You Can Do More Than You Think You Can

Ever had a day that just wouldn't end? So did Jesus.

Recorded in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is an account of one of the longest days in the Life of our Savior and his disciples. This day is so significant that it is recorded in all four gospels. Each writer illuminates different facets of the story, but it is the same story. It is a day of triumph and sorrow. It is a day of hunger and abundance. It is a day in which a little failure might have been seen as a big relief.

Here is the background to this very long day:

 John the Baptist is in prison...

    At this point in his ministry, Jesus popularity is growing, but his cousin John has been imprisoned  for several months by the local head honcho, Herod Antipas. In his prison on the shores of the Dead Sea, John has heard great things about Jesus from his disciples. Just days before this day John had sent two of his disciples to Jesus asking him to verify that he was in fact the Messiah, and they had returned to confirm this truth to John.

 Jesus' own disciples are on their way back to him...  

   Before we can really appreciate this day, we must also know that Jesus had recently sent his disciples on an evangelistic mission around the towns and villages of Galilee. This is the day they would return.

How the long day begins...

Notice of John’s death…and Herod’s interest

    As dawn breaks on this day, Jesus is awakened perhaps by the running feet of John’s disciples. John has been beheaded and his corpse mistreated. Furthermore, Herod is interested in Jesus now. John’s imprisonment had taken place about seventy miles due south of where Jesus was. It is possible John's disciples with the question did not make it back to the prison before his execution.  Jesus begins to grieve for his forerunner.

News of successful evangelism...

   Just then his own disciples arrive with joyous news about the success of their missionary foray. Stories of evangelistic preaching and miracles abound. They decide to make breakfast. 

Then, the crowds arrive. They are pounding on the door. They are crowding in.

Solitude sought...

   Jesus commands that they row out of town to a stretch of abandoned shoreline. The crowds figure them out and beat them to the location.

Extemporaneous ministry...

    Jesus teaches and heals the multitude all day long.

Hunger and exhaustion...

    As evening approaches the disciples plead with the Lord to send the crowds away that they may go buy food. Luke records it by saying, “And when the day began to wear away…” Luke 9:12.

Vision-less disciples and catering...

    Jesus then tells his cadre of miracle working evangelist, “You feed them”… and they grab their wallets in dismay. (I’m paraphrasing here) “Lord it would take $20,000 to feed this bunch. We don’t have that kind of cash.”

    One disciple, Andrew, finds a boy with five biscuits and a couple of  sardines. Whatever the disciples planned to eat on their original picnic outing is now missing.

    Jesus blesses and multiplies the loaves and fish.

    The disciples now get to play waiter to 5000+ people.

    Then they get to play busboy to 5000+ people. They collect 12 baskets of leftovers.

Bed is an hour away...

    Jesus then commands his disciples to make a five mile journey in their ship while he dismisses the crowd. The disciples leave.

The kingmaker crowd...

    The crowd turns kingmaker and wants to force Jesus to be king. He retreats up the mountain to pray.

Jesus sees the disciples toiling on the lake as the sun goes down...

    As dark settles in Jesus can see the disciples a good distance from shore battling a head wind. He prays all night while they toil in the sea.

Jesus bails them out at dawn...

    Sometime between 3am and 6am he walks past them on the sea. They get scared. Jesus calls out. Peter gets bold. With the Lord’s permission he walks on water, then sinks, then walks back to the boat just in time to get off again.

And then it all starts all over again

   The disciples beach the boat as day breaks and the crowds begin to form again as the locals realize who has shown up. Later in the day, the folks from yesterday will show up as well.

Lesson we can learn from this very long day:

1. Perfection is the enemy of ministry. God did not call us to be perfect. He called us to be obedient. We cannot make the ministry failure-proof and be effective.
2. When the Vision is from the Lord, money is of no consequence. Jesus can turn a sack lunch into a catered fish fry.
3. Leftovers taste pretty good at 3am. I am quite certain that the disciples didn’t make it to the far shore with twelve baskets of fish and bread. The memory of the miraculous will sustain us in when battle headwinds.
4. Sometimes we row against the head wind. Just because we are battling the headwinds doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t watching. He is on the mountain interceding on our behalf.
5. Jesus calls “come” to the bleary eyed and exhausted. You will not be pretty in the hour of your greatest faith, and your not likely to walk on water when you are thinking straight.
6. Its okay to approach the work of the Lord with a plan, but once contact is made minister to the needs that present themselves. Jesus can “mess up” your day anytime he wants.
7.  The end is only the beginning. They returned for rest only to find the real work beginning. Your job in the kingdom of God may change, but it never ends.
8. You can do more than you think you can.

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious!" -Vince Lombardi

[If you want to read about Jesus' "very long day"  you can do so in these passages in the Bible Matthew 14, Mark 6:30-37, Luke 9, John 6]

Things that wiggle

"Snake, big snake!" yelled my oldest son one day last fall as he came bounding though the front door of our house.

Soon thereafter the serpent lay in edge of the yard with his rather juicy head buried in the dirt just a few feet beyond. Now, a headless snake is a dead snake (obviously) but a headless snake still wiggles. This started me to thinking...

Way back in the book of Genesis, right after Adam and Eve pulled that fiasco with the forbidden fruit, God showed up. In response to God's inquest, Adam blamed Eve for his sin, Eve blamed the serpent and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on.

Then, as God delivered his judgments on all of the participants in mankind's original sin, a curious thing happened. In one sentence the serpent  (Satan)  realized the finality of his defeat and humanity realized their hope of a Deliverer. To the serpent God said,

"And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15 NKJV).

Now back to my snake, where this train of thought started.  My dead rattler was still wiggling at least four hours after I shot him. More than once Satan is referred to in the Bible as the "serpent", and the quote from Genesis is prophetically referring to Jesus Christ's defeat of Satan at the cross. Satan is defeated, but he does still wiggle. If you step on his tail you might get slapped around a little, but that doesn't mean you're whipped!

If you are a Christian, you have overcome Satan through the blood of Jesus Christ. Don't forget this!  Ultimately the Christian's victory is assured! As horrible and horrific as the cross was for Jesus, it was far worse for Satan! Jesus suffering is equated to a bruised heel as compared to the skull crush delivered to Satan.

Take heart friend, the snake may wiggle still, but he is very much defeated!

"...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." Hebrews 9:28 NKJV

What? No goodbye?

 "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." - Acts 1:9 esv

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus didn't give his followers a proper  "goodbye". 

He could have given them a hug or a hand shake, but he didn't. He could have signed autographs or had a farewell dinner. He did none of those things. 

Instead, he stood on a hill and gave instructions to his followers, just like he had many times before. Then, without so much as a goodbye, he rose into the clouds and disappeared from their sight.. 

Here the disciples stood on the front porch of the world, if you will, watching as the one they loved disappeared into the heavens...

And he didn't even say "goodbye".

Imagine how you'd feel if your company left that way. We like to get a goodbye before someone leaves. It puts a period on the end of the visit. Why didn't Jesus give us one?

I've got a theory...

I tell my wife and kids goodbye when I leave for work, and I tell them goodbye when I leave to go into town.  I have to pass around the hugs and kisses (sometimes twice) before I can leave, but, I don't tell them goodbye when I walk into the yard or go into another room in the house. Why? Because I'm not going that far. I'm still home even if they can't see me.

Perhaps you recall a verse from Isaiah 66:1 in which God says, "Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool..."

 You see, what we see as the greatest journey in history looks much different from Jesus' perspective.  We see an almost incomprehensible transition from the earthly temporal to the heavenly eternal. Jesus on the other hand, sees a mere move from the ottoman to the chair.

The reason he didn't say goodbye is because he didn't go that far. In fact, moments before he vanished in to heavens, he promised his disciples, "...I am with you always...".

Friend, heaven is just around the corner and Jesus is still so close he can hear your whisper. He is waiting to hear from you. 

He never said, "Goodbye."

Dangers, Toils, and Snares

"Through many dangers, toils and snares...

I have already come...

These familiar words are etched deeply in my mind. I have no memory of hearing this song for the first time. I have sung it all my life.

But tonight, for some reason, these words tore themselves loose from the rest of this verse of John Newton's "Amazing Grace"  to run freely in my mind. I know these words. I sing these words. Tonight I pondered them.

1. I have come through many dangers...

Dangers, the perils of life, threaten each of us. We each tread close to the precipice daily. The trail is muddy, and the fall is steep and long. I am surrounded by near misses, some of which I am aware. Others, I've no doubt, occur, of which I know nothing...

Yet I am here...

Ponder God's promise to Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you."      Isaiah 53:1b,2

2. I have come through many toils

Toils. Hard work. Sweat. Blisters. Worry.  Life isn't easy. The human condition is one of struggle. Sometimes will smile with satisfaction at the product of our labors. Sometimes we pour our sweat and blood into our given task and watch the fires of misfortune devour our labor or the wind of ill will tear down what we've tried so hard to build...

But I'm still here...and I hear my Lord say to me...

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

3. I have come through many snares

Snares?! Snares are not the circumstances of life!  Fatigue does not create snares either. Snares are deliberate. Someone wants to catch me. Someone wants to put me down and take me out. Someone is waiting for me to fall, so that he may pounce and kill. Satan hates me. He hates my family. He hates mankind. His stated mission is to steal, kill and destroy.

Yet, I remain...and I can sing with the Psalmist...

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

" I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies."   Psalm 18:2,3

Of course, if you read the biography of John Newton, the author of "Amazing Grace" you will see an inspiring story.  It is also quite likely that if you will really stop and look at your own biography, you will also realize more fully...

"'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far...

and Grace will lead me home."

Thank God for Grace. I truly hope to meet up with each of you at "home" one of these days.

Goodnight.

Go for Wood...

 Musings about Noah and the Ark...

First off, please pardon the play on words. Several translations of the Bible transliterate a Hebrew word in Genesis chapter six as "gopher wood".  This is the wood from which Noah was to build the famous ark that would preserve terrestrial life on earth. Although many speculate that it is a variety of cypress, no one knows for sure. Anyway, please stay with me...

God told Noah to build an ark that measured approximately 450 feet long by 75 feet wide by 45 feet high. He was to make it of "gopher wood" and then cover it with pitch inside and out. 

Here are some calculations you may never have stopped to consider.

-The surface area of the walls required 94,500 board feet of lumber at 2 inch thickness.

-The surface area of the roof, bottom and decks required at least 270,000 board feet of lumber at 2" thickness. 

-If my math is correct, by the time bracing and interior walls are calculated, the total amount of lumber to construct such an ark could well have exceeded 729,000 board feet.

That is a lot of lumber.

Here is the thing...

We always look at the fantastic beginning of the story of Noah, and we look at the climatic ending where Noah and company ride out the flood, find land and disembark from the ark. What we often forget is the 120 years that passed between the beginning of the story and the actual flood. That's right 120 years.

During that time the real work was done.

Someone had to "go for wood"!

Someone had to carry pitch.

Somebody had body odor.

Someone ruined his clothes.

Somebody had blisters and sore hands.

Somebody was laughed at.

and then, once they were finished...

The ark was ugly! Noah's masterpiece looked like a large tar paper box! It was not sleek. It did not have masts or a mainsail. There isn't even mention of a rudder or tiller. It was a big ugly barge.

Now, have you ever noticed, my Christian friend, how often God gives us a task and we dive into it with enthusiasm and anticipation...and then we somehow get lost when we "go for wood"? 

Distractions abound in our world, but we can't afford to wander off. Faithfulness is essential, day in and day out. Noah, at least, got it right. How do we know? Well, centuries later, God saw fit to brag on him a little in Hebrews 11:7...

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."ESV

Hebrews chapter eleven is God's brag book. In one sense, the addendum to Hebrews chapter eleven is still be written in the heavens. I certainly hope that someday my name is also found there in that list of God's faithful servants.

Smokey Eyed Christians

The presents are open. The "oohs" and "ahhs" have subsided. Toys are sitting abandoned and kids are playing with boxes. Dad decides to clear the room by taking the wrapping paper out back to burn. Then, just as the flames begin to catch in earnest, he sees that $20 bill from grandma lying  in the wrapping paper. Heroically, Dad charges in and saves the twenty.

Now that I have that image in your mind, take a look at this verse:

"And of some have compassion, making a difference:  And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Jude 22,23

Pulling them out of the fire!  The hard truth is that many of those we are called to reach with the Gospel are living within the grasp of hell's flames. All around us are people simmering with bitter memories, igniting in dysfunction, and engulfed in addictions. I suspect that more children than any of us realize are growing up in truly awful situations.

As Christians we become comfortable in our own universe. We go to church with nice people. We may work with nice people. When we go to the grocery store we habitually checkout in the aisle where the nice Christian lady runs the register, and we are quick to invite those nice middle class neighbors to church.

I get it. Part of being "saved from my sins" means that I should, by virtue of a new nature, recoil from sin. I'm not a drug addict, and have no desire to be around addicts. I am not trapped by some perverse immorality and really do not want to deal with the aftermath of someone else's perversion.  It isn't that we hate sinners. We love them, really... but we are busy, and dealing with all that baggage is going to take a lot of time and effort. I get the reasoning. The problem is that Jesus didn't operate that way.

To be like Jesus, we have to go where we do not want to go, in order to save those who need to be saved.

The fear of falling (especially where fire is concerned) is both natural and good.The miracle is that in this fire we can reach into the fire and pull someone out without falling in ourselves. Look at the next verse. Jesus is "able to keep you from falling" and to "present you faultless".  In fact, he even does it with "exceeding joy". How about that!

So the question isn't whether or not we should reach in those flames to rescue a soul. We know we should. There isn't even a question about the danger of the fire. Sin is dangerous. Period. The question is, do we trust Jesus to "have our back"? Do we trust him to "keep us from falling" and "present us faultless"?

If you get close enough to the fire to rescue a soul, you are going to get smoke in your eyes, and this smoke will make you cry. I can promise you that. The challenge is this: will you get out of your comfort zone?  Will you rescue someone who needs rescuing? Will you be like Jesus?

Jesus strikes back.

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.

Sleeping in Church...the unfortunate boy named "Lucky".

I’m guilty. I admit it. Sometimes I doze off in church.

I’ll also admit that I’ve probably put more than a handful of people to sleep myself. It happens to the best of preachers. In fact, God saw fit to record in the Bible that even the Apostle Paul preached people to sleep. Who knows? Perhaps God thought Paul was long winded too!

Luke (Paul’s fellow traveler and the author of Acts) must have thought Paul was stretching it out a bit, because he recorded in Acts 20:9 that Paul was “long preaching”. A couple of translations say that he talked “on and on”. Yeah, I’ve been in those services too.

After all, Paul had arrived in the city of Troas a week earlier.  It is reasonable to assume that he had preached a lot that week. He was leaving the next day. So, the Christians in Troas got together for supper. Then, Paul decided to share a few “after supper” thoughts. At midnight he was still going.

Now here is where our young man Eutychus (his name means, “fortunate” or “lucky”) comes into the picture.

Lets set the scene, shall we?

Eutychus had a full belly. He is in a room full of people. There is no air conditioner. There are many lights in this room, and all (naturally) involve a flame of some kind (either candle or lamp). His belly is full. He is warm. It is way past his usual bedtime and Paul has been droning on and on about one thing or another for hours.

He sits down in an open window, trying to catch a cool night breeze. His eyelids get heavier and heavier. Then it happens. Out of the window he topples…from the third story.

Well, the young man Eutychus is pronounced “dead” at the scene. (Remember we know there was a doctor in the house, because Acts was written by Luke the “beloved physician“. Luke was there.) 

Then, Paul comes down, gives the boy a hug, and Eutychus life is restored.

Now, what did Paul do? He went through the buffet line again, of course.

He is a preacher, after all. Go  figure. Then he “talked a long while” (Luke’s words, not mine) until the sun came up.

Okay, here is where I get to glean a few things from all of this…

1. Even if your boredom is legitimate, be careful where it takes you…the fall can do you in.

2. In matters of life and death God has the last word, not doctors. It isn’t over until God says its over.

3. If you like preachers who entertain, you wouldn’t have liked Paul, but If you needed one to raise the dead, you would have.

4. Even if your mama named you “Lucky”, you will someday need a miracle.

5. The further you are from the light, the more likely you will fall asleep.

 

And so I wonder about the Apostle as he went back up stairs and refilled his plate. After that kind of sermon interruption, what exactly do you say to the guy next to you in line?

1Thesselonians 5:4-6 might give us a clue. How about…

“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”

Stay awake!

Kids? Now? Say it ain't so...

Mark 10:14  But when Jesus saw [it], he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Face it. Kids can be miserable little buggers at times. Not because they are bad, but just because they are kids. The fact is, bringing kids to Christ can sometimes involve a little suffering, a little inconvenience, on our part.

Here in this account in Mark’s Gospel, the disciples had enjoyed basking in the reflected glow of a great Teacher all day, and now, finally, they had there time to talk to Jesus. Suddenly they found themselves baby-sitting the primary class.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to get “too big for our britches”? Too self-important? Jesus had to remind them of the true nature of the Kingdom and the importance of simple faith.

These children were not brought by theologians looking to have them filled with great teaching, they were brought by parents seeking Jesus’ touch on their little ones. Remarkably, the disciples rebuked them for this!

If Jesus ever gave his disciples the stink-eye, I expect this was the time, for he was “much displeased”.

I realize ministering to kids can be exhausting. I know sometimes it seems like no matter what you do, they don’t hear a word you say. There are times we’d much rather be involved in adult conversation than cleaning the crayon scribbles off of the short tables.

Here’s the thing. To follow Jesus example doesn’t mean we have to carry around a Sunday School lesson in our pocket all of the time. It does mean, however, that we are ever ready to touch their hearts with his love. God has a special place in his heart for children. A kind word, a hug, and a little bragging can do more to cement a kid into the Kingdom of God that a dozen Sunday School lessons.

The greatest blessings God ever bestowed on anyone in the Bible was children:

-God’s promise to Eve about redemption involved a child.
-God’s blessing on Abram was all about a miracle child.
-In dozens (if not hundreds) of places in the Bible that God is pronouncing blessing on someone, that blessing involves children!
-God so values children (who are by nature weak) that to oppress the fatherless insures the swift wrath of God.

The disciples had appointed themselves the “gate keepers” for Jesus. Jesus had had to spend a good deal of time that day dealing with Pharisees. Now either:
1. they didn’t have the guts to turn the Pharisees away, or
2. they enjoyed watching Jesus “smoke” them in argument.

At the end of the day their attempt was to keep these children at bay, because they found the timing inconvenient, but guess what.  The Lord has little concern for our convenience. 

In the armies of this world, Generals do not ask enlisted men if action is convenient for them. They give orders, and orders are carried out. For Jesus the cross was not convenient, but he set aside his will to do the will of the Father.

So yes, the kids you teach on Sunday, the pint sized menaces next door, and the kids you love dearly all have one thing in common. They need to experience the touch of Jesus in their lives, for he loves them dearly.

Will you lead them to him?

Redemptive scars...

 In early April 2006 Amy Hawkins was home with her two young sons in Hendersonville, TN.  A F3  tornado tore through their neighborhood and hit her house. She had gone to the basement  and was covering her two sons with her body. The tornado tore her house apart and broke apart the blocks of the basement. She suffered a punctured lung and a broken back. Amy Hawkins is paralyzed and scarred for life, but she saved the lives of her two young sons.

Amy’s family and community rightly considers her a hero.

The hard truth is that in this life everyone gets scarred. Moments after your birth, someone tied and cut your umbilical cord. When that little stub attached to your belly fell off, you were left with a scar.

The funny thing about scars is that identical injuries can be either marks of shame or a badge of honor, it all depends on how you gained the scar. Amy Hawkins scars mark her as a hero, but someone who obtained those same injuries from some careless or irresponsible act (such as drunk driving) would be seen in a far less favorable light.

I notice in the Bible that God is in the habit of leaving his mark on his people.
*Jacob wrestled with the angel of God and suffered a hip injury that left him limping for the rest of his life.
*The Jews, as a mark of God's covenant, were given the rite of circumcision.
*The New Testament tells us that Christians have a "circumcision of the heart".
*And yet future, in the book of Revelation, we find that there are 144,000 of the Jewish people who carry the seal of God in their foreheads.

Now lets look at Jesus.

The wounds Jesus received during his trial and crucifixion were generally considered wounds of shame. His was the death of a common criminal, but because he died for others his marks of shame became marks of glory…
Jesus returned to heaven different than when he left…

Throughout the Bible we see glimpses into the heavens. The description we always read is that of a gloriously perfect place. When we get to Revelation chapter five, however, we see that heaven's greatest glory, is a glorious imperfection.We see the rising of The Lamb that was slain. The wounds make him worthy to open the book and to act as judge.  When the scarred, wounded, resurrected Lamb rises to his feet, the deafening worship of an unimaginable multitude ensues. He stands, not in the glory of perfect beauty, but as a gloriously scarred redeemer.

I don't know what kind of scars you may carry. Perhaps they are emotional. Perhaps they are physical. Hopefully they are redemptive. Maybe you were scarred fighting for your country. Possibly you bear scars that were forced upon you through no fault of your own. Maybe you bear the scars of a past foolishness.

I have no idea what your scars are, but I can tell you there are scars about which you can brag. Those would be the scars of Jesus. He suffered shame, humiliation and death to save your soul from an eternity without God. The Apostle Paul said, "But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…"

If you don't know him today as your Savior, may I please urge you to take that step toward him? He loves you so much he was willing to die in your place. You can trust him with your life.

May God's face shine upon you today!

Just some guy named Joe...

    Joe was a good man and a generous man. He was well thought of by his church. Joe’s church was rapidly expanding and in serious need of funds. So he, like many others, sold his property and gave the money to the church.    

    Joe was wise. A young hot-headed preacher came to Joe’s town. This man had been giving the church a lot of trouble and had suddenly been converted. Many in the church weren’t convinced, but Joe brought him into fellowship with the believers.

    Joe was a man full of the Holy Ghost and faith. Joe’s church had some deep seated racial prejudices.  When evangelists began preaching to those the church had ignored, it was Joe who was sent to investigate. Joe was able to convince his church to cross the racial divide with the gospel.

    Joe was a man who would seek out young ministers and shepherd them through the early stages of their ministry.  He was a man others would trust with large offerings. He was a man of character and humility. He was calm and persuasive.

    Joe was preacher, yet his student did more preaching than he. Joe never wrote a book to bear his name, but those he mentored wrote many books.  Eventually the young men he helped eclipsed him in the mind of the church. 

    Joe is generally forgotten now, and when he is remembered, it is most often for the disagreement he had with one of his protégés who was outgrowing his mentor.

    Without Joe however, the church would have been seriously handicapped. Joe was in fact the Apostle Joe although he seldom makes anyone’s list of great apostles.

    The need for ministry like Joe’s is still very relevant, and yet, still very unappreciated. You see we don’t know Joe by his given name. The leaders of his church made up a name for him. They called him “Joe Encouragement”, or if you please Joses Barnabas. Barnabas, as he is called in the Bible, is the man who mentored both the Apostle Paul and John Mark.

    Great men do not become great men without encouragement along the way. On at least one occasion John Mark called it quits and went to the house.  Barnabas brought him back and made him profitable to the ministry once again. Paul suffered many things from within and without the church, yet he had Barnabas by his side.

    You may not be called to have your name in lights on the marquis. You may never preach to thousands. Your name may never be a household name like that of the Rev. Billy Graham. You may spend your life as the backdrop to great ministry. Don’t be discouraged! God needs people to carry the Barnabas load.
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1. God does not call us to be great. He calls us to be obedient.

Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

2. God is fair in his reward for faithfulness.

1Sa 30:24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

3. Twice God instructed Moses to encourage Joshua.

Deu 1:38 [But] Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Deu 3:28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

4. King David needed encouragement, and had to encourage himself.
 1Sa 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

5. Hezekiah encouraged the Levites and the Priests.

 2Ch 31:4 Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.

2Ch 35:2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,

6. God is an encourager to Israel.

Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


We are not called to be great. We are called to be faithful, and we are called to infuse one another with courage. Dear God, let me be like Joe!

A parent's journey in the sickness of a child.

I would like to share my heart with you about the events surrounding my son's battle with epilepsy, surgery and continuing recovery.

For nearly six years my little boy has battled this disease. During this time several people have told me that they felt God had assured them that Levi would be healed. As badly as I would have loved to have heard those words in my soul, I cannot say that I ever had God make that promise to me. Instead, all I could ever sense was a whisper in my soul that said, “Trust me.” Try as I might, I could not pray loud enough or long enough to force God’s promise. I fasted many days for my son to be healed, hoping to hear the reassuring voice of God promising his healing. And God was silent.

The early days of his sickness were the worst. I ate pounds of antacid tablets. I tried to bargain with God, to swap my life or my health for the life and health of my son, but it doesn’t work that way. I tried to “do more” for God. Hoping, I suppose, to buy God off--to purchase a healing through works. I begged and pleaded . I didn’t care if he healed my son spectacularly or quietly, but I wanted for him to be healed, and quickly.

God was and is under no obligation to promise me anything. Promises have been made through this ordeal, but they are promises from me not to me. Early on, I had to come to a place of submission. One night in 2006 I was sitting in the yard in one of my children’s swings, looking at the stars and pouring my grief out to God. I knew what he wanted me to say but I so did not want to say it. Finally, I prayed, “ Lord, you know what my will is. I want my son to be healed, to be whole… Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. Regardless of what you choose to do, with your help, I will still follow you.” Then I wept, and I have wept that prayer many times since.

For about a year, God gave us a respite. Then the seizures returned with a vengeance. I was in Granite City, Illinois ready to leave on a missions trip to Mexico, but the trip fell apart at the last minute. A few hours later Levi went into a tonic-clonic seizure that lasted for half an hour. We wound up in Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.

In February 2008 I posted a blog which read in part:

Lessons in faith are brutal.

"There is something I have never disclosed in my blogs or on my bio. I have a 2 year old son with a seizure disorder. We discovered the seizures when he was four months old and he has been on medication ever since.

"Have you ever watched in horror as your baby stopped breathing and turned ashen? Have you ever had your life turn upside down in a matter of hours? One morning you have four healthy children and by the next morning you are 100 miles from home with a child in ICU with problems you don't understand. I know some of you know exactly what I am talking about. In the last two years, he has been hospitalized twice. Both times were no less than terrifying.

"I used to have an erroneous vision of faith. I used visualize the trial if my faith with me being hunkered down between two rocks while the thunderstorm raged above me. My view has changed. I now see myself on a small ship with the hurricane looming on the horizon. The captains stands at the helm and tells me to climb into the crows nest. I don't want to be in the crows nest, but I go anyway. The storm rolls in, the waves get larger, the ship slides down one wave and up the next. Lightening flashes. The wind howls. Rain pelts my face without mercy. My knuckles turn white. I am soaked to the skin. I am sick and scared.

"I can either look at the storm or I can watch the captain.

"Eventually the storm subsides, perhaps it is over, perhaps it is just the eye of the hurricane passing over.

"To my surprise, I am still in the crow's nest.

"I have learned that you aren't pretty after your faith has been tried. It is okay to scream. It is okay to be scared. It is okay to have white knuckles and even ulcers.

"Peter walked on water only after he had been up all day and all night and was half scared out of his wits. God doesn't stretch us by having us do the things we know we can do. He stretches us by making us do more than we think we can.

"Right now the waves are just gentle swells. Perhaps the storm is subsiding. Perhaps it is just beginning, but I am learning to trust the captain."

That respite was in fact the eye of the storm. The seizures returned. Dr. Greg Sharp at Arkansas Children’s Hospital tried to help us manage them. Levi went from taking one medication, to two, then three. The third one had a bad side effect on his eyes and increased his eye pressure dangerously high. We discontinued that medicine and went to yet a fourth medicine.

Then, in 2011, an MRI showed that he had a condition called “cortical dysphasia” . Basically, he has a deformed brain, and this deformity was causing the seizures. The answer was brain surgery to remove a section of his left temporal lobe and much of the left hippocampus. Within days of the MRI findings, Arkansas Children’s hired an excellent pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Gregory Albert, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Ontario, Canada. This, it seems to me, was one of a series of small miracles.

Surgery was scheduled for the week of January 9, 2012. The surgery would occur in two phases. During the first, a section of Levi’s skull about the size of an adult’s hand was temporarily removed and a series of electrodes was placed on his brain. This would map both his seizure activity and any critical brain functions that might be located in the affected area. In 90% of people, this area of the brain controls much of the speech function. If the doctors got it wrong, surgery would result in a little boy who could neither speak nor understand speech. When the technicians brought their equipment into his room we realized that ACH had just purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to improve the brain mapping process. The timing of all of this was another small miracle.

As Dr. Sharp performed the brain mapping, still another miracle (and answer to prayer) became evident. Levi’s speech area was not on the left side of his brain, at least not in any of the area near the surgery. The second thing that became apparent was that portions of his brain were experiencing near constant abnormal activity. Surgery was both possible and needed.

That Friday Dr. Albert, with the assistance of Dr. Sharp, removed the portions of Levi’s brain that were showing abnormal activity. A few hours, later my wife, Darla, was beside his bed in the ICU when he woke up, looked at her and said “Mama”. He was awake and he was talking.

As I write this we are approaching one month since his surgery. He has not had a seizure since the surgery. Admittedly, we are not completely out of the woods yet. He has some catching up to do, and we have began the process of reducing (hopefully weaning him off of) his medicine. This process may take a year or so to complete. We are still some distance from the doctors being able to declare him “cured” .

The big question is this: Why has my son endured all of this? I am still not sure. Was it to teach his mother and me the meaning of “trust”? Is it to teach us empathy for others? Is God teaching us to how to graciously receive help instead of always being the ones trying to give it? Is God’s purpose to teach my other children compassion, selflessness and responsibility? Was it the plan of God for this illness to lead us in paths we otherwise would not have known existed? Or did God choreograph an entire series of actions and reactions of which I am not even aware? I do not know why we have traveled this path, but I do know we have not walked it alone.

Friends, strangers, family and acquaintances nearly forgotten have rallied to our aid. Old friendships have been renewed. We have found new friendships in the strangest places. We have discovered friends who were not even Christians when we knew them years ago that are now standing with us in prayer, calling out our names in churches hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away.

I do hope this journey has in some way been profitable to the Kingdom of God. I hope we have shown the love of Christ to someone who needed it. I hope we have demonstrated Christ’s strength during our weakness. I hope that our temporary suffering will somehow, someway yield eternal benefit in the life of at least one person.

I would be a hypocrite and a liar if I led you to believe that through this journey we have been the picture of serenity. There have been nights that we would lie in bed when no one else was around and sob and shake with grief. I have spent many midnights under the stars walking, pacing, talking to God, sobbing in grief for my little boy.

That God has heard my prayer all along, I am certain. That he has a grand design and plan for us all, I have no doubt. Seldom do I have a full understanding of what God is doing, for he is under no obligation to explain himself to me. Often I have no idea what he is up to.

I do know two things. First, I and my family belong to him, and, if we will let him, he will be glorified in us. Secondly, regardless of the path he lead us down, I can trust him.

Thank you for you love, your friendship and your continued prayers. May God bless all of you a hundred-fold for the kindness you have shown to us.

ADDENDUM 
1/15/2017
Today, five years after his surgery, he has not had a recurrence of any seizures and he is off all anti-seizure medications. He continues to recover from the setbacks caused by the epilepsy and side effects of his surgery. We are prayerfully hopeful that eventually his recovery will be complete, and we are extremely grateful to both God and the medical professionals used by God in his recovery thus far.