It is good to begin a new year with Jesus!
· It is good to sail into the uncharted
waters of '07 because He is your Captain and the Anchor of your soul;
· It is good to walk upon unexplored trails because He is your
Guide and the Guardian of your way;
· It is good to face the unknown because
He is your Wisdom and the One who
knows the beginning from the end.
· It is good to have your hands empty, for He will fill them;
· It is good to have your heart open, for He will cause it to overflow;
· It is good to have your eyes focused, for in His light things
win be made clear;
· It is good to have your ears listening, for His voice will be the sweetest sound you hear;
· It is good to have your feet grounded, for He is your Rock and the Foundation upon which you stand.
· It is good to trust Him because He makes no mistakes;
· It is good to serve Him for He does all things well;
· It is good to honor Him because He has no
equal;
· It is good to obey Him for His plans always include
what is best;
· It is good to rest in Him for He is the Lord of the easy yoke;
· It is good to depend upon Him for He takes care of you daily;
· It is good to delight
in Him for He is your exceeding great reward.
Virginia Owens in her book, And The
Trees Clap Their Hands, suggests that we lose the wonder of it all, because
along the way everything becomes "merely."
Things are "merely" stars, sunset, rain, flowers, and
mountains. Their connection with God's creation is lost. That is what
familiarity can do to us over the years.
Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality
of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing - I'll take it.
It is "merely" an object - I'll destroy it. It is this
"merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose
"merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it.
Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's
grand design. Common things now have new meaning. This is not
"merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and
grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave His only
Son.
A Symphony Of Teamwork
There was an interesting article in
National Geographic recently about the Mbuti men of central Africa, also known
as Pygmies. These small people have a unique way of making music and
reinforcing social bonds. The men whittle musical pipes out of soft wood. But
each pipe is only able to play a single note. One man may whittle a pipe that
can play an A flat; another may whittle a pipe that plays a D, another plays an
F sharp.
Because each man can only play one note, all the men must work
together to create music. If one man is missing from the group, the music is
noticeably different, lacking in harmony and richness that results when all the
men are playing together.
What a magnificent metaphor for the church. Imagine that every
member of our congregation had a flute that played one note. The only way we
can produce a symphony would be if every member shows up and does his or her
part.
Preaching To The Choir
When people ask why preachers waste their time on the people in their
pews, "preaching to the converted" or "preaching to the
choir", they fail to understand that it is those who aspire to goodness
who most need to be reminded of and protected against the dangers of the moral
ambiguity that is the seed of temptation.
Those who are in church are like those who are in a hospital; they are
not there because they are specimens of virtue or health. They are there because they know their
needs.
Hospitals are not healthier places than other places, but in the hospital
the weapons to fight the illness are ready at hand. So too is it with the
church.
Peter Gomes
It’s never a good thing to run toward
something if you’re running away from something else.
Hope is not the conviction that
something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense
regardless of how it turns out.
There is something you should
understand about the way I work: When you need me but do not want me, then I
must stay. When you want me but no
longer need me, then I have to go.
He is no
fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Our Lord came down
from life to suffer death;
the Bread came down, to hunger;
the Way came down, on the way to weariness;
the Fount came down, to thirst.
He so loved us that,
for our sake,
He was made man in time,
although through Him all times were made.
He was made man, who made man.
He was created of a mother whom He created.
He was carried by hands that He formed.
He cried in the manger in wordless infancy,
He the Word,
without whom all human eloquence is mute.
An Old Farmer's Advice
·
Your fences need
to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
·
Life is simpler when you plow around the
stump.
·
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a
John Deere tractor.
·
Words that soak into your ears are
whispered...not yelled.
·
Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
·
Forgive your enemies. It messes up their
heads.
·
Do not corner something that you know is
meaner than you.
·
It don't take a very big person to carry a
grudge.
·
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
·
Every path has a few puddles.
·
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get
dirty.
·
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
·
Most of the stuff people worry about ain't
never gonna happen, anyway.
·
Don't judge folks by their relatives.
·
Remember that silence is sometimes the best
answer.
·
Live a good, honorable
life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
·
Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't
botherin' you none.
·
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a
rain dance.
·
If you find yourself in a hole, the first
thing to do is stop diggin'.
·
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get
got.
·
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably
ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'."
·
Always drink upstream from the herd.
·
Good judgment comes from experience, and a
lotta that comes from bad judgment.
·
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot
easier than puttin' it back in.
·
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of
some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
The late Erma Bombeck made these New Year’s resolutions:
1.
I'm going to clean this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.
2. I will go to no doctor whose
office plants have died.
3. I'm going to follow my husband's
suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.
4. I'm going to apply for a hardship
scholarship to Weight Watchers.
5. I will never loan my car to anyone
I have given birth to.
6. And just like last year...I am
going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the
least.
A woman was
at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick
with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some
medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in
the car.
She didn't know what to do, so she called home and told the baby
sitter what had happened. The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting
worse. She said, "You might find a
coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and
found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by
someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at
the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." She bowed her
head and asked God to send her help.
Within five minutes a beat up old motorcycle pulled up, with a
dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.
The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was
desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She
said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick.
I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I
must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car? He said, "Sure." He walked over to
the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and
through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison
today. I was in prison for car theft
and have only been out for about an hour."
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out
loud, "Oh, Thank You God! You even sent me a Professional!" God is
good!
A cartoon shows two boys walking to school, discussing their
parents. One of them says to the other one, "I've figured out a system for
getting along with my Mom. She tells me what to do and I do it."
Parish ministers will tell you that people come to them speaking
with regrets like these:
When
I was young, my mother was going to read me a story, but she had to wax the
bathroom floor and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my grandparents
were going to come for Christmas, but they couldn't get someone to feed the
dogs and my grandfather did not like the cold weather and besides they didn't
have time.
When I was young, my father was going
to listen to me read my essay on "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up,"
but there was Monday Night Football and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my father and I
were going to go hiking in the Sierras, but at the last minute he had to
fertilize the lawn and there wasn't time.
When I grew up and left home to be
married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I love them and
would miss them, but my best man was honking the horn in front of my house so
there wasn't time.
Once the eminent philosopher John Dewey found his son in the
bathroom. The floor was flooded and he was mopping furiously trying to contain
the water in that room, keeping the damage to a minimum. The professor began
thinking, trying to understand the deeper ramifications of the situation. After
a few moments, the son said, "Dad, this is not the time to philosophize.
It is time to mop!"
Zig Ziglar reminds us that the
largest locomotive in the world can be held in its tracks while standing still
simply by placing a single one-inch block of wood in front of each of the eight
drive wheels. The same locomotive moving at 100 miles per hour can crash
through a wall of steel reinforced concrete five feet thick, but it must be
moving first.
A family lived off the alley behind my first church. There were
three floors to their row house, each floor inhabited by a different
generation. The grandparents, who were members of the church, lived on the
ground floor. Next floor up was their son and daughter-in-law, and the
grandchildren’s bedrooms were at the top.
One day, the grandfather beckoned me
to the back fence. “I’m worried about my grandson,” he said.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
He said, “When he gets up in the
morning, he reads the Bible before he does anything else. Every time he sits at
the kitchen table, he insists on saying grace. Now he’s talking about joining a
prayer group with his girlfriend.”
“Walter,” I said, “what’s the
problem?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Reverend,” he
said. “Religion is a good thing, as long as it’s in small doses. I’m worried my
grandson is becoming an extremist.”
I admit it was hard to sympathize
with my neighbor. So far, no member of my family has been lost to such radical
behavior. But it’s important to remember that religious commitments can divide
a family.
Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association
published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the “Stages of Aging.” In the
article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students
when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient
under his care like this:
“The patient neither speaks nor
comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on
end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however,
respond to her name… I have worked with her for the past six months, but she
still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort
to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
“Because she has no teeth, her food
must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant
drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she
wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the
time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated
without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her.”
After presenting the class with this
challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like
to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr.
Ruskin said, “I’m surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually
she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and
I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never
knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has
taught me the power of unconditional love.” Then Dr. Ruskin said, “Let me show
you her picture.” He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the
photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.
Now, I like that story for several
reasons. For one thing, it shows us the importance of perspective. And it
shows us how essential it is to have all the facts before we make a decision.
It reminds us too, that our children have so much to teach us if we will tune
in and pay attention.
In her
best-selling book called, Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott, writes about her
seven-year-old son, Sam.
At seven, he is separating from me like mad and has made it
clear that I need to give him a bit more room. I'm not even allowed to tell him
that I love him these days. He is quite firm on this. "You tell me you love
me all the time," he explained recently, "and I don't want you to
anymore."
"At all?" I said.
"I just want you to tell me that you like me."
I said I would really try. That night when I was tucking him in,
I said, "Good night, honey, I really like you a lot."
There was silence in the dark. Then he said, "I like you
too, Mom."
It's hard to be the parent of a seven-year-old, as Anne Lamott
is quick to point out.
Let’s face it: as far as faith is concerned, some people are late
bloomers. It takes a while for some people to gain understanding. Will Willimon
tells about a church gathering where people were taking turns giving
testimonies about their religious experiences. One man stood and said, “I was a
Methodist for 38 years before anybody told me about Jesus.” Will said he
scratched his head when he heard that. What the man probably should have said
was, “I was a church member for 38 years before I really experienced my faith
and began to live it.” That is, he had a delayed response. He was a late
bloomer.
The
problem, Will said, was the man sounded so smug when he said it. He made it
sound as if there was an instantaneous experience that washed away his past.
Well, says Will, what about all those teachers who put up with him while he was
growing up in Sunday school? What about all of those preachers who tried their
best to speak the gospel to him? What about all those Christians who tried to
tell him about Jesus? Will felt like saying, “Listen, pal, it’s nice that your faith
is coming together, but what do you think we’ve been trying to get through your
thick head for the last 38 years?”
Do you
remember the story of Pandora's Box in Greek Mythology? The lovely Pandora was
sent by Zeus to be the bride of Epimetheus.
One of Pandora's more endearing charms was her curiosity, but
that quality also proved to nearly be her undoing. One day Mercury, the
messenger, sent a box to the young couple. It was meant for them to enjoy, but
under no circumstances were they to open it.
Well, of course, it is the old story of the forbidden fruit.
Told that she could not do it, it became the thing that she desired to do the
most. So one day she pried it open and peeked inside. Suddenly out flew swarms
of insects that began attacking them. Both lovers were stung with the poison of
suspicion, hatred, fear and malice. Now the once happy couple began to
argue. Epimetheus became bitter and
Pandora wept with a broken heart.
But in the midst of the quarreling, they heard a tiny voice cry
out: Let me out to sooth your pain. Fearfully they opened the box again, and
this time a beautiful butterfly flew out. It touched the couple and
miraculously their pain was healed and they were happy again.
The butterfly we are told was hope. It is hope that sustains us;
it is hope that sooths our pain.
Newspaper
columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office
full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him,
I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has
me."
Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan "Go home and act as
if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him
for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and
generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him
believe you love him. After you've convinced him of your undying love and that
you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you're getting a
divorce. That will really hurt him."
With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed,
"Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it
with enthusiasm. Acting "as if." For two months she showed love,
kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing.
When she didn't return, Crane called. "Are you ready now to
go through with the divorce?" "Divorce?" she exclaimed.
"Never! I discovered I really do love him."
Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in
emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as
often repeated deeds.
In his book
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering
whether you 'love' your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we
find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone,
you will presently come to love him.
If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself
disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking
him less."
Faith has
to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.
Thomas Aquinas
There's a
musical group called "The Austin Lounge Lizards" (I would imagine
that none of you have heard this group!) Sometime back they had a song out and
the lyrics went like this:
I know you smoke, I know you drink that brew
I just can't abide a sinner like you
God can't either, that's why I know it to be true
That Jesus loves me--but He can't stand you
I’m going to heaven, boys, when I die
'Cause I’ve crossed every “t” and I’ve dotted every “i”
My preacher tells me that I’m God's kind of guy
That's why Jesus loves me--but you're gonna fry
The group is using satire to drive home a point. Judgmental
attitudes will, in the end, destroy your character and render you incapable of
discerning the truth.
One of the great things about having kids in high school is that
it motivates you to read classics once in a while between reruns of Cheers and
Friends. This week I read Hamlet for the first time as an adult. Wasted on
teenagers, I tell you. There’s this passage where Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, who
is now the king after killing his brother and marrying his mother, is feeling
trapped by his crime. He tries to repent but he knows that a blessing from God
is hopeless so long as he clings to his sin.
O! what form of prayer can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul
murder?’ That cannot be; since I am still possess’d of those effects for which
I did the murder, my crown, mine own ambition, my queen. May one be pardon’d and retain the
offense? [Act III, scene 3.]
Jungle Journal
Mt. Olive member, Missionary Terry Schultz, Lima, Peru
Nothing compares to the excitement of
a first-time evangelism visit to an Amazon tribal village. This is what
it’s all about. The requisite invitation from a native to enter the
Chayahuita village of Nuevo Porvenir (trans. “New in Coming”) came from
Maravi’s in-law German (pronounced Hare-mahn), one of our new seminary
students!
It takes two hours for a native to walk the jungle trail from
Maravi’s village of Parinari to Nuevo Porvenir. Non-natives Ronal and I
knew that we should double that amount. Our schedule this week would be
tight: Over the next couple days we needed to present church services in
three Amazon villages, plus celebrate the end of the academic year at our
jungle grade school in Nueva Barranquita. Today we needed to walk four
hours to Nuevo Porvenir, have church, eat lunch, talk to the village leaders,
and then walk four hours back. We planned to sleep on the ground under
mosquito nets near our boat, and then have church the next morning in Parinari.
Of course our trip didn’t play out much like we planned it. It never
does. However, at four o clock that first morning, our jungle marathon
was underway.
Our enthusiastic group that started down the jungle path for
Nuevo Porvenir (including Segundo, Jose, and Ronal) numbered around
15! Members from Maravi’s congregation had decided to accompany us
on our first visit to the village! Talk about huge joy in my heart:
These dozen deep-jungle-dwelling native friends all know Jesus. Not a one
of them was saved when we first met them. The Holy Spirit worked a
miracle of faith in each heart. How exciting to see their desire to help
us! Most importantly, their presence would clearly demonstrate to the Nuevo
Porvenir natives their agreement with the Gospel message we brought! What a
thrill to have them along!
There was only one, small, negligible downside to hiking with a
dozen jungle natives. As usual, Ronal and I found ourselves
struggling and stumbling down the vine and root-strewn path, at times falling
in the mud. (It rained off and on all day.) Imagine being passed on
the trail by 17-year old, 90-pound Patricia, who was hardly even sweating in
the 110 heat. She had started down the trail nearly an hour after we
left! Not only that; Patricia was making the huge trek barefoot while
carrying her one year-old baby on her chest! (She’d lovingly placed a long
banana tree leaf over her baby’s head and body for shade).
Of course four hours on an Amazon jungle trail is sure to
produce several extraordinary sights. Although we rarely sees animals
once the sun comes out, the plant life is beyond description: Colossal
ground plants shoot up 8 feet high, supporting leaves the size of giant cookie
trays! One spectacular plant had leaves literally the size of car
hoods! Like electrical wires, vines often bundle together as they wrap
around the giant trees. These tight “bundles of vines” can be over a foot
thick in diameter! As I’ve often said, tree roots reach the size of
garage doors! At times, it seems surreal, like some exaggerated theater
set, except that it’s all real!
By far the trickiest part of the trip was walking across the
rotting tree trunks that had been felled and laid high across the deep brooks
below. These rotting trunks are entirely coated with soggy, green moss
that can be slipperier than ice! However, one shouldn’t complain:
Imagine the first native in our party who crosses each slippery tree trunk
bridge backwards, bending over with his machete to slice out a narrow ribbon of
moss to create a little dry footing. What talent!
I was soon about 100 yards behind the dozen natives, due to my
photo taking. As usual, Jose and Segundo were walking directly behind
me. The natives were having a great time, talking and laughing. At
one point, they even broke into a little sprint for about 20 yards. Talk about
energy! A moment later, we reached the same spot, and Jose suggested that
I start moving a whole lot faster. What? I looked down: Giant, biting
ants were streaming up over my boots! I had stepped right into a wide,
black swath of them! They covered my boots and socks, came right up
my legs, and were biting away. No wonder the natives had broken into a
sprint! Countless ants covered my legs, crawled up under my clothes past
my waist, all the way to my chest, arms, and even across my face!
Segundo, Jose, and I dashed through several yards of pure ants till we
finally cleared the swath. We stopped, gasping for breath, and just beat
away on our bodies. The three of us were hopping around, slapping away,
like we’d spontaneously broken into a crazed hillbilly jig.
Intermittently slapping at the remaining vicious ants over the next hour, we
finally arrived at Nuevo Porvenir.
The reception we received at Nuevo Porvenir was nothing short of
fabulous! The natives were elated to see us!! German had
obviously been teaching his flock not only the precious message of Jesus and
also the importance of Christian friendship and trust! I sensed not the
least bit of fear among the villagers towards the first white man entering
their village! Then again, arriving with our dozen native brothers and
sisters from Parinari made a tremendous difference!
Nuevo Porvenir consists of barely a dozen pole and thatch
dwellings. The village was actually built on the former site of an
illegal logging camp. We were quickly shown to the communal hut where a
couple dozen villagers were waiting for us on benches. The hut is of
classic design: raised platform floor with thatch roof supported on poles.
The two ends of the oblong structure have walls while the two long sides are
completely open. On one wall were tacked the large drawings of Bible
stories I had passed out at our Sem. classes in Tarapoto! German had
colored the drawings (featuring green, purple, and pink faces) and hung them
up! Everything about the people and the place evidenced a Christian
community! The natives knew Christ as their Savior!
The villagers’ love of God became crystal clear as I retold the
Christmas story, German at my side translating. Everyone listened so
eagerly and intently! (During the sermon I was still slapping at the occasional
biting ant dashing across my arm or face. No one minded.) After the
sermon, the villagers sang a number of songs, including those I had taught
German in Spanish at the Sem. along with Maravi’s songs in Chayahuita!
The thrilling climax of the afternoon came as 5 children were brought forward
together to be baptized! (Interestingly, sometimes the mother held the
baby, sometimes the father, sometimes the Godfather.) My tough jungle
guide Brother Jose (as changed a life as I have ever seen) had the honor of
holding the special, shiny, (rather beat-up) metal pot for the water as
together we passed down the row of children with their parents and Godparents.
It was simply incredible. Another round of prayers and songs, accompanied
by Eloy’s guitar and half a dozen tambourines, brought out joyous service to a
close.
Now, we were about to experience Spectacular Climax # 2 of our
visit. One by one the elders of the village got up and thanked us for our
visit and our message. They expressed their agreement with our message
and their unity with us! They repeatedly mentioned our walking four hours
to get to them. (Later I discovered that had we come from Shucushuyacu
instead of Parinari, we could have walked down a wide clear path, (the one used
to drag the illegal wood from the area), and arrived in about half the
time!) Then came the stunning request:
The villagers had heard of (and a few had seen) our Christian
day school in the Chayahuita village of Nueva Barranquita. Would we be
interested in operating a Christian day school in Nuevo Porvernir? (!!!!)
The elders said the village men would build a school house! (The only
assistance they needed from us would be in purchasing palm tree frond shingles
from a neighboring village, as their large palm trees were all gone.)
Once completed, German would be appointed to teach the Christian religion to
ALL THE VILLAGE CHILDREN!
The natives would need our help in purchasing schoolbooks and
materials and in paying for one full-time teacher. Someone from the
surrounding area (native or mestizo) with the required high school education
plus skill in teaching children to read and write would need to be hired.
Whether we can do this of course remains to be seen. However, I was
ecstatic at what the elders’ request indicated: The natives had faith in our
Message, in us, and in our church!! Imagine, access to all those native
children!!
After lunch and many intense conversations with the villagers,
it was time to get back on the jungle trail. Everyone in our group was
animated and energized from the exciting events of the day. I was walking
on air! On the way back, we stopped to visit at the isolated dwellings of
a few native families who were relatives of our members. We ended up
walking the final two hours to our boat in the dark. -- (Not that it isn’t fun
to be in the jungle at night, engulfed in a million stars and a million strange
noises!) Justin, the boat owner’s assistant who stays with the boat at
all times, was waiting to greet us.
Our original plan to sleep on the ground near the boat was
scrapped since the ground was saturated from the day’s rain. We had no
choice but to sleep in our boat, docked on the narrow river. This had one
distinct drawback: Dense swarms of insects blanketed the shoreline.
Segundo and Jose quickly hung 4 mosquito nets from the awning-type boat roof
amidst the biting insects, and Ronal and I dove in under our nets. No one
was interested in our usual communal meal of tins of tuna and crackers; it was
simply too miserable to sit around together and eat. Everyone just
munched away under their individual net with their own package of dry crackers
and bottles of water.
It took a few hours to fall asleep amidst the stifling heat and
attacking insects. No amount of repellent keeps all the bugs off,
especially whatever is crawling across the bottom of the boat! Sadly
enough, Ronal had forgotten the bag with our four little foam rubber camping
mattress rolls! This meant sleeping on a sheet of plastic over the
wood-slat grid at the bottom of the boat. Tail ends were literally
blistered that night.
Sleep, when it finally comes, is such a welcome friend on a
miserable night like this. However, around 2:00 in the morning I am
awakened by Segundo’s hushed voice right beside my ear intensely whispering,
“Did you hear that?” “Hear what?” “Maligno!” (The evil spirit.) “No. Are
you sure?” “Yes! Jose, did you hear it?” Segundo called over. Jose:
“I heard Maligno!”
With lowered voices Jose and Segundo launched into a description
of what they had both just heard: an unnatural, unearthly, breathy,
bone-chilling, shriek. They were absolutely certain an evil spirit was in
the air; that it had buzzed our boat, identified us, and may now be circling right
over our heads! They intently listened for the sound again.
So did me. Alas, no sound. So what did I think, the two thoroughly
spooked men anxiously asked?
Actually, they both knew what I would say. For this wasn’t
the first time we were playing out this scene in a pitch-black night, where we
couldn’t see each other. I told everyone in the boat (Ronal and Justin
were also awake), that there is always the possibility of an evil spirit
lurking about. I then reviewed our fabulously-blessed evangelism efforts
of the day: We had brought the saving Gospel message to so many, been
invited back, and been kept safe all day. My thoughts brought approving
words and comments from everyone. “Of course the Devil and the evil
spirits are upset with us,” I summarized. The Holy Spirit is using us to
rescue these people right out of the hands of the Devil! “That’s right,
that’s right!” everyone chimed in. (They were purposely getting me going!)
Now that I was awake, I was getting excited all over again thinking about our
blessed day. I was soon on a roll. It was the start of midnight
church!!
Eventually, I told the story they’ve all heard about Martin
Luther and his response to the Devil who woke him at night by raising a racket
in the woodpile. (Luther would tell the Devil that he, not the Devil was
the Lord of the house, and that he had a lot to do the next day. Luther
would simply turn his back to the Devil and go back to sleep!)
I always have to smile to myself during the “storytelling
portion” of these nights. Here’s the thing: I feel like I’m telling
a bedtime story to a boat-full of dirty, tough pirates who think they just
heard a ghost and now they can’t sleep. These grown men all get real
quiet and hang on every word I say. Then again, they have only been
Christians a few years and still need lots of reassurance. They all grew
up on superstitions and stories of the supernatural. I finished my story
and everyone said their thanks. Then, the lengthy round of
goodnights. I could finally collapse back to sleep again. But then
Justin, the one non-Christian in the boat had to ask: “So… all of you
believe the Devil really exists?” Oh boy, here we go again…
Truth be told, these jungle trips can be more fun than you
imagine, often at the weirdest times. This was one of those times.
It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. Segundo and Jose, who often spend entire
nights running around in the jungle, make no distinction between when people
should sleep and when they should talk. They simply live in the
moment. Justin had just thrown out a serious question about the
Devil. It called for a response. I now laid there on my back on the
bottom of that boat in the pitch dark, colossal grin on my face, knowing what
was about to happen: Jose and Segundo commenced to tell Justin pretty
much the entire history of the Devil. They went from his fall from grace,
to the garden, to his defeat by Jesus at Calvary, to his limited powers on
earth. It was long but it was simply right-on incredible!! I could
not have been prouder of my two men. They got it all right and spoke it
with authority. I could practically feel the midnight angels, (make that
the 3 o’clock angels) smiling all around us with pride at the extraordinary
witness of Segundo and Jose.
What a night. The way I see it, the Devil and the demons
can shriek away all they want. In this deep corner of the jungle, I’d say
they’re on the run! The Mighty Holy Spirit has arrived! And Jesus has
come for his children!
Until next time amigos,
Terry
Sunday Morning Prayer Time
Before each Sunday morning worship
service – at 8:45am – everyone is invited to the Fireside Room for prayer time.
We need you! We need
your prayers! We need you to pray for
God’s Spirit to work through the Sunday liturgy, the hymns, Scripture readings,
and the pastor’s message. We need you
to pray for God’s blessing upon all who gather for worship.
We need you to pray that
the Lord would bring “seekers” into His church and open their ears to
hear. We need you to pray for the
“anointing” of the Holy Spirit upon all who gather around the Word and
Sacrament.
Years back, Christians would make it a point to get to church at
least a half hour early just so they could sit and meditate. They came early to get into a “worship”
mindset, to free their minds and hearts of earthly clutter.
They also came early to pray.
They knew how powerfully God works through fervent prayers of righteous
people.
May I encourage you to come early to church to pray! May I be so bold as to suggest that it will
make a big difference to you – and to all whom the Lord gathers into His house!
Christians: pray!
Christian Education Sunday & Mt. Olive Minute Race
Our Christian
Education Sunday is set for February 25th. Pastor Aaron Robinson will be our guest preacher that Sunday, and
the Croixaliers from St. Croix Lutheran High School will lead us in worship
with a service entitled “God Is – I Am”
On that Sunday, Mr. Jim Pasbrig will also
be here during the Education Hour to offer insights on Christian Education, and
to bring us up to date on the ministry at SCLHS.
Following will be a delicious potluck
dinner beginning at about 11:45am.
Then comes the real fun – the running
of our annual pinewood derby race known as “The Mt. Olive Minute.” This
fun-time event is open to ALL in the congregation who would like to
participate. You’re never too old! Get those cars made! You may pick up a car kit after worship on
February 4, 11, or 18, 2007.
Please plan to attend on Sunday,
February 25th and enjoy all the events of the day.
Child, Youth,
& Family Committee
It’s that time
again. Those Mission Box offerings for
Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society that you have been filling with change are
due. Please give to Mae Schmidt, LWMS
Reporter before the end of March to ensure being counted before the Spring
Rally. New boxes are available in the
narthex. Thank you very much.
…will be held on Monday, February
12,2007 at St. John Lutheran School, 771 Margaret Street, St. Paul, MN 55106.
Pre-Kindergarten
Round-Up will be held at 6:30pm (children need to be 4 years old by September
1st) and Kindergarten Round-Up will be held at 7:00pm (children need to be 5
years old by September 1st.) If you have a child this age, please plan to come
that evening (bring your child also) to see the room, make a fun art project,
and enjoy a snack.
If
you know of someone who might be interested in sending their child(ren) to our
school, please pass this information along. If this date is not convenient,
please call the school office at 651.776.8861 to make other arrangements.
St. Croix Lutheran High School's 15th
Annual Auction will be held on Saturday, March 10th, 2007. "Puttin' on the
Glitz" is the theme.
Please consider making a donation and plan to participate in
joining the fellowship and fun! Donations are welcome now through February 9th.
You may take donations to St. Croix or contact me. Thank you!
Mae Schmidt, auction contact