What Can We Do?

Nobody can ignore the fact that we are at war right now, except maybe the politicians.  My friends in France have seen murders in the name of Allah.  Our friends in England are losing their rights.  Atheists are turning to Mohammed instead of Christ.  Its safer.  People all over the world are suffering persecution and the numbers of displaced, murdered, and abandoned Christians are rising.  Congress is calling for the term genocide to be used.  But what can we do?  Yes...vote!  Yes...pray hard! Yes share our faith.

But there is something else we can do.  We must educate, teach, prepare this generation to speak boldly and stand with faith in God and belief in Christ.   Because they can reach others.  And if indeed this is the beginning of the final days as many are saying, if we are facing Apocolyptic times ahead, and I say we are already there across the world, then it is our charge, our desire to reach the final generations for Christ.  Because when Christ left He gave us the command to "Go to all the nations and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you...Matthew 28: 19-20."  I want to say here that  we cannot do this in our own strength and power.  He also made that clear in vs. 18: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  And in vs 20: "and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  He sandwiched the command with His power and His presence-do we need any more than that?  These were his final words on earth.  It was obviously of some importance to Him then.  It should be of great importance to us.

Here are three ministries that I support.  Each of them is seeking to reach this generation-one right here in Huntsville, one in India, and one in Africa.  Please pray for their leaders and consider supporting these front line warriors!

Legacy Christian University, legacyu.net - seeking to bring a high quality Christian education to those who cannot afford the high costs and relocation required elsewhere.  Legacy Christian University is an independent, private Christian college in Huntsville Alabama.  It is just beginning.  Our Mission is to educate students to become kingdom-focused leaders who impact their communities for Christ. Our Vision is to be an institution of higher education founded on Christian values and a Biblical Worldview offering degrees to Christian students in the Tennessee Valley.

Reaching Indians Minstries Inc., RIMI.org, also called Mission India in India- They train leaders at Mission India Theological Seminary in Nagpur India and send them out as missionaries to begin churches.  Their goal is to raise up 100,000 Christian men and women and send them out to every state in India.  Each church start is supported only partly and are urged to develop their own means of funding.  Because of the animosity and persecution of entrenched Hindu leaders, it is difficult and slow work, many pastors are beaten, all are ridiculed and harassed.  On their website you can view testimonies of their students or get the book, The One True God, to see how God has called and touched the people of India and given this generation opportunity to reach the lost of India.

Africa New Life Ministries, ANLM.org is working in Rwanda.  Their ministry is to the poorest areas, where they build schools and Americans support  students with a small amount.  This provides these communities with three things:  each student is fed one meal (in Rwanda most people only eat one meal a day), given clothes and shoes (the clothes are made locally), and are educated (all education is funded by parents in Rwanda and their is no government aid.  ANLM schools are high quality, provide local jobs, provide their facilities on Saturday to community leaders for community events, and host church on Sundays.  All students are taught the gospel message.  Many of their parents are reached with the gospel.  Rwanda knows brokenness (the genocide their and tribal conflicts had devastating affects still present today) and God is there with ANLM to give them renewed hope and healing.

I know some of you may support similar ministries.  I hope so!  Some of us are not called to work directly with students-we aren't gifted teachers.  We also cannot effectiely teach in Africa or India and live there.  But we can support those who do!  Anyone can pray  for or give to these ministries.  

We are not to despair.  We are to continue the work!
Blessings to all of you today and may our Lord give you busy hands and open hearts.

Just Show Up!

     My father passed away in February.  And I learned many things through that process but one thing stood out.  My friends all sent a touch.  Some sent cards.  Some sent texts.  Some met me for lunch.  Some called to chat.  All of them "showed up" when I needed them.  Some thought my mother had passed away and some were hesitant and some were awkward and some had never experienced the death of someone they loved, and none of them knew my father.  But none of that mattered to me.  What mattered to me was that they showed up and showed me that they cared.  What a tremendous blessing to have friends who care.

     Paul sent a fellow named Tychicus, whom he called a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord to the church in Ephesus when he couldn't go himself (Ephesians 6:21-24). His mission:  "I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts."  Paul, at this moment, is chained between two Roman guards.  He has a sense that he won't leave Rome again.  And he has been praying for the works God established through his ministry.  Can you see in your mind this fatherly pastor, battle weary, chained, and desiring to shepherd his little flock he left in Ephesus, and so wanting to bless them?  So what does he do?  He sends someone he trusts to go and encourage the church.  He pours out his love and concerns and passion for their growth as a body of believers in a letter.  He finds a way to show up even though its difficult, even though it seems impossible.  He sends them the letter we read as the book of Ephesians.  Oh my!  He shows up and demonstrates his love for them in such a powerful way that it is never forgotten and has gone on to encourage many, many generations of believers.  Can you see this?  Wow!

     So my friends, I was helped and encouraged by my friends acts of love toward me.  I gained strength and help from them.  I gained permission to grieve from one, I gained encouragement from another, I found sympathy from one that spoke to my heart, and I received, more than anything, the knowledge that I was part of a beautiful body of Christ and He showed up over and over again in the care of my friends.

     So if you ever wonder, "Should I say something?  What can I do?  How do I help someone I know when I have never been through what they are going through?"  Don't let those thoughts hinder you.  Be a friend who cares.  Just a little gesture goes a long way when someone is going through a trial.  Don't worry about "doing it right" and don't worry if your feel awkward or it doesn't come easy.  Just show up!

     And when you are struggling with a trial, don't hide.  Let those you know in.  Ask them for help if you need it.  We are more than conquerors in Christ but we can't do it alone.  We need each other.  And then if your friend doesn't live up to all your expectations, remember how little that really matters.  It is their love and affection so warmly offered that matters.

Happy? New Year

   It is 2016!  For my husband and I it is sort of a mile marker-30 years of marriage, 2 adult children making their way successfully in the world, Greg's career is going strong and I have a few book projects in the works.  So it looks like this year will be a good one.  Of course like everyone else, we have our share of looming problems as well.  My parent's health is failing fast and I  have mild arthritis.  And of course there is the political mess we are in, our nation's morals are disappearing along with our freedom to worship God as we see fit and to set standards for our own children, and the world's continual wars and epic natural disasters only add to the melee'.  It seems all is not right with the world.  In fact the more you watch t.v. the more depressing the picture.  Nobody has any real solutions!

   So how is a person really going to say "Happy New Year!" and mean it.  I do mean it however.  Our happiness is not rooted in this world.  Jesus said, "Do not be afraid!  I go to prepare  a place for you..."  The angels said, "Fear Not! For unto you this day is born a savior."  Paul instructs us not to live in fear because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and John wrote, "Perfect love casts out fear."  

   

   You  might say, "That's all well and good for later but what about right now...I've got real problems, we all have real problems.  How can I live a happy New Year?"

   David was running from Saul and hiding in caves and depending on God to keep him safe, knowing all along that his circumstances didn't make sense...hadn't God's prophet told him he would be King?  And hadn't he done everything he could to minister to the very man who was out to get him? But all the while he was out there running and hiding, God was teaching him important lessons, one of which I think was how to walk through stress.  And all through his life, even though he made many mistakes, some with tragic consequences, and had many difficulties as a king and as a person, He returned again and again to God.  He wrote songs about those lessons and we are able to see and learn from his own heart and walk with God.  Here are just a few snapshots from those great psalms:

Psalm 33:  Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep then alive in famine.  Our soul waits for the Lord:  He is our help and our shield, for our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, According as we have hoped in Thee (vs. 18-22).

Psalm 34:  I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.  They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.  This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.  O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (vs. 4-8).

Psalm 37:  The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way.  When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.  I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I haven't seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread.  All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing (vs. 23-26).

Psalm 40:  Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count (vs. 5).

   

   There are numerous other examples.  But my point is when we seek out God, worship Him, remember who He is, and remember that His love will abide with us, all the stuff the world throws at us, all the complications and all the disasters, somehow become manageable, for we have a strong tower, a Savior, a mighty God who's love has no end and who will keep us in it here on this earth through all of our trials but more importantly forever!

   

   So I think we can say, with a heartfelt gratitude:  Happy New Year!

I Heard Christ Sing

I came across this poem in an old poetry anthology from college days (Ok that is old!); anyway, I wanted to share it.  What you need to know first is (1) the guy who wrote this, Hugh MacDiarmid (C.M. Grieve by birth), dug up a bunch of old Scottish, Gaelic, Sanscrit and Old Norse phrases and words and stuck them in his poetry, and made up a few along the way; (2) he was a communist, which I find interesting in light of this poem and my own Non-communist bent; (3) I have given the modern meanings next to the more difficult words in parentheses...hoping this doesn't break the poem too much; and (4) while this may be a bit long for a blog, its worth a read considering the season.

Also, I am not claiming agreement with the "theology" but don't you love a good think about something in a fresh way?  So here it is:

I heard Christ sing quhile roond him danced
The Twal' (twelve) disciples in a ring,
And here's the dance I saw them dance,
And the sang I hard him sing.

Ane, twa, three, and their right feet heich,
Fower, five, six and doon wi' them.
Seeven, aucht, nine, and up wi' the left,
Ten, eleevin, twal', and doon they came.

And Christ he stude i' the middle there,
And was the thirteenth man,
And sang the bonniest sang that e'er
Was sung sin' Time began.

And Christ he was the centrepiece,
Wi' three on ilka side.
My hurt stud still, and the sun stud still,
But still the dancers plied.

O I wot it was a maypole,
As a man micht seek to see,
 Wi' the teal' disciples dancing roon',
While Christ sang like a lintie. (Linnet)

The twal' points o' the compass
Made jubilee roon' and roon',
And but for the click-click-clack o' the feet,
Christ's sang was the only soon'.

And there was nae time that could be tauld
Frae a clock who's haun's stud still,
Quhile the figures a' gaed bizzin roon'
__I wot it was God's will.

Wersh is the vinegar,
And the sword is sharp.
Wi' the trembling' sunbeam
Again for my harp,
I sing to Thee.

The spirit of  man
Is a bird in a cage,
That beats on the bars
Wi' a goodly rage,
And fain 'ud be free.

Twice-caged it is,
In life and in death,
Yet it claps its wings
Wi' a restless faith,
And sings as it may.

Then fill my mouth 
Wi' the needfu' words,
That wall turn its wings
Into whirling' swords
When it hears what I say.

Hearken my cry,
And let me speak,
That when it hears
It wall lift its beak,
And sing as it should.

Sweet is the song
That is lost in its throat,
And fain 'ud I hear
Its openin' note,
As I hang on the rood (cross).

And when I rise
Again from the dead,
Let me, I pray,
Be accompanied
By the spirit of man.

Yes, as I rise
From earth to Heaven,
Fain 'ud I know
That Thou has given
Consent to my plan--

Even as the stars
Sang here at my birth,
Let Heaven hear
The song of the earth
Then, for my sake.

The thorns are black,
And callous the nails.
As a bird its bars
My hand assails
Harpstrings . . . that break!

O I wot they'll lead the warl' (world) a dance.
And I wot the sang wall (will) be,
As a white sword lupin' (leaping) at the hurt
O' a' eternity.

Judas and Christ stud face to face,
And mair (more) I couldna' see,
But I wot he did God's will what made
Siccar (sure) o' Calvary.

(Note:  This is from The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, ed. by Ellmann, Richard, and O'Clair, Robert. (New York:  W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1973),  506-508.  The original copyright was held in 1948; reissued to family member in 1962; reprinted with permission from the Macmillian Company in this collection.)

It's a bonny poem don't you think...one deserving of a good cup of tea with a bit of Sweet Irish Cream!

Merry Christmas to all!  It is the season to be singing!

A Birth Announcement!

I just got an email last night from a friend of mine.  She sent it from her iphone...from the delivery room at the hospital.  Today she has a beautiful new baby boy.  This instant ever present technology still amazes me.  When I had my first child, I remember my husband told anyone and everyone in earshot; I don't think I have ever seen him as animated as that first few days, telling the story or seeing the birth of our first born son!  Oh what a special memory of my precious husband, literally crowing about his little son.

Well, do you think anyone could outdo God when it came to His firstborn, very special son?  Not on your life or any other!  He made his own special announcement.  He set a star in the heavens, a new star, a star that traveled, perhaps.  You've seen the pictures on Christmas cards (unless your under thirty...and then you may never have had the privelege).  It's a beautiful night.  And the star sits above a homely little barn (really almost a lean to shed), lighting up an excited mother, child and earthly father.  There are shepherds and wise men and a few sweet looking barn animals all looking at the baby who has this perfect little circle around his head.  As I pondered this, I thought about how so like God to put a marker in the heavens above us-the place between His kingdom and our own little world. And He did it with FIRE!

Anyway, back to the announcement as it really occured!

Out on a dark field were a few shepherds, watching their flock.  They were poor men, happy to have the work, invested in keeping their flock safe through another night, most likely pretty young, boys perhaps.  And then it happened:   ^"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified (Luke 2:9)."

Well...not exactly an accomodating reaction but I think I would be terrified to have the glory of the Lord, the pure holy presence and light of all of creation shine all around me too!  Okay...back to the story:
^"But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12).”

So like, WOW!  That's a birth announcement.  So this baby is the Messiah, the long awaited savior of the Jews, the one born of the lineage of Abraham, Moses, David...who will save the whole world!  This is the promise fulfilled for every Israelite!  This is the moment in history that literally turned the world upside down....changed everything into something else.  It was at this moment that God chose to speak to poor men on a hillside-it could have been anyone up there, these were not special guys, priests, kings, rich men with good ties and political savvy.  They were just dutiful sons, good plain young men...like David.  Was this visit to honor his faith?  Or the faith of the shepherding son to come, the good shepherd who loves his little flock.  Oh what love is found in this announcement!  It is a message to every man, poor, humble, or rich and mighty.  And it came on the wings of angels!

 "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests' (Luke 2:13-14)."
 
Okay...can you imagine the choir retreat those angels had before they appeared???  (Short aside...I bet they were as tickled as a barrel full of puppies to be selected to such a service.)
 
And what they sang!  This baby was all about God...something special happened to earth-peace came between man and God; deliverance from evil was in motion from the first breath of this child.  What a moment to sing about.  And it is clear from whom the message comes...God in the highest heaven!  This indeed is a special birth announcement from a place none of us can reach, none of us can see without spiritual eyes.
 
"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about (Luke 2: 15).”
 
I wonder if their mouths were dry and their palms sweaty?  I bet they thought there would be huge crowds at that manger, don't you?  Imagine when they get there, nobody but Mary, Jesus and Joseph are around.  All is quiet.  We assume they kneel and worship.  Of course they explain why they are there.  I bet they left in even more wonder!
 
 "So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them (Luke 2:16-18)."

And so after their visit they just had to tell everyone because, well, they were men of action!  So like a common man isn't it, to tell the story to everyone of something special that happens to him.  Can't you just hear the town folk..."These kids are delusional.  God wouldn't announce something like that to them!  Why He definitely would come to my house first...I give tons of money to the church, pay all my tithes and then some, I'm there every day the doors open.  I pray and sacrifice.  God surely would tell me first!  Besided nobody in town heard or saw anything on that hill.  Oh and of course God would come to His temple first.  Why a hillside?  That's just ludicrous....everyone knows the high priests would see Him in the temple and come out and tell us!"  Oh yeah, they were amazed all right...amazed because it didn't make any sense, amazed and most likely doubtful.

There was no response from the town.  The Bible mentions no more men or women going to see the baby in the manger until later (until the wise men come).  Why didn't they believe these shepherd boys?  Because it didn't happen the way they thought it would...but then nothing about Jesus lines up to the religion of the time.

But the announcement made a great impression!  It rewarded Mary's faith.  And it forever changed the shepherds-they knew it was real; they had the muddy knees to prove it!  Their ears had heard something very few others have yet heard-the angels singing!

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told (Luke 2: 19-20)."

I hope you take time to treasure and reflect upon your precious shepherd today.  My favorite rainy day drink is calling...hot peach green tea and a little bit of cream.

Holy Offspring

And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God"  Luke 1: 34-35.

A crucial component of God's plan rests right here in these two little verses.  No one at the time understood it, even Mary herself must have thought God was a bit unusual-why this overshadowing?  Why not just pick the child He wanted.  We know from the psalms that He does indeed have something to do or at least the power to have something to do with the birth process (whether you believe it to be remote doesn't matter-an eternal viewpoint might have it's advantages in planning a blood line or a genetic line, don't you think?):  "My frame was not hidden from Thee. when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.  Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" Psalm 139: 15-16.

The virgin birth however had to be, not because it would show off God's power, but because without it the rest of us would never be able to enter into His throne room, become His children, regain what was lost by Adam and Eve in that garden so long ago.  What happened back then?  Once they ate of the fruit of the tree, they died.  God had warned them-because now that they knew good and evil, their eyes were opened to the conditions of sin and while before eating their innocense protected them, now they knew.  The result was spiritual separation from God, a death to the unity they had with him, a death to their relationship with Him.

Their disobedience when they ate the apple resulted in a huge change because they could not say, "I didn't know it was wrong."  Their very nature changed.  Satan was right about that-they knew things now that they didn't before.  An innocent free life not bound by good or evil is difficult for us to comprehend since we are all by nature motivated toward sin, toward living without God, toward thinking we can adjust good and evil to fit our own motives and desires.  That is the true face of it - because I am a man and not an eternal being with authority, power, wisdom, judgment, unselfish love and all of the other attributes of God, I cannot handle having this knowledge.  I know now that I might sin-choose willfully to do something my sense of right and wrong tells me is wrong.  But in choosing that sin, I will pervert my reasons for doing it just as Eve did when she pointed the finger at the serpant and Adam did when he pointed the finger at Eve.  Sin must be justified when it is chosen-therefore I point my finger away from myself.  The results can be clearly seen in the story of Cain's murder of Abel.  I must justify my sin by saying, "Who am I?  I'm not my brother's keeper-I don't need to love him! He deserved what he got.  Besides, I'm only responsible for myself!"

Back to Adam and Eve.  More startling for them perhaps is what happened next:  They were cast out of the garden.  Again, the reason was not as many assume -f or punishment.  God had already given out their punishment-Eve would struggle with painful childbirth, Adam would have a hard time bringing home the bacon as we say in the South.  For Adam, the ground would yield a stingy harvest. So why were they banned from the garden?  Again, for their protection because, "the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.... Genesis 3: 22.  If God has left them in the garden and they had taken the other fruit and eaten it they would forever be separated from God by their sins.  There would have been no need for Jesus to come to the earth at all.  God would have had no way to "save" His children.

But now there was a new problem.  Sin had corrupted man.  And the Scriptures tell us that this sinful nature was passed on through the bloodline inherited from  the man.  That there was some powerful fruit!

Thus the need for a pure sacrifice.  There must be the shedding of blood for the remission of sins, we are told in scripture.  This is foreshadowed by the slaughter of the innocent beast in the garden to provide covering for Adam and Eve and by the temple sacrifices of lambs specifically for the atonement of the sins of the people.  Jesus had to be without sin.  (More about that in future posts.)  And so it is as the angel says, "The power of the Most High will overshadow you and for that reason the Holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."  There would be no bloodline of sin; the flesh and blood of Jesus would be free from the fruits of that tree in the garden.  He would be born without the blood of rebellion so that He would be a fitting, sinless, uncorruptable sacrifice for us.

It was the only way.  It is crucial to God's plan.  It is astounding to ponder! 

That reminds me...I am heading to meet with a friend, share some sisterly love and get me a nice tall glass of sweet tea- some of the best of the simple pleasures of life!

excerpt from The Noble Dream, the story of my good friend Charles Mugisha Buregeya

I thought, in light of recent events throughout the Middle East and in the US as we face up to our economic woes, to take a brief sojourn away from my study to share with you a small piece from the biography I wrote for Charles Buregeya.  I hope it encourages you as it did me today when I reread it for just that reason! 

This night he saw someone in the middle of the path ahead.  "Was it a man with a machete?" he wondered.  "He might be waiting for me."  Fear engulfed him, his skin prickling with its insistent prodding.  He stopped, calculating his options, staring harder at the image ahead.  If he turned and ran away quickly, he might be able to escape; if he was caught he could take a beating, he'd had many before.  And maybe that wasn't a machete...his heart was pounding but he knew he had to get home; his hand clutched the tobacco his father was waiting to have before bed.  He must finish his job and face his fears.  Charging down the path, his head down, he ran straight toward the man, veering as far to the opposite side of the path as he possibly could, telling his feet to fly swifter than they ever had before.  The man became a shadow, the moonlight behind a banana tree stump near the road causing the illusion. 


Later he would tell this boyhood memory to a small church congregation in America and say, "Many things we fear in our lives are not real.  The devil specializes in putting shadows in front of you, especially when there is something we are supposed to do for God.  So you must face your fears - they are not real if they exist only in your minds.  The circumference of your own mind is so small; it is a complete lie to trust in your own little brain!"  Charles told them, pinching his fingers together in front of his eyes for emphasis.  "Only Jesus knows if you will have both of your legs tomorrow, or both of your ears, or whether your stocks will fall (this of course was added due to the recent American recession.)  Have the realilty of the person of Jesus Christ in your life every day.  He is omniscient so why don't you trust in Him?"  he said with a grin, opening His hands to the sky.


At this time, however, Charles only knew that he made it home with the tobacco for his father.


                              @copywrite 2011, do not use without permission.

A note of explanation is probably needed.  Charles grew up in Uganda during Idi Amin's reign and in the middle of the Luweero Triangle, at an early age forced into child soldiering.  To lose you leg was a daily threat because of the mines in the area sown by Idi Amin's army.

This story encourages me to do what Jesus has for me to do today and not to be paralyzed by the threats of all manner of situations around me, and to sink into fearfulness, despair or brood about things I cannot fix.  I hope this story brings a refeshing sweetness to you today as well.  I need to go now, sweet tea is beckoning!