Broken

Well, we made it back from two wonderful weeks of vacation during which time I was able to recharge my batteries and spend some much needed time in contemplation and prayer. I was blessed to spend all that time with my wife Cathy and granddaughter Mabrie as we journeyed to Florida to visit friends and then spent the day of our 32nd wedding anniversary at Universal Studios where we all had a blast (pictures to be up on Facebook later today hopefully).

Anyway, as I was reading Philippians 1:27-30 today I was reminded of the privilege we have to be able to freely worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  But, I wonder, are we willing to really pay the price for that by being broken on the cross with Him. Or, do we just want our acknowledgement of Him to yield blessings for us?  Listen to Paul in part of that scripture: "..I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents ... And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege of not only believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well..."

Suffering for him as well. Really? Do we have to do that? And, is that really a privilege? As Americans we are blessed not to have to suffer in order to worship our Lord. The same is not true around the world, however, and every day Christians are suffering for their faith. According to Voice of the Martyrs, "In Vietnam, Christians are beaten, taken to jail and fined for starting new churches or evangelizing," and, "In Ethiopia, 39-year-old Bashir Musa Ahmed has been sitting in prision without charges for "malicious" distribution of Bibles."  These are just two of many examples that can be found of Christians around the world daily suffering for their beliefs.

How easy it is for us to be "Christians" in America. Yet, Christianity in our own country is dying. As Christians we are called to be broken on the cross WITH Christ. Broken NOT to receive but to pour out blessings on others. Listen to these words from singer Britt Nicole's song "Don't be afraid to stand out":

"Why do we go with the flow, why take an easier road? Why are we playin' it safe?

Love came to show us the way, Love is a chance we should take, I'm movin' out of the gray..."

I like that: moving out of the gray area of life and into the sunshine of His life. Let us pray Wesley's Covenant Prayer and ask God to help us really mean what we say:

"I am no longer my own but thine,

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in Heaven.

Amen."

Until next time,

Neville

PS - Check out these websites:

http://www.persecution.com/
http://www.biblesunbound.com/
http://www.prisoneralert.com/

Priorities

As I was doing my reading and Bible study this morning I came across the following quote. It was not attributed to any particular author so I share it here as "Anonymous."

"Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."

Hmmmm. When I first read it I thought "yeah, that's the ticket," and was all set to run out and share it on Facebook, as if it was a nugget of wisdom. But as I thought about it I realized there is a fatal flaw in that statement, one that is particularly dangerous for those of us who would claim to be "Christians."

Did you catch the flaw? Or, were you like me at first? I mean, c'mon, that makes perfect sense doesn't it? Don't spend your time and effort on a person who is not going to reciprocate:

"Boy, that's the last time we're having them over for anything! We keep asking them yet they have never invited us to their place."

"Nobody has let me into the traffic so, darn it all, I'm not letting that guy get in front of me even if his life depended on it!"

Oh how easy it is for us humans to put ourselves first, and to justify our poor treatment of others as somehow justified. But Jesus called us to a better way. A way that is, in fact, the exact opposite of that opening statement.

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."(John 13:34-35, NRSV)

So, forget that opening statement and remember the words of Jesus instead.

Love one another!

Be More Understanding

Well, I planned on cobbling together some thoughts on that old saying "Time Heals all Wounds" when, during a 'cogitation break' (i.e. snack) I opened my inbox and found the monthly newsletter from Task Force Saber, the organization my son Ben is currently deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan with.

Anyway, as I was reading through the various sections for each Troop I came across the page for "Dirty Troop" or "D" Troop. The first thing that caught my eye was the corny joke at the top of the page:

"What do you call a pig that knows karate?"

(wait for it)

"A Pork Chop."

However, in the very first paragraph it took a more somber tone as the First Sergeant wrote, "As you may have heard, I lost my grandmother in the month of May. Her death made me start thinking about the issues that my Soldiers are having while deployed."

The First Sergeant went on to remind soldiers and their families that "[the] small, petty things should not be as bad as we make them out to be because at the end of the day, all you have is your family."  He went on to remind the soldiers who are deployed as well as their families back home that each of them is "doing the best they can in a difficult situation."

Life is difficult, isn't it? More for some than others, but at one point or another life gets hard for all of us.

That comment he made about only having our family at the end of the day is true, isn't it. Or, is it? While acknowledging the basic truth of that thought, it struck me that for it to be true requires at least the semblance of a functional "family" doesn't it?  I found myself thinking about all those "dysfunctional" situations: the widow(er) and the orphan, the homeless, prisoners, and children who have been given up on by their parents, to name just a few.

As Christians we are called to have an expansive view of "family" aren't we?  We are told what to do in the parable of the Good Samaritan. We hear Jesus himself telling us to feed his sheep. We should become the family for those who have no other.

At the very least we ought to love one another and be kind to each other. The First Sergeant wrote, "the task I have for everyone is to be more understanding."  And he concluded by saying, "A wise man once told me that people forget what you said. People forget what you did. But no one ever forgets how you made them feel."

Amen, First Sergeant Benning!

Let us all "be more understanding" of one another.

The Best Defense....

I suspect that many of you have heard the saying "the best defense is a good offense." Indeed, as a military man that was heard often in discussions of tactics and strategy. It is not important right now to discuss who said it (or how many variations of the same thought there are). What is important however, is to stop and ask ourselves if this is the strategy we take when talking with God?

I am prompted to this line of inquiry today after looking through book and curriculum catalogs and being struck by the number of texts out there that basically take that approach.

What are we afraid of? Why do we have to put God on the defensive all the time? Why is it always about us...Me...?

God, why did you do so and so?

Why did you allow such and such?

Will you please do this or that?

Man, I believe the omnipotent thing, but I bet there are times God wishes the cellphone had call-block on it. I suspect the following is true: we steadily ASK God questions so we don't have time to hear the questions directed TO us:

Neville, why aren't you feeding the hungry?

Church, why aren't you taking care of the least of these?

People, it is time to stop and listen to the questions God has for us. We need to turn off the transmitter and go into "receive only" mode. Listen to the words from Amos, "When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice - oceans of it. I want fairness - rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want." (Amos 5:23b-24, The Message)

Peace.

To Infinity and Beyond!

"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Cor. 13:1, NRSV)

I have shared parts of this story with folks before so I apologize for any repetition.  I was reminded of it earlier this morning, however, as I carried Hallie up the steps to "find Sissy."  I put her down at the top of the stairs and away she went (as best she could, being wrapped in a blanket) calling for her "Sissy."  She went into Mabrie's room, made a bee-line for the bed, and proceeded to climb in and plop herself down, giving a contented chuckle as her Sissy reached out and pulled her close.

Love.

There's no better way to start the day.

The Love of children: simple, authentic, unquestioned, totally open and vulnerable.

One night during a "sleepover" Mabrie and I were out lying in the motorhome, wrapping up the day, sharing what new experiences she'd had, and just 'slowing down' to the point she could go to sleep.  She wrapped her arms around me and said, "Opa, I love you!"  And of course I replied, "I love you, too."  Now, she was only five at the time and immediately seized upon the opportunity to say she loved me more than that.  Well, as you might imagine, what then ensued was a sort of Abbott and Costello routine as we each expressed our love for each other in increasingly grandiose fashion.  Finally, as she lay there with droopy eyes, just before dropping off to sleep, she decided it was time to play her trump card.  She took my hand, looked me right in the eyes and said, "Opa, I love you infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity."  She paused for effect and then added, "and that's more than you can love me!"

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Cor 13:4-7, NRSV)

The birth of my two grand-daughters has launched me on a journey of discovery that has taught me more about our relationship with God than at any other time in my life. Of course, my own children taught me much. Likewise, being my parent's son taught me many lessons. But, for whatever reason, the grandparent-grandchild relationship has been more illuminating. That may be so because as parents and children we get caught in the "rules and regulations" associated with that relationship. As grandparents and grandchildren we are free from all that and can take the time to just enjoy the relationship and let love wash over us.

"And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13, NRSV)

Oh, I almost forgot: Mabrie added one more comment, however, perhaps more important than the first. She scooted as close as she could to me, wrapped her leg around my leg to keep me from getting away, put her arm across my chest and said, "I just had to tell you that."  And then she was asleep.

Oh how I have come to understand that God longs for that same relationship with each of us. A relationship where God can love each of us "infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity," and where we don't try to 'one-up' that love or get away from it

Peace & love. I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July weekend.