Insights Magazine: Number Twelve, 2022

Insights is published by Insight for Living Canada, the Bibleteaching ministry of Charles (Chuck) R. Swindoll. Chuck is the senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Texas. His international radio program Insight for Living has aired for more than 40 years. We hope this publication will instruct, inspire, and encourage you in your walk with Christ.

Copyright © 2022 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved. No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NLT. Unless otherwise noted, photography and illustration by Tim Schellenberg. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities. Printed in Canada.

GIVING THE UNEXPECTED

by charles r. swindoll

Cover & Article

Photo: Diliara Garifullina on unsplash.com

There are various ways to describe it: turning the other cheek...going the extra mile...doing good to those who hate us...loving our enemies...pouring coals of fire on another’s head. We may say it dif ferent ways, but the action amounts to the same thing. By doing the unexpected, we accomplish two important objectives:

1. We put an end to bitterness

2. We prove the truth of the age-old axiom, love overwhelmingly conquers

Remember Solomon’s statement?

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7 NASB1995)

It’s true. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. I’ve also seen occasions when it could have worked, but neither side was willing to give it a try.

Why are we so hesitant? What keeps us from doing the unexpected for the undeserving so that we might watch God accomplish the unbelievable? It flies in the face of our human nature. We weren’t raised like that. Furthermore, it’s a major risk. No question, it is risky. Of course, that is where faith plays a major role. To believe the Lord against all odds and to obey Him— even if the action backfires—brings a smile to His face. But some of you who read this are frowning, thinking, Yeah, that sounds good, but nobody could pull it off.

they had deliberately wronged—they were overwhelmed with anxiety. They knew he had them completely cornered. Joseph was the respected prime minister...powerful, wealthy, surrounded by bodyguards, the ulti mate model of authority. And they? Weak, bankrupt, unprotected, guilty to the core. It was Joseph’s moment. Now was the time to unleash his rage and torture each one to the end of his life. And why not? They had it coming...in spades! Instead, Joseph did the unexpected, which shocked his brothers down to their worn-out sandals. No grudge. No get-even, fight-back attack. Not even a tongue-lashing. Those who deserved human hatred received supernatural treatment. Grace won the day. He forgave them...and the rest is beautiful history.

An authentic extension of love to someone who doesn’t deserve it. Now there’s a new idea for a Christmas gift that would never be forgotten.

I can sense some cynic’s shrug, Well, that was then; this is now. Today, nobody takes somebody’s trash and mentally recycles it into treasure. How wrong you are.

Rabbi Michael Weisser did. It happened in Lincoln, Nebraska (according to the news). For more than three years, Larry Trapp, a selfproclaimed Nazi and Ku Klux Klansman, was spreading a message of hatred through mailings and ugly phone calls. He promoted white supremacy, anti-Semitism, and other messages of prejudice from his apartment, which he declared to be the KKK state headquarters—and himself, the grand dragon.

Joseph did. After suffering years of conse quences brought on by his angry brothers’ mistreatment, he lived to see the day when the tables were turned. Vulnerable, needy, and at his mercy, all those guilty guys stood before him without a word of defense. And when they discovered that he was Joseph— their long-lost younger brother whom

Weisser became one of Trapp’s targets, receiving numerous pieces of hate mail from the time he and his wife moved to Lincoln. The mail was followed by offensive phone calls. At first, the Weissers were so afraid they locked their doors and worried them selves sick over their safety and especially their teenagers’ safety. The harassment of

racial slurs and obscene remarks intimi dated the family, as Trapp, the 42-year-old, clinically blind, double amputee, spewed out his hate-ridden venom against them.

One day Rabbi Weisser realized their fear had gone on long enough. He decided to do the unexpected. He left his message on Trapp’s telephone answering machine. Weisser made call after call, all of them unanswered, speaking to Trapp of another side of life...a life free of hatred and racism. “I would say things like: ‘Larry, there’s a lot of love out there. You’re not getting any of it. Don’t you want some?’ And hang up.”

One day Weisser called and Trapp answered. “[Weisser] said: ‘I heard you’re disabled. I thought you might need a ride to the grocery.’” Trapp was stunned. Disarmed by the kindness and courtesy, he started thinking.

The bitter man slowly began to soften. He called the Weissers one night and said, as Rabbi Weisser recounted it, “I want to get out of what I’m doing and I don’t know how.”1 Weisser and his wife drove to Trapp’s apartment that night and talked with him for hours. Before too long they made a trade: for their love, Trapp gave them his swastika rings and hate tracts and Klan robes and hoods. That same day, Trapp gave up his recruiting job and trashed the rest of his propaganda.

Eventually, the Weissers’ home became a hospice for Mr. Trapp. He moved into one of their bedrooms as his health declined...the couple cared for him until his death.

Christmas is right around the corner. Could it be that your best gift should not be wrapped in colourful paper and given to someone who loves you? How about giving someone the gift of forgiveness? How about filling a cup full of kindness? How about making a phone call of grace to someone who would never expect it...with no strings attached? An authentic extension of love to someone who doesn’t deserve it. Now there’s a new idea for a Christmas gift that would never be forgotten.

Yep, it’s risky...but you wouldn’t be the first to try it. In case you need an extra boost to nudge you into action, journey back to Bethlehem and find God’s gift to us wrapped in cloths of love, lying in a manger of grace. Talk about doing the unexpected for the undeserving!

1 Manny Fernandez, “Lessons on Love, from a Rabbi Who Knows Hate and Forgiveness,” The New York Times, January 4, 2009, http://www. nytimes.com/2009/01/05/nyregion/05rabbi. html?_r=2&pagewanted=1 (accessed September 17, 2010).

Copyright © 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.

GROWING

CLOSER TO GOD: CELEBRATING JESUS

by i nsight for l iving Ministries

This month, we celebrate Jesus and the access to God we have through Him.

Eugene Peterson’s The Message describes Jesus’ incarnation in this refreshing way: The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the oneof-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son,

generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Want to make this Christmas season one to remember? Let’s consider how to move into the neighbourhood with our celebration. Let’s help people know God’s love this season by being generous inside and out, true from start to finish. Jesus’ names, so

Article photo: Al Elmes on unsplash.com

familiar to the Christmas season, can give us insight into how to model His character to our world.

Isaiah predicted Jesus’ birth in Bethle hem, referring to Him as The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

You hear a lot about peace on earth at this time of year. But no matter the truce talks at Christmas, whether on the battlefields or in your home, you can’t impose peace. Peace radiates from the inside out—it follows when the heart is at rest with God. Consider the things that churn in your heart this season. Ques tions or decisions may weigh heavily on your mind. Relationships may be out of sync. With faith, surren der these needs to your Father. He promises that He will “keep in perfect peace [literally, shalom ] those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in [Him]” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV).

it’s in darkness that their beauty shines best? The same is true for you. You best reflect Jesus, the Light of the World, when you shine for Him in the world. Perhaps this is the month you should share with your neighbour the hope you have in Christ. Con sider volunteering at your local women’s shelter or looking into any number of oppor tunities available through your church or in your community. Grasp every occasion this season offers to share the light of Christ with someone walking in darkness.

The angel told Joseph that Mary’s child would be called Immanuel: God with Us (Matthew 1:23).

start to finish.

Bethlehem’s angel announced that Jesus was The Saviour, Who Is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11).

As our Saviour, Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 NASB1995). You can model His initiative this season by seeking out people who, because of a conflict or lack of time, have become distant. If forgiveness is needed, then offer it or receive it with grace. Cer tainly, the cost or effort may be high, but you will thrill at how God redeems, or buys back, that valuable relationship for you. Model Christ this season by redeeming relationships with people who are impor tant to you and to God.

Jesus Himself said He is The Light of the World (John 9:5).

Don’t you love to look at Christmas lights around your community? Ever notice that

After the holidays pass, Jesus’ name, Immanuel , reminds you that you’re not alone. Jesus remains “God with you.” You can model this reality as you deal with life’s most difficult moments. Who in your life needs to hear that God has not left him or her alone to face life’s challenges? A lonely parent? A struggling teenager? Consider the most effective way to communicate that encouragement to them. This reminder of God’s presence could be the most important present you give this year.

When December’s highs and lows settle into January’s predictable pace, gifts and gatherings will dim from memory. What you will remember tomorrow will be how God’s gifts became more personal and practical. You’ll remember how you modelled Jesus, who moved into the neighbourhood so people could see His grace and glory with their own eyes.

Taken from Insight for Living, “Growing Closer to God, Celebrating Jesus,” Insights (December 2000): 1–2. Copyright © 2000 by Insight for Living. All rights reserved worldwide.

Let’s help people know God’s love this season by being generous inside and out, true from

HOW TO FORGET BAD MEMORIES

by s teve Johnson

We’ve all been there—recalling an experience and each time feel ing the searing ache in our heart, the churning and knotting in the pit of our stomach, or the burning anger welling up. On top of this we feel trapped by our memories and victims of the emotions that accompany them.

Bad memories usually revolve around two kinds of experiences: those involving a traumatic or painful incident, and those involving people who have hurt us in some way. Sometimes, as in the case of abuse, these experiences are combined. Is there a way to forget painful memories? Is it possible to forgive others who’ve hurt me? How can I forget bad memories?

God has given us a brain with a memory. Memory can serve to protect us from further harm by storing what happened the last time result ing in the trauma. So, when we ask how we can forget bad memories, we really want to know how to remember the bad things without the emotional trauma that accom panies the memory. In other words, we want to experience emotional forgetting. Releasing emotional pain

ing it out with a confidant helps too. This is important: to experience an emotional forgetting there needs to be a full and deep expression of the feelings connected to the painful incident.

The second step is accepting—resigna tion to the fact it happened. Sometimes we get caught up in denial, wondering if it ever happened or not, or hoping it didn’t. But to get to the point of acceptance and peace we need to focus on the incident and accept that it happened, recognizing that was then, and this is now.

One thing that can help us accept bad memories is to reframe it positively by finding a lesson to learn from the experi ence. For example, through the memory of emotional abuse, a person can learn strength and avoid being taken advantage of. Even Psalm 55 was a Maskil, a teaching psalm.

One thing that can help us accept bad memories is to reframe it positively by finding a lesson to learn from the experience.

Article photo: Omid Armin on unsplash.com

The first step is feeling—by allowing ourselves to feel our emotions deeply. I love the way David does this in many of his psalms. For example, in Psalm 55 he contemplates the abuse of the wicked against him (vv. 3, 12–14). David feels and expresses the anguish he feels (vv. 4–8). He pours it out to God venting his true feel ings. Some people find journaling or talk

The third step is releas ing—release, let go, throw away. Do as David did, throw them on your heavenly Father. “Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you” (vs. 22). This is a deliberate deci sion and act of the will. We are choosing to give it to God. When the memory is trig gered or recalled and the emotions begin to surface, we say, “No, I gave that to the Lord. I am not controlled by these memo ries any more.”

Forgiving others

Forgiveness comes in when we have bad memories involving people who have hurt us. Ephesians 4:32 commands, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one

another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” The word “forgive” in this verse means to pardon or release from debt. Just as Christ pardoned us for our sin and released us from the sin debt we incurred against God, so we are to decide and choose to do the same with those who have hurt us. As we have been shown grace and mercy by God, so we are to delib erately decide not to hold it against those who have hurt us. We are to graciously and by the power of the Holy Spirit pardon them for what they did to us. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

In our minds we accept and with our will we choose to release hurt and forgive. Our emotions then respond to those thoughts and acts and we experi ence emotional forgetting. Over time as we continue to choose to release and depend on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit heals. The ache in our heart, the knot in

the pit of our stomach, or the burning anger welling up no longer accompanies the memory.

Steps to find emotional healing

1. Feeling—by allowing ourselves to feel our emotions deeply

2. Accepting—resignation to the fact it happened

3. Releasing—deliberately choosing to let go, throw away, and give to God

Steps to forgiving others

1. Remember how God has forgiven you through Christ

2. Make a deliberate decision not to hold it against those who’ve hurt you

3. Commit to not dwell on the hurt

4. Repeat steps one to three

Copyright © 2012 by Insight for Living Ministries. All rights reserved worldwide.

CORRIE TEN BOOM

by b ill g e M aehlich

During these troublesome times, anger and unforgiveness seem to be another epidemic challenging our nation. Certainly, we have all experienced moments when someone has deeply hurt us and find it difficult to offer forgiveness. However, it is each person’s responsibility to begin the process of reconciliation, regardless of how the wound began.

During the time of Nazi eugenics, Ger many adopted racially-based social policies that identified certain races and people with disabilities as unfit for society. The result was the torture and death of millions of Jews, the mentally handi capped, and the disabled. One woman of great Christian faith who lost her father and sister at the hands of the Nazis, but demonstrated amazing grace and forgiveness to her cap tors, was Corrie ten Boom.

neighbor who had turned him into the Nazi authorities or a vicious camp guard or a brutal soldier.” Corrie was put to the test when it came to forgiveness while speaking in Munich in 1947. During her speech, she recognized a man who was “one of the most vicious guards at Ravens brück.” He had since become a Christian and came over to ask for her forgiveness. She wrestled to find the ability to forgive him. With God’s help, she lifted her hand and told the former SS officer, “I forgive you, brother! With all my heart.”1

It is each person’s responsibility to begin the process of reconciliation, regardless of how the wound began.

Corrie ten Boom was born in 1892 in Amsterdam and worked with her father as a watchmaker and writer. During World War II, Holland was occupied by the Nazis and the ten Booms chose to hide Jews in their home to help them escape the holocaust. In 1944, they were betrayed by a Dutch infor mant. Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to Ravensbrück, where they experienced the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.

Years later, Corrie wrote, “Each had something to forgive, whether it was a

Can you imagine the strength and faith it took for Corrie to forgive her former S.S. captor? In our current day, many people are struggling to know how to forgive but the message of the Gospel is the hope of our generation. As we come together today, let us pray for healing and forgiveness in our nation through the words of the Apostle Paul, “Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

1 Corrie ten Boom, with Jamie Buckingham, Tramp for the Lord. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1975), 217–218.

Bill Gemaehlich is the EVP/COO operations at Insight for Living Ministries

ENVIRONMENTALISM

by s teve Johnson

Environmentalism is a movement and ideology that aims to reduce the impact of human activities on the earth and its inhabitants. It advocates the pres ervation, restoration, and improvement of the natural environment and critical earth systems such as the climate. Its intention is to control pollution and protect plant and animal diversity.

It’s problematic that most environmental ists view the health of planet earth as more important than technological advance ment, economic progress, or the success of humanity. Consequently, they believe there is a need for much greater regulation of humans’ interaction with the environment as well as aspects of our lifestyles they con sider environmentally unsustainable.

Environmentalism, as a movement, is an alternative worldview to Christianity. Environmentalists are generally evolu tionists, or pantheists, and believe that

there is no personal Creator. In contrast the Bible says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths” (Psalm 24:1–2). This means God created everything and is sepa rate from His creation.

Environmentalists’ perspective on human beings is also distorted. They see human beings primarily as consumers and polluters using up earth’s resources and degrading it through their waste. They claim that an increase in population, afflu ence, and technology bring more harm to the earth and therefore must be curtailed.

In contrast, the Bible teaches that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and was given a mandate to exercise dominion and rulership over creation. God commanded, “Fill the earth and gov ern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the

birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

Humans as image-bearers were created to be producers, stewards, and respon sible caretakers of earth. That includes transforming raw materials into resources through ingenuity and hard work and making more resources than we consume so that each generation can pass on to the next more of the material blessings than it received. Through godly subduing and ruling of the earth we can actually improve the environment.

Yes, Christians should be concerned about clean air, clean water, and the preservation of natural resources to the best of our ability. We ought to care about creation because God who cre ated it cares about it. Not one sparrow falls without His noticing (Matthew 10:29) and He even looked out for creatures in the Old Testament Law (Exodus 23:4–5).

view of conservation and stewardship.

Christians also understand the Bible’s teaching that the earth is temporary. No amount of recycling or thinking green will forestall the end that God has planned for the earth. Despite all the best plans of men to preserve the planet there will come a time when the earth and all He’s created will be destroyed. “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment” (2 Peter 3:10).

Exploitation is the opposite of stewardship and actually hinders proper dominion since we cannot wisely rule over something we are wasting.

The dominion mandate means that humanity has been placed in charge of the environment and the planet in a stewardship role. It means that mankind is allowed to use God’s natural resources and engage in animal husbandry, farming, and horticulture.

Although we are to be wise stewards, we are not required to place animal and plant welfare above human needs. Humans are made in the image of God; plants and animals are not. In God’s eyes we are of more value than the sparrows (Luke 12:7) and environmental decisions and poli cies should reflect this hierarchy. We are responsible for helping meet the needs of all humans, present and future—not just ourselves. That alone should sober our

The earth itself is winding down in prepa ration for that cataclys mic event which will cause man’s destructive behaviours toward the environment to pale in comparison. Romans 8:20–22 speaks of a creation which groans in anticipation of the time when it will be set free from its bondage to the principle of decay.

Even though that will happen it does not mean we can have a callous disregard for animal life, a wasteful mindset toward natural resources, or an exploitative mindset toward the planet. Exploitation is the opposite of stewardship and actually hinders proper dominion since we cannot wisely rule over something we are wasting.

God demands one thing from us as stewards—that we be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). May we truly be faithful stewards of this earth, which God owns but has entrusted to us to care for until His purposes for it are fulfilled.

Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.

GRACE FROM THE START

A17-year-old woman who grew up in a Muslim home sought for life’s answers when she stepped into a Baptist church in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. One truth is all she needed to hear during her visit:

Jesus loves you just as you are. He accepts you just as you are—no matter what you’ve done—just as you are.

Suddenly, a burden lifted from her shoulders followed by a deep sigh of relief. After hearing that message of grace for the very first time, she looked at her friend and said, “I want to keep coming here.”

The person who shared that truth with her is Insight for Living Ministries’ (IFLM) Arabic pastor, Charlie Costa, who spearheads IFLM’s Vision 195 efforts in the Arabic language. Charlie shares that he frequently receives that kind of response when he offers the word of grace to Arabicspeakers because it’s often the first time they have ever heard such a message.

For nearly 25 years, Charlie has been the “voice” of Pastor Chuck Swindoll in the Arabic language, offering the grace of Christ to anyone who will receive it. And despite threats of persecution, national calamities, or geopolitical unrest, he and the IFLM Arabic team will continue doing so according to the strength supplied by the grace of Christ.

“I remember my dad playing cassette tapes of Chuck’s sermons,” recalls Charlie.

His faith was nurtured from a young age. Charlie’s dad pastored in Lebanon and was greatly esteemed by many because of the depth of his spiritual character and his mastery of the Arabic language. His dad even translated beloved English hymns into Arabic—some of which are still sung to this day! Charlie never imagined he would work with Pastor Chuck Swindoll, but God arranged an appointment between the two of them in the mid-1990s in Ful lerton, California.

Charlie joined IFLM in 1997 to translate Pastor Chuck’s sermons into Arabic and to serve as the IFLM field pastor for Arabic-speakers. The first broadcast sermon soared across the airwaves via Trans World Radio from a once-vacant radio station in Monaco built by Hitler in WWII. Early on, Charlie commuted between Lebanon and Monaco to record the broadcasts. Then, on April 3, 1999, the broadcast began airing from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus under the name Nafitha Ala l’Hayat, which means “Window to Life.” For more than two decades, the profound message of God’s grace has captivated Arabic-speakers and has even led to the sprouting of new churches throughout the Middle East.

Excerpt taken from “Grace Upon Grace: Insight for Living Ministries in the Arabic Language." Read the complete article online at insightforliving.ca/arabic.

by i nsight for l iving Ministries

Jesus loves you just as you are. He accepts you just as you are—no matter what you’ve done— just as you are.

Article photo: Javier Saint Jeans on unsplash.com

Stewardship

Insight for Living Canada is celebrating the significance of the Christmas season with you. Because of this joyous holiday, many choose to give generously in December.

Will you please include us in your monthly giving to help spread the joy of Christmas? Please donate today.