ARTICLES FOR THE HARD PLACES
- SECTION 2 -

DEALING WITH SUICIDE
by Pam Clark

Four days before Houston Oiler Jeff Alm shot and killed himself, a good friend of mine ( a man I had dated and was still good friends with) did the same thing. The killing seemed just as senseless. No explanation. No note. Just us trying to figure it out and put it together to understand why.

All of us played the blame game as we understood the pressures in their lives and wondered if we could have done more. We all came to the same conclusion, yes, we could have done more.

Some of my friend's family members were terribly grief stricken. We all were shocked and hurt, but some more than others. It didn't make any sense for a loving person and a person that we loved to do such a thing.

It didn't make any sense to us that a person who had been there for us so often couldn't reach out to receive our comfort in their time of trouble. But a decision was made on their part to handle it a different way.

That left it up to us to decide then how we were going to deal with it. After the shock comes anger. "Why did you do that??? Why didn't you tell us there was a problem??? Why didn't you reach out to us??? You know we would have been there for you!!!" And we would have!

It was an impulsive act. But even if it wasn't an impulsive act, we still have to deal with it the same way. What they did was wrong.

I was never more convinced of that than at the funeral where I saw the anguish of so many. I saw the waterworks of so many eyes as they struggled to deal with it, and the shaking and numbness of those who battled to find understanding and reason. My own grief still had a sting.

Having known my friend so well, I marvelled at the people who were there because he had touched their lives, and knew that there were many others who were not strong enough to attend the service. Death is a hard thing. And it can seem so final. In many ways it is.

It is true we will not see our loved one again in this part of life. That is hard to deal with. Many people physically and financially need their loved one and that loss alone can be an overwhelming challenge.

But then there is the emotional side, the friendship, the love, the laughs, the jokes, the shared times of fellowship and hardship that make life meaningful. We need people. Life would be meaningless without people. God made a helpmate for Adam because He knew it was not good for man to be alone.

But death is not God's answer to life. Death is God's answer to sin. God never meant for any person to die. He wanted man to have the free will to love but that could only come about by giving man the opportunity to choose.

God is Love. And God is Life. Satan took advantage of man's opportunity of choice to sin and in so doing caused him to fall. God could have knocked off Satan right there but He wanted man to understand the choice He had given to him, and He provided a Way of return through faith.

The Way is called Jesus Christ. When man is too weak to help himself, Jesus Christ is there if we will just cry out, for the Bible says that "ALL who call on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13 and Joel 2:32)

Satan was never one to play fair and he still doesn't. He is an enemy of God. He works and strategizes to cause man as much grief as he can. And reading the front page of the newspaper will let you know that he is pretty effective.

But that is not the end of the story. Even though Satan is an unseen spirit working in the earth to destroy man, there is also an unseen God working to save man. This article you are reading is just one example. The Bible is an even better one.

God has given us not only His Word (in The Book form), but the Word-made-flesh who came and dwelt among us. This Word-made-flesh was Jesus Christ who suffered and was tempted in human flesh in all points like as we are, yet He committed no sin. He was able to do that through the power of the Holy Spirit that He offers to us now so that we may overcome the works and effects of the devil in this life.

The greatest power that the Holy Spirit has is the ability to raise a person from the dead, but flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven because God will allow no sin in Heaven. What do we do then if we want to be saved?

We are all sinners, so a sacrifice had to be made. Jesus came, a sinless man, and took the sins of the world upon Himself and nailed them to the cross. Only He could do it.

If we will accept this act of sacrifice on our behalf, He will then impart the resurrection power through the Holy Spirit to us that we may enter in into this sinless life and be free from the bondage of Satan who is all anti-life.

Because this earth is corrupted through sin, because man failed to take dominion, God had to create a new heaven and a new earth for us. What about my friend, and what about yours who may have a done a foolish, sinful and wrong thing that cost him or her their life? Trust in God.

God knows more than we do about life. I knew that my friend had accepted the Lord as his Savior. That was another reason I was shocked when I heard the news. I can't judge my friend's decision. Only God can.

But after the anger I knew that I had to forgive him. As I said, God knows more than I do in this situation and I knew a lot. But God is on the side of man and if there is any possible way for him to get to Heaven, I know God has worked on it in righteousness.

I believe the blood of Jesus has the power to forgive all sin. My friend did a stupid, stupid thing. But is one sin greater than another? To the degree that it affects earth life, yes. But to the degree that it keeps you out of Heaven, no. We all need the forgiveness of Christ.

The only unforgivable sin is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, where we tell God in no uncertain terms that we want nothing to do with Him and mean it. Did my friend do that? I don't know. All indications are that it was an impulsive reaction in response to a hurt.

As long as we are alive we have choice. I sin everyday in some way even though I try not to. My thoughts are not perfect and if I act on wrong thoughts it will cost me! But if I keep crying out to God to forgive me, He will. He promised by His Word. God is not against me, He is for me.

When it seems that the powers that be are all working against you, it may not be because you have done something so wrong in particular. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. It could be just the spirits of Anti-life, the devil and his angels working against the chosen of God. I have come to the conclusion that Life in Christ is greater than the power of death.

We all need a Savior. I pray that God forgave my friend and Jeff Alm and any others who have done this. I pray that the grief that they felt that caused them to do this stupid foolish wrong thing is forgivable in God's eyes. But that is His department. I must walk in faith. I must forgive and put it in God's hands.

My friend was a good person, as I am sure many others were who have committed suicide. But we can't presume on God. We can believe, though, that God in His great mercy reaches out in the most powerful way possible to bring us all home unto Himself. He is Love.

DEALING WITH HOMOSEXUALITY
AND SEXUAL PERVERSION
by Pam Clark

One of the most pervasive spirits of our time and generation is the spirit of homosexuality. It is a preying spirit, a perverted spirit, a seducing spirit, and a destructive spirit. In the Old Testament, God calls it an abomination. The Apostle Paul further explains that sexual sin is done in the body and therefore is more destructive than sins done outside the body, even though all sin leads to death.

We need to understand that the homosexual spirit is demonic, meaning it comes from Satan himself (or one or more of his fallen angels called demons). It's a perverted spirit of what is natural and right. And there is no prosperity in perversion: spirit, soul or body.

The world and the devil try continually try to make evil look attractive by appealing to the lust (desires) and weaknesses of the flesh (soulish human nature). Look at the advertising. Drugs, alcohol, so called adult (really idiot) entertainment do nothing but exploit that which is precious and good and what should be the vehicle to abundant eternal life in God.

How does the homosexual spirit operate? First of all, it takes advantage of a situation of weakness, that is, for those who are its victims. Some people just choose to be evil, and there is nothing you can do about it--they have chosen their fate and their god, the devil, and will reap his reward of eternal hellfire judgment. I didn't say that, THE WORD says that!

But victims are overtaken by weakness and lies. The truth makes you free, but if you do not have the truth, you may not be able to overcome. But God sent forth His Word to heal, and this is part of that Word.

Men and women who have been hurt or wounded by the opposite gender, especially as children, can be targets for homosexual spirits. It grieves me to see 13, 14, 15 year old children on tv talk shows saying they "discovered" they were homosexual or bi-sexual. And it's a lie to say they were "born" that way. Expression of sexuality is a choice that we are given.

At puberty, which occurs in the early teens, there is a sexual awakening in every person given by God to prepare us for marriage and bearing children. Learning denial is a necessary part of maturity for optimum living. If a person tells you they "can't wait" for you, then when they are tempted again, may not be able to withstand temptation as it relates to your relationship. Is that the kind of relationship you want?

Predators take advantage of the innocent and unknowing. A predator will tell a person that the natural drive they have should be expressed a certain way, and of course they are lying if they are seducing. Some people speak lies as truth and the innocent and gullible (those who want to believe everything they hear as truth) pass that information on as truth, when in fact, they are deceived.

When given credibility in the classroom or through positions of authority such as the government or civilian leadership, the lies go on. Truth and lies do not discriminate. They affect everyone the same. The soul that sinneth will surely die, it says in Scripture. (Ezekiel 18:20)

A person can be set free of perversion if they realize that they have power to overcome in Jesus Christ. When you are born again, His Spirit resides in you and overcomes the spirit of the world, the flesh and the devil. It is stronger! (I John 4:4) But you must cater to the Holy Spirit and yield to Him and not to evil lying spirits. Evil company corrupts because spirits on and around people gather to find victims.

If you do not call forth the spirit of evangelism and strength within you, you can be overcome. You cannot be a witness for the Lord if you are not walking in His strength. That is one reason we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, for there is strength in numbers, as even the Bible points out in Deuteronomy 32:30. But we also are called to be witnesses of truth in a corrupted generation.

There is grace for the sinner and the victim if he or she repents. Truth makes one aware of the need for repentance and that truth is God is Love. But God is not "anything goes" and "me first," and those who want to believe that will surely perish: spirit, soul, and body. And eternal hell is a long time.

Those who continue in denial and unbelief are turned over to a reprobate mind. (Romans 1:28) Resist them by not getting into any type of agreement. You cannot counsel a demon for they are sold out. People are not demons, but they sometimes turn their will over to demons.

Demonic oppression, which is different than demonic possession (which is a life turned over to the devil without the ability to get free), is great pressure and only by choosing to do what is right can evil forces be overcome. Demonic possession calls for deliverance. Resisting for both is casting out and rejecting that which is not of God and it can only be maintained by proper knowledge and lifestyle.

I am aware that people have many challenges in life, but our prize is in Heaven and through Jesus Christ. You can overcome sin and perversion by calling on Him and standing on His Word. He is the Truth that WILL make you abundantly FREE!

WHERE ARE YOU?
by Pam Clark

Where are you? Are you where God wants you to be? Are you in the will of God? How can you know?

First of all, you need to know that you are saved, that your sins are forgiven because you accepted what Christ did for you on the Cross, and you need to be actively seeking God. If you are doing all that, you are in a good place!

Why is forgiveness of sin emphasized so much? Because without holiness, no one can see the Lord. And the only way to obtain that holiness is to let God cleanse you by the blood of His Son. The blood of Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for sin; it gives you the right standing to come before God and petition Him.

We are a needy people. We are always needing something. And when we can't do it on our own, we then go to God. The more we call on Him, the more we see how very much He does help us in so many ways. But if we never call, He can't answer, except in judgment.

Some people are worried about bothering God. No way! He's too big, and besides, He likes your attention, because He likes you! Did you know that you are here because God wanted you here? It's true! It's a fact.

Now what are you going to do with that? The best thing you can do is to get yourself in His will. Some people live in the permissive will of God, not doing anything too bad or too good, just kind of hanging around, staying out of trouble. But that's not good enough because there is more, so much more!

You can find God's perfect will for your life, so that you will know what you are born for! God has a plan for your life, a perfect will, but you must seek Him to find it and stay in it. You may not know it, but there is such a joy when you know that you please the Father.

Your earthly father may have let you down and not been there for you at all, but your Heavenly Father is always there! He will always listen to you, hear you when you cry, and just be there for you, any time, day or night. There's no sleeping with God, He's up, 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

God is forever, sitting on His Throne, He cannot be shaken or moved. If anyone does the moving, it's usually us. "But," you may say, "I've called on God and He doesn't answer. I've tried it, but it didn't work."

You know what? You are wrong, because God cannot fail. When that feeling comes, it usually means we are missing it, and that missing it means we are not understanding. God wants you to understand, but it comes back again to seeking. We must seek Him!

Faithfulness pays off. And faithfulness comes from having faith. Faith in God means you believe in His love. You may not understand it, but you must believe it, that He loves you, because that love is His nature. God IS Love.

Then why do bad things seem to happen? Because He wants you in His divine plan. Sometimes bad things happen to get us where we need to be. Sometimes bad things happen to get us from where we don't need to be! Sometimes God wants us to understand our enemy--that which would take us away from Him.

God thinks more of us that we think of ourselves. God thinks we can do things that we don't think we can do. The greatest thing we can do is to learn how to receive the best from God. This glorifies Him, it honors Him and gives us pleasure in the process.

God doesn't want you all fixed up so you can look down on others. The Bible says that pride comes before the fall. But a happy and blessed life glorifies Him, because God is good.

Where is your life? Are you where God wants you to be? Are you seeking Him? Are you studying the Word to know His will, are you fellowshipping with others and being a blessing? Are you going out of your way to help others? If so, you are probably in His will to a great degree and have a great peace.

But if you are not, you can get there. Just seek Him and you will find Him. But also know this--that God has a plan for your life that is so good you can't even believe it if it were told to you! But, to experience it, you must spend that time with Him to get involved in that personal relationship with Him and know His Word.

Who said we couldn't go to the moon? We did it! And who says God can't turn your life around? He can. His answer for you is "Yes!" and "Amen!" Receive Him into your heart today, and then do it again tomorrow and the next day. He is forever and He wants to bless you!

His Word says in the New Century Version of Jeremiah 29:11: "I say this because I know what I am planning for you," says the Lord. "I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future." You can't beat a deal like that!

DON'T BE LONELY
by Pam Clark

One reason people are lonely is because they have experienced grief and disappointment. Often this has been imposed upon them. It is not something they could have avoided.

Others who have not experienced similar problems have a hard time relating to those who have gone through these experiences. They want to say "Snap out of it! Do something! Just forget it and go on!" But those are not the easy answers that they imagine them to be.

The person who is lonely has usually gone through tribulation. There is a difference in being lonely and being alone. There are many times I love being alone. There are other times when I am dealing with being lonely and it is a battle.

Tribulation has opportunity, but no one wants it at the time. Romans 5:3-5 says that we can glory in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces a hope that does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit's love has been poured out into our hearts.

We don't want to glory in our tribulations usually. We believe we can think of better things to do than go through this! Disappointment has come lurking and we often don't know how to shut the door. We wonder if we will be able to handle the trial. We wonder if the enemy will win!

Life is not always easy. We wonder how we get from tribulation to the Holy Spirit's love. It seems other people are the obvious solution. "If only someone would do this or if only someone would do that. Don't they know that I am hurting over here? Don't they even care?"

Well, maybe they do and maybe they don't. Perhaps through someone else you may find relief but God is doing a bigger work in you. Sometimes we think that other people don't go through trials. Somehow we think that we are the only one without the solutions or with the problems. That's a lie of the devil!

We're hurt and we become self-centered because that is the initial healthy reaction. "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church." Ephesians 5:29 But there are times we can get too self-centered and this can become counter-productive to our own good!

When we endure a fiery trial or tribulation, we need to first stop and think, "What is the best thing I can do with this situation?" There could be quite a few alternatives. Anything we do should bring us closer to the Lord. Rebellion comes in when we choose the wrong reaction to a problem.

Tribulation is opportunity to grow with the Lord. We can get self-satisfied when things are going well. As far as we are concerned, the status-quo is just fine! But God is another Personality in the equation and He is saying, "No, everything is not ok. I want more from you." And He is not going to ask it of us if we cannot give it.

The problem can really come down to wrestling with the will of God for our lives. Why is it that some people can go through so much and seem ok, yet one little thing throws our whole world out of kilter? It could be that the other person has learned how to accept the perfect will of God for their life.

Do they have the advantage? It can appear that way but the answer is really no, they don't. That so called envy is really just a lie of the devil to defeat you. Are you going to give in?

This can be your opportunity to grow with God. Your perseverance to His will is producing character in your life. This character causes you to become strong and steady so that in the face of what is tribulation in another person's life, you can display the character and glory of God. And there is reward for that!

Tribulation will educate you. Every tribulation doesn't come out the way we want it to. Sometimes we see our shortcoming is that we didn't know and act on all we needed to know and act on! We take a lot of things for granted.

Financial trials have really caused me to be grateful for the little things I used to take for granted. Physical and emotional trials will do the same thing. Not only do we see where maybe we have missed the mark, but we also become intercessors for others, because the Holy Spirit's love in our hearts speaks "Oh don't let this happen to another!" The Holy Spirit's love will also seek to find a solution to the problem and share it with others. Are you yeilding to the Holy Spirit?

If you really believe in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, and you must in order to be saved (see Romans 10:9-10), then even the loss of loved ones can be used to glorify God. You know there is a Heaven. You know that your good intentions and your good will is not in vain, for God sees it all. He looks at the heart. And God can keep that good thing which you have committed to Him.

Your situations can be used to glorify the devil or to glorify God. I promise you that when you make the decision to glorify God, a supernatural force of good will come into your life to lift you up to a place higher and better than you have been before. Your character for God will become a blessing.

Tonight I had the opportunity to be lonely. Instead I got up and wrote this article. Reading the Word or giving the Word (in actions and deeds) is never a waste of time. You can get from tribulation to Holy Spirit love. It is just a matter of choice.