Another story, another life

Early this morning a friend of mine left us. He stayed as long as he could because he didn't want to leave, but he finally grew too tired to stay any longer. His wife walked to the very end of the road with him. She stayed with him during this last week and would not leave his side. She walked to the very door with him, but he had to go through alone. This story is more about her than him. His story will have to wait. But her story is one of love and friendship through the most difficult days of life. We all long for someone like that, someone who will be with us through all of the good and bad days of life. Some have been blessed to find that person in a mate. My friend was one of those. His wife loved him dearly, and cared for him to the last moment.

For all of us that have trusted Christ as savior we have that friend, that one who walks with us through the most difficult days of life....it's Jesus Christ himself. His very presence, no matter what the problem of life, is a comfort and support. He is the one who will walk with us to the very door at the end of life, and then walk through it with us as well. That ever present comfort and help is something I sometimes take for granted, but what a joy to have someone with me all the time who cares for me, loves me, prays for me, counsels me and walks with me. He will never leave....he's always there to help in my time of need.

Often we try to measure our lives by the number of friends we have. How many care for us? How many love us? But there is only one friend that will really matter at the end, and that's your friendship with Jesus himself. Our attempts to find a friend who will stick by us in this life are often frustrated, but he is the friend who likes you even when no one else does. If you get to the end with only him you have done well. If you find there are others there as well, then you are unusually blessed. My friend left today with the love of a dear wife on this side of the door, and the love of Christ waiting on the other side. He was a blessed man indeed.

Dressing up

I'm teaching through the book of Romans at church. It's been a lot of fun for me, but it has been fast paced. We have gone through a chapter a week, so for over an hour we are working through the passages at a rather brisk pace. The truth of it is that you could spend your whole adult life grazing on the book of Romans and not discover all that is in this book. In my personal reading I am in Romans each day. I have done this for quite a while, but never grow tired of it.

In the class this last week we came to chapter 13. It's a difficult passage dealing with our response to government first, and then our relationship with others, but what always makes me stop is the last verse of the chapter. This last short verse has two admonitions in it, both simple by appearance but daunting in reality. Here's the verse-

Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

It has the flavor of "put on this" and "put off that." It's daunting because I must admit that after all these years I'm still trying to figure out how to wear this wardrobe I'm invited to clothe myself with. What does it look like to put on the Lord Jesus Christ? Obviously we don't do it literally as if we were wearing a costume, it's an invitation to an identity that starts on the inside and is seen on the outside. It's really not a matter of worthiness, but it's an issue of willingness. Am I willing to put on Christ and put off the lusts I have? It's one decision that demands another one....but it's a command that demands intentional action and resolve. I've just been thinking about this verse for a couple days.....I'm going to spend a few more days on it before I move on.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this passage....

Boundin´

It's a great day for a smile. This is one of my favorite cartoons. It's even better when you're watching it with children. It has some great theology in it, and if you have never seen it....enjoy.

Thoughts on a day

Today has been a busy day. In fact the last few have kept me going so fast I haven't had time to post anything. But today....as I'm going through the day, a man calls the church asking for help. He had been rude to the receptionist, Connie, so she sent the call to me to help her. Here's the call as I remember it: Me- "Hi, my name is Mike, can I help you?" Phone- "Yes, my name is Chris and I need help. I've called more than 30 places and no one will help me. I'm not asking for much, I just need some help." (He's very rude and frustrated.) Me- "Ok, Chris, first you are calling me for help right?" Phone- "Yes." Me- "Ok, then being angry and hostile will have to stop. You're asking for help, that's no way to get it." Phone- "Well, I've called 30 different places and no one will help me. I just need a little help." Me- "Ok, what do you need?" Phone- "I need some shoes."

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I've skipped a line because I don't want you to miss his request. He didn't ask for money, he didn't want me to pay his rent. He needed shoes. Someone had broken into his truck and taken all his stuff. He's here working from another state, and didn't have anything else to wear. I really don't know if anyone else had even listened to his story, but I thought, you know I have some extra shoes.

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So I ask, Me- "Chris, what size do you wear?" Phone- "11." Me- "What kind of shoe do you need?" (Now he's getting nicer.) Phone- "I need a work shoe, OSHA approved, so I can work, one that covers my ankle." Me- "Ok, I got it. Where are you?" Phone- (pause) "I'm at ______. Oh, and if you had a few bucks for something to eat tonight, they stole my wallet too, but I get paid tomorrow and I'll pay you back." Me- "I'll be there as soon as I pick up the boots I have at home just for what you need. And I have some money, I'll give you what I have. It's enough to get a burger tonight. I'll be there as soon as I can." Phone- "Thanks..."

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I told the ladies in the office where I was going...they were worried for me and tried to get another pastor to go along, but this was something I wanted to see through on my own. I got the boots, stopped and got a coke, some chips, cookies, and a few other things to eat, and made my way to Chris' location. When I got there I called him and he met me at the corner gas station. Around the corner comes a nice looking young man, maybe late 20's, who introduces himself. Chris- "Hi, I'm Chris." Me- "Hi Chris, here's the boots I told you about. They will work great for what you need. They are steel-toe boots. And here's something to eat, and here's some money for a burger." Chris- "Thanks, I'll pay you back...." Me- "You don't need to do that, but I do want you to do one thing. You need the Lord, Chris. You need a relationship with him. I'm not helping you if I don't challenge you to seek that as well." Chris- "I have a relationship with God....(his voice trailing off). Me- "I'll tell you what, Chris. When you want to talk, call me. You know where I am, and I'll buy you lunch and we can talk about this some more, ok?" Chris- "Ok...."

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There are thousands of young men and women out there like Chris, who know the church is the place to call when they have a need, but are rebuffed because they are angry, hurting, just needing some shoes. What do we miss when we only hear the anger and forget the eternal soul of that hurting person. So, as you pray today, would you pray for Chris? Would you think about him, and watch for the opportunities to reach out to the hurting people around you who just need a pair of shoes and the love of a Christian?

Quote of the day

Death is the final enemy to be defeated OR the final defeat of the enemy. You choose which one.

Quote of the day

My friend, Iggy, posted this on his blog. Considering our ongoing discussion on law and grace I thought it would be a great quote for the day. It also reveals that we humans, through the centuries, continue to default to works to please God. It's a constant battle to raise the flag of grace over the battlefield of works.

"Like the fascination which attracts the gnat to the candle, though it burns its wings, men by nature fly to the law for salvation, and cannot be kept from seeking life by it. The law can do nothing else but reveal sin and pronounce condemnation upon the sinner, and yet we cannot get men away from it, even though we show them how sweetly Jesus stands between them and it."

- Charles Spurgeon, Christ’s Glorious Achievements

A smile for the day

I saw this today and smiled. The world wants to know the future, and some tell us they can predict what will happen. The bible is the only book that does in fact predict the future with perfect accuracy. Knowing all things, even future things, is something that God claims as his own. It makes perfect sense that if there is a God he would know all things, and he does. The bible is filled with prophecy, much of it has been fulfilled, but there is much yet to come. I'm glad that the only God there is, the God of the bible, knows all things...even those things that haven't happened yet.

Sailing

I'm on cloud 9 tonight. I got my cast off today. What a relief! I feel liberated. I'm not back to normal yet, but on my way....one day at a time.

But it's funny how the winds blow. Before my doctor's visit I went to have the insurance company look at our car. It was damaged in the hail storm last week. It was quite a surprise to have them come back to the car and tell me, "We are going to total your car. We will be in touch with you later in the week with the details." That was a surprise! It's funny that after years of blessings and trials I'm quite aware that the trials bother me less than they used to. I remember the days when problems were much bigger than they are now. But after years of dealing with the ups and downs of life I find I'm better able to sail above the problems and simply enjoy the winds that God provides. He has always kept us "afloat," he has always directed our ways. He will do it again.

So tonight I'm rejoicing in a liberated foot that is healing nicely and thanking God for a dinged up car that has met our needs for many years.

Guest blog- Christian rights

My amazing son-in-law, Zach, posted a comment to the previous entry. He is such a good writer and thinker that I wanted to elevate his thoughts to a new category: "Guest blog," so here are his thoughts on the topic of Christian rights-

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Gal 2:20)

There, I found your problem.

Dead people don't have rights. A lot of people these days seem to want Socialized Christianity. They want our government to approve and sanction Jesus. The apostles didn't try to make their government approve of them before they began their mission. They preached Christ to the people in spite of the government and were thrown in prison because of it, which is exactly where God wanted them at that time, unless He didn't want them in prison, in which case He broke them out. If she really feels like the ten commandments should be displayed publicly (referring to a woman's comments who was upset that the 10 commandments were not displayed), she shouldn't expect the government to do it. The government can barely govern itself; I don't want it anywhere near the Bible. You ought to tell her to go and read the ten commandments to passersby herself.

Monday cartoon

One of the questions that I have been asked to deal with is tithing. It's been greatly confused in the church today. The tithe was part of the law. It was part of God's instructions to Israel in the promised land. The question that many ask is whether the tithe is for the church today. One of the verses in the bible that helps us understand this is Galatians 3:19. In this brief verse is a question- "Why the law then?" This verse and chapter teaches 3 things about the law and tithing (which is part of the law)- 1. the law had a purpose, 2. the law had a people, the nation of Israel, and 3. the law had a term which is clearly over. We now find that we, the church, are in what Paul describes as a time of giving as each one feels led. Some will give more than 10%, others will give less. It's now based on the heart of the giver. Paul gives us the guidelines for giving in the church today-
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2Co 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
2Co 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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Under the law- 10%. Under grace- liberty to give as you purpose in your heart. It's no longer based on law, now it's grace giving....as the Lord leads.

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(This has been a very brief discussion on the topic. There is much more to say on this topic. I hope you will understand I'm simply giving a quick overview.)

A story about a big God

In my post yesterday I mentioned a lunch with two wonderful Christian men from the Ukraine. What I didn't tell you were the stories we shared over lunch. Today I want to share one of those stories.

During our meal I asked both men to tell me about their lives growing up under communism. How did they come to faith? How did they find the Lord in a communist country. My friend, Volodia, was too young to have gone through much of it, but our companion at lunch, Pastor Volodia (yes, they have the same names) had a big smile and some wonderful stories. Here is one of his stories-

He told me that while he was growing up no one had a bible, and you couldn't get one anywhere. But he found in his life a hunger to know God. He discovered that one of the atheist textbooks he read had a number of scripture verses in it with an explanation following each verse why this was foolishness and not to be believed. They had no bibles, but the communists themselves had provided him the bible verses he needed to get started. He wrote down the verses from the atheist textbook and took them home to memorize. This is how his faith began....with bible verses provided by the communist government in an atheist textbook!

God is so amazing. When a person has a hunger to know him then he will provide a way. We worry about how God will get his word to those lost ones around us. How will they hear? Who will reach them? Let me just say that God is big enough to do amazing things even using the very government that claimed he didn't exist.

Volodia is now a pastor in western Ukraine working with the Russian people there. His story of faith and how he came to know God is inspirational.

Is your God big enough? He's busy working in a fallen world every day...even in places where they say he doesn't exist. I hope Volodia's story enlarged your view of the God who is.

What have I done?

One of our ladies sent this photo to me and said in her e-mail, "this made me think of you."

What have I done? I have unleashed a monster of feedback with this as the introduction, "this made me think of you..."

I guess I earned it and to be honest it is funny. I will have to live with the reputation I have created by my accident.

And, yes, Nikki, this is funny. Thanks!

Lunch with a friend I never met

About 4 years ago I wrote several articles for a small group magazine that published online. As a result of those articles I got a strange e-mail. It started something like this, "Hi, my name is Volodia and I live in Kiev. Would it be ok if we corresponded? I would like to ask some questions."

When you get this kind of e-mail you have to respond. I wrote back that I would love to get to know him. It turned out that Volodia was part of a mission organization in Kiev that trained pastors in missions. We developed a great relationship. I followed their lives as he and his wife, Ruslana, had their children. I helped him with funds for a short-term mission trip he took to Turkey. And over time we were just simply good friends.

This week Volodia (on the right above) and another pastor from the Ukraine were here in Dallas for a conference with another church. By the way the other pastor's name is Volodia as well. It seems that it's like the name 'Mike' here in the states. Anyway, Volodia wrote to tell me he would be here, and could we have lunch? I was thrilled and scheduled it immediately. I have waited months for this time with my friend I had never met.

I went to the home where they were staying and we greeted each other with a big hug. I'm sure it's the way it will be in heaven- that first meeting of friends we have known for years. It was great. I took them to the ultimate American food experience- GOLDEN CORRAL! They had already tried Mexican (didn't like it), Italian (ok), and several other ethnic foods. I thought I would play it safe with an all you could eat buffet.

We had a great time, but I don't think they really got into the spirit of "all you can eat." They told me, "we don't eat as much food as Americans do." And that was enough.

After lunch I got to ask about their lives, and heard some wonderful stories. It was a great time. People in the restaurant were staring at us as they heard Russian being spoken and all 3 of us laughing. My friend, Volodia, is very fluent in English so it made it much easier for me.

Volodia asked me an interesting question at the end of our visit. He asked, "when I wrote to you that first time why did you respond?" I told him, "I always respond...you never know what God has planned for you." For me it turned into a wonderful friendship. Yesterday was a great day for me....a wonderful lunch with my friend I had never met.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Ben Stein has a new movie coming out soon. He's tackling the topic of intelligent design. I have always enjoyed Ben, and I'm really looking forward to seeing his new movie. It should be good. I'll give you a report after I see it.

Looking forward to tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend I've never met. I'm really excited about the day ahead. I'll take some pictures and tell you more tomorrow......about my friend I've never met.