The Flawed thinking of a "Retired" Pastor

Excused?

I've been thinking about different people God used.  And I've been thinking about how God used them.  Noah was a drunkard.  Abraham was too old.  Jacob was a liar.  Joseph was abused.  Moses was a murderer.  Gideon was afraid.  Rahab was a protitute.  Timothy was too young.  David had an illicit affair.  Elijah was suicidal.  Isaiah preached naked.  Job was bankrupt.  Peter was hot-tempered.  Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed.  The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once).  Zacchaeus was too small.  Paul was too religious.  And Lazarus was dead.  What's your excuse??

Thanks, Amy

When I graduated high school my church gave me a small volume written by Amy Carmichael entitled, Calvary Love.  This past week we talked about Amy in my World History Class.  She was a well-known missionary to India in the 19th century.  I dug out that old volume and began reviewing it and came across this gem--"If I say, 'Yes, I forgive, but I cannot forget,' as though the God who twice a day washes all the sands on all the shores of all the world, could not wash such memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary Love."  Wow!  You know, it may be natural to say "I can forgive, but I can't forget," but that's the problem.  It's the most natural response we can expect.  But not supernatural.  That natural response can also result in tragic consequences for my spiritual life.  Refusing to forgive AND forget leads to monuments of spite.  How many churches split and then spin off into another direction, fractured, splintered, and blindly opinionated?  I recall the sign on the church, THE ORIGINAL CHURCH OF GOD, NUMBER TWO.  That speaks volumes!!    When I say, "Well, OK you're forgiven, but don't expect me to forget it," then I have erected a monument of spite, and that really isn't forgiveness at all.  Servants of God are called to be BIG people.  Big enough to go on, remembering the right and forgetting the wrong.  Forgetting an offense means being, in the true and noble sense of the term, SELF-FORGETFUL.

He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!!

Hope

Easter and hope are synonymous!!  This special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one.  True life.  Eternal life.  Glorious life.  Those who live on what we could call the "outskirts of hope" need a transfusion.  EASTER GIVES IT!!  I cannot explain what happens on this day, nor do I need to try.  The simple fact is this:  There is something altogether magnificent, therapeutic, and reassuring about Easter morning.  One author has said, "A hope transfusion awaits us.  It happens every year on Easter Sunday."  Alleluia.  Jesus lives and so shall we.  Death, where is your victory?

It Is Finished!!

  (John 19:30)  The culture of the day really didn’t understand what was going oncertainly didn’t comprehend the meaning of His words. The soldiers didn’t think He meant anything at all by it, except maybe a last declaration “OK, I die now.” The religious folk standing around didn’t get it and really didn’t care. Even his closest friends and associates didn’t really know what He was talking about. But the forces of the cosmos knew. The plan of salvation was now in effect. The sin of the world was nailed to the cross.  The blood and life of the perfect Lamb of God had been freely given. Even the forces of evil knew that there were big problems ahead for them. The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that which sounded from the cross of Christ—“It is finished!”

THANK YOU!!

 

Relief

Webster defines "relief" as "the removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing."  God calls His divine gift of relief MERCY.  It's a twin alongside of GRACE.  According to Ephesians 2:4, our God is "rich in mercy."  He's loaded with it!  Aren't we glad.  The essential link between God's grace and our peace is His mercy, that is, God's infinite compassion actively demonstrated toward the miserable (that's me).  Not just pity.  Not simply sorrow or understanding of my plight, but His divine relief (out of His compassion) that results in peace deep within.  I can't help but think of the words of the apostle Paul--"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.  And yet I was shown MERCY..."  (1 Timothy 1:12-13)  In the simplest terms, revolutionary changes occur in our lives because we were "shown mercy."  What a relief!!

Justice?

As you know, I just spent a week in Haiti.  I kind of debriefing myself last night, and came to the realization that during the week someone had attempted to either bribe me or intimidate me to give them money on 15 or more occasions (that I can remember).  Good old Haiti...land of perverted justice.  Habakkuk wrote relevent words of truth in the first chapter of his prophecy - "Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.  Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld.  For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted."  (Habakkuk 1:3-4)  The writer of those words died centuries ago, but his words live on!  Today, in Haiti, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a children's home because of corruption.  Government officials are looking for money under the table.  Some disreputable people (both black and white) are trying to make money off their so-called orphanage operations.  If you are even slightly aware of everything happening in the world around us, you know how up-to-date Habakkuk's words are.  Laws are twisted; justice is perverted?  Haiti needs to get its act together.  Wait a minute...How different are things in this country?  The criminal is now the hero, sadly misunderstood and mistreated.  The victim is the selfish sadist who decides to press charges because he is bigoted, rash, or just confused.  Facts are softened or spun by the fancy footwork of slick politicians.  Juries can be bought or swayed or wooed.  Way back in 1844, James Russell Lowell said it well - "Truth forever on the scaffold; wrong forever on the throne."  I wonder if that is part of my task in bringing light into this world.  Jesus said that I am to be LIGHT.  I think maybe it begins with my demanding of myself that I will always BE TRUTH!!  If it has to start somewhere, then perhaps it would be appropriate to start in the house of God.  We have our role-model.  He said it to us well - "I AM TRUTH!"  I can't change the whole world; but I can keep changing me.  And hopefully have an influence on those I teach, mentor, and disciple.  How about starting a revolution of truth?

Thank You

Arrived back in the US late Wednesday night.  Great trip.  Great bunch of kids from VCA!!    We spend a great amount of time with the children of New Life Children's Home in Jacmel...26 boys and 20 girls (actually a 21st girl came into the home while we were there).  Visited one of our feeding centers outside of town (extremely poor area around Jacmel) as well as the Araguay church up in the mountains.  We worshipped with the Calvary Church brothers and sisters on Sunday morning.  The construction on their new building (old one destroyed by the earthquake) is coming along nicely.  Had the privilege of preaching in that service.  The trip was probably one of
the best I've been on (perhaps THE best).  Thanks to Lou Hoekstra and Jeff Brown for their leadership.  Thanks to Pastor Jean Claude and his wife Jeannia for being such wonderful hosts.  And thank you for your prayers lifting us up for the week.  Good to be back home and now enjoying a few days off until school starts again on Monday.

Returning

Within the next few days I will be returning to Haiti.  I was last there just a few months before the devastating earthquake that practically demolished the capital and killed thousands.  This will be my 33rd trip to this island nation, the poorest nation in our hemisphere.  I will be a part of a group
from Victory Christian Academy (where I teach) working all week with the children's home in Jacmel that Helen and I have supported for years.  It seems that Haiti can't ever catch a break; and it has been a downward spiral since the slaves revolution and their committing of the country to Satan in the late 18th century.  And the pendulum begins its tragic swing, farther and farther and farther.  Deterioration is never loud or sudden.  F. B. Meyer said, "No man is ever suddenly base."  I anticipate the trip with mixed emotion.  There is a part of me that is eager to renew fellowship with those friends of mine down there.  There is a part of me that does not look forward to the emotional turmoil that always envelopes me when I am in Haiti.  Pray for our group, especially the kids with us.  Pray for the Lord to involve us where HE wants us to be involved.  Trip dates are March 21-28.  Thanks for lifting us up.

Love..........

How much has been written about love over the years, both in secular and Christian writing?  I've picked up phrases over the years that have impacted me like "Love Wins" and "Love Well."  And I've come to the conclusion that love is never so fully love as when it GIVES.  That's kind of a "duh" conclusion, isn't it?  In addition to loving God (attending to God), I am called to attend to/love others around me.  Probably the major reason for this second part is that these "people" mean so much to Him.  I like the word "attending" because it conjures up in my mind paying attention to.  The work of love is paying attention.  Love notices.  Love listens.  Love remembers.  Today is your opportunity to do the work of God.  Don't miss it!  If you do miss it, you seldom get the opportunity to get it back.  Night is coming!!  Pay attention!  Notice!  Remember!  Yes, love well.  And by the way...Ultimately, love does win!!