Sunday, August 27, 2017

GETTING BETTER SLEEP

My new devotional - I've just published BLESSINGS FROM THE CRADLE, a short devotional for new parents of babies. See it at http://bobtasler.com/blessings-from-the-cradle/. It's available on Kindle as well.
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        Last week one of my doctors recommended I get another sleep test. I would never have thought sleep would be a problem for me, and yet it is, or lack of it.  Studies show that one in fifteen Americans suffer from some kind sleep apnea. Many struggle with snoring, but most need help getting more oxygen so they will get more sleep and have better brain function.
        I thought my lack of sleep was from taking too many naps during the day or from a bad pillow or mattress. It was more. I have resisted the thought of needing a breathing apparatus on my face at night, so I have tried my best to avoid one. But it’s time to face the music. Some things take longer to sink in for me.
        My doctor states with a breathing appliance I’ll not only sleep better, but feel more rested and stronger in the morning. Exercise and eating better are on the list now, too. The fact is, at age seventy-two there are a number of things I need to do to make my body work better and maybe last longer. 
        It’s important to treat the body God has given us as well as we can. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise You, O God, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” I am so very thankful God has given me the life I’ve had in this body. 
        I’m not here to give you an “organ recital” of what’s wrong. We oldsters can be good at doing that. I just think it’s wonderful that no matter what problems you or I may have, there are doctors, nurses, procedures, medicines and health insurance to help us get better. 
        Most of all, there is our gracious God who hears our prayers and helps all those people and things keep us in better shape than if we didn’t have them.

Praise God for providing all that we enjoy in life!

Rev. Bob Tasler, 
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my website above - www.bobtasler.com/

Sunday, August 20, 2017

AMAZING SUN GAZING

      Weekly Message comes to you a day early because I don’t want to miss our part of the solar eclipse as it comes to the United States tomorrow. In Colorado we’re not in the middle of the path, so local newscasters tell us all roads north will be clogged as the 565,000 population of Wyoming may double for a day or two. It makes sense for most of us in Colorado to watch it on television like most of you will.
      A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes perfectly between the sun and earth so that its shadow blocks all the direct sunlight except its corona. The sun and moon must be in correct alignment, and the moon’s elliptical orbit must bring it to an exact distance from the earth. Without all these and other divinely ordained alignments, there could be no total eclipse.
      What we will look up and see Monday, whether all or in part, will not occur again here for decades. America has had many total eclipses, but not one so broadly stretching across our continent. Total eclipses like this one are really quite rare.
      As I see it in person or on television, I will be thinking of the psalmist who wrote, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens… When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:1, 3-4)
      God has made humans the highest of His creation, and if we are fortunate Monday’s event may even momentarily take our minds off national and international intrigue. At least for a day or so, journalists and politicians must relinquish their bully pulpits so the rest of us can look up and see something divinely ordained, three celestial orbs all in agreement. That alone should be proof of God’s divine handiwork.
      We humans work so very hard to master knowledge in our quest to make the amazing ordinary. Yes, mankind has advanced far, but this kind of event, designed by God and freely seen by so many millions, should tell us we still have a long way to go.
      But whatever we may know, God’s entering human history through Jesus is the event that defines everything else. In His Son Jesus, God offers us a look at His power, beauty and mercy. Most incredibly, He offers us place in His family for eternity. Nothing tops that.
      Given our knowledge and faith in Jesus by the Holy Spirit, even the most intelligent of us should stand in awe as we see this eclipse. We live on a delicately balanced world in its time and place in the universe. We are given a place by God where we are able to “live, move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Because of that, we should join the Psalmist saying,
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Sunday, August 13, 2017

A KNOCK AT THE DOOR

        Ever hear a knock at your door and wonder who it is? We live in a quiet Cul de sac and one evening heard a loud knock on our door. It was a salesman wanting to know if we would be interested in his services. After his rapid exit, Carol asked if there was a better way to see who’s on the other side of our door. Our door viewer was old and blurry, so I installed a new one with a clearer, wider view of who’s on the other side.
        These days, we need to know more than ever who’s on the other side of our door, with shady characters, politicians, and the noise of nations that can unnerve us. We fervently pray the noises outside will not be the sound of war, and we trust God that the leaders of all nations will be led by wisdom and common sense. 
        When David was attacked by his son Absalom in a revolt, he pleaded in Psalm 3:7-8, Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May Your blessing be on Your people.” Quite a combination of fear and faith from a king!
        In our age of clever technology and ever-expanding knowledge, I find it amazing that we cannot have peace between nations. Use of nuclear arms can bring horrendous destruction to so many, so far away and so fast. We pray God will protect us, especially since we seem to have learned so little. 
        The reason for all this is, of course, mankind’s sinful condition. Sin gives us all a weakness in our souls that keep us selfishly fighting each other. We cannot blame the North Koreans or Islamic terrorists alone for our current situation. Our human condition propels us selfishly to want our own way and take risks trying to get it.
        In the midst of fighting a war against his own son, David showed his faith in God, “Let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.” (Psalm 5:11)
        To keep all humanity from total destruction, God gave us His only Son so that we may take refuge in Him and His sacrifice on the cross for us. Without Jesus, life would be hopeless. But with His mercy, we have strength for each day and hope for the future.

Like King David, may our leaders also be led by Almighty God!


Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Monday, August 7, 2017

DEALING WITH LEAKS

        We’ve recently heard much about government “leaks”, secrets being told for the purpose of revealing information we’d otherwise not know or care about. Leaks of this type wield power over others, because knowledge is power, especially if it is something someone doesn’t want known. Government leakers want the world to know what they know, so they wield their power. 
        There is another kind of leak, however, that is also irksome, and perhaps more dangerous. It’s the kind when water leaks out of a pipe and into a wall or room. If that leak is unknown, over time it can be far more damaging than one that is known. I’ve had leaks in the past and am dealing with one now. 
        The first leak came years ago when a water supply tube broke behind a toilet tank and sprayed a gallon or two onto the bathroom floor before I got the valve turned off. Damage was limited to a few ceiling tiles in the basement and a new supply tube. Another time a ceiling pipe sprung a leak and quietly dripped water into the basement over a period of weeks. Damage was extensive with ruined wallboard, carpet and worse of all, mold.
        A third leak I am dealing with now. With our recent hard rains, water has been dripping in over my office window. It had dripped in before, but I had ignored it. Now any hard rain results in water on my desk. Hopefully my fourth caulking yesterday has done the trick and we won’t have a wet desk again.
        Our sins resemble those water leaks. Some foolish things we do are easily seen and heard, but our secret sins are unknown until their damage becomes apparent. No matter what we think, sin will show itself, and we dare not forget that “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). No matter how successful we are in hiding, ignoring  or denying our sin, it will show itself and it will hurt us badly. 
        Thanks be to God that Paul didn’t stop with those six words from Romans! He continued, “But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  When we realize our sins and ask Christ for forgiveness, He will remove them. When we trust in Jesus, our sins will not become fatal. 
        I pray all the foolish and selfish government leaks will stop, and I further pray all those little quiet sins in my life will stop, also. I am grateful Jesus has forgiven them and I pray He will help me avoid them in the future.

I also pray my office leak stops, too.


Rev. Bob Tasler, wwwbobtasler.com