Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018002A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:11 We are so glad that you have joined us. 01:14 We appreciate your faithfulness, your prayers, 01:16 your financial support for the ministry of 3ABN. 01:19 And I know that today, you're going to be inspired, 01:23 encouraged in your walk with Jesus Christ. 01:27 We have an amazing testimony today to share with you, 01:31 and I tell you it's a blessing 01:33 to be in the Lord's work, isn't it? 01:35 Because together as a team, 01:38 we can help spread the gospel around the world. 01:41 And our guest today 01:43 has gone through some challenges in his life, 01:46 but God has strengthened him through it, and he has... 01:50 I don't know if it's a ministry be the right word, 01:53 but written a book, 01:54 and this is not a book advertisement program 01:56 today at all. 01:57 But God has inspired through him a tool 02:00 that we know that you can use as well. 02:02 Amen. 02:03 I'm so excited about our guest and about this program 02:06 because we always want to feature ministries. 02:09 We want to feature testimonies 02:10 of what God is doing in and through people's life. 02:13 And our special guest today is Dr. Frank Hasel, 02:17 and you are an associate director 02:20 at the Biblical Research Institute 02:22 for the General Conference. 02:23 And it's just a privilege to have you here. 02:25 It's a joy to be with you. 02:27 Now, you're a doctor, 02:29 I see at the end of your name, it says PhD. 02:31 PhD in what? 02:33 It's a PhD in Systematic Theology, 02:35 what they call, 02:36 so I ideal with our fundamental beliefs 02:39 and teachings of the Bible. 02:41 And I wrote my dissertation 02:42 on the use of scripture in theology. 02:44 Everybody uses the Bible 02:46 yet come to completely different conclusions, 02:49 why is that? 02:50 So I looked a little bit into that. 02:51 Yes, okay. 02:54 God has led you on an amazing journey. 02:56 I had the privilege to sit down with Dr. Hasel 02:58 just before the program, 02:59 and if you've ever been through pain, 03:01 and I have to say that's probably all of us 03:04 have experienced some sort of pain in our lives, 03:06 this program is for you. 03:09 He suffered a loss in his life, 03:11 and he's going to share 03:12 how God brought him through that. 03:15 Some of the questions that you experience 03:17 in the middle of that, and prayer, 03:19 how prayer was integral in some of his healing. 03:22 We're going to talk about that, 03:24 but let's just hear where you grew up, 03:26 and a little bit of your early years? 03:28 Sure. 03:29 I was born and raised in Germany. 03:32 And my parents are Seventh-day Adventists. 03:36 My father is a pastor, evangelist, 03:38 worked for many years there in Germany. 03:41 And so I grew up in a family that believed in God 03:46 and raised us in a godly way. 03:48 And then later on in life, 03:52 I did my theological training in Germany 03:55 at Marienhoehe in Darmstadt, 03:58 we have a seminary there. 04:00 I went a year to Newbold College in England 04:03 and spend six years at Andrews University 04:06 in Michigan, Berrien Springs. 04:09 That's wonderful. 04:11 And then you met and married your wife and started a family. 04:14 I met and married my wife 04:16 and that's a whole different story. 04:18 Yes, you know... 04:19 So in a nutshell, you met where? 04:20 Was it at a church? 04:22 No, it was at a youth camp, actually she sing in a choir, 04:25 and that's where I first met her, 04:27 and they had some outreach programs, 04:30 singing songs, and giving testimonies, 04:32 and I got very interested in her. 04:35 And over the years friendship developed 04:38 and which actually led to marriage. 04:41 Were you teenagers when you first met? 04:43 Yes, yes. 04:45 Okay. 04:46 And some of his testimony is the fact 04:48 that several years ago he lost his wife. 04:52 And we are going to... She passed way. 04:54 Thank you. 04:55 And we're going to talk about some of that journey, 04:57 but before we get to that we have a scripture 04:59 that we want to share. 05:00 This is Dr. Hasel, is this your favorite scripture 05:02 or one of your favorite? 05:03 One of my favorite. 05:05 I have several, but that's on the top list. 05:07 Yes. 05:09 This is Lamentations 3:22, 23, 24, 05:13 "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed 05:17 because His compassions fail not. 05:19 They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. 05:24 The Lord is my portion, says my soul, 05:26 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" 05:29 Why does that scripture mean so much to you? 05:31 Because it really describes my own experience with God 05:35 in a last couple of years after I lost my wife. 05:39 She had cancer, breast cancer. 05:41 And we were married for about 20, 21 years, happily married. 05:47 And then she found out about this terrible sickness, 05:51 and we tried to battle it as good as we could. 05:56 And, you know, how it goes, 05:58 you know, once the word spreads, 06:00 you get calls from all over the place 06:03 and people have recommendations of things and therapies 06:08 that promise to work miracles kind of. 06:11 And we tried everything, 06:14 and nothing helped. 06:18 You know, we prayed. 06:19 In fact, my wife asked for an anointment 06:23 and she had two anointments at the beginning of her sickness 06:26 and towards the end of her ordeal. 06:29 And she still didn't make it, 06:32 you know, and she died, finally, 06:34 not even a year after she found out that she had cancer. 06:36 Oh, less than one year. 06:38 Less than one year. Oh, that's fast. 06:39 Wow. 06:41 So that is a very painful experience. 06:44 And all of a sudden I was faced to be a single parent 06:51 with three children, three sons. 06:54 How old when she passed? 06:56 The oldest was 19, 16, and 11. 07:00 Wow. Yeah. 07:02 And when you have to juggle different heads 07:08 at the same time that you were not used to before, 07:13 it's quite a challenge. 07:14 You know, you have to work full time, 07:15 you have to take care of the children, 07:18 you have to take care of household, 07:20 and very mundane things 07:23 that need to be accomplished and done. 07:25 It's a challenge and it's not so easy. 07:30 But I have to say, I'm very grateful for church. 07:36 I worked as a pastor for many years 07:38 and when you're in a leadership positions 07:40 as a pastor and administration, 07:42 you get to know some things and details about the church 07:45 that sometimes are not so nice. 07:47 But in that situation, I have to say, 07:49 I really experienced the goodness 07:52 and the blessing you have of being in the fellowship, 07:56 in the church with the people of God, 07:58 and brothers and sisters. 08:00 Let me just share with you one little detail 08:03 that was very meaningful to me 08:05 because you have to learn so many new things, 08:08 one thing you have to learn, 08:10 I have to learn is to accept help. 08:14 That's hard. It's very easy to offer help. 08:17 That's easily done. 08:19 It's a little more challenging to offer a helpful help, 08:25 not every help that is offered is helpful. 08:27 That's true. 08:29 And then it's even greater challenge to accept help 08:34 because you open up your privacy in ways 08:38 that you have not allowed other people to see before. 08:41 And you have to be willing to accept that 08:44 and to learn, to accept help, 08:48 but then you can experience tremendous things. 08:50 And one of the challenges I faced was that I learned 08:56 and I read that especially for smaller children 08:59 if one of the parents passes, 09:01 the most challenging part in the remaining family 09:05 is to give children constancy, 09:08 consistency in the daily routines, 09:12 rather than being send off to grandma 09:15 and this friend, and this friend, 09:16 and so forth, and they have changing people 09:20 that constantly change, you know. 09:22 And so I thought one of the most important things 09:24 for me to accomplish that is common meals, lunch, 09:30 you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner. 09:33 And I'm not a good cook, my wife was. 09:39 And I've never burned water, you know, 09:42 but beyond those basic things, 09:46 you know, that was a challenge because if you work fulltime 09:49 and then you have to prepare a meal, 09:50 a good meal, you know, 09:52 and spend time in the kitchen, 09:53 and it's a great logistical challenge to do that 09:57 if you've never experienced that. 10:00 So I had one person in the church and she said, 10:01 "Is there anything I can help for you?" 10:04 And I said, "Yes, I'd like to eat with my children 10:07 on a regular basis." 10:08 And she said, "You know what, I take care of that. 10:12 I will organize in the church, 10:14 and I will talk to different people, 10:16 you don't have to do a thing. 10:18 And they will provide a full meal for you every day. 10:22 They come to your door, 10:23 they place it at the front of the door, 10:25 you don't even have to open the door, 10:27 you don't even have to talk to them." 10:29 You know, in times like that, 10:31 often, you don't feel like talking, you know, 10:32 and then people come and they mean it well, 10:36 but it's not so easy on you so they left the food there. 10:40 I had a wonderful meal, I cleaned the dishes, 10:44 I left the food and the dishes in front of the door, 10:47 they picked it up again, 10:48 I didn't have to travel anything. 10:50 And they did this for the three most crucial days 10:53 of my work week. 10:54 And they did this for... Wow! Yeah, for how long? 10:56 For several months. 10:58 Wow! Wow! 10:59 It's incredible dedication. 11:01 And that really was helpful, help for me in my situation. 11:05 And it showed me that there is love in the church, 11:08 and there is something, you know, where people cared 11:11 and where they did something that really was helpful for me 11:14 in that situation that I found myself in. 11:16 Wow! 11:17 Yeah, that's powerful already that he shared, isn't it? 11:19 I tell you, it's just amazing, 11:21 I know that Dr. Hasel has been through tremendous loss 11:24 and you at home too, 11:25 as Jill was mentioning earlier, 11:27 many people, many of you have experienced tremendous loss. 11:31 So as we continue to unpackage Dr. Hasel's testimony 11:34 and how he found help and healing from God. 11:38 I can't wait to hear more. 11:40 But we want to go to some music, 11:41 and we have Mary Grace with us today. 11:44 And she's going to be playing on the piano a beautiful song 11:47 entitled, "Lord Be Glorified". 14:47 Wow, thank you so much, Mary Grace. 14:50 I tell you, God is using you in a powerful way. 14:52 Thank you for sharing your music with us, 14:53 and what a great song, "Lord Be Glorified in My Life". 14:56 You know, we're all vessels and we represent Jesus Christ 14:59 to the world to those we come in contact with, 15:01 whether you know them by name or not, 15:03 it could be in the grocery store and you just, 15:05 how you react, how you live your life 15:09 is an example for Jesus 15:10 so I pray that in my life, "Lord Be Glorified." 15:13 If you're just now joining us, we have Dr. Hasel with us, 15:17 and he was sharing with us 15:19 just a very tragic event that took place in his life. 15:21 His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer 15:23 a few years ago, 15:25 and she passed away less than a year 15:27 after she was diagnosed. 15:29 You had three teenage sons in the house. 15:32 One pre-teen. Yeah, pre-teen. 15:33 Yeah, 11 years old was the youngest. 15:34 That's right. 15:36 And you're talking about in your own life 15:39 just people helping from your local church 15:41 and how much that meant to you. 15:43 And so picking up with that, 15:44 I know, Jill and I know people that are close to us 15:49 that have had a very tremendous loss such as a spouse. 15:52 And sometimes, one can almost feel a bit uncomfortable, 15:56 and so I want to just touch on that because like, 15:58 "Oh, I don't know what to say." 16:00 I know that he's going through tremendous grief. 16:02 What do I do? How do I say? 16:03 What do I tell you? 16:04 Do I say anything just maybe you're hurt. 16:06 I know the feeling, I've been there myself, 16:09 and I felt the same insecurity, 16:11 and not knowing what to say and how to relate. 16:15 But here's what helped me in that situation. 16:19 Sometimes you think, you know, that if you address the issue 16:22 or talk about the person, it brings up the pain 16:25 and it makes it even harder on the person. 16:28 No, it was not like that with me. 16:30 In fact, the most comforting things 16:33 were when people shared memories they had with my wife. 16:39 Things that they remember it, 16:42 little details, little encounters 16:46 that they had with her. 16:48 I found those stories the most healing stories 16:53 because it helped me to see 16:56 the impact she had on other lives, 16:59 and how she was remembered with other people. 17:03 There is an Irish proverb that goes something like this. 17:08 It says, "Death leaves a sorrow no one can heal, 17:14 but love creates a memory no one can steal." 17:17 Oh, that's beautiful. 17:19 That is beautiful. 17:20 And it's those memories, you know, that you recount, 17:23 and that you remember 17:25 that become very meaningful for you 17:28 even in dealing with a loss like that. 17:30 And, so I think the love 17:35 and what love does really is something beautiful. 17:39 It creates memories that stay with you and stick with you 17:43 in life and even beyond. 17:45 And that has been very meaningful to me. 17:50 You know, I want to ask you a question here too 17:51 'cause you had children in the home, 17:55 how would you deal with the young people, 17:57 because, okay, let's say I've got... 18:00 Let's say, I'm thinking of your 11-year old, 18:02 so your 11-year old has a friend, 18:05 how would young people relate to young people? 18:06 Did your sons talk to you much about that? 18:08 Do they want to remember mom, bring up memories, 18:12 or was it too painful for them? 18:14 Well, every person relates different at the end. 18:16 All of my sons reacted differently. 18:20 I was the most concerned about my youngest child, 18:24 but he apparently did well the best, you know. 18:30 The oldest he had been out of the country, 18:33 he worked as a student missionary 18:35 in Guadalupe in the Caribbean, 18:37 while my wife got sick. 18:39 And he struggled the strongest with her loss 18:43 from all I could tell. 18:45 And, so every person is different 18:48 and not every child is able to express his feelings 18:54 about a loss like that. 18:56 I still remember talking with my doctor 19:00 about my youngest son and I said, 19:02 "Well, I tried to open up for them an opportunity to talk 19:06 and that he is rather quiet." 19:08 And he says, "Well, what do you expect from an 11-year old, 19:12 how can he voice that?" 19:14 So I had to learn to accept people even my children 19:17 as they are in their walk 19:19 and in their dealing with suffering. 19:21 And it takes years, 19:25 you know, you cannot speed it up, 19:29 I mean, it just takes times to go through 19:32 different phases of loss and coping with loss. 19:36 Grieving too, isn't it? Grieving, yes, exactly. 19:39 And grieving really, 19:41 what helped me to understand grieve 19:42 is because you grieve because you love. 19:47 If there is no love, you don't feel grief, 19:50 you know, you feel stronger grief for those people 19:53 you know whom you loved. 19:55 So grief actually is an expression of our love 19:58 for the person who is no longer there. 20:01 And so that is an important part 20:04 of dealing with loss like that. 20:07 So how did this impact your faith, your trust of God? 20:12 We've been talking about how it impacted your sons, 20:14 and how the church members came around 20:16 and really were helpful to you during this time of loss. 20:19 But what happened with your faith during this time? 20:22 Oh, it impacted my faith significantly 20:24 and greatly in many respects. 20:28 When you go through something like that, 20:31 you inevitably have some difficult questions, 20:35 tough questions, 20:36 questions for which you don't have easy answers. 20:40 Now people tend... 20:44 People have a hard time dealing with open questions 20:47 where they don't have an answer 20:49 and they tend to find solutions, connections, 20:53 why this had to happen this way and that way 20:56 in order to make it easier for them to understand 21:00 why something happened. 21:02 But I believe there are things in life that happened 21:05 for which we don't have a good answer. 21:07 Yes. 21:08 I mean, we live in a sinful world that is imperfect 21:11 and we're faced with things 21:14 for which we in this life don't have an answer, 21:18 not a satisfactory answer. 21:20 So I don't know why my wife had to die, you know? 21:25 And then people come, they mean it well, 21:26 "You know, she died so that you can, 21:29 you know, experience what other people feel," 21:34 you know, and things like that. 21:35 Sure. 21:37 No question about it. 21:38 But I think God could have taught me 21:41 some other way as well 21:43 without the loss of my wife as well. 21:44 Yes. 21:45 So I don't think that was the reason 21:48 why she had to die and why she died in fact. 21:52 So, some of the tough questions you come, 21:55 come across are the so called why questions, 21:59 why did that have to happen, why her, why this and that. 22:02 And, fortunately my wife and I, 22:05 we were able to talk about things like that 22:07 before she passed away. 22:08 And to us it was absolutely clear in our minds 22:15 that God is good. 22:19 We were absolutely sure that God has the power 22:22 and the ability to heal if He chooses to do so, 22:25 but if chooses not to do so, He's still good, we felt, 22:29 and we still wanted to trust Him because... 22:37 See, the questions we had were a different why questions. 22:43 The questions we raised is, 22:45 why shouldn't that happen to us? 22:48 Why should something like that happen only to other people? 22:51 Why shouldn't we get sick? 22:53 Why shouldn't we die of things, you know? 22:56 After all we live in a sinful world 22:59 and we are affected by sins even though we live healthy 23:02 and we do everything we can to avoid sickness 23:06 and things like that, 23:08 yet we are not immune to that. 23:10 Yes. 23:11 So I think, if people follow God only 23:15 because they hope not to get sick 23:18 or hope to avoid this or that, 23:20 I think they follow Him for the wrong reasons. 23:22 Yes. 23:23 And we need to learn to trust God 23:26 even though we don't have 23:29 all the answers to our questions, you know. 23:32 Even though I don't have the answer 23:34 to all of my questions, 23:35 I know the one who has. 23:38 And even though He has not shared 23:39 all the answers with me yet, 23:41 I still know He is good, He can be trusted, 23:44 and He is faithful. 23:46 And that I think is a lesson 23:47 that I learned from that whole experience 23:50 that became very meaningful to me. 23:52 Often we ask why questions, "Why me?" 23:56 But instead, you're saying, "Why not us? 23:59 Why not me?" 24:01 Exactly. Yeah, it's powerful. 24:02 That's life transformation when you think about it. 24:04 I trust God, 24:06 no matter what happens, I still trust Him. 24:07 Yes, but many people they have a hard time trusting God fully. 24:13 You know, when you talk to them, 24:14 "Do you think God is good?" 24:15 They'll say, "Oh, yeah, 24:17 I believe God is good, you know." 24:18 Yeah, we hear in the church a lot of times, 24:19 God is good all the time. 24:21 God is good all the time, you know. 24:22 And then they would even say, "Oh, He is good, 24:25 He is not only good, He is very good indeed, 24:27 He is very good very often, but not always." 24:32 See, and that is the crucial point, 24:34 if He is very good, very often, 24:37 but not always, how can you trust Him 24:39 in just those moments when you really need it. 24:42 Then you can't trust Him, 24:43 then you first need an answer to the why question 24:45 before you can trust Him, right? 24:47 And that's the situation 24:49 that many people are in, I feel it. 24:50 And it is so crucial to see that the God, 24:57 the Bible describes is a God that can be fully trusted. 25:00 I mean, He has done everything 25:03 that we have every reason to believe He is good. 25:06 And He showed it in His Son Jesus Christ, 25:08 you know, what better example could you give. 25:11 He suffered, He even died, He went through pain, 25:15 He knows how we feel. 25:17 You know, and He is a God that can be trusted 25:22 through and through that is my firm conviction. 25:25 How do you trust God then when someone, 25:27 because I'm thinking somebody at home that's right now, 25:29 there is someone right now 25:31 in the midst of a terrible circumstance in their life, 25:34 and they're just now saying, 25:37 "I'm trying to trust, I don't know how to trust." 25:39 What do you have to say to them? 25:40 Well, that's how you usually feel, 25:43 you know, I'm not the big faith hero, 25:46 I'm not the one who has a strong faith. 25:49 You say, you know, I believe help my unbelief. 25:53 You know, but you just open up your heart to God. 25:57 You just be honest with Him, 25:59 don't pretend you have everything in control, 26:03 just be honest, tell Him what you face, 26:05 tell Him your deficiencies, tell Him your fears, 26:09 and your insecurities. 26:10 And ask God to take care of that 26:14 and help you nevertheless and He will not let you down. 26:17 Amen. You know, that's good. 26:20 Let me share one thing that became very meaningful to me 26:23 in that whole thing. 26:24 If you go through an experience like that, 26:26 your whole mindset is negative, 26:28 you know, you're focusing on the loss, 26:31 you're focusing on things that you can no longer enjoy, 26:34 you're focusing on things that no longer are there, you know, 26:38 and you focus 26:40 on the deficiencies and the negatives. 26:44 But something helped me really to develop 26:46 an attitude of gratitude, 26:49 and I describe that in my book... 26:53 Actually the book grew out of that experience. 26:56 Somebody has said, you know, good books are not written 26:59 in times of pleasure, but under pressure. 27:03 And the pressure I was facing helped me to write the book 27:08 Longing For God because it expresses something 27:10 that was deep in my heart 27:12 to have that fellowship with God. 27:15 And it leads people 27:16 into reading the Bible for themselves. 27:19 Because I see the book, and I have a copy here, 27:22 it says, "A prayer and Bible journal." 27:25 So how was prayer and study of God's Word 27:28 pivotal in your journal? 27:29 I tell you there is no other book on this planet 27:31 like the Bible. 27:33 There is no other book that can comfort you, 27:36 that can give you hope, 27:37 that can give you new perspectives 27:39 when you're down. 27:40 There is no other book 27:42 that gives you the joy of salvation, you know. 27:46 There is no equal to the Bible. 27:49 The Bible ennobles you. 27:51 It gives you an ethic 27:55 that is beyond everything we know. 27:57 It helps you to be a faithful person. 28:01 And the beauty of the Bible is, it's not just information, 28:07 in the Bible you get to know the God, 28:09 the living God who inspired the Word of God, you know. 28:12 And that really is what this book is all about. 28:18 I want to help people read the Bible for themselves 28:21 in a meaningful way, 28:23 to jot down ideas that come to you 28:25 as you read the Bible and to pray to this God 28:29 in new and meaningful ways 28:31 that will enrich your prayer life significantly. 28:34 It has helped me in that situation 28:37 and far beyond. 28:39 And so this is actually what the book is all about 28:42 and so it's not just empty pages 28:45 where you'll write down as a journal, 28:47 but at the end of every month 12 times throughout the year 28:51 I have a short chapter on prayer 28:53 where I shared from my own experience, 28:56 everything in the book that I write, 28:58 I have tested and tried in my own life and it worked. 29:03 And this one thing at the end of February 29:06 is thanking God. 29:10 You know, how do you thank God in a situation like that 29:12 when you experience significant loss. 29:15 You're not even in the mood of thanking God. 29:17 Exactly. It doesn't even seem natural. 29:18 You don't even want to thank Him, you know. 29:21 And so you develop an attitude 29:23 of ingratitude of grief, of anger. 29:30 And somebody told me, you know, start something, 29:33 it's very simple, it's very powerful, 29:36 the only deficiency is, it's free, 29:40 it doesn't cost you a penny, 29:41 you know, you don't have to pay for that. 29:43 But if you can live with that 29:45 and you give it a try, it's very simple. 29:48 Every day take a sheet of paper 29:51 and write down 10 words 29:55 for which you can be thankful for Him. 29:57 Yes, I like that. 29:59 Now, if you're in a situation like that, 30:03 nothing comes to your mind for which you're thankful. 30:05 Of course. 30:06 You really have to think. 30:08 But there are some basic things 30:10 that even in the situation like that 30:13 you can be thankful for, 30:14 you can say, "I'm thankful for my eyes." 30:17 You know, "I'm thankful for my hands. 30:21 I'm thankful for my bed. 30:23 I'm thankful for my toothbrush." 30:25 You know, little things like that. 30:26 So you write down 10 words 30:28 and then it's not just enough to write down 10 words, 30:34 you create a little sentence from that word, 30:39 and you create a sentence where you express the reason 30:42 why you're thankful for your eyes. 30:45 "Lord, I'm thankful for my eyes 30:48 because with my eyes I'm able to see, 30:51 I'm able to read, 30:53 I'm able to see the colors, and the beauty of the life. 30:56 And thankful for my hands, with my hands I can write, 31:00 with my hands I can touch another person, 31:02 with my hands I can do good. 31:04 I'm thankful for my bed, 31:05 that I don't have to sleep on the floor," you know? 31:09 So you create a short sentence 31:11 expressing the reason why you're thankful for. 31:15 And there is a little psychological thing to that 31:20 because the more senses 31:23 seeing, hearing, touching are involved... 31:26 Like your five senses. Yeah, wow! 31:28 The five senses are involved in expressing 31:31 gratefulness and thankfulness. 31:32 The better it is, you know, anchored in your mind. 31:36 So you would actually then read these out loud probably. 31:38 Exactly. So you'll hear your voice... 31:40 So you write it, you see it, you read it, 31:44 you speak it, you hear it. 31:46 Amen. Wow. 31:47 And you have 10 reasons to be thankful for that day. 31:50 The next day, you take a new sheet of paper. 31:52 There have to be 10 new or can you copy any of the old? 31:55 And you think about 10 new ones. 31:57 Oh, wow! 31:58 Ten new ones. 32:00 And you go through the same procedure, you know, 32:03 and then the third day you think about 10 new ones. 32:08 If you want to intensify the experience, 32:11 you repeat the ones from the previous days. 32:15 But even if you don't, 32:16 at the end of one week, just one week, 32:19 you have 70 reasons why you're thankful for Him. 32:24 Wow. 32:25 It won't take even a month 32:27 until your whole attitude changes. 32:29 Did you do this? 32:31 I did that and I learned it from my aunt, 32:34 she lost her husband in a tragic car accident 32:37 a number of years ago. 32:39 And she practice that and I admired for that 32:42 and she said, "Frank, give it a try." 32:43 And I tried it and really helped me to develop 32:47 an attitude of gratitude, you know. 32:49 Gratitude expresses your appreciation for something 32:53 that somebody has given you, 32:55 for something that has enriched your life, 32:57 for something that you don't deserve, you know, 33:00 and it helps you to gain an outlook 33:04 that is more positive 33:05 rather than focusing on things that are no longer there, 33:08 you focus on the things that are still there, 33:11 and that give you a reason to be thankful for it. 33:13 So that is a powerful, powerful tool 33:17 that can help you really change your life around 33:20 and be more positive. 33:23 You know, I was thinking about that 33:24 even for someone that maybe 33:26 is not even going through a loss this would be... 33:27 Absolutely. We all need this. 33:28 Yeah, absolutely. Wow. 33:30 Yeah, maybe you're feeling little lower, 33:31 little down, or whatever. 33:33 This is just a great daily practice 33:35 and really it's thanking God 33:36 because He is good, and He'll take care of us. 33:39 How many days into it... 33:40 I'm sorry. Go for it. 33:42 Did you notice a change in your own mental attitude? 33:46 Just a couple of days, I mean, it's not something bam 33:49 and now you're differently pulled, you know, 33:52 and you think differently, 33:53 no, but once you practice that, 33:55 you get into a habit, 33:58 you develop something that helps you 34:02 to just think differently 34:04 and to look at life with different eyes. 34:06 You know, I was thinking that would probably 34:07 because it becomes a habit so to speak, 34:09 it's just your natural inclination 34:11 so you could even be driving down the road 34:12 when you're not supposed to be driving 34:14 or riding or texting or anything. 34:15 And you can just say, "Oh, God thank you so much for," 34:18 whatever the scenery. 34:20 Absolutely. 34:21 Yeah, then your whole outlook on life changes. 34:23 Yes. Well, I like that a lot. 34:24 And there is so much beauty in life even now, 34:28 you know, even if you experience. 34:31 You know, when you go through pain and loss like that, 34:34 life is not beautiful anymore, it's dull, 34:38 and you don't enjoy life, 34:40 you don't even enjoy the colors. 34:42 But through that, you know, you develop 34:44 a new perspective on things 34:45 and it's life transforming. 34:48 One of the things, as I was looking through the book, 34:49 that I really like is that you incorporate the Holy Scripture 34:52 as you're talking about the power of the Bible 34:53 in God's Word 34:55 and basically this is actually a plan to read 34:57 the entire Bible in one year as well. 34:59 And like you said, it's not just empty pages in a book 35:02 where you're, okay, here is my prayer request, 35:04 then here is, you know, how God answer. 35:06 There is a lot more to this, 35:07 and there is different exercises in here 35:09 on developing relationship with God 35:12 reading through the scriptures. 35:14 I think it has Old and New Testament I saw for each day 35:17 as you're reading from. 35:19 Yes, for every day of the year 35:20 you have a small passage from the Old Testament 35:22 and a small passage from the New Testament. 35:24 Yeah, I like that. 35:25 So it's a combination, you know, 35:29 and if you follow that reading plan, 35:32 within one year, 35:33 you have read through the entire Bible 35:36 from beginning to end. 35:38 And speaking of reading the Bible, 35:40 I'm looking here and this is at the end of May. 35:42 Yes. 35:43 You have a whole section on prayers for other people. 35:46 Thirty one reasons to pray for others, 35:47 but this is praying scripture over people's life. 35:51 Absolutely. 35:52 Actually, in fact, this is one of my favorite chapters 35:55 in the whole book. 35:56 And I came across that in another book that I found 36:01 and started practicing that with my own sons. 36:06 And just to pray with the words of scripture 36:13 was something that I had never practiced before. 36:16 You know, you pray for your children, 36:17 help them in this, help them in that, 36:19 you know, they have an exam there, 36:20 they have a challenge here so you pray. 36:23 But it's not very meaningful often, 36:25 it is the same routine, the same phrases that you use, 36:30 but if you look in the Bible you find the Bible speaks about 36:34 many virtues and character traits 36:38 that God is pleased in 36:40 like friendliness, or patience, or mercy, or love, 36:45 or gladness, or kindness, 36:47 or purity, and things like that. 36:49 So I started to pray for my sons 36:51 and for my children every day for one whole month, 31 days, 36:56 you know, a different virtue. 36:58 Today, I'd like Jonathan to be a man who is friendly, 37:02 in his dealing with other people. 37:04 Let Florien be a person who is faithful today 37:07 in his dealings with other people and with you. 37:09 Let him, Daniel be a person who is courageous today 37:13 as he faces challenges in his life. 37:14 And you have a Bible passage, and with the words of scripture 37:18 you can fill in the name of the person 37:21 and read the promise that God has given, 37:24 and it has become very meaningful to me, 37:28 and it anchors the words of scripture in your mind. 37:32 And it does something not just to the children, 37:37 it does something to me. 37:39 You know, I realized if I pray those prayers, 37:44 if they really mean anything, 37:48 I have to practice what I pray, 37:50 I have to be the kind person, 37:52 I have to be the patient person, 37:54 I have to be the loving person I wish others to be. 38:00 It really changed something 38:01 not just with my relationship to my children, 38:04 it changed something in me and with me. 38:06 And then I realized, "Hey, this is a wonderful tool, 38:10 not just for my sons, for my children, 38:13 I can pray the same prayers for the children 38:16 in my children Sabbath school that I teach, 38:19 or my students that I teach, 38:22 or the coworker, or my neighbor, 38:26 or whoever that is." 38:28 You know, and if you do that, 38:30 it gives you a perspective of the many things 38:34 that you find in the Word of God 38:37 that are life transforming, 38:39 where God longs to see in me, in you, 38:42 in every person to be a person of mercy, of faith, 38:46 of perseverance, of joy, you know. 38:49 And it really does something to yourself 38:51 and to the relationship with other people 38:54 and it's something for the better. 38:58 And I like how you also said in the book 39:00 that this is really spiritual impulses, not being like... 39:04 I think you said a rigid, you said, prescription. 39:06 Absolutely. And I like that. 39:08 Yes, there's some people 39:10 they'd like to have the super formula 39:12 and say if you follow that, and bam, bam, bam, then... 39:16 You know, this is not how it works. 39:19 But these are 12 suggestions, you know, give it a try, 39:25 experiment with it, see how it works with you, 39:28 modify it if need be, you know, and improve it. 39:33 But try out something new and experiment with that. 39:37 I think you will be greatly benefited. 39:40 Yes, I love praying the scripture. 39:42 I remember in my own life in walk with God, 39:45 I didn't even know how to do that for years. 39:48 And prayer becomes kind of routine or like, 39:50 "Okay, now I'm going to pray again and I'm..." 39:52 You know, and it's almost a boring thing, 39:54 but when you realize 39:56 we can talk to the God of the universe, 39:57 and I can open up the Word of God, 39:59 and God calls those things that are not 40:02 as though they already was 40:04 so you can claim those scriptures. 40:06 God stands back of every promise He has made, 40:09 and He can work to develop those 31 character qualities 40:14 in your children, or your grandchildren, 40:16 or your coworkers, 40:17 or in your own life that is incredible. 40:20 Why don't you read from the beginning 40:22 'cause I think he'd mentioned about the 12 40:23 so the different months you have like January... 40:25 January is prayer that pleases God. 40:27 Amen. 40:29 February, we talked about that. 40:30 Yes. Thanking God. 40:32 March is praising God. 40:34 What's the difference between thanking God and praising God? 40:36 Well, praising God is we usually say, 40:40 "We praise and glorify Your name." 40:41 You know, but it's not very meaningful 40:44 so what does it mean? 40:46 If you praise something or someone, 40:48 you usually name a quality 40:53 or something that you see in that person next thing, 40:58 yeah, something as praiseworthy. 41:00 Well, let's say, "You know, I drive a nice car." 41:03 And you say, "Well, my car, you know, 41:05 the gas mileage it gets, 41:06 you know, it's just superb, you know, 41:08 or the handling, you know." 41:10 So I'm not just praising the car, 41:13 you know, I'm not telling you 41:14 I praise and glorify my car. 41:16 No, no, I'm talking about specific things that I admire 41:20 that I think are just marvelous. 41:23 And I think that's the lesson I learnt 41:25 when I thought about God. 41:28 You know, God has many character traits 41:30 that are praiseworthy. 41:32 Let me give you an example, you know, He is omniscient, 41:35 that means He knows everything. 41:38 Now why is that meaningful to me? 41:41 I praise God that He is omniscient 41:43 that He knows everything 41:44 because it tells me there will never ever be a situation 41:50 for which God is not prepared. 41:53 There will never ever be a situation 41:55 where He is taken by surprise. 41:58 There will never ever be a situation in my life 42:00 where God says, "Oops! I didn't think of that. 42:04 Now, what do we do now?" 42:07 That's not how it is, you know, He is omniscient, 42:10 He knows everything. 42:12 And so I praise God for that, 42:15 and I just don't say I praise You for Your omniscience, 42:18 I express what I appreciate about it. 42:24 I express why I marvel at that character trait. 42:28 I express why I admire God for being that way. 42:33 And once you do that, you know, I think you start getting 42:37 into the mood of praising God 42:38 because you don't just praise His name, 42:42 you're specific in what you appreciate, 42:45 and what you like, and what you admire, 42:47 and what you think it's marvelous in Him. 42:51 Oh, that's powerful. 42:52 I'm so excited. Oh, yes. 42:54 Because I don't do that enough. 42:55 Yeah, I thank God, but I don't think I do this praising so... 42:58 Specific. Yes. 43:00 I'm excited to do that. 43:01 April is the A, B, Cs of Bible prayer, 43:04 and I think that must be ask, believe, and claim. 43:06 That's right. All right. 43:07 May is 31 reasons to pray for others using scripture, 43:11 we talked about that. 43:12 June is praying and fasting. 43:15 July is prayer and are waiting for an answer. 43:19 What are we to do when we need to wait? 43:21 Well, isn't that the experience we all have. 43:23 We usually don't like to talk about that much 43:26 because we're embarrassed, 43:29 but I have not come across a single Christian 43:32 who has not had the experience 43:34 that sometimes you pray for something 43:36 that apparently God doesn't seem to answer that prayer. 43:41 So what happens in a situation like that? 43:45 Well, just go back to your wife passing, 43:47 you said that when she was sick and diagnosed, 43:49 you prayed, I'm sure as a family, 43:51 your sons were there, you, and your wife, 43:52 she was anointed you said several times, 43:55 praying for her healing, then she passes away. 43:57 That's something to deal with. Yeah, sure. 43:59 How do you answer that question? 44:01 Well, that's a tough one 44:02 and it cannot be answered in a single sentence, 44:05 but I think God still hears and He understands. 44:11 And sometimes we wish Him to do things 44:17 that He knows better. 44:21 And He has more information at hand 44:24 than I with my limited perspective have. 44:27 And He knows about things that are beyond my horizon. 44:33 So does God delight in our health? 44:37 Yes, He does. 44:38 Does God send sickness? 44:39 No, He is not a God 44:41 who delights in sickness and pain, 44:43 Satan does. 44:45 In sickness, and pain, and suffering 44:47 are some of the strongest temptations to faith. 44:52 They create the strongest doubts 44:54 and they even have the potential 44:56 to make your faith go shipwreck. 44:59 And so when my wife and I were faced with that, 45:03 we decided, you know, it's not God 45:04 who is sending this sickness the cancer and all of that. 45:10 It's the devil, he delights in that, 45:12 and he would love to see us say goodbye to God, 45:16 you know, and forsake Him. 45:19 But we decided firmly not to give him that pleasure. 45:23 Amen. Oh, good. 45:24 We did not want to give him the pleasure 45:26 of seeing in our lives that we forsake God 45:29 because God has been so faithful 45:31 and He has been so good so many years, 45:34 why should I forsake Him now. 45:37 I don't have any reason for that. 45:41 But still you go through a number of emotions 45:45 and even a process of dealing with that 45:49 and this is what I describe in that chapter 45:51 because if you don't understand that, 45:53 you can easily get frustrated with yourself 45:56 and with other people. 45:58 And even start questioning God and His goodness. 46:03 And so I try to explain in that chapter a little bit 46:07 the different emotions that you go through. 46:10 There's a different steps that you experience 46:14 and that ultimately hopefully will lead to a position 46:18 where you continue to trust God 46:20 even though you might not have all the answers to it. 46:23 I know we're going to read more of the months 46:25 but far as the chapter titles, 46:27 but I think what's beautiful about this, Dr. Hasel, 46:29 is God has taken this tremendous pain 46:33 and this your process of dealing 46:35 with this whole loss of your wife, 46:37 you know, questions many questions, 46:39 you know, your spiritual growth, 46:41 you're able to put into this book 46:43 which I think is just... 46:45 I want to say just like a slap to Satan 46:49 because Satan is here to steal, kill, and to destroy, 46:51 but God has come to give us life 46:53 and life more abundantly. 46:54 So when you put these tools 46:56 out there for others to be blessed by 46:57 I just praise the Lord that God has used you 47:01 and is using you in such a powerful way 47:03 out of such a tremendous, tremendous loss. 47:06 See, the most important thing is not what happens to you. 47:08 I mean, the most important thing 47:13 I think is not what happens to you, 47:15 but everybody is faced with challenges 47:18 far more difficult than what I have had to face, 47:22 but the crucial question is 47:24 how do you relate to what is happening to you. 47:26 Yes. 47:28 What is your reaction to what is happening to you, 47:30 you know, and you wait for an answer. 47:33 And sometimes you have to wait for a longer period of time, 47:36 but then, you know, it dawned on me 47:40 that in waiting 47:45 God helps you to grow into a person 47:50 that He likes you to be 47:52 that you would never be if you didn't have to wait. 47:57 See, sometimes we wait for an answer 48:00 and we want to have an answer immediately, 48:03 but we don't see and realize the blessing of waiting 48:06 because in waiting, you can develop... 48:09 If you're open to that, 48:11 you can develop into a person that God wants you to be 48:16 that you would never be 48:18 if you didn't have to have that experience. 48:20 And that also taught me an important lesson 48:22 with the loss of my life, you know. 48:24 This is something that I've never dreamed of happening. 48:28 This is nothing that I desired, that is nothing that we wished, 48:33 but it occurred to us, it occurred to me, 48:36 and it became part of my life. 48:39 And when I realized that I had to struggle with that 48:44 because this was not a pleasant thought, you know, 48:47 I didn't envisioned my future as a single parent 48:49 or without my wife. 48:52 I didn't want to live that way, 48:55 but yet, it had become part of my life. 48:57 And once I was willing to accept that reality... 49:01 Surrender. 49:02 It was very painful, it brought tears to my eyes, you know, 49:05 but at the same time it was a great relief 49:09 that I felt that 49:11 like a stone falling off my shoulders, you know. 49:13 And I could accept that as a reality in my life, 49:17 and I could thank God for that because I realized. 49:22 Yes, this has become part of my life story, 49:25 this is not your life story and not yours, 49:27 it's part of my life. 49:30 And the important thing is not what happened to me, 49:33 the important thing is 49:34 how I relate to what happened to me, 49:37 and how I allow God to work in and through that. 49:40 Yeah, amen. 49:42 I wish we had a whole another hour to it, 49:44 this is incredible. 49:45 I want to read through the rest of the chapters. 49:48 We have becoming free of bitterness, 49:50 10 suggestions for encouragement, 49:53 suggestions for praying together, 49:55 prayers for missionaries, 49:56 and suggestions for intercession. 49:59 The book we've been talking about 50:01 is Longing For God by Dr. Frank Hasel, 50:04 A Prayer And Bible Journal. 50:06 This is an incredible book, 50:07 and we would tell you in just a moment 50:09 how you can get a copy. 50:10 But tell us how your sons are doing now? 50:13 I know it's been several years since your wife passed 50:15 so tell us just briefly? 50:17 My sons are doing well from all I can tell. 50:20 My oldest son is married now, 50:21 he lives in Sothern California, he is an architect. 50:25 The second son is a law student 50:27 at the University of Graz in Austria. 50:30 He is interested in international law 50:32 and human rights issues, 50:34 and the youngest son just finished high school 50:36 and is a freshman at Southern Adventist University now. 50:40 So we're spread all over the place. 50:42 I think about that scripture, you know, 50:45 Joseph with his brothers and what they did to him. 50:48 And he said, "Well, Satan intended for evil, 50:50 God turned around for good." 50:52 And I think what Satan intended for evil 50:55 and the loss of your wife. 50:56 God in the midst of that pain brought beauty 51:00 out of those ashes. 51:01 And through your own journey 51:03 lead you to write this incredible book. 51:06 So we hope and pray at home that your heart in life 51:10 has been encouraged by some thing 51:11 that Dr. Hasel has shared today. 51:13 I know, I'm encouraged in the Lord 51:15 from what you have shared, so thank you for that. 51:19 And right now we want to put up the contact information. 51:21 So you can obtain 51:23 your very own copy of this book. 51:25 I know the Lord will use it in your prayer time, 51:28 in your devotions, in your study time, 51:31 in your own journey and walk with Jesus. 51:35 That it will help you grow, 51:37 that it will help you be changed 51:38 more and more into the image of Jesus, 51:41 so if you'd like to obtain a copy of this book, 51:44 here is how you can do just that. 51:49 Every encounter with God through prayer and Bible study 51:52 plays an important part in our lives 51:54 and the helpful suggestions 51:56 contained in this prayer and Bible Journal 51:58 will enrich your spiritual life. 52:00 Longing For God gives you a Bible reading program 52:04 space for journaling 52:06 and focuses each month on a different aspect 52:09 of achieving a deeper relationship with God. 52:12 Visit the AdventistBookCenter.com website 52:15 to order you copy of Longing For God. 52:17 That's AdventistBookCenter.com 52:20 or call them toll free at 800-765-6955. |
Revised 2018-01-31