My last blog dealt with the issue of deep roots and trusting God. Here is Max Lucado's take on the subject from another angle. The title is What If Things Only Get Worse? "Christ tells us that they will. He predicts spiritual bailouts, ecological turmoil, and worldwide persecution. Yet in the midst of it all, he contends bravery is still an option. Things are going to get bad, really bad, before they get better. And when conditions worsen, “See to it that you are not alarmed” (Matt. 24:6 NIV). Jesus chose a stout term for alarmed that he used on no other occasion. It means “to wail, to cry aloud,” as if Jesus counseled the disciples, “Don’t freak out when bad stuff happens.”
“See to it…” Bosses and teachers are known to use that phrase. “See to it that you fill out the reports.” Or “Your essay is due tomorrow. See to it that you finish your work.” The words call for additional attention, special focus, extra resolve. Isn’t this what Christ is asking of us? In this dangerous day, on this Faberge’-fragile globe, with financial collapse on the news and terrorists on the loose, we have every reason to retreat into bunkers of dread and woe.
But Christ says to us, “See to it that you are not alarmed.” (NIV) “Keep your head and don’t panic” (MSG).
“See that you are not troubled” (NKJV).
And remember: “All these [challenging times] are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt. 24:8 NIV), and birth pangs aren’t all bad. (Easy for me to say.) Birth pains signal the onset of the final push. The pediatrician assures the mom-to-be, “It’s going to hurt for a time, but it’s going to get better.” Jesus assures us of the same. Global conflicts indicate our date on the maternity calendar. We are in the final hours, just a few
pushes from delivery, a few brief ticks of eternity’s clock from the great crowning of creation. A whole new world is coming!" This is a good word from Max Lucado. Oh Lord, in spite of what appears to be on the horizon, help us to keep our heads and not panic. Help us to trust you as we make a difference in a world that desperately needs to know You.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Roots That Reach Deep
Every Saturday, a retired pastor in our congregation sends a scripture and writes a blog based on the scripture. It is interesting how many times the scripture touches an area of my life. Today was no different. Here's the scripture Iver Walker picked for today:
“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT)
It seems like one of the keys here is that "they never stop producing fruit", regardless of the circumstances. The "they" is you and me. Right now I am struggling with issues involving raising a teenager, replacing a vehicle we can't really afford and dealing with a perplexing situation in my professional life. Jeremiah said that if we are like trees with roots that reach deep into the river's water, we won't be bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. This scripture gives me tremendous hope, because I am certainly feeling the heat of drought in these three areas. I know I have made the Lord my hope and confidence, and I truly trust Him. Therefore, I can believe that my roots will sustain me, my leaves will stay green and I will not stop producing fruit.
Are you in a tough spot? Take heart, this scripture was written for you as well. Trust in the Lord and make Him your hope and confidence. Now, I better pick some clothes for church tomorrow that match my green leaves...
“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT)
It seems like one of the keys here is that "they never stop producing fruit", regardless of the circumstances. The "they" is you and me. Right now I am struggling with issues involving raising a teenager, replacing a vehicle we can't really afford and dealing with a perplexing situation in my professional life. Jeremiah said that if we are like trees with roots that reach deep into the river's water, we won't be bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. This scripture gives me tremendous hope, because I am certainly feeling the heat of drought in these three areas. I know I have made the Lord my hope and confidence, and I truly trust Him. Therefore, I can believe that my roots will sustain me, my leaves will stay green and I will not stop producing fruit.
Are you in a tough spot? Take heart, this scripture was written for you as well. Trust in the Lord and make Him your hope and confidence. Now, I better pick some clothes for church tomorrow that match my green leaves...
Monday, August 23, 2010
A Rock Solid Servant of God
Last weekend I spent two days in Southern California. I attended a celebration service and funeral for my uncle, Jose Ibarra. Uncle Joe was married for 68 years to my mother's sister, my aunt Isabel. This past July, there was a celebration marking my uncle's seventy years of full time ministry. At 87 years old, Jose Ibarra was teaching Bible school classes and part of the leadership team of Templo Calvario in Santa Ana, California. A week ago Monday, he died suddenly from a heart attack.
Uncle Joe was part of a generation of Hispanic ministers in the Assemblies of God that helped pave the way for what has become the fastest growing segment of the AG. He pastored several churches and served as an officer in two Spanish AG districts. He also served as a national AG representative. Over seventy years of ministry he mentored countless numbers of young ministers and helped strengthen churches up and down California. He was a leader at a time when the Hispanic Assemblies of God was expanding and reaching thousands of immigrants pouring in from Latin America. He was a leader at a time when there was never enough money or resources for what needed to be done. The offerings given by Hispanic Christians come from lower salaried jobs and resources. Most Hispanic churches still struggle financially because incomes are lower than English speaking churches. Most ministers of his era lived very modest lives. They lived in modest houses and drove economy cars, usually very used. The ministers of his generation worked incredibly hard and set a work ethic standard for generations that will follow.
On Friday night I rejoiced at the celebration service to hear all the stories, humorous recollections and the testimony of people deeply affected by his life. While there will be sadness, loss and grief, there is also a tremendous admiration for a life lived in this manner. Two words were used over and over, "integrity" and "righteousness". He was a man of the Word, preacher, teacher, and he lived the Word of God.
Uncle Joe set the bar high. O God, help to keep that bar in sight as we live our lives. As a minister, may that bar propel to the highest that you want for me and from me.
Uncle Joe was part of a generation of Hispanic ministers in the Assemblies of God that helped pave the way for what has become the fastest growing segment of the AG. He pastored several churches and served as an officer in two Spanish AG districts. He also served as a national AG representative. Over seventy years of ministry he mentored countless numbers of young ministers and helped strengthen churches up and down California. He was a leader at a time when the Hispanic Assemblies of God was expanding and reaching thousands of immigrants pouring in from Latin America. He was a leader at a time when there was never enough money or resources for what needed to be done. The offerings given by Hispanic Christians come from lower salaried jobs and resources. Most Hispanic churches still struggle financially because incomes are lower than English speaking churches. Most ministers of his era lived very modest lives. They lived in modest houses and drove economy cars, usually very used. The ministers of his generation worked incredibly hard and set a work ethic standard for generations that will follow.
On Friday night I rejoiced at the celebration service to hear all the stories, humorous recollections and the testimony of people deeply affected by his life. While there will be sadness, loss and grief, there is also a tremendous admiration for a life lived in this manner. Two words were used over and over, "integrity" and "righteousness". He was a man of the Word, preacher, teacher, and he lived the Word of God.
Uncle Joe set the bar high. O God, help to keep that bar in sight as we live our lives. As a minister, may that bar propel to the highest that you want for me and from me.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Baby Dedication And A Hole In A Heart
I was talking today with one of our financial employees about her son and a hole in his heart. Somewhere between the time that tests showed the hole and getting scheduled for a procedure to close it, the hole disappeared. A lot of prayers were prayed for Andy and as we talked we agreed that this indeed could be a wonderful miracle of healing. An additional test will confirm that the hole is really gone. PTL!
I told Lolly about the very first foster baby that Kathy and I, mostly Kathy, cared for. Katie came to us as an infant with a rather large hole in her heart. Our social work said that our task would be to help Katie gain weight and strength to endure an operation to close the heart. We also had to commit to a series of doctors visits, tests and whatever Katie might need. At the time we were working at First Assembly of God in Albany, Oregon and our senior pastor was Allen (Tex) Groff. He is a real pastor's pastor. The kind of pastor that made everyone feel great about being part of our church. When he led our services, it was like your father or grandfather was in charge, you knew you were loved and cared for. We knew that asking him to dedicate Katie was a little strange since she wasn't our child and we did not know what her future might hold. When we asked him about it, it was the kind of reaction I knew he would have, he was all for it. That morning he cradled Katie just like she was his own. For that moment, she was, that was the way Tex Groff was, and even though she was an infant, I can't help but believe that God helped her understand what a wonderful environment, and arms, she was in. We prayed for her, shed a few tears and rejoiced in God's goodness and then the service went on.
A week later, Kathy took Katie for an appointment. The doctor listened, and listened and finally said that he needed to take her to another examination room. After quite awhile, the doctors came back to tell Kathy that they thought the hole might not be there anymore. After confirming tests, that is exactly what it was. Katie had been healed during her dedication. Our church rejoiced in this wonderful manifestation of God's love and care for one so small and defenseless. Within a few days the social services department put her on the active adoption list and she left our home for a permanent one. Over the next twenty years we saw many miracles in the lives of children that we cared for in our home, but that experience was one of the real highlights. God is so good. Oh, and Andy, we'll be waiting for that confirmation so we can celebrate with you.
I told Lolly about the very first foster baby that Kathy and I, mostly Kathy, cared for. Katie came to us as an infant with a rather large hole in her heart. Our social work said that our task would be to help Katie gain weight and strength to endure an operation to close the heart. We also had to commit to a series of doctors visits, tests and whatever Katie might need. At the time we were working at First Assembly of God in Albany, Oregon and our senior pastor was Allen (Tex) Groff. He is a real pastor's pastor. The kind of pastor that made everyone feel great about being part of our church. When he led our services, it was like your father or grandfather was in charge, you knew you were loved and cared for. We knew that asking him to dedicate Katie was a little strange since she wasn't our child and we did not know what her future might hold. When we asked him about it, it was the kind of reaction I knew he would have, he was all for it. That morning he cradled Katie just like she was his own. For that moment, she was, that was the way Tex Groff was, and even though she was an infant, I can't help but believe that God helped her understand what a wonderful environment, and arms, she was in. We prayed for her, shed a few tears and rejoiced in God's goodness and then the service went on.
A week later, Kathy took Katie for an appointment. The doctor listened, and listened and finally said that he needed to take her to another examination room. After quite awhile, the doctors came back to tell Kathy that they thought the hole might not be there anymore. After confirming tests, that is exactly what it was. Katie had been healed during her dedication. Our church rejoiced in this wonderful manifestation of God's love and care for one so small and defenseless. Within a few days the social services department put her on the active adoption list and she left our home for a permanent one. Over the next twenty years we saw many miracles in the lives of children that we cared for in our home, but that experience was one of the real highlights. God is so good. Oh, and Andy, we'll be waiting for that confirmation so we can celebrate with you.
Monday, August 16, 2010
53 Minutes To Go
Every once in a while God helps us understand how much He loves us and cares about the smallest details of our lives. I think it is so great when God intervenes in the lives of our children in unmistakable ways.
We've been school shopping, looking for bargains and trying to stretch our dollars where ever we can. Last Saturday Shawn and I went tennis shoe shopping. That is a real challenge with a picky ninth grader. We went from store to store until Shawn finally settled on a pair of shoes. He was trying to bargain shop, but his desire for cool shoes kept taking him back to the Air Jordan display. He picked a pair of 16.5s. (I didn't realize that there were so many models of Air Jordans, some costing up to $149 on sale, most in the $75 to $89 range) The salesman went to the back room and came back with the news that they didn't have any of that type in stock. The only pair were the display models and they were size 11. We were looking for 9.5s. We asked a manager when another shipment might come in. She looked up the model number and informed us that this shoe would not be available anymore. She suggested going to Nike.com and see if we could order a pair. On the way home from the mall, we stopped at a couple more stores. No luck.When we got home we went from site to site, no one had the shoes in his size. We finally found a site with a pair in his size, $89.95 plus shipping. We put the pair in our online shopping basket and then I had a thought, let's check Ebay. We opened another browser window, went to Ebay.com and did a search on Air Jordan 16.5 tennis shoes. The very first pair of shoes that came up were the exact color and model that Shawn was looking for. A mother had bought the pair for her son and they were the wrong size. They were still in the box, brand new. We scanned down the description looking for a size, 9.5. Unbelievable... and then we saw there were no bids and the auction was ending in 53 minutes. We quickly entered our bid for the starting bid price of $60, a real bargain. Then we realized another blessing, free shipping. We checked the site several times in the next hour and then finally got the email, "you have won the auction". A brand new pair of Air Jordan tennis shoes for a bargain price.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Another Milestone Day
Today our oldest adopted daughter begins her first college class. I still vividly remember her first days in our home. Nicole came to us as a foster baby. She had some serious birth problems and had been born a preemie. For eighteen months her grandmother tried to get custody of her. Every home study that Children's Services in Jefferson County (Colorado) did turned out negative. When the long and tiring process ended, Nicole was finally ready for adoption. Because of her birth problems, however, and very limited family history, she was not a very good candidate for adoption. Since we didn't want to let her go after so long, it worked well for us to keep her for good. Some of my fondest memories of her early life are the many times that I fed her her nighttime bottle and put her to sleep. I would hold her, walk with her, rock her, pray over her, agonize over her family situation and generally make a fuss over this little bundle of joy. One night as I agonized over the fact that she would never know who her father was, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "you are her father. Just like your heavenly Father adopted you as a son into His family, you have become Nicole's father."
A couple of hours ago I was an overly protective father, making sure she knew the building and room number for her class, made sure she had her textbook, made sure she had her paid tuition receipt to get her college ID and told her which license number to put down for a parking pass. She could have done all of that for herself, but sometimes I go back and forth between 18 years ago and now, and I forget she is a grown up young lady. I have resisted the temptation to text her and find out if every thing's going okay. For now, Nicole is going to live at home and commute to school. For her, and me, that is a good decision. I have always been a basket case when our kids have moved out.
Kathy and I are so proud of her. We know Nicole will do well in college. We're praying that God will help her figure out what He wants her to do, and how best to prepare for it. For today, I'll try and not look out the front window too often. I don't want her to catch me waiting for her and think that I'm not giving her enough space. She is, however, going to tell her mother and I all about her first day...
A couple of hours ago I was an overly protective father, making sure she knew the building and room number for her class, made sure she had her textbook, made sure she had her paid tuition receipt to get her college ID and told her which license number to put down for a parking pass. She could have done all of that for herself, but sometimes I go back and forth between 18 years ago and now, and I forget she is a grown up young lady. I have resisted the temptation to text her and find out if every thing's going okay. For now, Nicole is going to live at home and commute to school. For her, and me, that is a good decision. I have always been a basket case when our kids have moved out.Monday, August 9, 2010
36 Years Ago
Today Kathy and I are celebrating 36 wonderful years of marriage. The big event on the weekend of our wedding 36 years ago was the resignation of President Richard Nixon on our rehearsal evening and then his leaving the White House with his family on the day of our wedding. There are a lot of highlights that are vivid memories, but there is also a lot of time in which I do not recollect much. This kind of reminds of the story of the two retired guys who are talking and one says to the other, "I couldn't help but notice that you call your wife 'sweety', 'baby doll', 'sugar', and other romantic names. How have you kept that much romance in your marriage all these years? The other guy turns to him and says, 'actually, I forgot her name about 10 years ago and I've been too embarrassed to ask her what it is."
Well, for us, it's not that bad. We have many wonderful memories that we recall. We've been so blessed. One of the biggest blessings has been our unified desire to serve God full time, anywhere, anytime. We've had some great adventures, and both of us have seen our experiences as adventures in helping to build God's kingdoms. We've had the blessing of raising six children, three birth children that are now grown and all involved in full time ministry, and three teenagers still at home that bring both great joy and present interesting challenges. We look back at some great ministry successes and people that we've had the pleasure of mentoring and guiding into successful ministry and other careers.
As I think about today, however, I think the greatest blessing for me is the love that Kathy and I share. I love her so much. She is my best friend and confidant. I love her laugh, and the way she brightens up a room. Of the two of us, she is the "people person" and I enjoy watching her be with people. I love the fact that after we've been with a group of people I get to go home with her. 36 years is a lot, particularly in our present society, but for us it is another signpost on a lifetime commitment that we agreed to, just about at this time, 36 years ago. Now we're older, hopefully wiser, and ready for the next adventure, together.
Well, for us, it's not that bad. We have many wonderful memories that we recall. We've been so blessed. One of the biggest blessings has been our unified desire to serve God full time, anywhere, anytime. We've had some great adventures, and both of us have seen our experiences as adventures in helping to build God's kingdoms. We've had the blessing of raising six children, three birth children that are now grown and all involved in full time ministry, and three teenagers still at home that bring both great joy and present interesting challenges. We look back at some great ministry successes and people that we've had the pleasure of mentoring and guiding into successful ministry and other careers.
As I think about today, however, I think the greatest blessing for me is the love that Kathy and I share. I love her so much. She is my best friend and confidant. I love her laugh, and the way she brightens up a room. Of the two of us, she is the "people person" and I enjoy watching her be with people. I love the fact that after we've been with a group of people I get to go home with her. 36 years is a lot, particularly in our present society, but for us it is another signpost on a lifetime commitment that we agreed to, just about at this time, 36 years ago. Now we're older, hopefully wiser, and ready for the next adventure, together.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Shouts of Joy, the Sound of Weeping
In the book of Ezra there is an interesting account in chapter 3. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
It is no secret that there is a clash of culture in churches today. With many churches having 5 generations of people, the cultural likes and dislikes are enormous. In Ezra's day, the temple was being rebuilt after God had allowed its destruction after nationwide disobedience and turning away from God. In the midst of the celebration because the foundation had been laid, the older priest, Levites and family heads wept because they remembered what the temple had been like. They realized while it would be a wonderful thing to have the temple rebuilt, it would never be like it was.
Today, in the US, church attendance is down overall. The only place it is increasing is in mega churches and churches that are engaging younger attenders, largely tailoring their church services and programming to accomodate today's consumer mentality. The clash goes far beyond musical style (hymns versus contemporary songs, choirs and orchestras versus small "worship teams"). It goes to length of services, the shorter the better; offer less programming, people are too busy to do much at church; the way a church looks, don't offend anyone by making the church look like a church, make it look like a big box store. Make sure you use plenty of theatrical lighting, maybe some haze, kick the decibels up and make people feel like they are at a concert.
In the end, people will come to faith in Christ because they see something in us that makes sense for their own lives. Even in the busyness of life, people want to belong. They want genuine friends that add to the quality of their lives and their families. Maybe our church services should simply be the place where we encounter God, in whatever cultural form it takes, and then we design times and ways for people to connect. Church culture has an interesting way of cycling, in fact, some church life watchers think the cycle away from the present wave has already started. Take a look around the next time you are at a church service. Maybe in the midst of the celebration shouting you will hear some weeping.
It is no secret that there is a clash of culture in churches today. With many churches having 5 generations of people, the cultural likes and dislikes are enormous. In Ezra's day, the temple was being rebuilt after God had allowed its destruction after nationwide disobedience and turning away from God. In the midst of the celebration because the foundation had been laid, the older priest, Levites and family heads wept because they remembered what the temple had been like. They realized while it would be a wonderful thing to have the temple rebuilt, it would never be like it was.
Today, in the US, church attendance is down overall. The only place it is increasing is in mega churches and churches that are engaging younger attenders, largely tailoring their church services and programming to accomodate today's consumer mentality. The clash goes far beyond musical style (hymns versus contemporary songs, choirs and orchestras versus small "worship teams"). It goes to length of services, the shorter the better; offer less programming, people are too busy to do much at church; the way a church looks, don't offend anyone by making the church look like a church, make it look like a big box store. Make sure you use plenty of theatrical lighting, maybe some haze, kick the decibels up and make people feel like they are at a concert.
In the end, people will come to faith in Christ because they see something in us that makes sense for their own lives. Even in the busyness of life, people want to belong. They want genuine friends that add to the quality of their lives and their families. Maybe our church services should simply be the place where we encounter God, in whatever cultural form it takes, and then we design times and ways for people to connect. Church culture has an interesting way of cycling, in fact, some church life watchers think the cycle away from the present wave has already started. Take a look around the next time you are at a church service. Maybe in the midst of the celebration shouting you will hear some weeping.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Election Observations From One Precinct
I spent Tuesday from 5AM until 7:30PM in the 437th Missouri precinct. I have served in this precinct for 5 elections as an assistant supervisor. My job is to assist voters use the digital touch machines and feed their paper ballots in a scanner/reader. Because my polling location is in a senior living center, we have a lot of seniors come down and vote. Many of them need a lot of assistance, and I have always looked forward to this interaction. Partly it is because this is a way for me to give back to my community and to provide real help to people who want to exercise their right to vote. Another part of it is that I hope that my kindness to these seniors is the same kind of kindness that people in Raleigh, NC show my parents who are of this same age group.
I noticed something interesting yesterday. Because this was a primary election, some offices had several candidates. Between national, state and local candidates and two measures, the digital ballot was 5 pages long. In many cases, the only thing these elderly voters wanted to vote on was Proposition C, this was a statewide measure that essentially boiled down to a Missouri rejection of the recently passed national health care reform. I could sense fear, anger and confusion as senior after senior expressed their displeasure with the overall health care situation. The other interesting thing was it didn't seem to matter if they were a Democrat or Republican voter.
During the day, on election day in November 2008, there was an overall sense of optimism and looking forward. I think voters believed that regardless of who they were voting for, things were on the upswing. Sadly, I saw none of that yesterday. Oh God, your word tells us to honor those in positions of authority over us. Help us to pray for our leaders, and Lord, help us to go about your business of telling the good news of your gospel so that people's lives are changed and renewed. We know that true change will only occur as you are involved in our lives as individuals and in our nation.
I noticed something interesting yesterday. Because this was a primary election, some offices had several candidates. Between national, state and local candidates and two measures, the digital ballot was 5 pages long. In many cases, the only thing these elderly voters wanted to vote on was Proposition C, this was a statewide measure that essentially boiled down to a Missouri rejection of the recently passed national health care reform. I could sense fear, anger and confusion as senior after senior expressed their displeasure with the overall health care situation. The other interesting thing was it didn't seem to matter if they were a Democrat or Republican voter.
During the day, on election day in November 2008, there was an overall sense of optimism and looking forward. I think voters believed that regardless of who they were voting for, things were on the upswing. Sadly, I saw none of that yesterday. Oh God, your word tells us to honor those in positions of authority over us. Help us to pray for our leaders, and Lord, help us to go about your business of telling the good news of your gospel so that people's lives are changed and renewed. We know that true change will only occur as you are involved in our lives as individuals and in our nation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)