In the End, Play to an Audience of One

Over the period of a year of practicing in her room, door closed, flowed the sounds of Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) by Sarasate. Or in the living room hearing the sighs, the frustrations, her groans,  and I wondered "Is it really worth all this?" And then to shoulder a tear for her when things piled up and it all seemed impossible. To seem to bear the weight of the world for her with a simple hug, a kiss on the forehead, and a word of encouragement to press on. But that's what dads are for.

Then to see those big smiles accompanied by joyous giggles due to a successful accomplishment and to hear the measure played as if by the composer himself. That's the stuff dads see. Those are the things that fill the heart with praise, joy and contentment, that she ran to the end and didn't give in or give up. Who could be prouder than me? But then comes the performance before the judges.

There's not much to say except that her hard work paid off. Though she didn't get first chair in the orchestra, she won a bigger place in my heart by her display of a beautiful spirit coupled with tenacity, diligence, perseverance and determination. It was something I had not seen in her before, but One knew she had it in her all the time. I think her audience of One is well-pleased. I know I am.

Hebrews 6:9 - 11 says, " . . . beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, . . ."

Though you may not be Itzhak Perlman, play on, Tina, play on.

Baseless Pride

I found this little jewel in a book on my shelf. It's from "Bible Characters" printed in 1902. It includes contributions from Dwight L. Moody, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles H. Spurgeon and others. It also includes six of the "grandest poems in print." Enjoy!

(This pride-humbling survey of man and his destiny was written by William Knox, a Scotchman.) 

Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud,
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
Man passes from life to his rest in the grave.

The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
Be scattered around, and together be laid;
And the young and the old and the low and the high
Shall molder to dust, and together shall lie.

The infant a mother attended and loved,
The mother that infant’s affection who proved,
The husband that mother and infant who blessed—
Each and all are away to their dwellings of rest.

The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,
Shone beauty and pleasure—her triumphs are by;
And the memory of those who loved her and praised
Is alike from the minds of the living erased.

The hand of the king that the scepter has borne,
The brow of the priest that the miter has worn,
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave.

The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap,
The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep,
The beggar who wandered in search of his bread
Have faded away like the grass that we tread.

The saint who enjoyed the communion of Heaven,
he sinner who dared to remain unforgiven,
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just,
Have quietly mingles their bones in the dust.

So the multitude goes—like the flower or the weed
Thatwithers away to let others succeed;
So the multitude comes—even those we behold—
To repeat every tale that has often been told.

For we are the same our fathers have been;
We see the same sights our fathers have seen;
We drink the same stream, we view the same Sun,
And run the same course our fathers have run.

The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think;
From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink;
To the life we are clinging they also would cling—
But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing.

They loved—but the story we can not unfold;
They scorned—but the heart of the haughty is cold;
They grieved—but no wail from their slumber will come;
They joyed – but the tongue of the gladness is dumb.

They died—aye, they died—and we things that are now,
That walk on the turf that lies o’er their brow
And make in their dwellings a transient abode,
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road.

Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain,
Are mingled together in sunshine and rain;
And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge,
Still follow each other, like surge upon surge.

‘Tis the wink of an eye—‘tis the draught of a breath—
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death,
From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud!
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?

A Tangible Love

© 2016, published in April issue of Black River Times

". . . My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. - Hebrews 12:5 – 8

In high school, around age 14 or 15, I joined the track team. One evening after practice, my Dad met me outside our home. He had heard I misbehaved in some way and asked if I had done what I was accused of. I said I had, and with that, he stated I would need disciplining, which usually meant a whipping with the old belt.

I’d been punished by him before and it wasn’t something I relished. It had been a while since the last time he had disciplined me so I must have thought I had outgrown the necessity for it. Foolishly, I countered his proclamation with, “You’ll have to catch me first!” and broke into a quick sprint as if a starting gun had fired.

"Free!" I thought . . . but no. I had only made a few strides when my Dad’s grasp jerked me back accompanied by his words “You’re not going anywhere!” Needless to say, I received a more severe whacking than previously intended.

At the time, I had no idea what a sacrifice he had made for me. Now, I realize he disciplined me for two good reasons; First, for the original violation. Secondly, to keep me in check, reminding me that I was never too far from his watchful care. He was committed to breaking the rebellious streak that desperately needed to be exorcised from my spirit.

I don’t recall the form of discipline or the associated pain but I do remember a discussion he and I had several years later. We were mending relational fences and making peace with one another, me as a young family man and he as an aging father who saw his shortcomings in raising me.

I asked him if he recalled the incident and, surprisingly, he did. I asked him how he managed to catch me when I knew I held the advantage of youth, speed and the element of surprise for a healthy lead. I’ll never forget his answer. He said, “I had to, otherwise I would have lost you forever.”

For my father, the price of my waywardness was too high. In his youth a car accident had broken his back. Then, determined to serve his country in WWII, he received further injuries from being blown out of a foxhole. He knew what it was to live in constant pain. In the ensuing years the doctors told him he would never walk again. By then he had a wife and family to support, so he sought the Great Physician. God heard his prayers and he continued walking till his last day on earth, just short of his 90th birthday.

Like all good fathers he counted the cost and reached out to save me from myself. Even though he may not have known the principles, God had been working in him since his conversion around the time of my birth. As Philippians 1:6 states, “. . . I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” He had learned a few things over the years and God continued to train and instruct him as He does with all His children. “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Hebrews 12:11) 

Back in my foolish youth I didn’t see it, but my Dad was showing me love in a tangible form. There are times now that I am greatly disappointed in myself for not doing right when I should know better. But as with my earthly father, Gods loving discipline says something. It may not be comfortable at the time, but it’s reassuring to know “. . . the Lord disciplines the one he loves . . .” (Hebrews 12:6). Now that’s tangible love.

Reality, What a Concept!

(Updated 12/07/13, previously referring to Haiti in 2010) 
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord  is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. - 1 Kings 18:21

Life is full of contrasts, and apparent contradictions. There's the contrast between black and white, a red cardinal against a fresh blanket of white snow, the earthquake devastation in Haiti against the "apparent" calm of America, and the contrasting seasons between Australia, currently beginning spring, to our ending fall in the western hemisphere. That contrast was dramatically demonstrated recently.

The last day of winter in 2010 gave us an afternoon of 60+ degree warmth, sunshine and a mild breeze. I shed my sweater just to complete some overdo tasks in the yard. A half and hour later, the wind came up and the temperature dropped steadily through nightfall. The first morning of spring greeted us with 30 mph wind gusts, 2 inches of blowing snow and 22 degrees. Quite a contrast in less than a 24 hour period.

Another dramatic contrast hitting a little closer to home is the one between the comfortably employed and the displaced workers (and/or under-employed), currently numbering over 31,000,000 workers in the United States ( http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html).  The devastation of the Philippines caught the attention of the nation, focusing on hundreds of thousands dead or homeless and while this is a very real tragedy, so is the one at our own front door. 

How do the employed respond to the displaced or under-employed with the additional stalker of Obama Care? Indifference mostly. Yes, some are concerned and making efforts to alleviate their struggle. But over all, most shrug their shoulders as if nothing can be done and go on as if things will eventually take care of themselves. Some will remark that it's their problem or they aren't looking hard enough. Others comment that they lack incentive due to being "bailed out" by Unemployment Insurance" and need to "just get any job to have something coming in." In all, they appear to basically be saying the 90's theme of "I've got mine." Hmmmm.

Here we have the contradiction! If people had responded indifferently to the Philippine's plight, they would have been demonize, ridiculed, labeled as insensitive, inhumane, uncaring, selfish, etc. But in America it appears to be acceptable to be as those in our text, "And the people did not answer him a word." 

It's as if the employed think if they respond to the need of the displaced worker it is somehow an admission of guilt due to their "security" of holding a job. They too fear being labeled as condescending to a "career-challenged" class.  On the other hand, if they say or do nothing it will all go away as if it never happened. So they silently slink off breathing lightly so as to not be noticed. But Obama Care may strike them unaware as well.

In reality, it really does not matter which side of the employment question you are on. What does matter is where your trust or confidence rests. In Dan Miller's "48 Days to the Work You Love" he writes, "Do you see change as a provider of new opportunities or as a threat to expected security?" 

As the employed lay snug in their padded "security blanket" of a job or career, the under employed or unemployed fight tooth and nail for something to sustain their families. Perhaps the ravages of Obama Care will unsettle the comfy with a discomforting taste of loss, or level the playing field some,  which will awaken them to the even heavier weighted job seekers. Just perhaps a cold slap of reality might just awaken some of the drowsy Americans  up.
Romans 13:11 shouts,  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Good advice.

THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT

On the return side of a cold morning walk, we passed by a corner house at the top of a hill in a residential area. Though their house faced the east, they had diverted their sump drain to a street some distance to the north of their property. The continual drain of the water flow from their basement caused no problem to them but the same couldn't be said for the residents down the street behind them.

As we walked, I noticed a huge buildup of ice, much like a miniature glacier, which had formed around the curb and driveway of the first house down the street. Their entrance to their drive was situated on the leading edge of a curve on the street so the water collected at that point originating from the neighbors drainage. I thought to myself, "I bet they really appreciate trying to turn into their driveway with that icepack as the first obstacle to hit before the incline to their garage"

As I looked further down the the street, I observed that the water had created similar entry hazards in ever-diminishing amounts for fifteen more residents down the hill. Two thoughts occurred to me. One was, "These folks probably don't see this as a curse because they don't deal with it at the same magnitude as the first house at the curve." The second thought was, "The resident who diverted the drainage from his house is totally oblivious to the potential problems created for their fellow neighbors. "Out of sight, out of mind." or "That's their problem, not mine."

Reflecting on, "It's an easy oversight since they probably installed the drain in the summer with no thought of ice in the winter." On the other hand I mused, "How inconsiderate, discourteous and thoughtless of that owner to not consider the needs of others." Then it occurred to me there were two other options, "The residents down the street don't really care and just live with it as a natural part of their winter lives." The other was, "It sure is easy to take up offenses for others."

I've seen this same type of thing in fathers, families, congregations and churches leaders. They proclaim blessings or ignorantly spew forth error in word or deed leaving the impact on those under them unattended. Those in their charge generally have at least three responses: 1. They get offended and leave or get bitter and stay. 2. They don't notice they've been slighted and do nothing. Or 3. They hear it from someone else and take up an offense the first party never considered.

1 Corinthians 13 defines love as an action in terms of being patient, not self-seeking, believing the best of others, not easily angered, not rude and has stopped behaving childishly long ago. Does that change the drainage problem or remove the glacier from the entrance to the drive? Probably not. But it does change the affected neighbors down stream. How they perceive the situation determines the outcome for them.

Some self-proclaimed community organizer may try to gather a local neighborhood committee to discuss the "infraction", and take steps to confront the alleged negligent home owner to get the drain location changed. They might even call on local officials to confront the home owner and actuate change. These are the cowards approach.

There's another option most people avoid. It's called one on one confrontation. Ouch! We dislike confrontation. It is uncomfortable. But I didn't say what kind of confrontation. 1 Corinthians 13 further defines love's actions as gentle, kind and peaceable. This kind of confrontation requires courage, compassion, self-sacrifice for the good of others.

Matthew 18:15 gives a clue to addressing error and conflict; "“If your brother (neighbor) sins against you (knowingly or unknowingly), go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." Isn't that the goal, to keep a good relation while resolving the issue. Preserve the unity by building bridges instead of building walls.

For those taking up an offense, that aren't really affected by it all, Proverbs 23:29 - 30 hits the mark: "Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm." It's more commonly known as meddling. And it's a good way to get bit. "Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears." Proverbs 26:17. It's time we learned to love as Christ loved. 

The flip side to all this is a picture of blessings. Our heavenly Father has diverted cursing accusations from Satan and poured a fountain of blessing upon His children. His children are seen as pure and righteous as God views our shortsightedness, willfulness and ignorance through the filter of His Son, our propitiation. That's a big word and an old one. How about another more commonly used word like placation: the act of placating and overcoming distrust and animosity. God has overlooked our fault as it were by placing Christ, the Lamb of God, on the alter for sacrifice. It's called grace. And it's a gift. We don't earn it or deserve it. We call out to God for mercy, confess our sin to Christ and forgiveness is ours.

How freely does this grace and forgiveness flow? "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."- Rev. 22:1 Drink it in! Stand under the flood and be washed clean!

Empty Trucks

© 2016,
published in March issue of Black River Times
 
Point To Ponder: "Empty trucks make the most noise." - Anonymous

I hadn't heard from a friend in a while so I sent him an email. A few days later I checked my Inbox only to find his email undelivered and the address "permanently" unusable. So, after a couple of days I posted a comment on his "Wall" on Facebook. Knowing he was a pretty busy guy, I waited another day of so and still no reply.  I checked his Wall and found his last post to be three or more weeks old and it spoke of an activity I might have wanted to be a part of. (I think I hear the whining of tires in the distance.)

I was tempted to think, "Well, I guess I'm the B team." I was tempted as well to go into "Mully Grubs." "Poor, poor pitiful me" or "I guess he doesn't need me or even like me" or "Maybe I've offended him somehow." But knowing him like I do, he would have said something if I had offended him. So I didn't buy the lie, at least not completely.  (But the thoughts lingered, as they always do with Satan's little seeds.) He was my friend, a brother in the Lord. There must be something else going on. (Those tires singing on the highway are getting louder.)

After a few more days, I decided I'd call him, so I opened my file of contact numbers and called one of the three listed. "This number has been permanently disconnected. If you believe you have dialed . . ." was the standard mantra I'd heard before and it gave me no solace whatsoever. I dialed the second and got some weird message that I had obviously mis-dialed or mis-recorded the number so I quickly hung up! They got erased from my book.

Then I thought, "Oh no! He's been laid-off. The phones are disconnected and he's destitute." Then I paused and thought, "But he'd call me if that happened. What are friends for anyhow?" I called the last number and got the answering machine. Being satisfied in myself for all this trouble, I left a cheery trite little message saying I was thinking of him and to call if he'd like to chat. (I think I see a set of headlights in the distance appearing out of the haze.")

After a day or so I got a brilliant brain wave. "Hey, call his workplace and subtly inquire as to his being in the office today." That took some thinking, but I've always known I had the spiritual gift of "recognizing the obvious." Shazam! He was in his office. (It appears I may be standing in the same lane as that semi-truck heading straight for me.)

After all the usually exchanges of friendly greetings, I shared my pathetic story of failed attempts to reach him over the past few weeks. In his normal courteous manner, he shared he'd had some family issues and was struggling. After a little more discussion, I discovered the real depth of his pain and offered to pray for him. He graciously accepted the offer with me being tempted to hang up and pray later. (I'd heard that one before.) So I prayed for him on the phone, gave him my sincerest love and support and we closed the conversation. (I think the truck just hit me!)

Empty trucks look huge, make loud noises but carry nothing. The truck that hit me was 1 John 3:18 in the NLT which says, "Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions." (That was just the front wheels. The next morning during my normal quiet time with favorite radio pastor, John MacArthur, I got ran over by the back wheels.) 

In his message, The Greatest of These: Love, I was reminded that love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is not adjectives but verbs. Love has 15 action characteristic. The target John hit was boastful pride. Verse 4 says, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud."Here was my friend who had been dealing with some very heavy weights for weeks. And me? I was more concerned about me, what he thought of me, why he hadn't called me, me, me, me . . .! Blah, blah, blah. I was an "empty truck." On the outside I looked formidable but I lacked the goods. I was just noise. The freight was missing. I boasted of more than I was delivering.

If I had really truly been concerned as to his well-being, I would have prayed for him as soon as I realized we hadn't been in contact. If I really loved him I would have pulled all the stops out to find out how he was, if anyone at his church had seen him, etc. But no, I just left  my "Calling Card" with the message, "Call if you want to chat." 

Chat! The guy was bleeding on the tracks from Satan's Freight Service attempting to decimate his wife and children and destroy his faith. Needless to say, I'm praying for him now, but not without confessing my sin of proudly boasting love of a brother to my Heavenly Father. Confession is much better than "meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal." But I'll probably wear the tire marks for a while.

How about you? Got any tire marks on you? Check it out. As the old saying goes, "When everything seems to be coming your way, look out. You may be in the wrong lane." I was.

 

What's In Your Hand?

“And the LORD said unto him, What [is] that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.” ~ Exodus 4:2

During the past few years, I've reflected on my life and my work. My focus has become "What to do with the time God has given me." What have I done with my gifting(s), my talents? Have I invested them or buried them?

I was loaned a book written by Dan Miller called "No More Mondays." In it, Miller breaks down what we should look at when considering how to invest our lives. There are basically three areas; your gifting(s), your passion(s) and identifying needs. Those elements forced me to ask the same questions those in the book eventually had to face, namely, "Am I doing what God has desired for me to do with what He has given me?"

First, your gifting; what talents and abilities has God blessed you with? Second, your passion; what really gives you a deep sense of satisfaction, what gets you going, what makes your day hum? Third, need identification; what needs do you consistently see that should be satisfied? These three will produce a fourth area; your "calling." If you incorporate the first two, your gift and passion, into the need identification process, your calling will soon surface. 

Moses ran into the same question. He was found by Pharaohs daughter and named Moses, then given back to his mother. Then we see him enjoying the good life in Pharaohs court. But he turns a corner in Exodus 2:11-15. Here we see his passion and the misuse of his gifting. He sees his "brethren” captive and ill treated. He takes action by "looking this way and that way" before he kills an Egyptian bully (Bad idea!). He’d obviously realized he wasn’t using his talents properly or wouldn't have looked over his shoulder. 

On the second day out, he returns to the scene of the crime (Another Bad idea!), and witnesses two of his brethren duking it out.” He breaks up the argument and, instead of praise, gets his ego trounced and finds his dastardly deed has been discovered. They recognize not only who he is, but his heritage and calling before he does. One of them rebukes him saying, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?" Not only does he have witnesses but now Pharaoh is after him. (Not good.)

Moses heads for the hills. There, he finds contentment (verse 21). What else could he want? No one knows what he is, what he’s done, or what he was called to do. They don't know what he was saved from or save for. He's content with a wife and family and a flock. But he's out of God's will. That's when God confronts him. The work he has been doing is a result of sin. But a major transformation is coming!

 At the burning bush he gives up the ground he is "content" with, removes his sandals (his walk of life) and worships. Next, God asks him what he has in his hand. Moses calls it a rod or staff (Exodus 4:2). But it’s a crutch; an excuse to justify his current status. (Sounds like some of the dead-end jobs I've rested in.) Being a shepherd was his gifting but he was shepherding the wrong things.

After some resistance, Moses, obeys God, gives up the crutch and throws it down. God turns it into an asp, or cobra! Then, He tells Moses to pick it up by the tail (Now who in their right mind would do that?). Here God checks Moses faith.

 Faith demands obedience. Does he believe God enough to obey Him? His life is in the balance! If he obeys God, he could lose his life by a venomous bite! If he disobeys God he could lose his soul! Moses obeys God in a life changing decision! Grabbing the cobra by the tail, it turns into a rod again, but not the old rod. It’s transformed into something quite different. Moses never again calls it “a rod” but always refers to it as the "rod of God." So we see God confirming to Moses his gifting. But what of his passion?

Remember he "smote" the Egyptian. He wasn't a shepherd then but he'd identified the need and his passion took action with his only tool available, his fists. God recognized this and desired a dedication of this passion as well as his gifting. In 4:6 God commands Moses to place his hand, the murder weapon, inside his "bosom" or tunic. When he drew it out, it’s "leprous." Again, testing Moses faith and obedience, God tells him to repeat the process and in verse 7 his hand is made whole again.

So what's the point for us? Are we "content" to bury our gifting and passion in the Plains of Midian, such as in a job that doesn't truly satisfy or fill the longing in our soul? Do we know for certain we are fulfilling our God-given calling or does it remain unheard of as a result of doing what appears to be the “next thing”?

What's in your hand? A crutch? Let it go! Exercise your faith by action; obedience. Commit your gift(s), your passion and your need(s) to God. Those needs will never truly be satisfied until you do. Let Him place you where you shepherd the right things and see Him smile at you. You'll break forth in singing and true worship because your work will be truly honoring Him.

Time’s running out. Are you ready to throw your crutch down and let it become the "rod of God?

      Dig a Little Deeper: Ps 37:4-6; Matt 6:33, 25:14-30:Phil 4:6; 2 Tim 3:16-17