Family

November 16th 2007 Part Two

I wrote recently and posted a video of a small gathering that Corinne and I had at our house and how great it was to see everyone again. Well that same night as everyone began to arrive we received word that a video clip of my son Samuel's platoon was posted online, so we raced to the computer and looked it up and carefully watched as face after face panned by. I began to wonder, would I recognize him? When suddenly, there he was, no doubt about it, that's my son.
I can't put into words all that I felt when I saw him, even though the clip only shows him for about two seconds, it meant the world to me. It reminded me that soon we would be seeing him again and I won't go into detail, but it seems there have been a great many changes for the better in his life.
There is a part in the story Jesus told of the prodigal son in Luke 15 where it says "But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." I have to tell you, I know what it is like to be looking for your son even when he is far off, and hoping to see him again, I understand how everything that was in the past means nothing to the thought of compassion for him and being able to see him, fall on his neck and kiss him.
These emotions became a reality that moved me to tears just seeing him for those two seconds. Oh, and I wasn't the only one who shed a tear that night, many who knew Samuel and saw him on the video were moved to tears as well, and yeah, they were all girls, ...so what's my excuse?

…I'm his father.

For those who would like to see him, Samuel is 4th row second from the right, he appears from 1:06 - 1:08 in the video below.

Friends

November 16th 2007

Corinne and I had wanted to get together with some of the people we had served with in our former college group and so we decided to have a little get together that included food, fun and a great time worshiping together. It was great to see everyone again (miss them so much), and catch up on what's happening in their lives.
Put a little slide show together from the evening.

Facing the real World

Facing the real World

This week I began dog training, very slowly, but a step in a whole new direction. It’s a funny thing to go into a house where you are able to fix the problems they are having, but what’s been eating me is that the problem I am fixing has to do with dogs, not people or their relationships, it’s with peoples pets!
So today as I was home buming a bit, thinking about all this when I received a phone call from someone who let me know that a former friend and co-worker was in the hospital and in very serious condition (It would take too long to go into detail, as his problems go back many years and involve many bad choices).
My friend was surprised and happy to see me and as we began to talk, the gravity of his condition came out. He told me how he’d been in ICU for almost three weeks and was at Loma Linda for almost three months before that, his kidney is failing (he only has one) and because of his drug use and life style, the chances of him getting another transplant are unlikely. His wife has filed for divorce and he had not seen his two children for quite sometime which just added to the overall turmoil he was in.
Now, I will try and clarify what I am about to say in a bit as it may come across rather dark, but the truth is, I would rather have been in that ICU room dealing with all that pain my friend was going through, than in a beautiful house being hailed as a hero for making someone’s dog behave.
You see, as I began to talk with my friend, I was able to bring back into his thoughts the reality of eternity and how temporary all of what WE call “life” is, that he’s not leaving the real world, he’s facing it! He began to cry as we spoke of what really should matter to him most right now, how he, and we all need, forgiveness and grace. He began to talk of his regrets, all that he did wrong and failed to do right. And in his despair I was able to speak to him of God’s unfailing mercy and ability to take and turn around the years that we’ve wasted. I also told him that even in his condition there in ICU, he is still useful to God and those he loves, he can still pray in that hospital bed for his children, and for his marriage, that his prayers can enter eternity and have an impact even after he is gone, that he can still call out to the Lord for strength, wisdom and peace to strengthen the things that remain.
Again through this time, although difficult and sad, I was thankful to be able to be there, thankful to have a part of the eternal work and not just the temporary wag of a tail.
It is worth some thought, when people face death, what matters most of what we call life begins to surface, but we don’t have to wait for that to happen, do we?

Misunderstanding II

Misunderstanding II

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”” - Mark 9:38
Now what’s wrong with this picture? I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience on casting out demons (don’t want it either), but I’m guessing that casting them out would be a good thing, don’t you? Yet those who knew Jesus best wanted to stop it from happening because the people weren’t following them. I believe there is more to this passage than us just seeing how self absorbed the disciples were with the thought of being leaders. I believe it is to warn us of the very same thing, especially those with a leadership role. I wanted to make the point in my last blog how we can move from a position of authority based on tradition that can blind us from what is being said. It seems that some people are so zealous about what they stand for (like the disciples and who should cast out demons), that they are blind to what actually matters most. Mercy and not sacrifice or religious ritual (Matt. 9:16, Hosea 6:6).
Jesus continues in this account and says “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. “For he who is not against us is for us. Mark 9:39 - 40
Why are we so quick to take sides against those who don’t see eye to eye with us? Paul didn’t care why Jesus was being preached or even if their motives were to harm him, only that Jesus was being preached (Phil 1:18) We should of course rightly divide and explain the word of truth, but we need to be careful that we do not focus so much on how things are done that we lose sight on what is being done, like casting out a demon! (Which is much worse than the flu by the way).
In my last blog I asked, what does the phrase mean in scripture “the word of God” or to “preach the word?” Well a friend commented back with what I thought was a great answer. “The good news that the LORD God would send His Servant to bear our sins, and that this good news was for all people, and that He would die, be raised and return to establish His Kingdom on this earth is all in Isaiah. These were the Scriptures Paul used to reason with the Jews in the synagogues as he traveled and spread that good news. And Jesus is the Word made flesh, so preaching the Word is preaching Jesus.” - Amen
"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise," (Eph 1:13).
The word, is the gospel message.

If you answered along those lines give yourself an “A”

Misunderstanding

Misunderstanding

It’s pretty sad how things that used to mean something important lose that significance and value because time and tradition change the original meaning. Take for example the word “church” (ekklesia), which means “called out” in the Greek. Throughout the scripture it refers to a group of people sometimes collectively as a whole and sometimes specifically to an area like Galatia, who are called out and follow the ways and teachings of Jesus, but it never referred to a building. You may think this a little thing, but the meaning of church has become someplace you go to get, instead of something you are to give. I think that difference is huge.
Another misunderstanding is the meaning of the phrase “the word of God” as it appears in much of the New Testament. It has come to mean what we know as the Bible, which is traditioanlly what we've all been taught, but we need to ask a simple question, how could the statement “word of God” refer to something that did not yet exist when the phrase was written? In other words, when Paul wrote “Preach the word” how could he mean the “Bible” (as we have today) when there was no “Bible” yet to preach? Yet I have heard so many quote scripture after scripture using the phrase “word of God” to support how they teach when that’s not what those very verses they quote mean.
Now I have to make this point clear so that people don’t come to the wrong conclusion about what I have just said. I believe that all scripture (the manuscripts that make up both Testaments) is “God Breathed” I believe all scripture is profitable and that Peter gives support that Paul’s writings were to be included in "all" of scripture as written in his epistle. I believe that the Cannon of the New Testament scripture is valid because of it’s preservation and circulation when the church (collective body of Christian believers) was formed. I believe that the scriptures or what is called the Bible is indeed God’s revelation of Himself and His will for all mankind and should be taught completely. In fact I just wrote to a friend and encouraged them to read the scriptures daily for help because I believe that they are the primary way that God speaks to us. What I don’t believe is that it’s ok to pull out a phrase and use it to support the traditions of men usually to exalt yourself above others.
So what does it mean when in scripture when we read phrases like “the word of God” or “preach the word”? Well I think it would be worth finding out, don’t you?
So here’s our homework, look up the phrase word of God (specifically in the New Testament) and see if there is a common theme in the context of the passages that will help our understanding on the subject, I believe it will add a great deal of light and be a help to the church,

...oh, but not the building.