One Fall from Being in Serious Trouble

My wife Jeanette has walked with a slight limp as long as I have known her. She has had joint issues that required her to exercise caution when moving about. For years some degree of numbness has been present in her hands and feet. Earlier attempts to identify and correct these matters were not successful. So, she learned to adapt, endure, and move forward without complaint. Her aches and pains have not stopped her from taking care of her home, serving as a pastor’s wife, being a denominational servant, or serving as a mission volunteer. But in recent years these issues have become more of a challenge. In the past two years her pain has been excruciating and her mobility has been limited. In the past year she has required a cane and then a walker to move around the house. The pandemic slowed the journey to discover the causes of these problems. Our efforts were further delayed by deaths in the family. But in the course of time, it was revealed that she had spinal stenosis in her lower back and neuropathy in her feet. Medications and physical therapy helped with the pain and enhanced her mobility to a degree but it was obvious that her problems were numerous and complicated. In January we had a consultation with a neurologist who did a thorough examination. He concurred that she had neuropathy in her legs and suffered from stenosis, but these things should not be causing the current level of weakness in her legs, her unnatural gait, enhanced reflexes, and the tingling and numbness in her feet and hands. He ordered a battery of blood test and though he was not convinced of the need for it, determined that an MRI of the neck should be performed. Within a couple of hours, we saw the results of the MRI on line. It revealed severe spinal stenosis in her neck at the C-4 ,5, and 6 area. That very afternoon the neurologist office secured an appointment with the neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon showed us the MRI images and explained how the spinal stenosis was putting severe pressure on the spinal cord and that surgery to relieve that pressure was necessary. He did not promise that it would correct any of her existing problems but said the surgery needed to be done in order to prevent much more crippling effects.

Jeanette had surgery on February 15. The surgery went well. Later that day the surgeon’s physician assistant was visiting with Jeanette and in the course of conversation asked her “when was the last time you fell”? She replied that it had been 3-4 months. He said they could tell by the bruising on the spinal cord that she had endured a blunt force impact that likely had been caused by a fall. Then he said, “one more fall and you would have been in serious trouble”. When My wife relayed that story to me my soul cried and rejoiced at the same time. The Lord had been gracious, and she had been spared from severe physical injury. She is now recovering from the surgery, we have seen some positive results, and we await to see what the next steps of the journey might be.

But the words of the physician’s assistant keep ringing in my heart and mind “One more fall and you would have been in serious trouble”. There is a spiritual lesson in those words for us as a missionary people. Every day we encounter people who physically and spiritually are on the pericope of death and Hell. They are one fall from an irreversible eternal destiny. You and I stand before them with the healing gospel of the Great Physician. The saving power of the gospel is the only hope they have. We are the ones who must confront them with the truth about the severity of their predicament and we are the ones who must deliver the crucial plea for them to believe the gospel and come to faith Christ. The gospel may sound like foolishness to them, but “one more fall and they will be in serious trouble”.

In Search of the Prince of Peace

 Some folks are so broken, much time and resources they do take

Time with them is exhausting, from such efforts we need a break

There are those who like to argue, they have venom in their veins

Their souls cannot find satisfaction unless they hold the reigns

Some neglect truth and justice, bound by the pace of status quo

Squelching hope and progress, leaving souls to wither and plateau.

 

Yet into this world of darkness came a great glorious light

Illuminating fear and blackness with a beam shining bright

Stepping into the confusion, devilish minds did deploy

Overriding deep division, increasing faith, love, and joy

Lifting burdens from our shoulders, rough and heavy was the freight

Giving courage to the weary as we struggle with life’s weight

 

This strength and light came through a child, from a woman he was born

A son with God’s genetics, heavens gift to a world forlorn

He came to give counsel, teaching us to walk paths that are right

He came as the savior, to forgive and redeem from sin’s might

He gave us this mission, to tell the world of his work and love

Spread the story of salvation, of eternal life above

 

As we continue earth’s journey, filled with sorrow, grief, and death

Dealing with pain and conflict until we take our final breath

When our hearts seem heavy, when there is no jingle in our soul

By grace through faith look to the Christ child, keep heaven as our goal

While on earth love and serve him, until the time of our release

Then We’ll gather in the throne room, and worship the Prince of Peace

Influencing the Earth

When we hear the word meek, we picture someone who is weak. But this is not how the Bible portrays a meek person. Numbers 12:3 says “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth”. The context in which the Lord made that statement was when Miriam and Aaron were speaking against and thinking themselves to have equal status with Moses. Moses did not confront them for this behavior, but God did. He called them into the tent for a private meeting and stood before them in a pillar of cloud. With a stern voice God said “hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord” (Number 12:6-8a ESV). God made it clear that Moses was in charge and was to be followed. God communicated with Moses not in the haze of a vision or the figment of a dream but he put his lips directly upon Moses’s lips. He breathed his very words into the mouth and mind and heart of Moses. God did so because Moses was the meekest man in all the earth. Therefore, he was in tune with God and could be trusted. That is a mural of strength.

Jesus surely considered the character of Moses when he said “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5 ESV). Someone who is meek is tame as opposed to acting wild. They are wise rather than foolish. Insightful, not disruptive. Steady not static. Useful instead of harmful. A meek person is strong yet they possess a gentle demeanor. We might describe the meek individual as being self-controlled. But in a spiritual sense it is far more than that. To be self-controlled assumes that we are in charge and accountable only to ourselves. Yet no matter how much self-control we have we are lessened by our flaws. We are subject to human frailties. Somewhere in life’s journey our self-control will meet its match and our souls will surrender in defeat. To be meek is to be God-controlled. A meek person is one who has been tamed by God. A meek person has submitted themselves to God and has allowed the Spirit of God to shape and mold their character. Moses had been subjected to the arrogance of Pharoah’s household for forty years. Then he spent forty years as a herdsman in the wilderness. In the barrenness of the desert with his nostrils filled with the stench of sheep he discovered the aroma of God’s grace. Submitting himself to God he became a meek man that God could use.

The meek person through his God-tamed strength will inherit the earth. That does mean that he owns the earth. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” Psalm 24:1 ESV). The meek person may not hold many deeds to property. They may not hold jurisdiction over defined territories. Their names may lack notoriety. But the meek inherit the earth because they are able to influence the earth for God and for good. Leadership is influence. A meek person is able to influence those in their realm and encourage them to move in a Godly trajectory.

The world is filled with statues. Buildings and roads bear the names of powerful people. History books tell the stories of conquests and empires. Some of these great leaders have been agents of good and some have been tyrants for evil. But eventually statues will be torn down. Buildings will decay and roads will crumble. The memorials we erected will just be aging pyramids full of bones. In time the historians usually will expose the complete story.

The meek will inherit the earth because what has preserved the earth for generation after generation is not the conquering tactics of ambitious men. Rather, it is the goodliness and godliness of those who have lived in submission to the principles of our righteous God. This is what brings blessings to our world and blessedness to our own souls.

 

Benefits of Being Poor

 

Being poor is inconvenient. It limits our choices. It makes it harder to navigate our worlds. Having riches would add a lot of benefits to life. But Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:4). Since I have enough resources to get along pretty well in life, I find comfort that Jesus emphasized being “poor in spirit”. Even though I am not a pauper I can still be blessed and have a place in God’s kingdom. But Luke’s version of this teaching says “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20). Indicating that physical poverty precipitates the benefits of the kingdom.

If we are poor in terms of physical assets it might make us mean in spirit and drive us from God. Jesus is saying that being poor should humble us and cause us to recognize our need for God and drive us to trust God.  If we possess the riches of this world, we have to find ways to divorce ourselves of the power of riches and recognize our need for God. To be poor in spirit means that in spite of whatever riches we possess we humble ourselves ultimately trusting God for every sustenance in life.  When we cast our cares on God in this fashion, we access the power and benefits of heaven.

Wealth and talent and pride have the power to rob us of humility. They can rob us of eyes that recognize God. They can cause us to have faith in things that diminish and neglect to trust in the eternal powers of God.  

The pains of life are sufficient to make our spirits poor. But we need to embrace that impoverished spirit with enough desperation to put our trust in God. We may lose everything this world has to offer. Our hands may become empty. Our accounts may be dry. But if our fingers cling to Jesus the kingdom of heaven belongs to us.  

Serving the Crucified Christ

Filled with hate, ignorant of truth, lacking in faith, and void of righteousness the Jews had plotted to kill Jesus. Rome took ownership of their plot and made a statement of their authority in the act of crucifixion. In the course of less than twenty-four hours Jesus was arrested, accused, lied about, endured six mock trials, cursed, beaten, and in humiliation crucified naked before the viewing world. As the sun made its downward turn, he breathed his last and hung dead on the cross. As the dark of evening approached there emerged from the shadows a servant named Joseph who was from the town of Arimathea.

Some refer to Joseph as a secret disciple of Jesus. But his thoughts regarding Jesus were not that secret. The gospel writers tell us that he was a member of the council, “a good and righteous man” who was himself “searching for the kingdom of God”. If his attitude regarding Jesus was private it lost its privacy when in a council meeting, he refused to consent to the majority opinion to work toward the demise of Jesus. 

Joseph did not have the power to stop the violent death of Jesus. He lacked adequate information about the meaning of the event. But he had enough theological understanding of the significance of Jesus and enough admiration for Jesus to serve him by administering proper burial.

We think of servants being poor but Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. One does not need to be rich to be of service to the Lord. But we are to use whatever means we have to serve the Lord and His cause. If we have great means we are called upon to use those means to advance the kingdom and minister unto people. “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

Joseph was a servant with courage. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was a weak ruler, so we might think that did not take much courage. Under Roman law the body of someone who had been executed was considered state property. Pilate could grant that body to anyone he so desired. Or he could refuse to relinquish the body to anyone. In such cases the bodies might be thrown into the nearby garbage dump and burned or at best buried as a pauper in the local potter’s field. Joseph took the risk of requesting the body from Pilate. But his real act of courage was that he, a member of the council, was identifying himself with Jesus. He risked being ostracized by his faith community. He risked trouble with the government. He risked losing business and position.

Joseph was a rich man but he was not afraid of difficult work. He engaged in the gruesome task of taking the tortured body of Jesus down from the cross. He purchased a new linen shroud and with the help of Nicodemus prepared the mangled body of Jesus for burial. Joseph had a heart willing to sacrifice. He took Jesus and laid him in his own tomb that had been freshly cut of the rock nearby. This was the tomb Joseph of had built for his own burial. It had never been used. But now it had been defiled with the body of one who had been executed as a criminal.

In reality Joseph’s tomb was occupied by the one who bore the richness of heaven, the richest of the rich. But Paul reminds us that for the sake of our salvation Jesus “became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (II Cor. 8:9). At the time of his burial Jesus had become the poorest of the poor, stripped of all his wealth by the weight of our sins. Yet by the sovereignty of God and because of Joseph’s servant heart he lay in a rich man’s tomb awaiting the day of resurrection when all the richness of heaven would be restored to him.

 

Seeing the Crowds

Jesus spoke a simple message of hope to people and provided practical help by healing their diseases and afflictions. So, the crowds gathered around him. The crowd in one town would follow him to the next town until soon the crowds were very large. The crowds that gathered were filled with sick, afflicted, and oppressed people.

The setting for the Sermon on the Mount is revealed in Matthew 5:1. “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him”.

Jesus always saw the crowds. He saw them not just as gathered masses of humanity but as sheep in need of care. Jesus went up on the mountain not in order to get away from the crowds but so he could observe them. From the vantage point of the mountain Jesus and his disciples could view the crowds for what they were. They were people in need of love, grace, mercy, and instruction. To the government, business, and religious structures of their society they were just tools, instruments to be used to enhance the desires of the power structures under which they lived. But to Jesus they were human souls created in the image of God. The crowds would have siphoned emotional energy from Jesus yet they strengthened him because in them he saw his purpose for being in the world. He had come to work for justice in the present world and provide the path for salvation that would ensure eternal life in the world to come. On the mountain, with his eyes on the crowds and with his disciples gathered around him, Jesus posturing himself as a teacher “sat down”. The disciples stood in the position of learners. Jesus began unfolding truths about the character they needed to possess and develop if they were going to emulate him and fulfill the purpose to which he was calling them.  

We do not know how attentive the disciples were or how well they understood. Our real concern should be how much attention we give to the teachings of Jesus and how well we follow the instructions. 

He Opened His Mouth

Matthew 5:2 tells us that Jesus “opened his mouth and taught them”. What followed were the profound teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.

Many people open their mouths yet teach us nothing of value. Profound lessons do not just erupt from our voices. They must first be processed in a sound mind. They need to be filtered by a righteous heart.

Many people open their mouths and teach us falsely. They are either ignorant of truth or deniers of truth or maybe just plain liars. The motive of their heart is to de-rail truth by manipulating facts or deceiving the audience by withholding information. Corrupt minds and vile hearts will never compose and propagate truths that lead to wholesome societies and upright behaviors.

When Jesus opened his mouth, he taught with clarity. Without apology he taught divine truths that his mind had processed and formed into language that simple humanity could understand. He spoke not just words of truth but thoughts that were ripened and seasoned with wisdom. When Jesus spoke, he did so with a heart filled with love, compassion, fairness, and concern. The words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart were found acceptable in the sight of God.

The teachings that came from the mouth of Jesus are not easy for us to adopt and assimilate into life. In fact, it is pretty tough to follow the teachings Jesus unfolded in the Sermon on the Mount. Some of them may seem unpalatable to our depraved psyches. But the words of Jesus reveal the expectations he has for those who desire to follow after him. He leaves no doubts as to how we should structure our lives.

When Jesus opens his mouth, we need to take it as truth. We may find it necessary to meditate in prayer with him about the details. It may be prudent to engage in questions and discussions with our fellow believers to get a better understanding of how we can apply his teachings in practical ways. But the principles set forth by Jesus are clear. They are not up for negotiation or amendment. When Jesus opens his mouth, the proper response is to listen and to obey what we hear.

 

Treasures New and Old

The teachers of the law spoke with dull words that usually failed to increase understanding and propagate faith. They spoke truth but their logical explanations did not invoke interest in the human heart or instigate passion in the human soul. But Jesus could stir a crowd with the power of a story. The words of Jesus did not enable His listeners to grasp the history of their traditions or the nuances of their theology. But they went home inspired. Jesus’s parables had one simple point. The listeners surely did not remember the details of each parable but what they did recall gave them great lessons to mull over and discuss. 

Jesus did not give deductive lectures that the crowds had to choose whether or not to be a part of. But in His parables Jesus presented inductive thoughts that encircled those who gathered to listen. When I read the parables of Jesus, I find myself in the middle of the story. I cannot just walk away from it but I must make a decision. I can either reject the truth being taught or I can ponder that truth and examine it. My examination of the truth portrayed in the parable may still not cause me to embrace it. But it forces me to make another decision. I must decide to journey with Jesus by following the lessons He taught or choose to walk another path.

In Matthew 13 Jesus told a series of parables that compared familiar activities and events to the kingdom of heaven.  Each parable taught a lesson about the value and the priority of the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus finished speaking, He asked the disciples “Have you understood all these things?”. Maybe Jesus grinned when they quickly answered “Yes”. Surely, they had not understood everything taught in those parables. None of us have. Jesus did not quibble with their answer but gave a one sentence reply “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matthew 13:52 ESV).

The scribes were the teachers of the law.  Humbly it occurs to me that I, a Baptist preacher, am a scribe who has been trained for the kingdom. God in His sovereignty called me and gave me some of “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11 ESV). Jesus said a trained scribe was like master of a house. The master of a house was in charge of the welfare, the instruction, the mission, and the hospitality of the house. If one is a benevolent master of a house, he does not distribute junk to those who live in or who are guest in his household. But he reaches into his treasure and brings out the good stuff. The good stuff is that which we value and protect. It is that which we have discovered in the word of God and store deep within us. The good stuff, our treasures, are the basis of our convictions. We handle them carefully and display and dispense of them with prudence.

The scribe who is like the master of the house reaches deep into his treasure and brings out something new and something old. I ask myself “what can I retrieve from my treasure, both new and old, that will enhance the kingdom? How can I take the old truth and communicate it in fresh new ways”?

I recall days of yesteryear when I stood to preach with quivering knees and fluttering heart. It was not just nervousness but it was a Holy Spirit induced unction to accurately share what I had learned from God. I hope I can still pull from my treasure a passion for the word of God that translates into orations of substance that will move the listener or reader toward a greater commitment to the Lord. I trust that the words that flow from my soul enable people to have a wide peripheral kingdom vision. I pray that the criteria of the meditations of my heart are not based on biased earthly allegiances. The church is languishing because we have divided the kingdom with terms like left and right, white and black, contemporary and traditional. May God help us who are scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven to bring from our treasure ideas both new and old that will lead the church to a broader functionality.

Christmas in COVID Times

 

Midst efforts to resolve a viral pandemic

Causing global illness and death epidemic

As we process the merits of our heartfelt fears

Mixed with worry, doubt, dread, anger, and sometimes tears

Let’s not forget about the virgin who conceived

A child sent from God, so our sins could be relieved.

 

As we shelter in our places of seclusion

Where once welcomed visits are now an intrusion

As we inhale and exhale covered by our mask

While simple routines are now a cumbersome task

Let’s recall that to the virgin a child was born

Who would bring hope, joy, and peace to a world forlorn

 

When six feet apart striving for social distance

Has become the new normal of our existence

When our multiple efforts of sanitation

Instigates within us constant aggravation

Visit the manger, see Joseph and his betrothed

Gaze upon the child who in swaddling rags was clothed

 

When the news of more COVID cases scours the land

When the ones who govern hand down a new demand

When after each encounter we wash our hands clean

As we hope and pray each day for a new vaccine

Listen to the voices of the angelic throng

Announcing the Messiah’s presence in their song

 

As new stipulations create family strain

And events occur causing economic pain

When we come in close contact with those infected

Then obey rules of quarantine as directed

Let’s treasure the glorious news of a savior

Who came to remedy our sinful behavior

 

When we grieve a cherished friend or loved one who dies

And we can’t properly gather to say goodbyes

When we want to weep and give each other a hug

But we are restricted to a stare and a shrug

Let’s join the angels in praising the Prince of Peace

For in His grace and mercy we will find release

 

When each retail store bears the sign “masks are required”

And every adventure makes us tense and tired

When we learn that someone had a positive test

And we retreat to our homes for much needed rest

Let’s treasure Jesus, ponder His truth in our heart

With fresh faith in Him tomorrow a new day start

 

Midst our expressed concerns about the world’s future

Worrying that the wounds are too deep to suture

When mental anguish and fear are out of control

When encouraging words lack power to console

Recall that our purpose is to give Christ glory

And our mission is to propagate His story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resurrected Wounded

Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb on the morning following the Sabbath for the purpose of anointing the body of Jesus for burial. But when they got there the tomb was open and it was empty. There they encountered an angel who said to them “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6-7).


We learn here of a bodily resurrection. A man who had been publicly butchered on a cross, pronounced dead, and hastily buried inside a nearby tomb sealed by a huge rock had come back to life. Not just enough life to make a few restless movements where he was laying but enough life to get up, shed the burial garments, move the heavy stone and walk out. That had never been heard of because it had never happened before. A dead man had come back to life. This once dead man was on his feet walking and the angel knew his plans and whereabouts. Knowing his plans the angel gave the women an errand “Go tell his disciples and Peter that he will meet them in Galilee”. This was a bodily resurrection. Jesus had not been whisked off to heaven. That would happen later but for now he was on earth in same body he had had for 33 years. He was walking around in the same body that had been killed. That body bore the marks of crucifixion. Jesus had been resurrected but he was resurrected wounded.


We know this to be true because after the resurrection Jesus presented himself alive to all of his disciples except Thomas. Not being present Thomas refused to believe saying “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe”. (John 20:25). Shortly afterwards Jesus appeared to them again and gave Thomas the opportunity to place his finger in the mark of the nails in his hands and place his hand in the gaping wound in his side.  Seeing and being with the wounded resurrected Jesus was necessary to prove his dominion over death and to build faith not only in the lives of the disciples but all the generations since that time.  


That morning the women found an empty tomb and received that wonderful message from the angel “He is risen; he is not here.” With excitement they left to spread the news and Jesus met them on the way. They saw the wounded resurrected Jesus and Jesus reiterated the assignment the angel had given them “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matthew 28:9-10).


Let’s understand the magnitude of that. It is 78 miles from Jerusalem to the town of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. That is a 3 day walking journey if you go through Samaria. If you take the longer but safer route it is a 5 day journey. Jesus is going to make that journey on wounded feet. The Roman government with encouragement from the Jewish community had put him to death in the most debilitating way ever devised by man. He was buried and then with the miraculous powers of heaven was resurrected in human bodily form. In that human wounded body he was going to make a 3 day journey along mountainous goat trails and dangerous roads.


But why was he going to Galilee? First of all it was a safe distance from Jerusalem. The reality of the empty tomb and the rumor of resurrection would have the government searching for him. Secondly, Galilee was home. It was a place where Jesus and his disciples could feel safe. Jesus had spent three years ministering in the region of Galilee. It was from there he had called them and instructed his disciples. Now he is calling his them to re-gather with him. It will be a time of fellowship. It will be a time of forgiveness. Peter had betrayed Jesus terribly. But we should note that the angel specifically said that Peter should be given the word that Jesus wanted to see him in Galilee. “Go tell my disciples, and Peter, to meet me in Galilee”. Peter was a failed soul but Jesus forgave him and had a great plan for how he would be involved in the kingdom. For Peter and for all of the disciples Jesus needed to gather them in order to instruct them and make his commission clear in their lives.


Jesus went back to Galilee in his wounded human body to demonstrate to his disciples that they could go into their worlds in their human bodies with all their faults and frailties to tell his story and fulfill the commission that was given to them. It is the same for us. We are called to serve Jesus. We are not called to serve him with what we do not have but we are called to serve with what we do have. What we have are our human bodies and our human minds. We are not Jesus and we have not been wounded in the fashion that he was. But we have been wounded. We have first of all been wounded by our sin but Jesus has forgiven us. We were dead in our sin but in Jesus we have been resurrected to new life. Because he lives we shall live also.  We have been hurt in this world but we have the comfort and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. We live wounded but in Jesus we can go forward with the imperfections of our wounds to fulfill the commission of Jesus and promote the character of Jesus.


After a period of time Jesus went back to heaven where he reigns forever glorified. As believers we can look forward to a time when we will be with him with a new body in heaven. But at the present time we are the resurrected wounded. So let us strive to fill our wounded hearts and minds with the compassion and love of Christ. Let us journey forward with wounded feet. With wounded hands let us serve others, bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Let's Go to Bethlehem and See

Recently I traveled to Israel. I had the opportunity to visit Bethlehem. In preparing for this event and because of this event I wrote the following poem.

Let’s Go to Bethlehem and See

By Brent Cloyd, 2014

Come travel to the town of Bethlehem with me

Let’s observe the venue, reflect upon what we see

 I see a place where politics is harsh and shrewd

Where feeling forgotten, people have a vile mood

I see an Emperor who made a great decree

Go home take the census; you owe taxes to me

I see a young man, responsible, able, and proud

Who complied with the order, did not complain loud

I see significance in his ancestral line

The connection must be claimed, they could not decline

I see a young woman, greatly pregnant with child

Her time would come soon; the journey would not be mild

I see a man and woman, tested but in love

Confused, yet convinced of their mission from above

I see a crowded town without a lodging place

For poor strangers there was little mercy or grace

I see the pain of labor, loneliness, and stress

With groans, desire, and effort; a birth did progress

I see a happy face, immaculate with joy

Overflowing with love for a her baby boy

I see a stable, filled with the stench of manure

No place for a new born, vulnerable and pure

I see a child lying on a mattress of hay

Who humbly had arrived in the natural way

I see a baby wrapped securely in strips of cloth

One sent from heaven resting in a feeding trough
 
I see a proud mother gazing at her first born
Unaware that others will stare at him with scorn

I see a town that ignorantly missed the sign
Thus ignored the presence of this infant divine

I see shepherds on guard in the dark of the field
Keeping watch over their flocks with protecting shield

I see night interrupted by an angels face
As the glory of the Lord was shone in that place

I see heavenly beings with great news to proclaim
The joy of one who surpasses every name

I see a choir of angels as their voices ring
Glory to God in the highest heaven they sing

I see them praising God in sounds of sweet release
God sends His favor, in Messiah there is peace

I see shepherds, curious, gazing, with minds stunned
Leaving their flocks at night to see what had been done

I see action, let’s go to town right now and see
This savior the angels sang about with such glee
 
I see a young family, a man and his wife
Loving and guarding their child, in a world of strife

I see shepherds, with amazing joy in their eyes
Who left telling a story of this great surprise

I see a mother treasuring the day’s events
Pondering her involvement in God’s great intents

I see myself, a sinner, as part of the story
Praise Jesus my savior, to God be the glory.

 

 

 

What Should I Do With These Stones?

When I was in Israel I saw a lot of houses made with stone. Timber was scarce in Israel but stones were plentiful. I marveled at the stone structures of antiquity. It required skilled engineering and craftsmanship and an enormous amount of labor to build the theaters and arches and walls and roadways that are still with us today. They managed to turn rocks into an asset and did so without benefit of modern technology. I was amazed at the walls and buildings of Old Jerusalem. How did they get two and a half-ton rocks in place in order to build a high and mighty wall? I saw a rock in the rabbinical tunnel that was part of the retaining wall of the old temple area. It would have been at street level in the day of Jesus. That means I was looking at the same rock Jesus would have seen. It is calculated that it weighs 580 tons. How did they get it there in one piece? I do not know. But the ancients were really good at turning the common materials available into a valuable asset. But when you cut and craft stone there is going to be some waste. That means that somewhere there were piles of sharp, rough, jagged rocks lying around. They were not big enough to be useful but they were big enough to be dangerous. Maybe that is why one of the preferred methods of mob violence was stoning. We read that the Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. It occurs to me that rocks when coupled with intelligence, desire, planning, skill, and hard work can be turned into walls and roads and buildings. But when anger and misunderstanding prevails rocks can be turned into weapons of destruction. We can pick up rocks to build or we can pick up rocks to kill. Makes me wonder what I am doing with the rocks that are strewn along the paths I walk.

At Galilee

I walked one day where Jesus trod
In a village along the shore
I stood upon a sloping hill
Where he preached to five thousand or more

I ventured out onto the sea
Where Peter and John plied their trade
With mine own eyes I saw the place
Where Jesus taught and disciples made

I viewed the hills panoramic
Stoic, stately, still, and compact
From this backdrop He gave meaning
To faith, hope, and love so abstract

I recalled Peter and the others

When a fierce wind they had to face
Then came Jesus on the water
Reaching His hand of saving grace

I thought of how much in common,

Though it has been two thousand years
We have with those who lived in that day
How Jesus still can calm our fears

Jesus did not consider great
Those who held power in their hand
But had respect and compassion
For the weary who worked the land

I was there with many travelers

In their tears I discovered a clue
In each was a burdensome story
They had only told to a few
 

As I looked upon the marvel

I sensed a word to my hungry soul
Take my yoke upon your shoulders
Together we will reach the goal.

Somewhere Near Here

While traveling in Israel I wrote a poem and shared the poem with our group at our last devotional time in the Jerusalem.

In old Jerusalem near cross and sepulcher

Transgressors and confessors searching for a cure
Weary Pilgrims assembled in this place ornate
Guilty, broken, sad, sickened, from life’s heavy weight

Here we remember how our sin once did molest

How selfish deeds and hateful thoughts God does detest
Yet for us sinners Christ in love performed His grace
His sacrificial work makes this a holy place

Somewhere near here religion organized deceit

They drug him to the pavement to make his end complete
Somewhere near here truth was twisted, justice denied
Somewhere near here, misinformed, crucified they cried

Somewhere near here with cruel whip his back was beat

Somewhere near here Rome drove nails in Christ’ hands and feet
Somewhere near here the savior wore thorns for a crown
Somewhere near here the savior’s blood trickled down

Somewhere near here they punctured a sword in his side

Somewhere near here for our sin our blessed savior died
Somewhere near here, hanging shamefully on a cross
Jesus was sacrificed to restore human loss

Here listening to vile words the crowd did sputter

An announcement of forgiveness he did utter
Here on these grounds the lamb without blemish or flaw
Orchestrated the salvation the Father foresaw

The execution done His body was removed

The task was now completed, the Father approved
In a tomb near here his slaughtered corpse was encased
Still, dead, and buried, His accomplishments erased

For three days in the dark of the earth he did lay

While the Sabbath left His friends to mourn in dismay
But on the third day, somewhere near here, before dawn
There came a rumble and He awoke without yawn
 

Somewhere near here before the daylights detection

Breath was restored in mighty resurrection
The women and the disciples saw him near here
Then to more than five-hundred he dared to appear
 

I’m quite impressed with these walls and decorations

But they provoke neither joy nor celebration
For I’m on a journey to see the saviors face
And perhaps that’s the lesson of this wondrous place

For nails, nor cross, rocks, or cave can keep Jesus still

Resurrected our savior moves around at will
He will not be confined to places around here
But where ever we go our living Lord is near.

 

November 22, 1963

I was six years old. I was in my first grade class room in the basement of the East Bernstadt School in East Bernstadt, KY. My teacher, Mrs. Wilma Griffith got our attention and told us the news. President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed. I do not remember much about how the class responded. Nor am I able to get in touch with the thoughts I myself would have had. I just knew that a bad thing had happened. I knew that my folks had not voted for Mr. Kennedy, though I think at least my mother would have liked to. But we were Baptist and in 1960 voting for a Catholic was a gulf that many, maybe most, Baptist could not span. Knowing what I know about the electoral preference of our county the president certainly would not have won the majority among the folks I lived around. Yet even as a six year old I sensed that people liked the president. At least they were intrigued with him. There was something fascinating about a young president with a winning smile and impressive family. It was a beautiful picture. Though people did not understand his background or his faith they enjoyed the glamour that accompanied him. Now he was gone. In one day he was gone, just gone.

This was before the days of the 24 hour news cycle but it would not have mattered anyway. We did not have a television. We got our news from the radio and the telephone and who ever might drop by to talk with us. Everybody was talking about it. The news sank in.

School was dismissed the day of the president’s funeral. My mother out of her own curiosity and probably because she wanted her children to have the educational experience made arrangements for us to watch the funeral. Our pastor, Rev. E. P. Whitt had a television. Pastor Whitt and his wife Sylvia lived in a house trailer in the back yard of the New Salem Baptist Church. Mother piled all four of us in the car and took us to pastor Whitt’s home. There sitting on the floor in the living room of a house trailer parked in the back yard of the New Salem Baptist Church we watched the proceedings of President Kennedy’s funeral. Now isn’t that something. A group of Baptist huddled around a television on church property watching a Catholic president’s funeral. Maybe that great gulf between Baptists and Catholics could be spanned.

Plus Members and Regular Members

My cell phone rings. I answer “hello”. Without identification the caller states “yes, I am a plus member and I just want to be a regular member”. I asked “sir, who am I speaking with”? My next question would have been “sir, what are you a plus member of that you wish to become a regular member of”? I was anxious to have had a little fun with the caller. But I suppose he recognized that he had the wrong number and without uttering another word ended the call.

I was left to wonder what organization he was a plus member of. I wondered why someone who was a plus member would want to become a regular member. Surely being a plus member entitled one to more benefits. Of course being a regular member probably cost less. Perhaps the caller had decided that the cost of plus membership was not effective. Maybe he simply could not afford it. Maybe he was not all that interested in the organization but still wanted to be a member.

Now I am a churchman. If my church had tiered membership I might have thought it was one of my church folks calling to tell me they wanted to downgrade their membership. But while we do not have tiered membership we do have plus members. Plus members voluntarily have a greater commitment and greater participation in the church. But that alone does not make them plus members. To really be a plus member you have to have a great love and commitment to the Lord Christ. I have been blessed with a lot of plus members over the years. They have made the work of the church successful. They have made my life a lot easier.

But sadly over the years I have seen some people who once were plus members decide to become regular members. Maybe we worked them to hard and they became tired and experienced burnout. Maybe they fell into sin and became ashamed. Maybe they just got to busy and lost some of their love for the Lord. For whatever reason they “became weary in well doing”(Gal. 6:9) and they released themselves from the responsibility of being a plus member. They began to watch more and do less. It is a lot easier to audit church than it is to do the work required.

Putting Away Childish Things

During the Sunday School hour this morning two eleven year old girls spoke to me about being baptized. I talked with them about their faith journey and what it meant to be a believer in Christ and the significance of baptism. I helped them understand our tradition of “coming forward” during the concluding hymn of the worship service so that together we could express their desire and allow the congregation to rejoice with them. They said they were going to do that and at the conclusion of the morning worship they walked forward together. A thirteen year old boy came as well and allowed us to rejoice with him in his decision to follow Christ. It was a good day at North Side Baptist Church. But as our worship service was unfolding today I observed a subtle action that demonstrated a great truth. I noted that the girls did not come to the front for the children’s sermon as they usually did. I smiled inside. I thought to myself, something has changed today. They have made a decision to follow Christ and that has served as a right of passage for them to sit at the back and observe the children’s sermon rather than be a part of it. They have grown up. I wish all believers could understand the Apostle Paul’s admonition that when we grow up it is time to put away childish things.