Drinking and Driving: A Deadly Mix

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Summary: Driving while under the influence of alcohol not only puts the driver at risk of serious bodily injury, but presents a significant public threat. Such irresponsible actions not only affect the driver, but often end in the death of innocent individuals.

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We’ll call him “Jack”. Jack grew up in a family culture enslaved to alcohol and the dysfunctions commonly associated with its abuse. He had been an alcoholic since his early teens. For decades Jack ignored the law and drove on the streets and highways of this country while legally drunk. His illegal actions finally caught up with him when one afternoon, he was arrested and charged with “Driving while under the influence.” Jack was convicted and sentenced to one year probation and DUI classes.

Week after week, Jack sat in the classroom as instructors did their best to impress upon him the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol. He was presented with the detrimental physical effects of alcohol on the human body and its long term effects on health and mental well being. Jack watched shockingly graphic videos of innocent victims being loaded into ambulances or body bags following horrific traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers. And he was told of the criminal penalties which awaited him if he ever again got behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol.

Less than a year after probation ended, Jack got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Driving home late one night following a full day of drinking, Jack fell asleep at the wheel. His vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a pick-up truck transporting five occupants.

Due to dense fog and zero ground visibility, this single, two-vehicle collision initiated a chain reaction. By the time the smashups ended, the wreckage of more than twenty-three vehicles had been scattered for miles along a secluded stretch of highway. Rescue workers from five surrounding counties were called to the scene. Multiple agencies scrambled to mobilize the necessary emergency teams and equipment to care for the myriad of anticipated injuries.

The "Jaws of Life" were required to extract Jack’s body from the twisted wreckage of his own vehicle. He walked away from the scene with minor scrapes and bruises. The other three passengers in his truck sustained only minor injuries as well.

The seven occupants inside the cab of the other pick-up truck were not so fortunate.  Six of the seven passengers were seriously injured and air-lifted to the nearest hospital for treatment. And a three-month-old infant sleeping in his mother’s arms was killed instantly upon impact.

Jack was arrested and subsequently stood trial for second degree murder. The District Attorney denied his plea for a lesser charge of manslaughter because of Jack’s prior DUI record. Prosecuting attorneys believed Jack understood the dangers, ignored the risk, chose to drink, chose to drive, and subsequently killed another human being. The jury agreed and Jack was convicted of second-degree murder. He is still serving his sentence in a state prison. 

This tragic story represents real events caused by the decision of one man to drink and drive. But Jack’s story is more common than many realize. Consider the statistics from the website of “Mothers Against Drunk Drivers”:[1]

·         Kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash.

·         An average a drunk driver has driven drunk 87 times before their first arrest.

·         One in three will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime.

·          Every minute, one person is injured from an alcohol-related crash.

·         In California, every 50 minutes someone dies in a drunk-driving crash.

If you know anyone who has been injured by a drunk driver please see www.madd.org for assistance and support.

If you have been the cause of such injury and have found mercy, forgiveness and healing through a personal  relationship with Jesus Christ, will you consider sharing your story with others so they too can know and receive God’s healing touch?

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[1] http://www.madd.org/statistics/

Christian: You can retire when the work is done, not before!

Flickr/CrazyCake-Cakedesigner57/





Summary: Some Christians think God offers elderly saints a retirement plan with benefits. They have this idea that when Christians reach a certain age they somehow become exempt from the work of the ministry and can simply kick back and cash their pension checks. God has no such retirement plan. Gripped for His glory is a life-long calling.

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I can still see Kathryn waiting at the end of the sidewalk that first Sunday morning. Mrs. Lee was in her early 80’s and still as spry as a spring chicken and as sharp as a tack. (Pardon the puns. I couldn’t resist.) Well, ok. Maybe she moved a bit slower than a new-born chick. But try and tell her that and you’d quickly find yourself on the way to the wood shed with a switch across your legs. (Not really. But you would get a good lecture on the enduring stamina of great grandmothers.)

I was a single mother of two young boys and a brand new Christian. My pastor asked if I would be willing to take Kathryn to and from church on Sundays. I told him it would be my privilege. I parked my sky blue, 1960 Volkswagen bug at the curb and proceeded to get out of the car to help Kathryn. But by the time I shut my door, Kathryn was already opening hers. She made herself comfortable then reached inside her purse and pulled out two rolls of cherry lifesavers. After obtaining my permission, she handed the candy to two very excited little boys sitting in the back seat. From then on, she gave a roll of candy to both boys every Sunday morning, and became imortalized within our family as the “Life Saver Lady.”

Thus began my two year friendship with this remarkable saint. I quickly learned she was widow of three years. She had been married to the same man for more than sixty years. The story of her marriage is worth remembering as it demonstrates the depth of Kathryn’s devotion to Christ.

Kathryn became a committed Christian at a young age. But she married a non-believing man who made the next sixty years of her life very difficult. By faith, she determined to obey God’s design for marriage and submitted to her husband’s authority as the head of the family.  However, she insisted he grant her one request. She would take their five children to church every Sunday and teach them the Word of God. He agreed and she faithfully raised her children to love and serve the Lord Most High.

There was just one bug-a-boo in this arrangement. Kathryn did not drive. So every Sunday her husband would drop his family off at the main doors of the sanctuary. Then about five minutes before services ended he would return to the same spot, race the engine and honk the horn until she and all five children were back inside the car. Even when the children were grown and out of the home, the Sunday ritual continued.

As you can imagine every congregant had heard of Mrs. Lee’s husband. For years, her church family prayed for his salvation.  But it was not until the last moments of his life that Mr. Lee finally asked God to forgive his sins and surrendered his heart to Jesus. On his death bed, Mr. Lee then asked his wife to forgive him for embarrassing her all those years. Without hesitation Kathryn freely forgave him, then kissed her beloved goodbye and said, “See you soon.”

Kathryn was a prayer warrior in the truest sense of the word. She faithfully rose every morning at 5:30am to intercede for her family and God faithfully responded. Her prayers delivered her husband safely through the gates of heaven. Her prayers resulted in the salvation of all her children, and were instrumental in launching each one into full-time ministry for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Kathryn was especially burdened to intercede on behalf of her many grandchildren and great grandchildren, praying by name for their salvation and future service to Christ.

In every area of her life, Kathryn was a no nonsense woman. She had little tolerance for idle hands or idle talk. If anyone wanted her time, they had better be prepared to talk about Jesus, it was just that simple. “I don’t have time for anything else,” she used to tell me. Her time was God’s time and she was not about to waste a moment on fruitless activities.

Kathryn’s favorite verse was Genesis 28:15, “Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”[1] She knew the answer.  Kathryn knew the God of all the earth had always done what was right. She knew the Judge of all the earth had done what was right when He allowed her husband to humiliate her all those years. She knew the God of all the earth had judged rightly when He brought her husband to faith in Christ and then took him home. And she knew the Judge of all the earth would forever continue to justly judge all mankind. At 84, Jesus carried Kathryn home and she saw her beloved husband once again.

From the moment of her conversion, Kathryn never stopped serving Jesus Christ. She understood set-apart sainthood was for life. For her there was no turning back, no letting go and no letting up. She shared the saving message of God’s love with anyone willing to listen until the day God whispered in her ear, “It is finished. Enter into your rest my good and faithful servant.”

Kathryn Lee enjoyed being known by my sons as the “Life Saver Lady.” But in many ways, she was a life-saver to me. As a new Christian, she helped me lay aside the past and cultivate an unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ. And she modeled for me a commitment to the gospel message few saints possessed. I will always be grateful for the example of her life and the gift of knowing this precious saint.

How about you? Will you follow Kathryn’s example and share the saving message of Jesus Christ with anyone willing to listen until the day you die? I hope so. When you and I get to heaven, then we'll enjoy retirement with everlasting benefits.

[1] Blue Letter Bible. "Book of Beginnings - Genesis 18 - (NLT - New Living Translation)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 12 Nov 2010. < http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gen&c=18&t=NLT >

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God gives scarred feet a new pair of shoes

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Summary:  God designed our feet to carry His message of salvation into the world. Feet were not given to help us to run towards sin. Rebellious feet end up wounded either through logical consequence or God’s discipline. But when we repent, God gives our scarred feet a new pair of shoes.

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It was mid-October of 1969. I was a sex, drugs, and rock-in-roll seventeen year old gal, doing my own thing and going my own way. My young Marine boyfriend and I were on our way to a séance. Mind you, this was not some phony, slight-of-the-hand side-show. Trained mediums were being contacted by spirits of the dead with benevolent messages for the living. Former attendees told newspaper reporters of miraculous healings, catastrophes avoided and prosperity realized. Prophetic words had come true. This was cool stuff! Maybe a deceased relative had a guiding message for my life. Even if there were no beyond-the-grave messages for me, I knew it would be an exciting evening nonetheless.

It was pouring down rain when Mark’s cherry red GTO pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Ed’s home. Since Ed had already been to the metaphysical church in Anaheim and knew what to expect, we invited him to tag along. I jumped out of the car with no umbrella and no shoes. (In those days no self-respecting teenager wore shoes unless it was mandated.) I ran up the sidewalk to ring the doorbell. Just before I reached the porch, my right foot collided with a broken coke bottle. The combination of weight and momentum produced a two inch gash on the bottom of my foot.

When Ed opened the front door, blood was everywhere. Wrapping a towel around my foot, he helped me back into the car. Mark rushed me to the naval hospital in Long Beach. We spent the next five hours in the emergency room. To this day I still have a scar on my right foot.

Needless to say, we never made it to the séance. A missed opportunity or divine protection? It took eight years and the Holy Spirit of Jesus before I could correctly answer that question. At the time, I had no idea of the dangers I was running towards. I was clueless regarding the spiritual powers of wickedness behind such occult activities.  (For more information see Deuteronomy 18:9-14[1]) But God understood. And He used a piece of broken glass to save my soul from spiritual deception and bondage.

Maybe you have allowed your feet to take you into dangerous places. Maybe you ended up scarred in some way as result of ignorance or willful disobedience. If so, are you ready for a new pair of shoes?

God knows feet come in all different sizes and shapes. And He has the power to create a custom-fitted pair of gospel shoes in which to place your scarred feet. Put on your new shoes and let the peace of God heal your wounds. Then carry the gospel message of God’s peace into the whole world. There is nothing more lovely than scarred feet shod with the message of salvation.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! Isaiah 52:7”[2]

[1] Blue Letter Bible. "Book of Deuteronomy 18 - (NLT - New Living Translation)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 6 Nov 2010. < http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Deu&c=18&t=NLT >

[2] Blue Letter Bible. "The Major Prophet Isaiah 52 - (NLT - New Living Translation)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 5 Nov 2010. < http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Isa&c=52&t=NLT >

Refined to Shine

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Summary:  When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, God expects them to reproduce the life of His Son in others. The Bible likens such reproduction to a tree bearing healthy fruit. As members of God's family, we become like the branches of a tree from which God desires a bountiful harvet.  Therefore He designs individual pruning experiences to scrape, shape, and strengthen our lives to ensure a bumper crop of souls for His glory.

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I am not sure exactly what caught my eye that chilly Sunday afternoon. All I remember is that for some reason I finally saw what I had been oblivious to for years. It was wearily resting in the corner of a dusty, screened-in back porch. It stood almost seven feet tall with two solid wood doors on the bottom, a deep open shelf atop two, side-by-side drawers about half way up, and two doors covering the upper portion of the chest.  One of the lower doors hung precariously on one hinge and the glass in both upper doors was missing.

The intriguing part of this discarded piece of furniture was its'abundance of cracked and peeling paint. Clearly visible from every angle were at least nine different colors of paint peaking through the chipped and scarred wood. Under the dirt and stains, one color in particular grabbed my attention. I poked around the porch until I found a screwdriver then carefully chipped off a small section of paint from a side panel. As I suspected, underneath the scars of time was the warm, golden color of solid wood.

“Is that oak?” I asked my in-laws.

“Yeh,” my father-in-law casually replied. “The chest belonged to my grandmother. It’s a “pie safe”. She used it to store freshly baked pies, cakes and bread. She got tired of looking at a plain old wooden cupboard, so over the years she painted it almost every color the hardware store had in stock. It’s been sitting in that corner for ten years. I tried giving it away but no one in the family wanted it. One of these days I’ll haul it out to the garage or use it for fire wood.”

Anyone with an eye for innate beauty could see that old chest was a masterpiece in the rough. It had not been built to store cans of antifreeze and oily rags in some dark, musty garage. It was not a useless pile of haphazardly-assembled wood simply occupying otherwise meaningful space. A master craftsman had designed that chest. It may have been worthless to most, but I knew a little bit of love and a lot of elbow grease would reveal its’ hidden beauty once again.

Astonished I replied, “But it’s solid oak! If you don’t want it, may I have it?”

“How soon can you get it off my porch?” he laughed.

Having moved the dilapidated chest into my basement, the refinisher in me went to work. Cans of gooey paint stripper, metal scrappers, steel wool, sand paper, eye goggles, and rubber gloves were scattered everywhere. Over the next three months, I scrapped off chunks of cherry red, lime green, sky blue, bright yellow, white, deep purple, tangerine orange, black and midnight blue paint. The waste bin looked like a busy kindergartner’s paint box.

Once down to the bare wood, I started the process of scouring the wood grain to remove the last traces of old paint. Then beginning with coarse sand paper and finishing with a finer grain, I sanded the surface of the chest until it was as smooth as glass. With the years of neglect finally removed, I was able to see the beauty of the warm, golden tones, and the rich wood textures and lines characteristic of genuine, solid oak furniture.

Standing the buffet upright, I then thoroughly cleaned the wood, replaced the door knobs, hinges and the center glass panels in the upper doors. I attached the intricate, rose-shaped cornice to the very top of the cabinet. The final touch was a brand new coat of light varnish to protect the bare wood.  

After moving the buffet upstairs into the kitchen, I invited my in-laws to come and view the final product. They couldn’t believe their eyes. What had been an unwanted, dirty cabinet had been transformed into a beautiful, highly-valued piece of antique furniture.

Two years later, movers carefully secured the pie safe into the back of a semi-truck in preparation for my cross-country move. When the furniture arrived at its destination, the cabinet was nowhere to be found and had mysteriously been omitted from the manifest. I had little recourse but to accept the fact my prized antique pie safe had been stolen. Apparently others saw an object of such beauty they were willing to risk prison in order to possess the treasured item.

The work of redemption was absolutely completed with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Upon confession of our sins, by faith Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He gives us a new heart with brand new desires. But this is only the beginning of our new life in Christ.

God knows we are a “master piece in the rough.” He knows beneath the layers of pride and self-centered living there has now been implanted the genuine image of His Son just waiting to be displayed in all His glory. But there remains much debris which needs to be discarded from our lives if the world is to see the full, innate beauty of Jesus living in us.

The Bible uses the word “prune” metaphorically to mean, “to cleanse, of filth, impurity, etc.” Do you feel like you are being scrapped and sanded, cut and pruned? If so, be glad the master refiner/gardener is at work. Pruning is a painful process. But we must learn to trust God’s judgment. He knows exactly what needs to be removed from our lives so we can become more effective fruit bearers for His kingdom. It may take three months or three years. But God will be faithful to the complete the pruning process. The question is, will we be faithful to bear fruit?

If you belong to Christ and God is pruning you for greater productivity, you cannot remain in the kitchen. You were refined to shine. You were pruned to bear fruit. Get outside. Stand in the light. Let the world see the beauty of a transformed life. Help the world understand they simply cannot live without Jesus.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1-2

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Gripped for His Glory

Clouds:Oleg Matyukhov @/Fotolia

Summary: All Christians have experienced physical, mental, and emotional pain and have the scars to prove it.  However too often, believers would rather keep their painful past experiences hidden, afraid to let others know life has not always been a bed of roses. But God wants to use those very same experiences as the foundation for dynamic testimonies to bring hope and healing to a dying world.

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Most of us are familiar with the phase, “scarred for life.” Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “scarred” as, “to do lasting injury to.” Gripped for Glory is a format to openly, lovingly, and biblically explore those painful experiences which have done lasting injury to our lives. And let’s face it. Even a five-year-old child knows life can sometimes hurt.  

But this site is much more than a place for pity parties or strolling down memory lane just to glamorize sinful choices or revel in past tragedies. These are hardly the desired outcomes.  And while honest self-disclosure has its place in healing emotional wounds, only the naïve among us believe such actions alone can mend shattered lives.

So where do we start? First, how about we collectively make up our minds to be transparent with one another about the scars we bear. Then, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit and His word, let’s help the saints of God find healing for those secret, often still oozing wounds. Let’s work to bring closure to any remaining guilt or shame which may be hindering a relationship with God and others. Sound good? Great!

With this backdrop, the articles planned for this blog will encompass a wide assortment of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritually issues.  Some articles will intentionally target only committed followers of Jesus Christ.  Other posts will speak to the needs of Christians and non-Christians alike since the Bible makes it clear human suffering honors no such theological boundaries.

Sometimes articles will be informational and include relevant, supportive resources. Other posts will be decidedly devotional and evangelistic in nature. Subscribers’ interest and response will aide in the selection of future topics.  As content builds, articles will be listed alphabetically and linked to other related, in-house posts.  

We have now arrived at the second reason for the creation of this site, a goal which is a bit more confrontational. Before you log off and run for the hills, let me explain.  I have been a follower of Jesus Christ for more than thirty years. When a sinner first comes to Christ, realizing their legal debt against God has been paid in full by the death and resurrection of Jesus, they are more than eager to “forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead…”  Sound advice, since this is exactly what the Apostle Paul said to the saints in Philippi.  

According to the Blue Letter Bible, a “saint” is a person God has specifically and intentionally selected out from among all other people to be, “set apart for God, to be, as it were exclusively his.” Followers of Jesus Christ have been handpicked by God, set apart for a purpose. The Bible states one of those reasons is to tell the world about the miraculous works God has done in our lives. This is called our “testimony.” The Bible says the testimony of a Chistian is a powerful tool enabling one to overcome adversaries and impact lives for Christ.(See Revelation 12:11.) 

But here’s the problem. It has been my experience many Christians are so ashamed of their “B.C.” (a.k.a- "before-Christ") days, they keep old scars closely guarded under lock and key away from public scrutiny.  Many avoid transparency for fear of being judged or rejected by their new “perfect” Christian friends. A subtle disconnect begins. On the one hand they keep their painful past hidden from fellow Christians and on the other hand, they keep their future in Christ a secret from former friends. So where’s the testimony?

Certainly discretion and prudence dictate which events are best left buried in depths of the deep blue sea. I understand the need at times for such silence, especially if disclosure would further injure others.   All I am suggesting is that too many saints have not yet fully come to understand and accept that the scars they desperately try to hide are part of God’s story in their lives – His-story in their history by divine design.

For the redeemed, past failures and wounds can be the building blocks for life-changing messages of God’s redemptive love. People can argue theology all day long, but no one can deny our personal encounters with the living God.  Our past belongs to us. We are the stars in an epic story of God’s love working in and through painful human experiences to bring healing and wholeness to hurting hearts. We don’t need to hire screen writers or performing actors to create the story. It’s our life. We already know our lines. And we share our lives in so many ways with those around us. What could be more natural than sharing how God’s love changed our lives forever? Evangelism is really just that simple.

The time has come for redeemed saints of God to come to grips with the reality they have been gripped by God for a purpose. God is calling Christians to stand up, speak up and to declare the mighty transformational work of God in lost and broken lives.  

As this blog journey begins, I invite you to join our community of Gripped for Glory saints who are not ashamed to share their scars for His glory. “…For you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light…” 1 Peter 2:9