While in the doctor’s waiting room I was browsing a May 26th issue of Newsweek and began reading about the China earthquake. Unlike the reaction of the Burmese government leaders amidst their national weather disaster, the Chinese leaders poured rescue troops into the effected areas within hours of their disaster. Help and aide from throughout China in the form of personal contributions was so great the leaders of local governments asked that no more be sent for a period of time for they had no place to store it all. When victims were interviewed by reporters, although very distraught now living with death and destruction all around, they seemed to be very well informed about their situation and what they could expect to happen over the next few weeks. When asked what has given them the most hope for recovery so far, they overwhelmingly answered the immediate visit of the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao. Their leader had come to see for himself and made discussions on the spot as to what must be done for the survivors. The philosophy of the Chinese Department For Public Communication is simple and straight forward. “Tell the truth; Tell it fast; Tell it first” The natural disaster forced the Chinese people and government to mobilize and pay a debt they don’t owe to their fellow-countrymen, who now need to rebuild their shattered lives.
I always promise to not get political in this column, but sometime it can’t be helped. As I read I couldn’t help but think about Memorial Day and our honoring of the war dead who served this country, paying the debt of freedom with their life. I also couldn’t help but think about all those who have survived, only to return to a devastated home buried in debt, unemployment and perhaps having been maimed or crippled for life, who find themselves without the guidance of their leaders who sent them to war in the first place. Something is definitely wrong when it takes private contributions to build housing for families trying to recover from the personal devastations inflicted by serving their country. Our love for one another is outstanding, but where are our leaders? Veterans are asking questions and receiving no answers. Why? That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
A six-year-old boy was asked where his grandmother lived. “Oh”, he said, “She lives at the airport and when we want her we just go get her. Then when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”
[Hebrews 10: 9-10] We live in a world of devastating sin, that is, disobedience toward God’s will for man. Greed, selfishness, murder, sexual immorality, stealing, lying and cheating are just some of the things that destroy our lives. Sin separates us from the love and blessings of God. God demands a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin, but the sacrifice of bulls and goats did not satisfy this requirement. Jesus, the Word of God, stepped forward as a man and willingly sacrificed his sinless body, one man for all men, shedding his blood which covered all sins ...past, present and future. Jesus came to our rescue in the midst of our sin sick devastation. We have received from God guidance for rebuilding our lives and our relationship with Him. In Jesus, we have truth and hope for everlasting life with our Father in heaven. “He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone, to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song – Amazing Grace; Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
We Owe Her Our Life
It never ceases to amaze me how the chapters of this novel called “Life”, can end in sorrow and the fear of uncertainty, yet a new chapter begin with renewed faith and hope. Sounds proverbial, doesn’t it? Yeh, well, all I want to say is my spirit is always lifted after one door is seemingly slammed shut, by another door opening into an even bigger room than the one before. The challenge is always to fill the bigger room with the good things of ones life, working harder than ever before developing character worthy of the move forward. As noted a few weeks back, one of our local newspapers closed its doors after 100+ years, leaving my column out in the cold and its readers in limbo. I want to acknowledge the Wilson County News and especially editor Elaine Kolodziej, thanking her for taking a chance on me and finding space for this column. I hope to fulfill her expectations and look forward to being a part of WCN for a long time to come.
I’d like to take a little time to write about mothers. We’ve all got one, but I guess you knew that already. If we were to examine the pages of her life, we would probably find little dried out memorabilia’s pressed flat between pages. We’ll most likely find a few stain-wrinkled pages here and there, that had at one time, been tear soaked. As her life was transcribed in beautiful elegant script, I know we’d find short hand-written annotations in the margin of most pages, noting precious one time moments in her life, that seemed to have flashed by everyone else unnoticed, but meant so much to her. We’d find she spent much time in prayer for the safety of her children and her home. She also prayed for the guidance and wisdom of her spouse. It has been said, ”...the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”. We have had the greatest impact on our mother’s life and she has also had the greatest impact on our life. Pray for your mom. She loves you.
While waiting in the checkout line at the supermarket, a young man noticed an elderly woman struggling to get her purchases into a net shopping bag. He offered to help and even chatted with her as he repacked her groceries. Just as he was about to return to his place in line, she took the young man’s hand in hers and said with a warm smile, “My compliments to your mother”.
Isn’t it strange how we elevate careers and lower the skilled professionalism of homemaking to the commonplace? Think of how many skills a mother must possess to carry out her duties. There’s teaching, interior decorating, cooking, dietetics, hygiene, psychology, social relations development, clothing, household equipment and so much more. Mothers ask for so little in return, yet we take them for granted most of the time.
[1 Peter 3: 1-7] Not much is said about mothers and motherhood in God’s word which tends to make me believe that God has a special place in his heart for mothers. I mean how do you explain some of the supernatural instincts women acquire at childbirth? Mothers can hear the faintest whimper of a child two rooms away over the snores of the man lying next to her. There’s no instruction book delivered with a newborn, yet the bond is unmistaken from first sight to the grave. It may not seem fair that women have to go through the pains of childbirth, but they get to share with God and the Holy Spirit in the final act of creation – giving life to their children. Let us always be thankful for our mothers and what they have done. We do owe them our life.
I’d like to take a little time to write about mothers. We’ve all got one, but I guess you knew that already. If we were to examine the pages of her life, we would probably find little dried out memorabilia’s pressed flat between pages. We’ll most likely find a few stain-wrinkled pages here and there, that had at one time, been tear soaked. As her life was transcribed in beautiful elegant script, I know we’d find short hand-written annotations in the margin of most pages, noting precious one time moments in her life, that seemed to have flashed by everyone else unnoticed, but meant so much to her. We’d find she spent much time in prayer for the safety of her children and her home. She also prayed for the guidance and wisdom of her spouse. It has been said, ”...the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”. We have had the greatest impact on our mother’s life and she has also had the greatest impact on our life. Pray for your mom. She loves you.
While waiting in the checkout line at the supermarket, a young man noticed an elderly woman struggling to get her purchases into a net shopping bag. He offered to help and even chatted with her as he repacked her groceries. Just as he was about to return to his place in line, she took the young man’s hand in hers and said with a warm smile, “My compliments to your mother”.
Isn’t it strange how we elevate careers and lower the skilled professionalism of homemaking to the commonplace? Think of how many skills a mother must possess to carry out her duties. There’s teaching, interior decorating, cooking, dietetics, hygiene, psychology, social relations development, clothing, household equipment and so much more. Mothers ask for so little in return, yet we take them for granted most of the time.
[1 Peter 3: 1-7] Not much is said about mothers and motherhood in God’s word which tends to make me believe that God has a special place in his heart for mothers. I mean how do you explain some of the supernatural instincts women acquire at childbirth? Mothers can hear the faintest whimper of a child two rooms away over the snores of the man lying next to her. There’s no instruction book delivered with a newborn, yet the bond is unmistaken from first sight to the grave. It may not seem fair that women have to go through the pains of childbirth, but they get to share with God and the Holy Spirit in the final act of creation – giving life to their children. Let us always be thankful for our mothers and what they have done. We do owe them our life.
Spiritual Insurgents
In the movie “A Christmas Story”, the one made not too many years ago, about this kid, Ralph, who wants a B-B-Gun for Christmas and everybody warns him, “You’ll shot your eye out”, there’s this bully always picking on someone. I have no idea what the meaning behind “say uncle” came from, but even I can remember while in grade school, the bullies wouldn’t turn you loose until you cried “uncle”. I also remember how humiliating it felt to go through those kinds of torment from time to time. Eventually, Ralph had his fill of being picked on every time he encountered this bully, and in a fit of rage, lashed out with all his might, tackling the bully to the ground, his fists wildly swinging, landing blows to his adversary’s body, while cussing up a storm as tears flowed from his eyes. Have you ever wanted to go out into the back yard, look up to heaven, with your hands raised, doubled-up into a fist and scream “UNCLE!”? Spiritually, that’s where I’m at right now. The things I want in this life, I can’t seem to obtain lately, but the things I don’t need or want in my life just seem to be flowing in like water. I know I’m not alone in this battle and I know I’m not the only one who handles these situations poorly. If only I could tackle the devil and beat on him a while I’d feel better, but all I seem to do is shoot myself in the foot by lashing out improperly.
A visiting minister was very long-winded. Worse yet, every time he would make a good point during his sermon and a member of the congregation responded with “Amen” or “That’s right, preacher”, he would get wound up even more and launch into another lengthy discourse. Finally, the local preacher started responding to every few sentences with “Amen, Pharaoh!” The guest speaker wasn’t sure what that meant, but after a few more “Amen, Pharaoh’s” he finally concluded his very lengthy sermon. After the service concluded and the congregation had left, the visiting minister turned to the local preacher and asked, “What exactly was the meaning of your ‘Amen, Pharaoh’s’ during my lesson?” The local preacher replied, “I was asking you to let my people go!”
[1 Peter 5: 6-10] “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” We hear a lot about “insurgencies” lately, concerning our military troops in places like Afghanistan and Iraq; that is: hostile rebels seeking to disrupt our efforts to spread freedom in what ever way we can. The planting of roadside bombs, suicide bombings and sniper attacks are just a few of the many methods employed by those seeking to destroy our forces. Soldiers and innocent civilians alike are either injured or killed by the thousands in such attacks. As a soldier of Christ, the threat of insurgency is just as real. Spiritual insurgents are heavily armed and are ready to attack on every front. Their weapons of mass destruction include lust and greed and pride. (1 John 2: 15-17) Thousands have been taken captive and millions have been destroyed. Evil spirits will tactfully and successfully infiltrate the unguarded heart of the Christian soldier. I wear my armor (Ephesians 6: 10-12), but I still allow myself to become a victim of spiritual insurgency. But, one thing I know for sure, if I stand firm in my faith, God will restore me and make me stronger than before. I will press on toward the goal of His promise.
A visiting minister was very long-winded. Worse yet, every time he would make a good point during his sermon and a member of the congregation responded with “Amen” or “That’s right, preacher”, he would get wound up even more and launch into another lengthy discourse. Finally, the local preacher started responding to every few sentences with “Amen, Pharaoh!” The guest speaker wasn’t sure what that meant, but after a few more “Amen, Pharaoh’s” he finally concluded his very lengthy sermon. After the service concluded and the congregation had left, the visiting minister turned to the local preacher and asked, “What exactly was the meaning of your ‘Amen, Pharaoh’s’ during my lesson?” The local preacher replied, “I was asking you to let my people go!”
[1 Peter 5: 6-10] “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” We hear a lot about “insurgencies” lately, concerning our military troops in places like Afghanistan and Iraq; that is: hostile rebels seeking to disrupt our efforts to spread freedom in what ever way we can. The planting of roadside bombs, suicide bombings and sniper attacks are just a few of the many methods employed by those seeking to destroy our forces. Soldiers and innocent civilians alike are either injured or killed by the thousands in such attacks. As a soldier of Christ, the threat of insurgency is just as real. Spiritual insurgents are heavily armed and are ready to attack on every front. Their weapons of mass destruction include lust and greed and pride. (1 John 2: 15-17) Thousands have been taken captive and millions have been destroyed. Evil spirits will tactfully and successfully infiltrate the unguarded heart of the Christian soldier. I wear my armor (Ephesians 6: 10-12), but I still allow myself to become a victim of spiritual insurgency. But, one thing I know for sure, if I stand firm in my faith, God will restore me and make me stronger than before. I will press on toward the goal of His promise.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Blessings Of Love
So, another week has passed and the lives of every soul on the planet have changed in one way or another. Have you ever thought about that before? Life is not the same today as it was seven days ago. Case in point, I will use myself, again, as an example. Monday morning began with surgery on my vocal cords, the third time, to remove some carcinoma growths, temporarily suspending my projected speech, lowering it to a loud whisper. Now, for someone who expresses himself through speech, life is not the same at the moment. I have no idea what kind of voice I will eventually end up with again and only time will reveal it as healing continues. It’s a slow process retraining the voice, but, as before, I have confidence there is enough good cord tissue remaining to once again develop a strong voice. I don’t tell you all this to persuade you to feel sorry for me. No, I want to tell you about the support I receive and give on a constant basis that stabilizes my ever changing life in this ever changing world. It is a faithful, powerful, supporting characteristic we can all share with one another. It’s called, prayer. When we are helpless to help those whom we love, we pray. When we lack the reason to understand why, we pray. When words to try and make sense of it all just won’t come, we quietly draw a deep breath, and with tears rolling down our cheeks, we pray. We pray for our own worldly problems, for the adversities of our loved ones and for people we don’t even know, as we witness horrible tragedies unfolding throughout the world. Why? Because we believe in the power of prayer! We believe prayer, our petition to God on high, will bring about intervention. We want to see a miracle! And why shouldn’t we?
An old man in the front pew sat with his head bowed throughout the worship service. At the conclusion the preacher approached him and asked him why he slept the whole time. “I wasn’t sleeping”, the man said. “I was praying!” “That’s very good”, the preacher said, happily. Then the preacher inquired, “Tell me, just what was it you were praying for so earnestly?” Without hesitation the old man replied, “A new preacher!”
The Sunday school teacher asked little Johnny, “Tell me the truth. Do you pray before eating?” “No sir”, Johnny replies. “I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook!”
[James 1: 2-8] There are those who oppose the thought that God intervenes in the lives of those who love and obey Him. James says we should ask God, believing without doubt, that God will grant us wisdom in all things. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7: 7-8) John writes, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5: 14-15) We live in a world of unexplained “miracles” and I’m not one to discount that of God’s intervention. In fact, I look daily for God’s interactions in my personal life, sometimes in total awe and amazement at answered prayer. What does it mean, “ask anything according to his will”? I am made in the image of God, thus I am spiritual. We see one another in the image of the world, thus I am physical. God’s will rules the spirit of man not the body. When I pray, I must pray for the spirit and be willing to accept the will of God. I seek first the kingdom of God, and His interventions in my life are blessings of love.
An old man in the front pew sat with his head bowed throughout the worship service. At the conclusion the preacher approached him and asked him why he slept the whole time. “I wasn’t sleeping”, the man said. “I was praying!” “That’s very good”, the preacher said, happily. Then the preacher inquired, “Tell me, just what was it you were praying for so earnestly?” Without hesitation the old man replied, “A new preacher!”
The Sunday school teacher asked little Johnny, “Tell me the truth. Do you pray before eating?” “No sir”, Johnny replies. “I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook!”
[James 1: 2-8] There are those who oppose the thought that God intervenes in the lives of those who love and obey Him. James says we should ask God, believing without doubt, that God will grant us wisdom in all things. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7: 7-8) John writes, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5: 14-15) We live in a world of unexplained “miracles” and I’m not one to discount that of God’s intervention. In fact, I look daily for God’s interactions in my personal life, sometimes in total awe and amazement at answered prayer. What does it mean, “ask anything according to his will”? I am made in the image of God, thus I am spiritual. We see one another in the image of the world, thus I am physical. God’s will rules the spirit of man not the body. When I pray, I must pray for the spirit and be willing to accept the will of God. I seek first the kingdom of God, and His interventions in my life are blessings of love.
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