THE CHURCH AND SOME SAINTS

 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…  Ephesians 2:19

My doctor is retiring.  I saw him this week for the last time professionally, and it was a bittersweet time for me.  Dr. B saved my life.

Many years ago when I was teaching and working on a graduate degree, I had to leave school one day because of intense back ache.  Back pain was nothing new to me; I was born with a mild case of spina bifida, which tended to affect many of my activities and complicate ordinary illnesses.

My mother gathered my two children and me to stay with her and my dad until this latest episode passed.  I took the pills that were my standby, but the pain increased.  After a few weeks, I was pretty much bedfast.  And then came tingling in my legs with visual and hearing impairment.

My doctor decided to hospitalize me for tests.  Batteries were run, and I tried to describe my symptoms to a noted neurologist.  Later, he called my mom to see if I was mentally stable.  When nothing of significance showed up, I was released—with intense back pain, tingling, visual and hearing impairment, and headaches.

We were praying in earnest for healing and diagnosis of the malady that for me was much more than mental instability.  All along Pastor Schwanenberg and Gloria had been visiting and praying with me.  One day they that said Dr. B, a church member, was interested in my case and wondered if my family would like him to give another opinion.  Without hesitation, we accepted his offer.

I was hospitalized again, and more tests were run.  Between tests church friends were visiting and cheering me on.  My friend, Linda, brought me a book and was with me when I received a call from my insurance agent.  I was waiting to see if coverage extended to the multiple tests and hospital stay.  I thanked my agent for calling, but somehow, without my saying a word, Linda left knowing my congenital malformation had exempted the company from covering conditions related to the back.

The next day or so, Dr. B came in with a smile.  He said they’d determined the problem; it was pernicious anemia, so called because before it was learned that vitamin B-12 injections could treat the anemia, most people who developed the disease died from it.  He began frequent injections of B-12 and within a day I was walking, and my symptoms were decreasing.

When I was released from hospital care, Papa came to pick me up.  He entered my hospital room with a smile and an envelope.  He always loved to joke, and he kept me in suspense about the contents.  Finally, Papa told me that when Linda had left the hospital, she went straight to Pastor Schwanenberg telling him about my insurance dilemma and wondering what the church could do.  By the time I was ready for release, my dad had in hand an envelope from my church with a check to pay all the hospital expenses.

Within a few days I was back at home and then back to work.  I called Dr. B’s office to see about paying his bill, which I suspected would be quite large.  Instead, the bookkeeper told me that the doctor had written it off in its entirety.  I’m not sure they make doctors like Dr. B anymore, but I am grateful that God brought this one and all those saints into my life.

 

Loving Father, thank you for the Church, your Body, and all the saints who bless us in so many ways.  Help me to love in deed just as I’ve been loved.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

CHEERLEADING

 

 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  John 13:34 NIV

 

Love is more than sentiment.  At its best, it’s an action verb.  Chapman’s book, The 5 Love Languages lists ways of showing love:  affirming, touching, giving, serving, and spending time with the beloved.  One can love without all the fuzzy emotions we sometimes equate with romantic love by simply doing those things that build up that other person and letting him or her know that he or she is special, is cared for, is thought about.

 

Cheerleading, forming your own one-person fan club, is a potent way of demonstrating love.  Think of all the ways we can build each other up (I Thess. 5:11) once we get out of ourselves.  And think of all the people who desperately need love.  We can praise, compliment, encourage, pray with and for, be available, do random acts of kindness, demonstrate thoughtfulness, and on and on.

 

But we have to move beyond our intense concern for ourselves.  I’ve discovered that the more I become aware and sensitive to the needs of others, the more obscure my own issues become.  The more I embrace others, the more joy and freedom I experience in my own life.  The more transparent I become in loving others, the more reciprocal the relationship becomes.  And healing can even take place when love flows.

 

Think of the transformations in which we might participate if we chose to forget about ourselves and become more interconnected to others.  Of all the unfortunate people imaginable, Job tops the list.  Having lost everything (but his critical wife) and being surrounded by unfeeling friends who only compounded his misery, we’re told that after Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes (Job 42:10) …  When Job moved beyond his own suffering to see the vacuum in his friends, he was able to pray, and God responded by working in Job’s life.

 

William Carey, the “father” of modern missions (18^th Century) faithfully worked, carrying the Gospel to India and translating the Bible into many Indian dialects.  Many people know of Carey, but few know of his sister who was bedridden and unable to use her limbs for about 52 years.  Every day, Carey’s sister prayed for him and maintained a vibrant correspondence by writing with a pencil in her mouth.  Such was her love for her brother.

 

Who can we actively love today?  How can we sacrificially give our time to affirm someone?  How can we, through God’s love, leave our own cares and be cheerleaders for someone else?   The biggest cost is our own self-interest, but that begins to diminish as we get into the big world of GOD’S LOVE.  Find somebody to love.

 

Father, show me who needs my love and give me creative ideas for encouraging, affirming, building up, and healing.  I want to be your cheerleader.  Thank you.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

TWO FRIENDS

 

[Jesus], having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.  John 13:1b (NKVJ)

 

 

They were part of a hand-picked cadre of men who had been carefully trained for a long-term mission.  For several years they had eaten, slept, lived, and traveled together in anticipation of deployment.  They were aware of the hazards that lay ahead and the potential dangers.  Still, they remained part of the chosen few.

 

While their training had been identical, their paths would slowly and imperceptibly begin to diverge although no one would know until much later.  One was a highly capable and trusted financial manager while the other was a married man who had initially answered the call of the sea.  Both were drawn to their charismatic leader – the money man cherished plans of a massive takeover; the fisherman, impetuous by nature, quickly apprehended their leader’s direction and just as quickly missed the deeper implications of his teachings.

 

After years of being part of an elite team, the money man became impatient and frustrated with their leader’s failure to seize the power that was just within his grasp.  The fisherman was content just to follow and to learn and to love and be loved.  While the fisherman fell more deeply in love with his leader, the money man became more fascinated with the funds that were entrusted to him.  He began to think of them as his own and to treat them as such.  He made of himself a thief.

 

The leader, knowing all these things, held an exclusive dinner party – just for his special men.  Taking his place at the head of the table, he seated the money man at his left side, thinking perhaps he could whisper a few words that might alter his course.  As the evening progressed, he told the select gathering that one of them would turn against him.  Was this an opportunity for the money man to change his mind?  The men were shocked and in low tones began to ask each other who that could be.  The fisherman signaled to a team member on the leader’s right to ask the identity of the traitor.  Looking with unbearable grief and entreaty at the money man seated on his left, the leader explained.  “I’m sharing this piece of bread with the one who will betray me.” Another possibility for turning.  Instead, the man took the bread, consumed it, and walked out into the darkness of treachery.

 

The fisherman swore undying loyalty to his leader.  When soldiers came to take the leader away, the fisherman followed but under pressure, he, too, betrayed the one he had sworn to love.  He betrayed him not just once but three times.  The fisherman’s heart was broken when he saw the extent of his infidelity.

 

Two friends followed the same leader.  They ate, slept, lived, and traveled together and were taught by him as they awaited deployment.  One friend took the money he’d been given to betray his leader but then tossed it back.  Instead of returning to the leader who’d chosen him in the first place, in final despair he threw himself away.  The money man played god and went to his grave.

 

The fisherman went back to his nets.  Within days the leader found him and tenderly, graciously mended his heart and re-commissioned him as a sign of reconciliation.

 

Two friends:  Judas rejected Jesus, his love, his salvation, his future.  Peter rejected Jesus but was restored by his love, his salvation, and given a future.

 

Father, nothing can separate us from your love.  You have called us, and you are able to keep us.  When we have sinned and failed you, remind us of the great price Jesus paid that we might be forgiven and restored.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

SAM IN GOLI

…a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6

I was assigned to serve in Uganda for about seven months. For years, Grandson Sam had accompanied me to work in a church community center, so it wasn’t unusual for him to accept my invitation to spend the summer in Goli. Sam was about to turn eighteen, and I’d gotten a placement for him in the village clinic with Sister Kim.

That summer Sam worked in the tiny lab peering at slides of native bacteria and local diseases, learning more than he would have from a text. He worked in the pharmacy dispensing drugs, and he accompanied doctors on their routes around the district and watched them perform surgeries. (He even picked up some of the local “bugs” on his visits.)

The business director of the diocese was a regular morning visitor in our little cinder block house and loved to share our hot tea and chapatti (local flat bread). When Rev. Martin discovered that Sam played an unusual instrument, a violin, he asked if he would play for Sunday service in the cathedral. Sam was thrilled and practiced a lovely Beethoven selection. He was already a local favorite, so when everyone learned that he would be playing a “western” instrument for church, there was great anticipation. That Sunday, the music stand was set up, Sam tuned his instrument, and began to play. Not a sound was heard other than the beautiful notes from Sam’s gifted fingers. And then the giggling began to ripple through the congregation. No one had ever heard such an instrument. Sam played on and on and finally ended to great applause and laughter.

Sam’s popularity grew, and he was often assaulted by the children who loved to pull him into their games. He hung out with the bishop’s children, and they all became fast friends. When he came down with malaria, despite taking his preventive meds and lathering himself with Deet, the whole diocesan compound was alarmed. Malaria was not something muzungus handled well. Sam was confined to his bed with fever, weakness, and all the dangerous symptoms brought about by the bite of an Anopheles mosquito. Nurses from the clinic came to treat him, and Sister Kim directed her cook to make special broths for Sam. Villagers made enquiries about him. But two of my Ugandan friends did even more. Evaline and Esther sat up all night praying for him. No fanfare. No big deal. They prayed until they sensed Sam would get better. No one was surprised when he made a full recovery.

The time passed too quickly as we worked throughout the warm days and read to each other late into the night. One day we sat together in our little cinder block house sharing a companionable meal in silence. The doors were left open to catch any passing breeze, and our dogs and an occasional goat wandered in and out. I had given up on teaching our sweet cook how to prepare some of our familiar dishes, so we learned to take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables growing all around us.

In the middle of this idyllic situation, Sam spoke up. “Grandma, these people have nothing.” I waited. “But they’re happy,” Sam added. I had to agree. Did Sam recognize that the faith they had was worth more than any material blessing we Westerners value so much? “I’m so happy,” Sam went on. “I’m glad I’ve learned this at my age.”

How soon that summer was gone, and Sam left, taking with him the treasures he had gathered in Goli.

Father, you told us a little child would lead us. Sam saw and lived with God’s joy evidenced through the lives and love of our Goli friends. May he never forget, and may we always cherish those eternal things that can never be taken away. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

THOUGHTS ABOUT ANIMALS

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you… Job 12:7 (NIV)
As an animal lover, I’ve always been intrigued by the many references to animals in the Bible. From the time my brother and I were small we had turtles, birds, fish, dogs, and cats, and my children had many of the same varieties including white mice. Now my daily companions are two sweet mismatched dogs.
A donkey was used to deliver God’s message to a stubborn prophet (Numbers 22); every species was saved during the Flood (Genesis 6:19); cows were a sign of the times to Pharaoh (Genesis 41); another donkey carried Jesus into Jerusalem (Mark 11); doves were symbolic throughout the Bible; a big fish transported Jonah (1:17); and the lamb portrays our loving Savior in many passages. In fact, nearly 100 different animals (including fish, birds, land creatures, and insects) are mentioned in God’s Word.
In the United States 65% of American households have pets, and the majority of those people consider their pets family members. (My vet told me that most of his clients refer to themselves as Mom and Dad when speaking of their animals.) If we are not among the 65%, we can still understand why, in our fractured society, people here enjoy pets. In fact, pets have become so necessary to us that we spend over $1 billion every year caring for them, feeding, and entertaining them. And then we grieve for them when they leave us.
After the deaths of two of my well-loved pets, Victoria and Albert, I began researching to learn what the Bible says about animals. Apparently, animals can teach us a thing or two (see Job 12:7 above), as most pet owners will attest. For example, I’ve learned a lot about loyalty, attentiveness, and unconditional love from my pets. But the really hard part about loving pets (and people) is when they leave.
Along with my research, I began doing interviews: Do you think pets go to heaven? I asked numbers of people. My favorite answer came from my clergy friend David. David asked me a simple question, Do pets sin? I did some pondering, and then David told me, If pets didn’t sin in the garden or throughout history, they lived under grace and didn’t need a Savior. Therefore, they will have a home in heaven. Really thought provoking.
And I’ve looked at all the ways God used animals throughout the Bible: doves, dogs, bears, bees, camels, flies, frogs, goats, gnats, etc. They certainly have been his instruments for millennia. I am not a theologian, but David has given me something to think about. In the meantime, I’m grateful for all the loving animals God has given me.
Father, every good gift comes from you. Thank you for all the sweet animals that have enriched my life. And thank you for the way you teach us through those special messengers. I am grateful. AMEN.

SEEING JESUS

…man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. I Samuel 16:7 (KJV)

An amusing story is told of a visit T. E. Lawrence, the famed “Lawrence of Arabia,” paid to his good friend Thomas Hardy, the poet and novelist. At the time, Lawrence was serving in the Royal Air Force and was dressed in uniform when he showed up at Hardy’s house for tea. The mayoress of the village also happened to be a guest and was horrified to be in company with a common soldier. She looked over at Mrs. Hardy, addressing her in French, and said that she’d never in all her life had to sit down to tea with a private soldier. No one said a word. Finally, Lawrence with grace spoke to the mayoress in perfect French, saying, “I beg your pardon, Madam, but can I be of any use as an interpreter? Mrs. Hardy knows no French.”

Oops. Are we ever guilty of looking at people and forming judgments based on what we see rather than waiting to see who they really are? Many people in Jesus’ day did just that. They didn’t wait to see what was behind the humble man with calloused hands who called sinners and publicans friends. They didn’t take time to learn who Jesus was.

Lord, open my eyes so that I see the people you created behind the shapes they inhabit. Give me a heart to love and to serve and to touch all those you bring to me. Remind me that you love me, warts and all, and help me to do the same with others. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

IN MOURNING

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15

Evil again rocked our world as brothers and sisters across the ocean were enjoying an evening of enjoyment with family or friends. Who could have anticipated the horror that would impose itself and claim so many innocent lives?

Some of us have friends in Paris—our pastor and his wife are there celebrating their fortieth anniversary—while some feel an attachment through our centuries as allies. Certainly, we have all been touched by the gifts and joie de vivre that are paramount to French culture.

And so we mourn with those who mourn. A famous preacher of another day, John Donne, said so eloquently, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” We are not distanced nor isolated from our French neighbors. We grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and we pray for those who are now companied by fear. We have walked in their shoes and understand their suffering.

We are called to be comforters. We are called to intercede—not only for the French but also for the perpetrators. May God have mercy.

Heavenly Father, you are our only hope. We ask that you would comfort and strengthen those who mourn, give guidance to those who lead, bring salvation to those who do not know you. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

GOD IS IN CONTROL

O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. II Chronicles 20:6 (KJV)

This week we have celebrated All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. In light of that our Scripture reading for Sunday was about Jesus and Lazarus from John 11. The CliffsNotes version of the story goes like this.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are dear friends, beloved of Jesus. He stops at their house from time to time for a visit and a meal. The narrative opens with Lazarus’ illness and his sisters’ message to Jesus to come quick. By the time the messenger reaches Jesus, Lazarus is probably already dead, and Jesus waits another two long days to go to his friends. He even tells his disciples that Lazarus is dead, and he is glad because this will be an opportunity for their faith to increase.

When Jesus arrives at the village of Bethany, Martha comes out to greet him with the admonition, “If you’d been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died.” Then she adds a profound statement of faith. “But I know that God will do whatever you ask.” Jesus proclaims one of his I AM statements, saying, “I AM the resurrection and the life. If you believe in me, you will see the glory of God.” Martha reaffirms her faith.

Then Mary joins Jesus and Martha, and the entourage of grieving Jews follows her. Mary also tells Jesus that if he’d been there, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. Jesus doesn’t respond but asks instead where Lazarus is laid. At the grave site, Jesus cries because of the unbelief around him, because of his anger at death, because of the sadness of his friends who are responding as pagans rather than believers, and, perhaps, because he has to bring Lazarus back.

Practical Martha warns Jesus that Lazarus already stinks because he’s been dead four days. (Jews didn’t consider anyone officially dead until three days had passed.) Instead of silently joining the mourners, Jesus prays and then shouts, “Lazarus, come out.” (He had to say Lazarus’ name so that only he would be raised from the dead.) Lazarus came out of the tomb, and Jesus commanded that he be loosed from his grave clothes. What a sight that must have been.

John tells us at the end of the chapter that from that day, the priests and temple rulers sought to put Jesus to death…

Now look at these gems from this story:

• Jesus’ timing was perfect. Mary and Martha expected him to appear immediately, but his delay caused a greater manifestation of God’s glory.
• Mary and Martha and Lazarus wanted a healing—they got a resurrection.
• The delay was proof that Lazarus was really dead, and only divine intervention would save him. Indeed, the Son of God, the incarnated Jesus, the I AM, brought Lazarus to life.
• Jesus was angry at death, our last enemy, but knew that his divine commission would soon be accomplished, and that he would conquer death, hell, and the grave.
• The priests and Jewish rulers began planning from the day of Lazarus’ resurrection to put Jesus to death. Instead of taking him down, they played right into Jesus’ hands to fulfill God’s promise of salvation from the beginning of creation (Genesis 3).
• GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL, and all things serve his purpose. He can always be fully trusted even when we don’t understand.

Dearest Father, we thank you that your Son Jesus is Lord of all and that nothing is outside your control. Remind us that you always answer our prayers according to your will, your way, and in your time. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

FIND PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN YOU

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

My friend Norma sent this to me. It was too good not to share:

Mark Twain said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Why does the Bible say, “Carry each other’s burdens”? Because one person can only carry a burden so far on their own.

American novelist John Kennedy Toole quickly discovered that. As a young writer he worked alone writing a novel in New Orleans. When it was finished he sent it to publisher after publisher, but they all turned him down. Overcome by rejection, he took his own life. Some time after the funeral, his mother found a coffee-stained manuscript in the attic and took it to a professor at Louisiana State University who agreed to read it. Immediately, he recognized its genius and recommended it to a major publisher.

After its release, John Kennedy Toole’s novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, won a Pulitzer Prize and was heralded as one of the major novels of the Twentieth Century. If only he’d surrounded himself with friends who knew how to share his burden, encourage him when he faced rejection, and motivate him to keep going, his life would have turned out very differently.

So the word for you today is, “Find people who believe in you.” Encourage and support them, and welcome their support in return. Spend more time with those who sharpen you and make you better, and less time with those who drain your energy, time, and talent. The truth is, friends who speak encouragement into your life are priceless. Their words are “like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 NIV).

Chaplain Danny Hubbell
Special Forces Ministries

Father, all of us need encouragement from time to time. Help us to humble ourselves to receive the kindness of friends as well as extending it to those who may also need help bearing their loads. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

WORDS

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (NIV)

Have you ever heard the children’s nursery rhyme that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” This was first cited in 1862 and was an encouragement to ignore taunts and criticism intended to wound. That may be very well in a rhyme, but the truth is that words can hurt. Poet Will Carleton wrote, “Thoughts unexpressed may sometimes fall back dead, but God himself can’t kill them when they’re said.”

Our words are expressions of the heart and the mind. As God’s children, we are called to let [our] conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt… We can use words of grace that bless the hearer and season them with salt to avoid corruption and to bring reasoning to the discussion. Wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we thought before we spoke and if we prayed that whatever came from our mouths would encourage or build up or in some way bless our hearers?

Father, begin with me. I want my tongue to be an instrument of blessing and not cursing. I yield my whole self to you to be your instrument of grace, truth, love, and peace. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.