know this is just the beginning; that the best is yet to come.

Sometimes I can almost feel the warmth of your smile as you look down upon me. From that warmth I gather the strength to resolve the past, and find the courage to face the future. I love the time I spend reminiscing; reliving various times in our lives together, both the good – and the not-so-good.

In fact, just the other day, I was thinking about the time, – ok, the first time – I ran away from home on a dare by the next door neighbor.

I was 13.

It wasn’t until I stood in the doorway of Anthony’s bedroom when he was 13 (Can you believe he just turned 24??)and I was watching him sleep (my goodness – did I look that innocent and young at 13?) and for some reason, as I stood there that whole incident popped into my head and I thought “Oh, my God! I was the same age as this precious young man sleeping peacefully before me when my mom woke up one day and I was gone!”

I remember calling you that day and tearfully apologizing, explaining that it wasn’t until the moment I looked at Anthony and I imagined myself waking up and finding him gone that I realized what a horrible thing I had done so many years before. It struck me with substantial force just how frantic you must have been and how much you must have ached inside wondering where your little boy had gone and whether I was safe.

You reassured me that it was ok, and I felt your teary smile coming through the telephone, but I know that while you were reassuring me, you too were remembering that agonizing sense of panic and loss when my disappearance was discovered.

By the time or conversation ended, we had both laughed and both cried, and I believed you when you said that I had been forgiven long, long ago.

Your capacity for love and forgiveness was greater than that of anyone I have ever known and I believe – now that I know a little more about Him – that you got that directly from God.

Sometimes I am glad that you were not here on this earth to witness my final tumble from grace. That you were not alive to be given the news of my near-successful suicide attempt and the circumstances surrounding it. But I also think that if you had been alive to get up and speak about me to Judge Cohn, perhaps he would have been more lenient with me, for surely you would have convinced him of that, while damaged, I was not broken beyond repair.

He might, however, have sentenced me to more time for having the audacity to cause pain within someone so obviously full of love and goodness as you.

None of that matters, of course, since you were with me that day, in other, more wondrous – and powerful – ways and you remain with me today.

When ‘Pop’ had his stroke and it was decided that I would move to Florida and hang out with you two and help out where I could, it was as if the Lord was orchestrating all of it as he foresaw what would eventually happen to you, to ‘Pop’, and then to me.

I am very thankful for the time we shared, the three of us, and even though there were rough spots, there were also beautiful moments, happy moments, and humorous ones as well.

When we were 1st together I remember the frustration at the difficulties presented by your hearing problems.  Remember when we finally made that appointment, had you tested and fitted and ordered your new hearing aids?

What a beautiful day it was when we went to pick them up.  The pleasure in your face was a joy to see. You could be so much like a child in your excitement sometimes.

Remember driving home after we left the store?  The conversation in the car was at normal level – no repeated words – no “what did you say?” – no raised voices.  Just the three of us, talking normally.  The joy you felt at being able to hear was evident in your radiant smile, and I’ll never forget what happened when we pulled in the driveway:  I helped you out of the car and you stopped and cocked your head – a puzzled look on your face.  I asked “What’s the matter?”

“What’s that sound?”, you inquired.

I listened for a moment, chuckled, shook my head and said, “Those are birds, Mom”.

It was wonderful to be part of that and to see at least a small portion of the quality of your life improve.

Of course, your eyesight had deteriorated much more than your hearing, and there simply wasn’t much in the way of mechanical aids to help you see better.  You had your ‘talking’ watch and ‘talking’ clock both which, with the push of a button would announce the time. Of course, your clock – which was next to your bed – was set to announce when it as 7AM. I remember how it freaked me out when I first moved there and would hear the voice.  That “voice” now announces 7AM for Kathy each and every day.

And let’s not forget your lighted magnifying glass – probably the single most important aid.  Goodness me! I was just sitting here remembering the time I took you to Penny’s so you could get a birthday gift for one the neighbors’ kids and started crying as I recalled watching you struggling with that thing looking at sizes and prices and insisting on being independent and self-sufficient.

It embarrasses and shames me how selfless you were and how selfish I was.  If only I had learned from you sooner, but you know me – “I knew it all”.

Now that’s  funny, right there.

Actually, though – speaking of funny – I get a chuckle recalling the time I planted flowers along the fence in your backyard.  You came to the back door and announced how pretty they were. Laughing, I said, “What are you talking about? You can’t see them!”  You insisted you could, so I just kissed the top of your white-haired head and said, “Yeah, right – but thanks.”

My favorite story is one told by ‘Pop’ and happened long before I got there.  You remember your blind dog, Teddy, of course (What is with that place, something in the water?).

Anyway,  the story goes:

One day you ‘looked’ out the back window and ‘saw’ Teddy lying by the pool. (He never fell in, did he?).  You opened the Florida room door and called out to him, but he laid just there.  You called him again with the same result, so you called out to ‘Pop’, who was in the living room, “Roland! Roland!. . .  come here please!”

‘Pop’ walked up next to you and asked what you wanted.  You told him that you were calling Teddy to come in, but he wouldn’t come, whereupon ‘Pop’ told you that Teddy was in the living room, lying on the floor. You pointed outside and asked him, “Then who is that by the pool?”  Pop looked past you to where you were pointing, looked back to you and said, simply, “An iguana”, and turned and went back in to join Teddy in the living room.

Kind of glad he didn’t come when you called, weren’t you, Dear?

For the most part though, you were incredible to watch in your own home. One would never know you could hardly see.  You could bake, cook, clean, wash clothes, iron – you could do it all. You were an amazing woman and I’m sorry it took me so long to notice.

Well, Mother, I could go on and on. I guess what I’m trying to say through all of this is that I love you, I miss you and I think of you all the time.

I also want to reassure you that, while I would definitely rather be somewhere else, I am using the time that I have here constructively and in a positive way to strengthen my faith in God and to work on His plans for my future.

I’ll write again and let you know how things are going – maybe share another story or two.

Until then, know this: God will help me set this right. I do, indeed, remember the past, but I spend my days now looking forward and looking up.

I look forward and I look up to my future and my hope, and that future and hope are with God.

I’m okay with that, and somehow I think you are too.

I love you, Mom.

Tony

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“Sharing Our Suffering”

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Tony Casson

I follow Denise Pass’ blog, “Seeing Deep”, and there is always something edifying, encouraging, and helpful. This particular post struck me as fitting quite well into my series on “Surviving Our Suffering”. I hope you enjoy it and appreciate what it means for someone to share their suffering with us.

seeingdeep1's avatarSeeing Deep Blog by Denise Pass

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Psalm 30:2

“O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.”

I am overcome today with praise for my Jehovah Rapha, the LORD Who heals me.  This morning when I awoke I realized I did not have the normal pain that has been my close companion for years. Actually, the pain has been dissipating the past couple of weeks and I wondered if God could be removing the physical burdens I bear daily.

Diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases, I have learned to live within the confines of the illnesses that hold me captive.  When I go outside of those boundaries, I hurt.  My sweet son sees when I am in pain and we have a routine where he tries to help me get going in the morning.  Daily living has been difficult, but I press on.  In moments when I have felt…

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“Heartfelt, Humble Steps”

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Tony Casson

This article was originally published in “The Oakdale Chronicles” on October 18, 2013. Following our individual paths to freedom is really all about following Jesus Christ, and in this article I wrote about a book that had impacted me greatly while I was in prison. I hope you enjoy it:

“I AM DEFINITELY NOT A FAN OF JESUS CHRIST!”

When we look at ourselves in a mirror, it seems that many of us are not 100% satisfied with the image that is reflected back at us. This is evidenced by the inordinate amount of time we spend in FRONT of mirrors determining what needs fixing or improving, and by the truly exorbitant amounts of money that are spent buying products to change, color, or cover-up those things which we have deemed to be less than perfect in our eyes.

I would like us all to consider for a moment the amount of time WE spend in front of a mirror, and the various routines and rituals that we go through each day, sometimes several times a day.

So much concern, so much attention, and so much worry, and every bit of it is focused on something that is merely a protective wrapper for those parts of the human body that ARE important and DO carry significance in our lives. Sadly, many of us are far too concerned with thinking about the wrapping paper to the exclusion of thinking about the gift.

The human heart is one such gift. It is a gift from God of immeasurable worth on many levels. Without God’s gift of a heart, none of us would even be able to STAND in front of a mirror, least of all be concerned about what we see there. Although I understand that there are many individuals who are extremely health conscious and watch what they eat, make sure they exercise properly, and do not place unnecessary burdens upon their heart by ingesting tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, far too many of us take its physical function for granted and hardly give its care and maintenance any thought at all.

While the physical functioning of our hearts is vital to our very ability to live on this earth, the role our hearts play in our spiritual lives is vital to our ability to follow Jesus Christ to our promise of an everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. You see, the heart was not placed within our bodies merely to move the blood through our veins to carry oxygen to the other components of our bodies. The heart is mentioned prominently throughout the Holy Bible as being a critical part of our ability to be who God wants us to be.

Our brains are an incredible and wondrous creation of God which give us the ability to think, talk, see, process information, learn, teach, and so on, but our hearts enable us to exhibit all of the traits that comprise our humanity and define us as children of God. Our ability to love, to be patient, compassionate, kind, generous, humble, considerate, caring, gentle…..all of these things and more come from the heart. How do we know this? Because it is in the Bible. Jesus Christ Himself said, “Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NLT).

How about that? Jesus Christ Himself said that humility and gentleness come from the heart. He also said, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8 NLT). But not only does Jesus tell us how our hearts can help us to be like him, and how they can help us see God, He also tells us how to LOVE God: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37 NLT).

David, who was considered Israel’s greatest king, wrote, “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” (Psalm 40:8 NLT).

These are just a few of the many references found in the Holy Bible that demonstrate the important role played by our hearts in our spiritual lives.

So I ask these questions of us all:

How much time do we spend examining our HEARTS? Do we spend anywhere close to the same amount of time looking for flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections in our hearts as we spend looking for those things in our faces and bodies?

Not too long ago, I came across a book written by Kyle Idleman, who is the Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The title of the book is “not a fan.” (the lower case and use of the ‘period’ is exactly as the title appears on the book), and the question that Pastor Idleman asks, which comprises the basis for the entire book, is: “Are you a committed follower of Jesus Christ, or are you just a fan?”

Pastor Idleman’s work is more than just a book. It is a finely crafted tool that can be put to work by everyone who is willing to exercise honest introspection and perform a complete examination of that precious gift from God – the heart. The book itself will tend to make many of us a bit uncomfortable at times, but as the case for Christ is presented, Pastor Idleman leaves no question as to exactly WHAT it means to BE committed to following Jesus.

The title of this article may have been disconcerting for some of you, but after reading ‘not a fan.’ and using it to perform a thorough examination of my OWN heart, I can honestly and emphatically state that “I am most definitely NOT a fan of Jesus Christ! I AM a committed follower!”

Since I determined that I am, in fact, committed to following Christ, was the time spent reading the book time that could have been put to better use? The answer to that is an emphatic and unequivocal, “Absolutely NOT!” The book was a valuable tool that assisted me in my self-examination. It acted as the mirror with which to view my heart, and provided me with the ability to see what my strengths were, and where I needed to work, grow, and change.

You see, it is important to understand that being able to say that we are committed to following Christ does NOT mean that we are perfect or that there is not room for spiritual growth or improvement. In fact, “not a fan.” makes us AWARE of our imperfections, which is necessary because then we are forced to focus more intently on Christ as we look to His perfect example as a model for our own lives.

As I devoured page after page, I began to see the path that I am on with greater clarity and understanding. I discovered that, not only was I following Christ, but I realized that He had been actively LEADING me for quite some time. As I looked back to that moment, over 4 years ago, when I first put my eyes upon Him and said, “I can’t do this anymore. I need your help.” I saw that He had been leading me along the path He wanted me to take and He did it by leaving what I can only describe as “Spiritual Bread Crumbs” for me to follow.

As a crucial part of my own self-examination, I looked for evidence that I was, indeed, following Christ. Looking back over those years, I could see that those “Spiritual Bread Crumbs” I had been picking up had left a clearly delineated path. That path stretched from where I now stand, all the way back to the hospital bed in which I awoke the day after God saved me from myself. I am aware that there are probably those who love me who think that it is best that I just forget about my attempted suicide and move on, but oddly enough, that attempt to end my life actually signifies the BEGINNING of it. (Author’s note: For more information regarding that suicide attempt, please refer to previous articles under the heading of “Evil Is Seductive” which began in August 2010 ).

Unbeknownst to me at that time, God began immediately to leave those ‘crumbs’ for me to pick up as He moved me in the direction He wanted me to go. Shortly after arriving here at Oakdale, He revealed a plan to me. I refer to it as my “Jeremiah 29:11″ because that particular verse from the Bible says “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (NLT). It was an ambitious plan of service to others and I have focused on that plan almost daily since it was revealed to me. I did not initially understand HOW I would ever get to the point, financially, where I would be able to DO what I envisioned, but I knew in my heart that the steps to bring that plan to reality would be determined by God in His time. God shows me where to place my feet by leaving another ‘crumb’ for me to pick up. My goal is to be ever vigilant to watch for them and be sure to pick them up.

Walking along His path, I constantly discovered the next person, the next book, the next idea, the next thought, and the next article for these Chronicles; I have written each of the 366 daily devotionals for “Today Is….A Gift From God” with plans to publish it as an e-book in December; each and every detail and experience is another ‘crumb’, and each one of those is, in itself, a gift from God. Following Christ is not just a casual stroll through the park. It is the discovery of oneself and one’s purpose in life.

After reading the book, I discovered that the chapel library had the “not a fan.” DVD series, which was designed for small study groups. I watched the series with Richard Roy, with whom regular readers of “The Chronicles” should be familiar with, and we spent considerable time ‘walking the track’ discussing the impact and importance of all that we had read and watched. The DVD series brought the book to life and creates a potent and effective combination with which to define one’s relationship with Christ.

“not a fan.” helped me to see what I most likely knew all along, but was too unsure of myself to say out loud. It IS, after all, rather frightening to live the way that I lived for over 40 years and then feel oneself actually DIE and become a different person. It’s an impossibly wonderful feeling that is met by skepticism, doubt, and wariness by many who have not experienced it, or who might have known me in the past and find it a significant stretch of the imagination to accept my ‘rebirth’.

“not a fan.” did not create the experience for me, but it was a phenomenal tool in helping me to define it, clarify it, and improve upon it.

Where do we go when we follow Christ? The path for each person is different, but they all lead to the same glorious everlasting life with God when our journey through this life has drawn to a close.

I am 60 years old, yet I feel that I have just now BEGUN my life on this earth. It is exciting to know that death can lead to such a rewarding life. I thank Kyle Idleman for helping me to see clearly that I am most definitely NOT a fan of Jesus Christ! Let him help you as well.

I also thank God. I thank Him often, and I thank Him with humility, love, and joy.

God bless you all, and thank you for your time.

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