Your Sense of Humor Might Change Your Life

by Ken Turner | Faith

Your ability to laugh says something about your emotional and spiritual well being. Persecuted Chinese Pastors who spent years in prison for their faith learned to maintain a sense of humor and a spirit of joy.

Are you a happy person? When a friend describes your personality to another person does that include the part that says, “He or she has a great sense of humor.”

Do you laugh often… or did your light-heartedness get stolen away from you because of the stresses of life? If it did, you need to re-think some things.

Nik Ripkin in his book, “The Insanity of God” shares some intense stories of personal interviews with Christians who served and suffered great persecution while spreading the gospel around the world. Following is an excerpt from the book about three Chinese pastors who spent three years in prison together for spreading the gospel.

They were extremely grateful that they were arrested at the same time and placed in the same prison for three years together. They knew that being together in prison would be much easier than enduring persecution alone.

Nik Ripkin was able to be in China and interview these three Chinese pastors just days after their release from prison. Nik shares the interview in his book, “The Insanity of God.” They met in a hotel room in secret. The three pastors were excited to share their stories and insisted that rather than be interviewed individually, they wanted to tell the stories together.

Surprisingly, the pastors chose to act out several of their experiences of persecution “like a skit.” While acting out the stories they would often correct each other about forgotten details or the accuracy of certain elements of their persecution. They would laugh and even poke fun at one another while rehearsing some of the most horrific circumstances.

One story the pastors told… and this is a tough story to hear… was what they referred to as “Color or Black and White TV.” They acted out the story as a skit. The prison guard would come into the cell and grab them by the arms from behind. He would continue to twist the arms like a pretzel causing excruciating pain. The arms would be twisted up and into the air as if to be a TV antenna. Then the guard would begin to push the prisoner toward the toilet which was sunken into the floor. While moving closer to the toilet the guard would refer to the arms as a TV antenna and ask what kind of reception are we going to have today? Lifting the arms higher and forcing the face down closer to the toilet, he would look inside and shove the face into the toilet. If there was human waste he would say, “We have color TV today.” And if not it was a black and white TV day.

These persecuted Chinese pastors acted out the story and laughed as they recounted those difficult days of persecution.

This is what Nik Ripkin says about what he observed from these men…

The fact that they were laughing about it now— especially since they had only been out of prison a short time— was actually reassuring. It may seem odd to be talking about humor in the midst of this kind of horror. But humor is a powerful indicator of psychological health. One of the clearest warning signs of undue psychological stress that we watched for among our relief staff in Somalia was the loss of an appropriate sense of humor. When our workers found it impossible to see and respond to humor, it was clear that they were in serious need of emotional relief and healing.

How do we move forward in life and maintain a spirit of joy? Two ways:

John 15:11 says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” To be full of joy means to be crammed full as in a net crammed full of fish… with no room for more.

1. Active Dependence – John 15:4-8
There are four benefits of dependence.
A. Dependence produces fruit. Verse 4-5
B. Dependence produces usefulness. Verse 6
C. Dependence produces answered prayer. Verse 7
D. Dependence glorifies God. Verse 8

2. Loving Obedience – John 15:9-10
When we understand the love of God, we will respond to Him with loving obedience. There are three reasons to obey God:
A. Dread – I obey because I fear what may happen if I choose not to.
B. Duty – I obey out of my duty or obligation to God.
C. Desire – I obey out of a loving heart, desiring to know and please Him.

How are you doing today in your journey? Can you see God’s hand in your current circumstances and lovingly depend upon Him and obey Him knowing He is going to pull you through with a new purpose and plan that will be amazing?

Leave a comment: How has maintaining a sense of humor and finding joy in difficult times helped you?

How the Decision to “Not Think” Helped Me

by Ken Turner | Faith

Meditation is not a new idea. God told us a long time ago that our mind needs to be rested.

Last Friday I had an opportunity  to spend several hours completely alone in the Canadian forest. I made a decision to use a portion of that time refusing to think. Sound crazy? Here’s why.

First, let me explain how I ended up in Canada. A year ago I was invited to go on what my friend Tom Vietti calls a “Men’s Extreme Wilderness Trip” to Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Tom is the youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in York, PA and a long time friend. I went on this trip in September 2014 so I was excited to repeat the trip again last week with five other men. The park is a forest that consists of 2400 lakes and covers 3000 square miles. We entered the forest with canoes and backpacks on Sunday and came out of the woods the following Saturday.

Living in the woods for seven days has a lot of benefits. Unplugging from the cell phone, computer and the normal routine is certainly a plus. Hiking and canoeing everyday is great exercise and sleeping under the stars is amazing… especially this far north where the stars are brighter than anything you can imagine.

Friday was day six and what we called “solo day.” It’s a day we pre-scheduled to separate from each other and spend several hours alone with God.

Part of “solo day” would be spent reviewing all the lessons we had discussed from studying Philemon during the week and writing a recap of those lessons in our journals.

We spent day six on an island on Happy Isle Lake. I took a hike to the other side of the island to be alone with my Bible and journal. I found a bench made from a log with the top cut flat. I sat on the log bench and started to read and write in my journal… but I felt compelled to STOP.

So I laid down on the bench and began to realize something. I can spend the next couple of hours reading, writing, thinking and processing all kinds of information that is flooding through my mind from the week. I can work hard to compartmentalize all the experiences from the week… the view of the stars at night, the lessons learned from physical exertion, and the friendships I had developed. But what I really needed was not going to come by doing this. What I really needed was not a couple more hours spent in the process of THINKING but I needed to spend time NOT THINKING. So I prayed a simple prayer. “Dear Lord, help me to experience Psalm 46:10. Help me to experience nothing more than an hour of being still and knowing you are God.” A lot has been covered recently in the news on the benefits of meditation. It’s not a new idea… God told us a long time ago we needed to rest our mind.

Here’s a picture of my view from the bench…

So for the next hour (yes, I timed it) I intentionally laid on my back on a log in the forest in Canada and thought about nothing. The experience was amazing. I didn’t meditate on anything, process anything or ponder. I just let my mind rest. After a full hour ended I sat up and it was as if I had rested a tired muscle. There was clarity and peace and it wasn’t the result of me “figuring things out.” It was a result of spending an hour “being still.”

I spent the next hour reading and writing in my journal with clarity. God actually helped me understand three things He wanted me to know and take back home with me from the week in the woods. They were simple yet very profound…

1. Go and love Jesus Christ with all my heart.
2. Go and love my brothers and sisters in Christ with all my heart.
3. Go and make it my priority to spread the gospel.

“Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Decide right now… when will you schedule some time to be alone with God and not think?

How To Live In Spiritual Victory: Elevate

by Ken Turner | Faith

When I was in high school our youth group spent a week at youth camp every summer. We took hikes, swam in streams, saw waterfalls, went tubing in the rapids in the creeks, and so much more. We were a bunch of roughneck country boys from the foothills of South Carolina so we kind of showed up at camp with an attitude that we would try anything.

This is part of a four part series on Psalm 43
Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4

One summer we saw some teens using the inner tubes normally used for tubing the creeks in a whole new way. They were climbing inside the tubes and rolling from the top of the hill at the main lodge all the way down to the bottom! Now that looked like fun… so we grabbed some tubes and ran to the top of the hill. Off we went, rolling about 120 mph down the hill. It was a blast. We ended up with all kinds of scrapes and bruises and my brother even crashed into the snack trailer once at the bottom of the hill and rocked it so hard the college kids working inside ran out the back door scared to death.

In the years ahead, after I became a youth pastor, I can’t even count how many times I’ve spent a day playing like this. Sledding, giant slip and slides, skiing, ice skating, bowling and the list goes on.

But recently I had a thought about the way we play. If you are like me, you kind of forget that on that day you went sledding, or tubing or skiing and had the time of your life, you actually spent a lot of time climbing back up the hill. Every time we rolled down the hill in our tubes, we ran back up the hill. Every time we slid down hill in the snow, we climbed back to the top. But it was so much fun!

Do you know that God really wants us to experience this kind of happiness in our journey with Him? It’s not only fun sledding down the hill but there is joy throughout the entire journey!

Here are a few thoughts from Psalm 43 about how this looks in real life.

Psalm 43:4, “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy, yea upon the harp will I praise thee, O my God.”

1. The Decision To Go – Psalm 43:4 “Then Will I Go.”

It’s time to make a decision that you are not going to keep standing on the spiritual sidelines. It doesn’t matter how many times you see a bunch of teens running up the hill to slide back down laughing so hard their side hurts… there will always be a few who are just standing by watching. Life is full of reasons to be apprehensive but God wants us to let go of that apprehension and feel the joy and happiness He gives. The phrase “then will I go” in Psalm 43:4 really is a challenge to let go of your spiritual apprehension and go to the next place God is calling you to go in your spiritual growth.

2. The Degree of Dedication – Psalm 43:4 “Unto The Altar.”

To go “unto the altar” illustrates the willingness to be “all in” with God. The altar is a place of holiness, a place where we give offerings and a place where intimate worship takes place. It’s time to stop keeping Him at “arms length” and go “all in” with your spiritual walk.

3. The Source of Our Joy – Psalm 43:4 “Unto God My Exceeding Joy.”

This phrase “exceeding joy” means “like a revolving joy.” Picture a person living in a circle of joy, a revolving joy, like the teenager running up the hill, sledding down the hill, running up the hill, sledding down the hill… over and over… forever and ever without ever losing their enthusiasm! God has the ability to produce that kind of joy.

4. The Instrument of Praise – Psalm 43:4 “Upon The Harp Will I Praise Thee.”

The Psalmist had a harp to praise God with. How about you? What if you chose to take every instrument God has given you and continually offer praise to God with it? Your talents, your smile, your enthusiasm, your abilities and every instrument He has blessed you with… all of them in unison being used to praise God.

It’s time you started living victoriously! Now go and get to it and experience that revolving joy God talks about in Psalm 43!

Unloading Spiritual and Emotional Baggage: Rejuvenate

by Ken Turner | Faith

Psalm 43:5, “Why art thy cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.”

This is part of a four part series on Psalm 43
Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4

Last year I took a trip to Canada and spent a week in the Algonquin Provincial Park. This was a new experience for me but I was with three other “experienced” men so I was in good hands. The trip lasted seven days and we went in to the forest with 45-pound backpacks and 45-pound canoes to travel across miles and miles of lakes and trails. I learned quickly the value of carrying the weight correctly. On one long hike between two large lakes my backpack was extremely uncomfortable. As I was making the trek to the next lake my back began to hurt, my arms became numb and I didn’t have much feeling in my hands. Now, I’m no expert but I was thinking this might not be a good sign. At the end of the trail I told Tom how I was feeling and he immediately saw the problem and made a ton of adjustments to the straps and that made all the difference. Besides, this trip was challenging but it was supposed to be fun too, right?

Every day has the potential to add more weight to the load you are carrying through life. Dealing with stress at work, family problems and even a health issue can add tremendous weight to the burdens you carry. But here’s the deal… God wants to help you with that. Are you carrying so much of the burden that it’s becoming more than you can bear? Or are you in the habit of unloading the backpack of life along the way so you don’t become what Psalm 43 calls “cast down?”

Here Are The Ways A Heavy Backpack of Life Will Affect You.

1. You’ll Become Spiritually Cast Down – Psalm 43:5.

You will know you are “spiritually cast down” when your spiritual life feels “heavy.” You feel more sad than happy. It’s a feeling of spiritual weakness, feeling whipped. Are you struggling to believe God will actually do what He has promised you He would do? That’s what it is to be spiritually cast down.

2. You’ll Become Emotionally Drained – Psalm 43:5

The question “Why are you cast down O my soul?” is not a question you should ignore. Being cast down affects your spirit, the source of your emotional strength and joy. There are certain emotional connections you should feel with God including times of great joy over His presence, laughter that comes from the happiness He brings and even sadness when you are convicted about your sin. Do you have a healthy emotional connection with God or are you just moving along in a routine with no passion?

3. You’ll Be Struggling With People – Psalm 43:5

Here’s an interesting question, “Why art thou disquieted?” To be disquieted means to growl, to murmur, to roar and to be in a turbulent. It’s the opposite of being full of peace and tranquility. Because the burdens of your life, the heaviness of your backpack, has so affected you that you are now in turbulent relationships with others. It seems that everything is bothering you and your relationships are suffering as a result.

Here’s How To Unload A Heavy Backpack of Life.

1. Hope In God – Psalm 43:5 (How You Think)

Remember that God wants you to live life with patience, waiting for Him to do His work in His timing. Live with great expectations and trust in Him to take the problems and burdens of your life.

2. Give Praise To God – Psalm 43:5 (How You Talk)

The phrase “to give praise” literally means to throw it at Him. Develop the habit of consistently acknowledging that God is in control and you have many things to be thankful for.

3. Rely on God – Psalm 43:5 (How You Trust)

Remember that He is your strength and your deliverer; He is the source of your hope, prosperity and victory. The phrase “who is the health” of my countenance tells us that we can trust Him for everything.

4. Express Your Faith – Psalm 43:5 (How You Look)

He is the health “of my countenance.” Literally, He affects my face, my personality, my physical presence and it’s impact on those around me. By choosing to call Him into the equation of how my personality and countenance is reflected in front of others, I am acknowledging that God can fill me with joy and happiness and others will see it and be blessed.

So if you are carrying a load today that feels way too heavy, why not trust God enough to unload that “backpack of life” today and let Him carry it for you?