Friday, September 16, 2011
I know it’s not Monday, so I
guess this can’t “officially” be called “Monday
Morning Musings,” but you’ll get the point.
Sunday was truly an awesome
and memorable day. Knowing that the 10th
anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks would fall on Sunday, we wanted a way to commemorate this from an
historical, a national, and a Biblical perspective. There should be no question in people’s minds
that this was a day that changed America in so many ways.
It will be a day forever etched
in people’s minds and memories. Many of
us can remember exactly what we were doing, and where we were on that momentous
day. I personally remember it distinctly
because of the overall surreal
quality it carried. My wife and I (Mona)
were celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary which was 9-10-01 (you
can do the math - last Sunday was our 39th)! We were at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, CA.
Generally, a high-end and expensive resort like this would be beyond our
budget, but because of my friendship with their executive chef, David Reardon, he had arranged an
affordable rate for our 10-day “anniversary vacation.” After a beautiful dining experience on
Monday, our anniversary night, September 10th, we awoke to the
shocking and horrifying coverage, pictures, and images on the early morning of
9/11 (PST). The surreal part was being
surrounded by extremely comfortable surroundings, and trying to “enjoy” a
vacation, knowing that your nation had just been attacked by enemies. I was riveted to the news coverage not only
on 9/11, but on the days that followed, and as the events unfolded. At the hotel, they knew that I was a pastor,
so I became the “unofficial” chaplain of the resort in a Prayer/Remembrance service held on the following Friday for the
hotel guests and others. I thank God for
that very meaningful opportunity to present the Gospel in that situation, to be
a truth-teller in times of tragedy.
Our challenge for a 9/11 tribute
was what kind of approach should we take.
What resonated in my mind were two things. First, the iconic images from that day;
strong and graphic, yes, but ones we should always remember. Secondly, were the words by Pastor Jim
Cymbala, “God’s Grace From Ground Zero.” I did know that what we should commemorate
was not just the actions and consequences of a group of terrorists, but rather we needed to concentrate on God’s actions throughout this debacle.
It was clear who we would be honoring: it was a time to remember the victims of that day, and their family members. It was certainly a time to remember and pray for our nation and its needs. The 1st Responders (who are often taken for granted) came to the forefront on that day. It was also a time to remember our military, who since 9/11 have been thrust into action and taken up the charge of fighting two wars. Also, along with the “who” of 9/11 we were also remembering the “what.” In particular, the courage, the bravery, the selfless service, the duty and determination of our first responders. All in all, there were 343 NYC firefighters, 23 NYC police officers, 37 Port Authority officers, and 3000 innocent civilians who had lost their lives on 9/11. Trust me, 9/11 produced a plethora of stories and heroes who exemplified the behavior we’ve talked about. The video montage we showed concluded and “froze” with the words and sentiment, “WE WILL NEVER FORGET.”
It was clear who we would be honoring: it was a time to remember the victims of that day, and their family members. It was certainly a time to remember and pray for our nation and its needs. The 1st Responders (who are often taken for granted) came to the forefront on that day. It was also a time to remember our military, who since 9/11 have been thrust into action and taken up the charge of fighting two wars. Also, along with the “who” of 9/11 we were also remembering the “what.” In particular, the courage, the bravery, the selfless service, the duty and determination of our first responders. All in all, there were 343 NYC firefighters, 23 NYC police officers, 37 Port Authority officers, and 3000 innocent civilians who had lost their lives on 9/11. Trust me, 9/11 produced a plethora of stories and heroes who exemplified the behavior we’ve talked about. The video montage we showed concluded and “froze” with the words and sentiment, “WE WILL NEVER FORGET.”
What really topped off the
tribute was the decision to also “go local.”
We wanted to find a way to honor some of Tucson’s first responders as
well. I was made aware of some specific
needs that our police and firefighters have.
Specifically, policemen were doing their shift without adequate bullet
proof vests, which cost about $800 each.
Our prayer was “Lord, what can we do?”
The heart of my message dealt
with the contradictory climate we see
today. From prayers and packed churches
on the weekend following 9/11 to 10 years after at our present time,
Christianity has been largely dismissed from much of the public discourse. The mentality is that it’s almost best to
leave religion out of the agenda, specifically Christianity. At the 9/11
prayer vigil at Washington’s National Cathedral they had a Rabbi, a Buddhist
nun, an incarnate Lama, a Hindu priest, the president of the Islamic Society of
North America, and a Muslim musician...but they DID NOT INCLUDE ANY
REPRESENTATIVE OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY!
This is symptomatic of a wider
dismissal today. Those who hate
Christmas, we’ve called Grinches. Well, we need to discuss those who are
vehemently opposed to God today, they are theophobes.! We look at the tragedy of how far we’ve pushed
Jesus out of our government, schools, and the public discourse and...our
personal lives. So, tolerance is considered
the supreme virtue today, unless you happen to be an Evangelical Christian. In
this climate, they are fair game. We’ve
bent over backwards not to offend any Muslims, but Christians are an easy and
acceptable target. You can be sure as
the 2012 Presidential race heats up that this will increase. Today, one of the greatest vices that a
candidate can have seems to be having a Christian
world view that actually matters to their thinking. Governor Rick Perry was accused by a Washington
Post columnist Dana Milbank of being
a theocrat
because he holds to traditional Christian beliefs and values. Mr. Milbank needs to do his research: there’s
a big difference between theology and
a theocrat. The danger is that in our politically
correct system gone amok, it can affect and produce beleaguered
Christians. Others who water-down their
theology and their message to make sure no one leaves offended.
Oh, by the way, 20 minutes. Well, not quite. This is what someone texted me after the service.
 |
| Proof I can do it! |
As I've said earlier, Sunday was truly an awesome and memorable day. Here are some other pictures.
 |
| Prayer for one of our young men entering military service. |
 |
| Pastor Harold Warner narrating our tribute portion of the service. |
 |
| Sharon reads poem "The Shock Heard Round The World." |
 |
| Many moved by the song "America the Beautiful" |
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Have you ever had the experience
of someone telling you something that is true, and you know it.....but you
really don’t want to hear it, or like hearing it at that time? You can even sort of resent the truth or the
fact that someone is actually bringing this to your attention? I know I have been there, and I am guessing
that many of you have as well.
There’s a back story to all of this that gives context to what I’m
saying. I am the Chef de Jour in my house.
I’ve have always liked to cook, especially when there are others who
truly enjoy the end result and compliment the chef! So what started off as a hobby has now
evolved into a full time job (i.e. menu preparation, some grocery shopping etc.). If I don’t plan and cook, then we probably
wouldn’t eat (I am not suggesting
this for every marriage by the way). On
the other hand, my wife who is not wild about cooking, really does like to
clean and has no problem cleaning up the mess I make in the kitchen, and does
it gladly. One of the lessons in cooking
and food preparation that I’ve learned is that there is no substitute for good product. Sometimes, it ends up being a bit more
expensive, but the end result is generally a “home run.” All of this has been taken to a new level in
the last two months, post-surgery, where part of the wound care healing regimen
has to do with diet, eating well and getting proper nutrients that will help
with both God’s and the body’s healing process.
So, in order to accommodate this I had stocked the outside freezer in my
garage with a number of different food “treasures.”
Then, last Friday. I had come home from some doctor’s
appointments, and Mona was going to run out and do some errands. She came in and told me that the freezer door
had not closed properly, that there had been some kind of obstruction. And now, the Tucson summer heat in an
enclosed garage had caused all the food to defrost. The food was not bad, it was still cool, but
definitely defrosted. You can’t really
re-freeze food that has been thawed. My
first reaction to seeing this was a deep, “Oh,
no! You’ve got to be kidding!”
Unless I was prepared to enter a food-eating contest, all of this food
(and the money to buy it) had been lost.
As a bit of a “foodie” this
was a mini-disaster in my mind.
Beautiful Scottish salmon, thawed.
Mexican raballo (snook or white fish), thawed. Pork shoulder which makes delicious green
chile, thawed. A nice roasting chicken,
thawed.
Things were wet and dripping and
messy in the freezer, and I knew that I had to immediately respond and do
something. So I initiated a “culinary yard sale” on the spot. The food was still good, but it had to be
eaten either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
I started calling people and neighbors.
Freddy Gonzalez was there, so I told him to take what he wanted. My neighbor, Bobby, had just started a diet,
so I called his wife to come pick up some nice grouper. Another neighbor, Kelly, her husband likes to
cook, so I called her and she came over and took some product. Leonard’s kids came over and they took the
pork shoulder, which I heard ended up in some delightful red chile. Then I called Wesley and Hannah, who had
recently been married, and asked them, “do
you want to eat well over the weekend?” If
so, then get over here quick! Since
she’s from Cape Cod, I gave them a box of Maryland Crab Cakes and other
things. I’d be lying if I told you that
all of this was fun for me. There was a
part of me still saying, “Oh, no” as
I gave over away what was now a depleted freezer. It was in the midst of all of this that my
wife, Mona, uttered words I didn’t really want to hear at the time, “We
can bless others!” It was true,
it resonated in my spirit as true, but my emotions
hadn’t yet come into line with my mind or my will, so I wasn’t overly excited
hearing it, although I did sort of nod in agreement.
One of the reasons that I love
the Bible, that I read, study, meditate and hide it in my heart, is because it
is a means of bringing men into an intimate and satisfying knowledge of the
true and living God. It is not just a
book of religious platitudes, it also provides us with a road map for victorious living, in every situation of life.
One of the truths to all of this
is that what we go through, what happens to us, what we receive and become, is
not just for our benefit alone, but for the BLESSING OF OTHERS! Listen to God’s promise to Abraham, the
“father of the faith” where He said to him, “I
will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and YOU SHALL BE A BLESSING.” (Gen.12:2) Christians talk a lot about the “blessing of Abraham” and generally in a
financial setting. But the full promise
and working of God in Abraham’s life, and in our lives is always to flow out to
others. “You shall BE a blessing.” He works in us, so that He can work through
us, in order to flow to others. This is
what real maturity and Christian living is all about.
As you study the Scriptures you
discover that this is a profound reality.
Consider with me briefly a number of settings.
- Financial
prosperity.
(2Cor.8:13-15)NLT Of course,
I don't mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for
yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you
have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have
plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will
be equal. As the Scriptures say,
"Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who
gathered only a little had enough."
The principle of mutual and timely blessing is clearly
seen. There are times of plenty
where we can be a blessing to others, and there are times of need where we
find ourselves on the receiving end of things.
- Work. We just had our Labor Day weekend.
There is tremendous value in a good’s day work! This is why our current unemployment
crisis is so difficult, especially for men. But, the Bible enlarges upon this, and
says there’s more than you and I having gainful employment. Paul wrote to the Ephesians where he
said, “Let the thief no longer
steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so
that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Eph.4:28) The blessing of honest work is
that it enables us to be a blessing to others! I can still remember the joy and deep
satisfaction I had when I got my first job after becoming a Christian, and
was able to pay my tithes. I was
blessed, but first and foremost, I could honor God with my finances and
with the fruit of my labor. I was
learning that money was “me in spendable form!”
- Trials,
hardships & difficulties.
This really speaks to the times in life where the going gets rough,
and the way gets hard. “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those
who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God.” (2Cor.1:3,4) Paul is extolling the faithfulness of
God to give us strength and courage in times of adversity. Then he tells us that one of the reasons
is “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.” This is not some glib or superficial
response, but this is a deep and experiential, “I know what you’re going through.” One of the reasons for the things that
we go through, especially the trying seasons of life, is that we have
experienced grace that we can extend to others in similar circumstances. The beauty of a healthy church
congregation is that there are faithful saints there who have gone through
incredibly tough times, and have experienced the “many-colored graces” of God, which becomes instrumental in helping others in their time of
need.
- A
life of ministry.
(2Corinthians 1-6) is the richest exposition of a ministering life,
of “able ministers” that you will find in all the Bible. Paul touches one of the keystone
promises and realities of this kind of living, “All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more
and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive
more and more glory.” (2Cor.4:15) Look at the kind of chain reaction that he
describes. First, our life is lived
not just for ourselves, but for others, for their benefit. This grace reaches them and ministers to
more and more people. The end
result is that God receives more and more glory!
So, when my wife told me Friday,
“We can bless others,” she was
echoing a truth that the Bible teaches us over and over again, and one that she
herself has learned and embodies. And
you know what, it wasn't long before I came around too! My “mini-disaster” was turned into other
people’s blessing and full bellies! It
helped when I asked one of the brothers how he liked things and he sent me a
text, “Pastor, did I eat that food? Honestly, I did not know food that good
existed!” So the message I want you
to hear in all of this, and one that I am still learning, is that I want my
life (and yours) to be as much of a blessing as it can possibly be. My prayer is not just, “Lord, bless my life” which He abundantly has. It is also, “Lord, make me a blessing here, and in whatever place or situation you
send me.”
I will also be accepting spare change to
replenish a now empty freezer! LOL. Just kidding!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Report by guest blogger - Bill Cox
My son David and I had the privilege of going to minister for Pastor Paris Dominguez and his wife Josie in Takh Mao, Cambodia in early August of this year .We also preached for Pastor Sasha Ofitserov and his wife Lyuba in Phnom Penh. We had a wonderful time and saw people respond to the preaching as well as a number of people healed in the services.
As part of our trip we made the mandatory visit to the
memorial at the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum at the former Khmer
Rouge prison called Tuol Sleng. It was a very chilling place as it accurately
portrayed the terrible devastation that was wrought in the country by the
communists only 35 years ago. The Khmer Rough launched what they called
"Day Zero" for the new Cambodia
The Dominguezs are doing a wonderful job of building a
fruitful work that will be established for the long term. They have a number of
young men in the church who are being discipled and trained as future leaders.
Pastor Dominguez has a very good strategy for training these men and others
whom the Lord will bring to the church. During my time in Cambodia
In the Wednesday night service we preached in the Takh Mao
church , God gave me a word for Pastor and sister Dominguez from Isaiah 43:4-6:
"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable and I have
loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear
not for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee
from the west. I will say to the north, give up and to the south Keep not back;
bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." This
is obviously being seen in the Takh Mao church but it is also true of the
Dominguez's impact in other parts of Cambodia and Asia.
Going back to Viet Nam Viet
Nam veterans as forever "Still in Saigon "
are no doubt overblown; still war is a profound experience for anyone. A famous
journalist during the war named Michael Herr stated "Instead of happy
childhoods, we had Viet Nam Saigon to the
battlefield, the terrain looked familiar, but it held no terrors; there were no
ghosts in the hedgerows. The revelation I had was how powerfully I have been
transformed by the power of God. His grace and His blood have transformed me
not just on the outside, but to the depths of my being. It motivates me that no
life is too far gone that the mercy of God can't transform it!
The other thing I realized as I interacted with people in Saigon is how universal life is and human need. That culture which once seemed so alien to me as a young man from my westernNew York Vietnamese street America
The other thing I realized as I interacted with people in Saigon is how universal life is and human need. That culture which once seemed so alien to me as a young man from my western
I am still processing the things God did in my heart and life
through the trip. It renewed my appreciation for the wonderful, world impacting
fellowship we're part of. Pray for God to continue to pour out his Spirit in Southeast
Asia. The best is yet to come!
"Even if godly people fall down seven times, they always get back up" (Proverbs 24:16).
"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!" They shout at me and plead,
"There's just too much against you now. This time you can't succeed!"
And as I start to hang my head in front of failure's face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
And hope refills my weakened will as I recall that scene.
For just the thought of that short race rejuvenates my being.
A children's race - young boys, young men - how I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear; it wasn't hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope; each thought to win the race.
Or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side, each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they went! Young hearts and hope afire.
To win and be the hero there was each young boy's desire.
And one boy in particular whose dad was in the crowd,
was running near the lead and thought, "My dad will be so proud!"
But as they speeded down the field across a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought to win lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself his hands flew out to brace,
and mid the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face.
Which to the boy so clearly said: "Get up and win the race!"
He quickly rose, no damage done; behind a bit, that's all
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs; he slipped and fell again!
He wished then he had quit before with only one disgrace.
"I'm hopeless as a runner now; I shouldn't try to race."
But in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father's face.
That steady look which said again: "Get up and win the race!"
So up he jumped to try again, ten yards behind the last.
"If I'm to gain those yards," he thought, "I've got to move real fast!"
Exerting everything he had he gained eight or ten,
but trying so hard to catch the lead he slipped and fell again!
Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.
"There's no sense running anymore; three strikes: I'm out! Why try?"
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away;
so far behind, so error prone; a loser all the way.
"I've lost, so what's the use," he thought. "I'll live with my disgrace."
But then he thought about his dad who soon he'd have to face.
"Get up," an echo sounded low, "Get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here. Get up and win the race.
With borrowed will, get up," it said, "you haven't lost at all.
For winning is no more than this: To rise each time you fall."
So up he rose to run once more, and with a new commit
he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn't quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he'd ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran so as to win.
Three times he'd fallen, stumbling; three times he rose again;
to far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner as he crossed the line first place.
Head high, and proud and happy; no falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line in last place,
the crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud.
You would have thought he'd won the race to listen to that crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, "I didn't do so well."
"To me, you won," his father said. "You rose each time you fell."
And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!" They still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says: "GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!"
Poem by D.H. Groberg and thanks to Bill Conrad for sending it to me.
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