"Who Are You to Judge Me?" by Frank Black

“WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME?”

 

        Have you been confronted with or read the above question?  I have.  Usually the question concerns some area that is contrary to Biblical teaching – some sin; and someone who chooses to be involved. The question is usually meant to put us Christians on the defensive [implying that “You aren’t perfect either”]. It’s often meant to be a “stopper”; to be a “gotcha” question.  Well, it should not be.

 

        Recently in our church study of Romans the topic of “judging” has come up.  My wife, Lou Ann, and I have done a fairly extensive study of the Biblical use of the word “judge”.  This is because of its use in Romans plus the question this article raises – “Who are you to judge me?”  Before I deal with “judging” further, let me share an analogy - the Biblical use of another word quite familiar to you –-> LOVE.  I imagine you are all familiar with the fact that in the original New Testament (written in Greek) there are several different words for love – all that have distinctly different meanings.  This is in contrast to our limited English where you can ‘love’ everything from pizza, to football, to snow, to your children or parents.  My comparison is that it is the same for the word “judge”.  When you realize this, it may help clear up some of the meanings of “judge” that you read in the New Testament in addition to knowing how to better answer people who “hit you” with the question I’ve raised in the title.

 

         No, I don’t plan to bore you with an exhaustive word study with the specific Greek words and all their meanings.  I’ll simply tell you that my study shows three different Greek words for the verb “to judge”.  [There are other words for a person who is a judge (noun form) and still others for the word “judgment”].  The three verb forms have quite varied meanings.  Some of these meanings are:  to condemn; to sentence; to form an opinion; to conclude; to determine; to think; to examine; to discriminate; to discern; to recognize  ------  If you are following me at all, you can readily see quite a difference in the first two meanings and the others listed.  To give a couple of examples:  “If someone is determined in a court of law to be guilty of murder, they are “condemned” and “sentenced”.  On the other hand; if you are ‘judging’ art work in a contest, you ‘judge’ one to be the winner – you ‘determine’; you ‘form an opinion’; you ‘conclude’; etc.  This has nothing to do with ‘condemning’. 

 

        Now to get back to the question, “Who are you to judge me?”  We need to make it clear that we are NOT condemning or sentencing the person [we know that is not up to us – it’s in
God’s hands].  What we are doing is recognizing, concluding, discerning that, “YES”: they are a _________ or have committed _______.  You can fill in the blanks.  Again, we need to specifically tell people that “NO”; we are not condemning or sentencing them; but “YES”, we recognize what they are or what they’ve done and we do not agree. Further, we should say that, “My Bible tells me that this is wrong.” 

 

        I don’t think that I’m “splitting hairs” here with the quite different meanings of “judge”.  Of course many times the people we’re talking to may not accept what we say and probably have rationalized the Bible’s statements or dismissed them all together.  But don’t let our title’s question put you on the defensive.  I hope this rather erudite article gives you a better insight and understanding of “judging.”

 

Frank Black  [Jan. 2016]

Are You Serious? by Mike DeCamp

Christianity 101-Are You Serious?

 

There are some things in life that simply demand that we face them with more seriousness. Taxes come to mind. Fail to take them seriously, blow them off and you’ll find yourself in trouble with a little group known as the IRS. How about dealing with a major illness? People who are told they have cancer generally buckle down into a very thought-out and careful treatment regimen. Even something as simple as trying to reach a personal goal needs to be faced with seriousness if one is to truly reach beyond themselves.

In 2009, I made a personal commitment to ride my bike 100 miles in one day. I made that commitment in the spring, and the plan was to do the ride before the end of the summer. I’m not sure how many of you have ever ridden a bike a hundred miles, but it isn’t easy. It takes training, preparation, planning and commitment. I had to think through how I was going to approach the training, and build up my body’s endurance over time. Additionally, I had to plan a route, work out a support system for drinks and food for the day, and develop a strategy for how I would ride the distance. It took serious thought.

I think as we delve into the subject of Christianity, it is fair to say that we should enter into the topic with a serious mind. Many in the USA today often seem to waltz in and out of church like it was going to the movies. Is it entertaining enough? Is it too stiff or too loose? Are the seats comfortable? Do I like the preacher?

Others seem to think they are Christians by genetics. I was born in America, so I’m a Christian.  I’m not Jewish or Islamic, so I’m a Christian…right?

Whoa! Not so fast, partner. I think maybe we need to take a serious look at Christianity. It isn’t something to take lightly. After all, a person died to get this thing going and many others have died along the way trying to be faithful to the God who gave His Son. Back in the early days of the Way of Christ, folks would be thrown into prison, flogged, fed to lions, used as human torches, or hung on a cross simply for professing a faith in Christ. This was back before a cross was a piece of jewelry. Rather, it was an instrument of a torturous death, capital punishment.

Christianity is serious business.

Maybe you’ve just started looking into this Christianity stuff.  That’s great.  Be serious about it.  Investigate. Look at the details of scripture, and don’t simply take another person’s word for what it says. Study it for yourself. In the Bible, in the Book of Acts, there are a whole group of people from a village called Berea that are called noble because they didn’t take the Apostle Paul’s word for what was true. Rather, they listened to him, and then they researched it for themselves to see if it was true. (Acts 17:10-12) Follow their lead. Don’t take mine or anyone else’s word as gospel. Check out the details for yourself.

If you are a Christian, then my question to you is: Just how seriously do you take your faith?

Is it just another facet of your complicated life? Or, is it your driving force, your source of strength, and your hope for your future? When you read the scriptures, do you allow it to impact you, or does it roll off like some nice sayings from an old book?  Do you read the scriptures?

I wonder what would happen if Christians began to once again take the Bible seriously. What if Christians everywhere began to really love their neighbors as themselves? Or, they began to consider the needs of other people before they considered their own? Hmmm.  Would our culture be changing us or would we be changing our culture?

What about you and me? Can we begin to take a serious look at Bible passages? Are we letting them impact our daily walk?

Let’s take a look at a few verses with our new “serious” perspective. Let’s consider what “serious” looks like in this sampling.

Matthew 6:31-34
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Take a few moments to consider…if we are really serious…what does it look like to seek the kingdom of God FIRST? How would priorities change? How would lifestyles change? Are you doing this already?  Or, would a serious look drive a serious change?

I John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

What would it look like if we as individual Christians stopped talking about loving others and actually began to earnestly do something about it? Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser yelled at a competitor a few seasons ago that she should “Stop talking and just do it!” I think that is what the Apostle John is saying. Stop talking about feeding the hungry, and get them some food. Stop talking about …you name it…and get it done.

What would it look like if we all did that?

Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Is your faith culture-driven or God-driven?  Would a serious look change it?

As I bring this article to a conclusion, let me just say it again. Christianity is serious business. We are talking about things like death, redemption, salvation, and eternity. Sin is a real thing and it has consequences—both now and beyond.  Still, the heart of the story is how God loves us.  It’s all about having a relationship with him.

Will you take a serious look?

LOVE by Clint Davis

LOVE

By Clint Davis

The Pharisees asked Jesus what was the most important commandment and he replied in Matthew 22, “You must Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and all your mind.  And the second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love is the most powerful force in the entire world.  I Corinthians 13 tells us that if we had enough faith to move a mountain, but do not love others, it means nothing.

I cannot think of a better example of love than the love a parent has for their child.  Someone once said that having a child is like ripping out your heart and letting it walk around on the earth.  They literally are a part of us.  It’s the kind of love that fills our heart and soul and makes us feel their pain.

When you have a child that is hurting and you are not able to make the pain go away, it is incredibly difficult for a parent to endure.  Jack Canfield, one of the co-authors of the book Chicken Soup for the Soul relayed the following true story about this kind of love.

There was a 26 year old mother in Phoenix, AZ who woke up one night to the cry of her son.  She went to his bedroom to help soothe her little boy.  She tried everything: Tylenol, ice packs, heating pads, massage, rocking him but nothing worked.  So, distraught at 7:30 the next morning, she took him to the emergency room.  They ran a series of tests only to discover that he had a terminal illness and maybe had three to six months to live.

The mother believed that everybody should have a dream and that everyone should do whatever is possible to make that dream come true. She felt that you should ask people to support you in making your dream come true and not be humbled, embarrassed or ashamed by that because we all have a need to be supported by others.  So she went to her young son named Robert, she called him Bopsy and asked him, “Bopsy, what did you want to be when you grow up, what is your dream?  You are six years old and your time appears short, and it didn’t really cross my mind before, but I wanted to know what you wanted to be.”  Bopsy said, “Mom, more than anything I wanted to be a fireman.”

She went to the Make A Wish foundation and she told them about her son’s dream and they went to the Phoenix Fire Department and they met a guy there named Fireman Bob who had the same name as Bopsy and they asked him if he could help out.  He said, “Sure”.  The mother said, “If you could just give him a ride in the fire truck around the hospital one morning maybe.” He said, “Look lady, we’ll do better than that, with the chief’s permission we are going to make Bopsy a fireman for the whole day.  We make the uniforms right here in Phoenix so we will take his measurements and get a real uniform made and it will have the yellow rain jacket and pants and boots and a real hat with the insignia of the Phoenix Fire Department.”  It turns out that when he checked with the chief, the chief said, “Let’s make him Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department.”

About a week later they picked him up at 6:30 in the morning and put him on the back of one of those hook and ladder trucks where he could steer the wheel on the back with the help of another fireman.  They went down to the station and that day there were three fire calls in Phoenix and Bopsy got to go on all three and he was really excited.  They were not condescending to him in any way; they literally made him chief of the department.  The chief would say’ “Look Bopsy this is what we normally would do, we would bring some fireman over here, and direct the helicopter other there, and cordon off that area over there, but you are the chief, what do you think?”  Bopsy would pause briefly and say “Sounds good. Do it.”

So he got to ride in the fire chief’s car and the different fire trucks, the paramedics van, and even in the police chief’s car that day.  And probably the most exciting part was the camera crews that showed up as they always do for fires and they wondered what this little kid was doing giving directions to everyone.  So they interviewed him and filmed him and he got to see himself later that day on the 5:00 news, and 7:00 news and 10:00 news and 11:00 news.  He was on all the channels and he was very excited.  His dream had come true; he got to be a real fireman.

Well, several months later all of his vital signs did begin to fade as the doctors had predicted.  The hospital believed in the hospice movement where the basic concept is that no-one should ever die alone.  So his mom started calling family members saying, “We don’t think Bopsy is going to make it through the night and we think you ought to come down and be with him by his bedside to transition with him.”  Then she remembered the fire department, so she called up the chief and said “Chief, do you remember Bopsy?”  The chief said “Sure, I remember Bopsy, he’s a great kid.” She said, “Well, we think tonight is the night he’s not going to be with us any longer and he’s going to make his transition and we wondered if you could come down and maybe just send a fireman to be by his bedside in uniform to remind him of that special day he had.”  The chief said, “Look here, we’ll do better than that.  We are going to be there in six of seven minutes.  You are going to here sirens and see flashing lights.  Would you go on the intercom and tell everyone at the hospital that everything is okay and there is no fire because we do not want to scare anyone.  But we want them to know that the fire department is coming to pay final respects to one of its finest members.”

Six minutes later the fire truck appeared and a ladder extended up to Bopsy’s third floor open window that the chief had asked them to open.  14 firemen and 2 firewomen climbed up that ladder and into that room and with the parent’s permission they picked up this little boy and they started to rock him.  At that moment, Biopsy looked up at the chief and said, “Chief, does this mean I’m a real fireman?”  And the chief looked down and said, “Bopsy, absolutely, you are one of the finest firemen we have ever had.”  And with that, he closed his eyes and made his transition.

My prayer today is for God to touch your heart in 2016 to love others more deeply and to help someone realize their dream.  Praise God for his Love!!

I'm Just Like You and You're Just Like Me by John Wright

I’m Just Like You and You’re Just Like Me

                                                                                                                                                                                                     By John Wright

                When Cornelius met Peter in Acts chapter ten, Cornelius fell at Peters feet in reverence. Peter said to him “get up and stand on your feet for I am only a man. Not one of us is better than the other, and this lesson is clearly demonstrated in God’s word. How can someone read the bible and not see themselves? We are all children of the first family of Adam and Eve. After the flood it reset and we are all decedents of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The story of the human family is very inconsistent. We each have the capacity to dream great dreams, but we always fall short. We all have something wrong with us and the bible is the only place that tells us what it is. It’s sin!

                The depravity of sin is so terrible that it causes the whole world to fall under a curse. The curse is that if we are found to be in sin then we cannot be friends of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved Rom. 8:20-24

Peter told Cornelius in Act 10 that God sent a message of good news to the people of Israel that through Jesus there would be peace. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water.

                I’m just like you and you’re just like me because God loves you and he loves me. The question is this, have you and God become friends? If you have not been reconciled by the blood of Jesus, you are still an enemy of God and a friend of the devil.

The bible says if you are in Christ you are a new creation Romans 5:18-19¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners,so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

I’m just like you and you’re just like me in that God’s grace and mercy has been offered to us all. Like Peter we too are to be witnesses of Christ and willing and ready to tell others about what the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has done for us and in us.

                We all have so much in common, but if you are not in Christ, a believer who has said “I will obey God’s call” then you are not a child of God.

There is nothing in this world that matters if you do not have the gift of eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Repent your sins Confess Jesus as Lord and savior, be baptized and then live the resurrected life.

I’m just like you and you’re just like me and we are just like Jesus with our sins covered by the blood of his sacrifice.

²⁸ ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Matthew 11:28-29

Advent and Incarnation by Greg York

Advent and Incarnation               

 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way…

–Matthew 1.18a

 

This season is observed in many churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, a season called “Advent,” from the Latin word, adventus, which means “coming.” Adventus, in turn, is a translation of the Greek word parousia, which commonly is used in the New Testament to speak of Christ’s return.

 

So: this season may serve us as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done for the birth of the Messiah as well as our waiting for Christ's return.

 

No, we don’t know the date on which Jesus of Nazareth was born, but what we do know is that the Gospel story for three of the writers begins with the story of that birth and (most importantly) God’s involvement in that birth. In other words, we are invited into the story of Jesus the Messiah at precisely that point of vulnerable humanity. Certainly, then, it is right that we think about and that we thank God for Christ’s first coming to Earth as a baby, his taking on flesh. Surely we thank God for his ongoing presence among us today through the Holy Spirit. If we allow it, this season can sharpen our focus on such things. And, this season can remind us to be in a constant state of preparation and anticipation of Christ’s ultimate arrival at the consummation of all things.

 

You see, just as Israel waited for Christ to come the first time, so we are waiting for him to come again.

 

How do you talk about “incarnation”? The “enfleshment” of the creator of the universe is not something we are equipped to explain, is it? In the incarnation, God is taking us beyond what we think we can know, let alone what we do know. The One who had spoken this world into existence lowered himself to live on this world. Jesus was a human being just like us — God in human form. That’s a rather jarring thought. (As a matter of fact, it always has been. Here’s an interesting irony: the first major heresies in the church were not denials of Jesus’ divinity, but denials of his humanity.)

 

John 1.1-4, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people...  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

 

Hebrews 4.15-16: …we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Jesus is approachable precisely because he’s been where we are. Ever feel rejected? Jesus understands. Your family not treat you as you’d like? Jesus understands. People think you’re crazy? Jesus has been there. Feel lonely, like nobody gets it? Jesus has been there. Ever been overcome with grief? Jesus has been there. On and on we could go. It’s the human experience, and Jesus has been there.

 

But here’s something important for us to think about this season: Incarnation does not end with Jesus. Athanasius of Alexandria put it this way: “He became human that we might become divine” (On the Incarnation, 54). I think that’s a great, straightforward, succinct way to summarize why Jesus became flesh. Not so that we’d become “gods” in a “rule-your-own-universe” sense, but so that we would become godly.

 

2 Peter 1.3-4: His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature.

 

2 Corinthians 3.18: …all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

 

The incarnation of the divine did not end with Jesus. Instead, there is a sense in which it began with his life, and continues as our lives are lived in alignment with his.

 

May God grant that this season of recalling the anticipation before Jesus’ birth long ago will remind us to live in anticipation of his return and also remind us that in this waiting time we are to be an ongoing incarnation of God’s presence in this world. Until his return, may the Lord born so humbly continue to be present, “incarnated” in and through us.

 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

   did not regard equality with God

   as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

   taking the form of a slave,

   being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

   and became obedient to the point of death—

   even death on a cross.

 

…for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

                                                                                —Philippians 2.5-8, 13

Remember by Terry Gardner

Remember

By Terry Gardner

 

 

Man’s nature is such that without effort he will forget what he should remember.  The butler forgot Joseph whom he had promised to remember.  (Gen 40:23).  Jeremiah asked, “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire?  Yet my My people have forgotten Me, Days without number.”  (Jer. 2:32).  The children of Israel were to remember, “that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you.”  (Deut. 15:15).  If Israel would remember their bondage and how and why God had delivered them they would have been a grateful people, but they forgot.

 

Man also remembers what he should forget.  The children of Israel remembered their life as slaves in Egypt in a false light.  The Israelites remembered “the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.”  (Numbers 11:5).  None of these memories were accurate.  They lived as slaves, beaten and abused, while Pharaoh murdered their children.

 

Paul teaches us to “forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead.”  (Phil. 3:13), and in so doing Paul said that he pressed on toward the “goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 14).  Human beings are sometimes so haunted by past sins that we fail to move on and be about our Father’s business.  When God forgives our sins they are “blotted out” and God no longer remembers them.  If we understand this fact and make it a part of who we are then we have peace.

 

What drives human memory?  Motivation.  For a TV game show a man memorized the value of pi to the 99th decimal.  Why?  For the monetary reward (gifts and prizes).  Understanding how things are connected also helps us remember what we should remember.  Isolated facts are difficult to remember.  The Feast of the Passover emphasized facts, which helped the children of Israel remember what God had done for them.  These facts included:

 

1.  The children of Israel were to take an “unblemished” lamb and they were not to break any of the lamb’s bones.

                        2.  They were to kill the lamb and put its blood on the two doorposts and                                     on the lintel of their houses.

                        3.  They were eat the lamb, along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

                        4.  They were to eat in haste.

                        5.  When the LORD passed through to smite the Egyptians, he would see                                     the blood and pass over the door and not allow the destroying death angel                                     to kill the children of the Israelites.

 

The Psalms were written so they would be easy to memorize.  Note especially the 119th Psalm, which was written as an acrostic.  The 119th Psalm is composed of twenty-two sections of eight verses each.  Each eight-verse section is assigned a letter from the Hebrew alphabet and each verse in that section begins with that letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 

Christians are told to remember the words of the prophets and of Jesus.  Peter tells us to “remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”  (2 Peter 3:2).  “For whatever was written in an earlier time was written for our instruction (learning), that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  (Rom 15:4).  Jesus told the Apostles that when “their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.”  (John 16:4).  “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give then to receive.’”

 

All of this said, you can’t remember what you have not studied and been taught.  Are we like the noble minded Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true?  (Acts 17:11).  They had a passion to remember what God called them to remember and to forget all else.  Is this true of your life?

"What Is Safe?" by Frank Black

“WHAT  IS  SAFE?”

(F. Black 11/22/15)

 

        The above was the title to one of the best talks I have ever heard.  Dr. David Thompson, a life-long medical missionary in Africa, gave this inspiring message at the Global Missions Conference about a decade ago.  His point was that we are safe nowhere in our world today.  [Remember that his talk predated all our current world crises.].  He reminded us that our earthly life is temporary and our eternal home is with God [our ultimate source of safety].  Dr. Thompson’s talk came at a time when he and his wife were preparing to return to Africa.  He also knew quite personally what he was talking about.  Both his parents, missionaries in Viet Nam, were killed during the Tet offensive. His father-in-law, a missionary in Cambodia, was taken away by soldiers and never seen again. 

 

        So what about today?  Are we really safe anywhere?  The answer is a resounding “NO”!  Of course we exert due caution, but none of us is safe or immune to tragedy or terrorists.  The recent events of mass killings with ISIS bringing down a plane and their horrific Paris attacks show quite starkly that no one is safe.  So, do we cover our heads, retreat, and hide in fear?  Another resounding NO!  We must remember that the forces of evil are prevalent and ever present, but that our God is greater! 

 

        But I do think that the USA needs a “reality check”.  Something to shake us up, so that we again can see what is really important.  Here we are in a nation of surplus and wealth – a nation where much of the world would like to live.  I’ve known many well educated African people, and virtually all of them have as their number one dream to come and live in America.  But it seems that many USA nationals have grown complacent with our wealth.  It’s taken for granted.  So we see too many people self absorbed, immature, and overly concerned about being “PC”, name calling, feeling entitled, feeling like the ‘victim’, others being ‘intolerant’ of or ‘offending’ them - just add in the current fad or trend.  Frankly, much of this behavior is sinful – not what Jesus would have us be or do.

 

        So, what do I mean by a “REALITY CHECK”?  I mean something worthy of being really distressed about – not like much of the piddly stuff of today. Something like not enough food.  Most Americans today cannot conceive of such a thing – real hunger and when it’s virtually impossible to get food.  I’ve used the phrase before, but we Americans have the “Blessing of Location”  as opposed to being the “Victim of Location.”  

I’ll let the words of Janice Bingham speak for themselves.  She’s our dear friend and co-worker, a nurse practitioner, who has been in Zambia with Harding University students this semester:

 

        “The Southern province of Zambia has experienced a significant drought.  Only about 1 out of 10 crops produced anything during the last harvest.   [One characteristic of Third World is that they have no stock or storage set aside for such disasters].  We hear of so many people suffering. So one Friday we loaded up several large sacks of corn meal and bags of beans and headed down some rough, dusty roads.  Most of the people we encountered were the elderly – weak and malnourished.  In the African culture it is the responsibility of the children to care for their aging parents, but many of the younger generation have died of AIDS, thus leaving many “elder orphans”, older people with no one to care for them.  One older woman, unable to walk due to extreme weakness, had come to meet us by traveling in an ox cart.  We came to a hut occupied by a man with polio – unable to walk because of atrophied and contracted legs. There was no family to help care for him.  He thanked us over and over for remembering him in his time of need. There was hardly a dry eye in the group as we drove away.  //  The next day we again came face to face with people in desperate need.  We went to a church where the people were told to meet us.  When we pulled in, a crowd of women came running out singing, clapping, and overwhelmed us with their welcome.  [In the Third World it’s the women who always come first – whether to church, to see a doctor, or to get food].  We had brought twenty 25kg bags of corn meal – one problem:  60 people were there.  Everyone got a portion.  As we sat on the bricks in the tiny church building, I had to wonder yet again, why did God chose to bless us?  ‘I don’t know.’ Now we know at least something of the plight of the poor, and I pray that these students will be motivated to dedicate their lives in service to the poor and down-trodden of this world. It is definitely what Jesus would do.”

 

In another letter from Janice she told me of an African man who cried [most unusual] because the Clinic had none of the heart medicine he so desperately needed.  Can you even imagine such a thing in America – not being able to get the medicine you needed.  She told of another teenager with severe rheumatic heart disease and heart failure, who desperately needed heart surgery in order to survive much longer.  Not possible there!!

I know I’m “preaching to the choir”, but let us keep our priorities in order and count our blessings and remember, “What Is Safe?”

Peace and a Red Coffee Cup by Mike DeCamp

Last year, when Kent Brantly said that he felt a “sense of peace” when he was first advised of the diagnosis of having Ebola himself, I think I sort of scratched my head and wondered how in the world that could even be possible.  How can a man get a death sentence—a sentence to die a horrifying, miserable death—and somehow be at peace?  I think I was a little in awe of him.  I was in awe of his faith that could provide him that peace.

As if this was somehow his own doing.

Anxiousness can be debilitating.  It can lock us up so that we can barely function.  It can cause us emotional, spiritual, and physical distress.  We can literally get ill from worry.  These days, it seems that potential sources of anxiety are hitting us from all sides.  Politics.  Elections.  Culture.  Terrorism.  Wars.  The color of coffee cups.

How do we find that sense of peace?

Would it help us if a certain coffee company printed “Peace on Earth” on the sides of their cups?  I doubt it.

Two things happened this week that have helped me better understand this whole “sense of peace” thing.

First, I was part of a meeting and discussion the other day that had the potential to be quite intense and I was very concerned, both about the way it would transpire and the outcome at the end.  This anxiety even affected the quality of how I slept the night before.  Frankly, despite my  best attempt to be faithful, I was worried about it.  Prior to the meeting, I did a little praying.  I asked God to help, and you know what?  All of the sudden, I was at peace about it.  I can’t explain it.  I just was.  Not only that, but the meeting actually went off very well.

 

I think it was a God thing.

Second, I related the following story about my dad to some friends as we discussed Veterans Day.

Ralph DeCamp is the first man on the left.

In World War Two, my dad served in the Army Air Corps.  He was a crewman on a B26 Martin Marauder flying out of North Africa and the Mediterranean.  He wasn’t a kid.  Rather, he was a man in his early thirties.  He didn’t tell me many stories from the war, only a handful.  One stands out, though.  He said that on his very first combat mission, he was scared to death—literally terrified.  I got the sense that he was nearly frozen with fear.  If you need help to understand why, try watching those scenes from the mini-series “Band of Brothers” where they were flying over Normandy to drop the paratroopers for D-Day.  That will give you an idea of what he was facing.  Anyway, as he struggled with his tremendous sense of terror, he prayed.

 “God,” he said, “please take away my fear.” 

My father told me that at that point, a sense of peace came over him.  He couldn't explain it.  It just happened.  As a result, not only could he fly with his crew and do his job, but when his own crew was idle, he began to fill in with other crews.  When men would find a reason to avoid a planned mission, he would volunteer to fly in their place.  He reached the required number of missions to be sent home long before the other men on his own crew, but instead of leaving them behind for the safety of home, he stayed.  He wouldn’t leave until they all could leave.  I have a document provided by a commanding officer that lists his missions--over seventy.  

Then he came home.

I used to be in awe of my father’s faith.  The faith that allowed him to be so brave.  Like he had something to do with it.

I’m proud of him, of that there is no doubt, and it was his faith that spurred my own.  However, this wasn’t about my dad.  It was a God thing.

Consider Philippians 4: 6-7....

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and you minds in Christ Jesus.

We may not know the answers, but God can still give us peace.  We may not understand where it comes from or how it even works, but God can put our hearts at rest.

So, let me just encourage you to turn to God the next time you’re feeling anxious.  If you’re worried about a test.  If you’re concerned about an election.  If you are bothered by the direction of our society.  If you’re frightened by world events.  Give it to God.

He’s got this.

Now, after all this, if you want to talk, I’m available.  If you need an ear to hear you, I’ve got a couple of them.  Give me a call.  I’d be glad to meet you at Starbucks for a cup of coffee.

Mike

A Fresh Start by Clint Davis

 

A Fresh Start

By Clint Davis

 

Jeff Walling tells the story from several years back when he was having some problems with his computer.   He had tried everything to get the problem resolved, but nothing worked so he had to call telephone tech support from the place where he bought the computer.  The person was very helpful, but after trying numerous fixes nothing worked.  And that is when the person said I think we are going to need to re-install your operating system.   Those are never the words you want to hear because that means you have to strip everything off the computer and start all over.  It is the only way to get a “fresh start”. 

At times, there are things that I don’t want to deal with that I must deal with in order to get a fresh start in my life.  Sometimes I want to just press a button.  I want to find the Staples “EASY” button to press and suddenly my problem is solved or my life will be different, but it does not work that way. 

From the start of creation, humanity started corrupting itself with the virus of SIN.  Our natural reaction when we do something wrong has not changed.  Our first reaction is to cover-up because we do not want someone to see the “real me”.  We want to hide it.  If we make a mistake or have an accident our reaction is to run away and hide. 

I remember several years back, Karen and I were getting ready to head out on a short vacation to Mexico.  We were in the airport terminal and my phone rang.   It was Chandelle.  She had been in a parking garage and hit a parked vehicle; actually she had ripped the bumper off the parked car.  She was not sure what to do.  I have to be completely honest and say that my first thought was to tell her to take off and not tell anyone.  But that was not the right thing to do.  We talked and I told her to leave a note to have the person give me a call so we could pay for the damage.  She did, and the person called me and we paid for the damage.

How do we get a fresh start when we have made a mess, when we have made a mistake, when we have sinned?

We have to realize, that we cannot fix it. Covering it up will not fix it and lying about it will not fix it.  Running away from it and rationalizing it will not fix it.  It can only be fixed by God.  In Jesus, God gave us a new beginning, a fresh install.  We just need the courage to accept it from Him.

I think it was Bob Herndon that gave an analogy that trying to cover up your sin is like being in a swimming pool with several balls where you are constantly trying to keep them all under water at the same time so they cannot be seen.  It can never last and you grow weary.

Psalm 32 describes a new beginning and fresh start for David.  It starts painfully….Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no deceit.  The picture here is that a person has to carry around their deceit/ sin like a bag around their neck for all to see.  David tried to carry his deceit and not let it be known, and the passage says his bones wasted away from his groaning all day long.  Carrying the burden of his sin wore him out.  David kept trying to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba to the point that he literally committed murder for having Uriah purposefully killed in battle.  But God sent Nathan to convict him of his sin and David confessed his sin to the Lord and God “forgave the guilt of his sin”.  David tried something else; he acknowledged his sin to God and did not cover up his iniquity.

To have a fresh start today, have the courage to accept the gift of God’s grace.  God will forgive you and his grace will lead you to different life choices.

Stop running and lying and covering and hiding and say to the Lord this is who I am….please forgive me.

Titus 3: He saved us because of His mercy…He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of His Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Savior. He saved us because of His grace.