Monday, May 31, 2010

When they know what they do.

Each of us, whether people of faith or otherwise, will face obstacles in our life. We will face them most often in any of four areas, health, family and finances. These obstacles, large or small may be put  in place by our own actions, by the actions of others or by Satan himself. We live in the devil’s playground and he has proven to be quite the bully. And then sometimes, like a hurricane, all the elements of these obstacles come together to form an unstoppable storm in our life. The gale will rage and cause havoc until the fourth area, our faith, begins to feel the devastating power of this tempest.

The Bible tells us stories of those who faced the storms with their faith leading the way. We know of Job and Abraham, of Jacob and Joseph, we read the accounts of Moses. The faith of each bible hero points towards Jesus Christ. There are many other men and women of faith depicted in the scriptures, but none so great as Jesus of Nazareth. Before we know him as Jesus the Christ, we read of Jesus the man. He was a man who would face all the obstacles that any of us will. His ministry on earth would grow for more than three years, loving those he met, becoming friends with a small group of constant followers. He would be known throughout the region as a great teacher, a man of compassion. Nevertheless, the storms would come.

He would be betrayed for a pocket full of money. He would beaten about the back so severely that his blood would flow. They would hit his face without mercy. They spat on him like he was worth no more than dirt. He would be ridiculed by placing a crown of thorns upon his brow, causing more blood to run down his swollen face.

And on the eve of his death those whom he had loved would turn their back on him.

Yet through this story we see Jesus the man’s faith. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “My soul        is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”. Then in faith he turned to the Father and said, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”.
And then on the cross we again see the faith of Jesus of Nazareth, moments before he would become Jesus the Christ, when he uttered these words-” Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

But what about when they do know what they are doing? What about when with knowledge and forethought others bring storms into our life. What about when with knowledge and planning we bring the own storms into our life? What happens when we act as Peter did on the eve of Jesus’ death and run and hide, denying knowledge of Jesus.

The Bible does not tell us who they were that did not know what they were doing. I believe it did not only include those in the crowd that cheered as Jesus was raised on the cross. I believe it included all those that had conspired against him for so long leading up to this moment.
But I do not believe it included Peter.
You see Peter knew exactly what he was doing. Peter was hiding like a coward. He pretended a different life for his own benefit. This was the same Peter that had proclaimed to Jesus- “You are the Christ.”   

So what do we do when those that are closest to us bring storms into our path? What do we do when we choose to hide instead of believing? What do we do when the pain is so deep that we look for the end rather than the resolve?

After His resurrection Jesus the Christ sat with the betrayer Peter and asked him three times-”Peter, do you love me?” And then, with immeasurable love,  Jesus trusted Peter with His most loved possession-His church. The Great Shepherd said to Peter, the man who knew what he was doing when he denied Christ three times, the man who knew what he was doing when he ran into the night, away from his friend, his brother, he said to him,” Take care of my sheep.”         

Can we love those  storm-makers as Jesus loved Peter? Can we trust them as He trusted.

I hope I can.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

In just a moment.

Every so often  a Sunday school lesson comes along that will stay with you all day. Maybe even  into the work week. Today’s lesson will stay with me for a long time.

It is not just the content of today’s lesson that will prevent life from causing  the recitation to fade into memory, it is also the teacher of this lesson. As a side, he would not want me to write these words for all to see, but I feel compelled to do so because the teacher is also my friend.

Today’s  lesson came from the 9th chapter of Mark’s Gospel. The bookends that sandwiched this provoking lesson were, first “What would you do in thirty minutes spent with Christ?” This question alone would have sustained the entire lesson, with no other word being said out loud after the question was posed. Yet it is the partner bookend that has hung with me all the day. The teacher closed today’s course when he spoke of events in his life that have come onto the horizon almost simultaneously. Any of these events alone would be enough to cause fear and anxiety to most of us. To face them all at once would surely be overwhelming.

In a way that our class members have grown to recognize, the teacher was able to separate his personal life from the lesson while enticing us to consider God’s word in our own life, even when we knew it was his life that  the lesson had gently led us to. If there was concerns, fear or anxieties that the teacher is facing now they were concealed by the professionalism of a great leader.

We will all face giants in our  lifetime. With them will come many questions, many concerns and sometimes many tears. As I listened to the teacher and thought about my own giants I considered again the first question-what if I had thirty minutes with Jesus? There would be so many things that I would want to  say, want to ask. So many of His words that I have read that I would want to hear Him say aloud. The thought of what to do with thirty minutes began to set it’s on anxiety into place!

So instead of supposing I instead  began recalling. It is these memories conjured that led me to where I sit now. The pupil encouraging the teacher.

It suffices to say that life has presented me with many giants, most of my own making. I will not give these  behemoths any detail, most have been defeated, those that have not do not deserve limelight. There was never thirty minutes with Jesus that helped me survive the angst these giants hurled. Thirty minutes with Christ would have been a welcome miracle. But thirty minutes was not needed. It was in just a moment that each time, with each giant, that Christ calmed the storm, that He wiped the tears, that He gave me hope. The outcome of the events were not foretold to me. As a matter of fact some did not end as I would have hoped (God’s plan is bigger than our hope). In just a moment I was gently reminded-”Be still, and know that am God.”

It is these moments that allow us to survive the hours, the days and the years. All of life’s events, it’s giants, swirl around us at breakneck speeds. We don’t know where they will take us, what harm they may cause or what joys they may bring. But if we just “be still”, the blur will begin to clear, the noise will fade, and there in the midst of our life we will see God.

Thank you John for a wonderful lesson. Now it is time to “be still and know.”

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Two Les's

 Yesterday I was walking across the sea of asphalt that makes up the huge parking lot of the  grocery store. I was carrying one small bag of groceries and one rather large headache when I noticed a man approaching. He had taken the perfect angle across the parking lot and would surely intersect my path before I reached my truck. I could see his eyes and I knew he had me as his target. From his appearance I believed he must be homeless. His clothes were dirty and ragged. His shoes looked as if they may have traveled thousands of miles. His hair was long and tied back in a pony tail. His beard was short, perhaps just a few days old but carried with it the dirt of the road. He also had the distinguishing behavior of a drug addict that had been tweaking. When he opened his mouth to speak you could see that chronic drug use had caused advanced tooth decay.
My head was pounding and I did not want to deal with a beggar right now. I don't mind helping out someone when I can, but what ever I gave him would certainly go to buying drugs, I would rather save it for someone who really needed help.This one looked like a seasoned pro, he ignored No Solicitation signs and would bother whomever he pleased. I knew by his path that there would be no avoiding him, so I had already decided that my path of least resistance would be to offer him a dollar and move on.
I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out a folded bill to hand him when I noticed that his own hand held something that he was offering to me. With the quickness of a stage magician he replaced the dollar bill that was in my hand with the paper that was in his. Now in my hand was small piece of brown paper, about the size of a business card. The paper looked like it had been torn from a lunch bag. On one side, written in childlike script was the question, "Do you know Him?". On the other side the words "John 3:16".
He said, "My names is Les. I am working on straightening my life out with the help of Jesus. I am just asking for people to pray for me, but you gotta know Him before you can pray to Him."
I stood there looking at his face, unable to reply in any way. Les then handed me my folded dollar bill and said, "You must have dropped this."
"Go ahead and keep it", I replied.
"Nah, you save it for someone who really needs help."
Then he walked away.
This unexpected encounter stayed with me for a little while. I kept seeing his face. I kept thinking about the small brown homemade calling card; until my headache took over and all memory of this encounter faded.
Until today.
This morning during worship service at Trinity Baptist my encounter with Les came back when our pastor, Pastor Les, lead the congregation with a sermon about Les the homeless man. Now Pastor Les Hollan didn't know he was preaching about Les the homeless man, but I did. Today's sermon was about "Sharing the Good News." The Pastor taught that to share scripture one must understand scripture. He suggested that we ask three questions when learning about a verse or verses. The first, "How does this passage help me to know God?", second, "How does this passage help me to know myself?", and finally. "How does this passage help me to know the world I live in?".
You see, yesterday God placed in front of me living Scripture, named Les. I know very little about this man, and doubt that our paths will ever cross again. What I do know is this: in that parking lot it was not I who was Sharing the Good News. I take these questions learned this morning and wonder-
"How did this stranger help me to know God?"
"How did this stranger help me to see myself?"
"How did this stranger help me to recognize the world I want to live in?
God Bless you Les.
God Bless you Les.
You both have led in the way of Christ.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

One Last Story

I met a man tonight that told me a story. I want to share his story with you.

He is married to a drug addict. They have been together for more than 20 years, for many of those years she abused drugs. He told me how he had lost almost everything during those years of abuse. He told me of the time and money stolen from his family so that the addict could satisfy her own desires.
I asked him why did he stay? Why not pack up everything and leave? He told me he loved her.

He told me how one day she hit rock bottom. Her crash to the bottom not only effected her life but it also hurt his children and him. He told me how he thanked God for finally intervening and ending many years of abuse and darkness. The he told how she stood up on the steep and rocky bottom; shaking her fist at the world. She denied an addiction. She lied about a secret life. In her anger she blamed him on her situation; spitting vile words of hatred at the man she married.
I asked him why did he stay? He told me that his children needed their mother; that he prayed each night that she would again become their mother; he had hope and faith that she would.

He told me of her recovery. He told me that she took small steps in the right direction. She began to accept professional help, an indication that the time of denial had ended. She became involved in support groups, attending meetings on a regular basis. As time progressed she began to again look like the woman he had married so many years ago. He believed that the hours spent in prayer, on bended knee, uttering at times nothing more than deep groans, had finally been answered. Then one day, hidden away carefully, he found her stash, freshly dated. She was again living a lie. She had managed to fool everyone, her doctors, her friends, her family.
I asked him why did he stay? He told me that God hates divorce. He told me that he did not want to be the one to make God cry.

He told me she once again promised to quit; although she had never admitted using again. She told him that God was working in her life, putting people in place that would help her. Putting people in place that she could help. He believed her. He was determined to make their marriage work after all they had gone through. So he watched each day as she progressed. He began again to see the subtle changes in her behavior and appearance. Her life was changing before his very eyes, for the better. He was witnessing the work of God in her life. So many prayers finally seemed to be answered....
And then he told me that one of those people that were now in her life...appears to be more than a friend. He told me that years of lying about drug abuse had enabled his wife to be an excellent liar about other matters also.

He told me that he felt as though all he has gone through, all the scars he bore, all the years he wasted, were all for nothing. He told me that if this was God's will then he would be better off without God. He said that if he had endured because of love, because of his children and because of God, then the endurance was meaningless. Love changes, children grow and enter their own world, and God, well God tempted him with faith, with hope. And then when all was done that could be done, God just walked away.

I told him that I would pray for him. I told him that I hoped the pain would again go numb. I told him that I hoped he would again one day trust God.
He didn't say anything.
I bowed my head to pray but could not find the words. So I just stood there in silence, head bowed and eyes closed.
When I opened my eyes I did not see this sad man. He was gone.
But I know that next time I look in the mirror he will be there again.

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