God has come to Help His People

Luke 7:11-17 

“God has come to help His people” 

In this passage we see the compassion of Jesus, which moved him to raise from death the son of a widow. In those times, a widow without a man to help her with the daily needs of life was in a desperate situation. Jesus knew her need, and he responded to it.

People need to see how we as Christians respond to the desperate needs of those around us. Only then (in many cases) will people even look twice at the saving power of Jesus Christ whose love compels those compassionate deeds.

Consider the actions that so many people are doing during this time of health crisis.  Compassion for desperate, suffering people is the historic response of Christians throughout the centuries. There are many, many examples of course, but one that really moved me is the action of Samaritan’s Purse in going “directly into the fire” so to speak.  That ministry has set up temporary hospitals in Italy and now in New York City. Their selfless and extravagant charity toward others is truly inspiring. Often, it is only after responding to the physical life and needs of people that we can begin to show them the spiritual saving power of Jesus.

As the hands and feet of Jesus, we can help to make the “kingdom come” for the poorest and neediest people on earth. Indeed, we can be the instruments whereby “God has come to help His people” as it is recorded in Luke 7:16.

So, I urge my readers to think about those little, unique ways you can serve others at this time. A gift card to health care workers or first responders is a small example of kindness and caring, affirming our gratitude to those laboring to save others. By the way, gift cards from local restaurants also helps those struggling businesses to survive!

People will be better able to respond to our evangelism (good news of eternal life) when we can also give them hope for a future on earth through our care and compassion.

 

Prayer: Father, we thank you for the abundant life which you have given to us. Give us the vision to be able to share it freely with others who do not yet know you. Amen

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.                             John 15:13

My wife and I recently took a trip to Philadelphia for a family wedding. Along the way, we decided to stop and visit some museums and monuments that are meaningful in American history. The Gettysburg, Pennsylvania battlefield is rich in the history and valor from the American Civil War. We also went through the American Revolution Museum in Philadelphia, and finally, on the way home, we stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial site in Shanksville. Pennsylvania.

For those who may not be familiar with the Flight 93 Memorial site, it was the crash-landing site where a group of 40 brave passengers decided to give their lives to wrestle control of a terrorist hijacked airplane. The plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, interrupting the mission to do terrorist inspired harm in Washington D.C.

It became their grave.

In their brave actions, they may well have saved the U.S. Capitol and a joint session of Congress which was taking place on that fateful day- September 11, 2001. That plane was evidently headed to the U.S Capitol building. Of course, just an hour earlier, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C were attacked in the same manner- with hijacked airliners.

The memorial is very moving, and it includes the last recorded phone calls from the doomed passengers to their loved ones at home. The passengers and crew’s valor were demonstrated by their actions. Their phone messages to family members showed not only courage, but the love that caused them to take those bold actions.

I was struck by the words written in a letter posted at the memorial:

God chose our fields of Shanksville to lay you to rest. We’ll take care of you now. You are the heroes of all America now. This is our thanks. God bless the Crew and Passengers of Flight 93.

Signed- Sam and Coni Stevanus & Jeff Cooper,

Indian Lake

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the courage of those who give their lives for those they love, Amen

 He called, “Any fish, boys?”

“No,” we replied.

 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!” So we did, and couldn’t draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many!

John 21:5-7

I was talking with a friend the other day about grace. Specifically, we talked about grace that is invisible to us until we are enabled to see it. I suggested that the key to have the lens to see such grace is humility.

We were talking about the incident when Jesus told Peter, (after Peter and others had spent a whole night of fruitless fishing), to cast his net on the other side of the boat. Peter, a fisherman by profession, must have been taken aback when this itinerant preacher and part-time carpenter, gave him fishing advice.

Peter did as Jesus suggested, and he came up with the biggest haul of his life. He received the grace of a bounty of fish that had heretofore been hidden from him. Peter’s decision to accede to the directions of a non-fisherman took some humility. This came from Peter’s trust of Jesus, as well as perhaps a sense of “Well, I’ve got nothing to lose” thinking. Who knows?

I do suggest that it took humility on Peter’s part to cast that net where Jesus said to. Humility is the mindset- “There are things people can teach me. I don’t have all the answers.”

Teachable people are humble people. They are successful ones too.

Prayer: Thank you for the hidden graces that await us as we trust in you, Amen.

 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well…                                                                                                                             James 2:8

I read a book a number of years ago by Ray Bakke, titled A Gospel as Big as the City. In this book, written in 1997, the author explains that the church must impact its community, and become, as he called it “a chaplain to its community”.

Chaplains provide spiritual and emotional care to people in times of need. They reach out to people who are hurting, marginalized and sometimes cast aside. They are on the “front lines” when people need help.

This resonated with me in a powerful way. Our church had opened New Creation Counseling Center in 1993 with the Care Pastor, Tom Sager, having the vision to undertake starting a Christian counseling center. The Center would operate with professional counselors and clinical interns, under the supervision of Linda Richards, an LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). The center provides care with a Christian orientation, but is open to all, and discriminates against none.  

This nascent effort grew until now it employs over 14 clinical staff. The Center offers psychiatry, counseling services in 8 area schools, and counseling for disorders ranging from significant mood disorders, anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, marriage and family issues- the list goes on. All of this is done without denying treatment to people unable to pay the full cost of the services.

Our church has also led the way in providing support groups for divorce, grief issues, and a group for men with sexual addictions. There is a companion group for women affected by men with sexual addiction.

I lay this out because I think my church is acting truly like a chaplain to its community. In this day of people seeing the Christian Church (big C church, not necessarily local congregations) as a place that seems only to be railing against those in certain lifestyles, or being judgmental of people, my church is offering hope and healing.   

I am happy being part of a church that is a chaplain to our community.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the calling you have put on your Church- to help and heal the community, Amen

The godly walk with integrity;
    blessed are their children who follow them.                                                                   Proverbs 20:7

While I was cutting the grass the other day, I began o think about my dad and his adventures cutting the grass at our old house in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was the house I grew up in, one whose grass my brother and I had cut for many years- by hand with a reel type mower. If you do not know what that is, well, you are fortunate that you never had to use one.

At this stage of the game, in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when my dad was in his eighties, he continued to cut the grass by himself- no hiring out that difficult chore to a young lad in the neighborhood! Fortunately, he had by then purchased a power mower, long after my brother and I had been relieved of mowing duties by virtue of having moved onto our own lives as married men, with our own lawns to mow. We did wish Pop had bought that power mower for us to use, but that is another story.

Now my dad, (many of my readers realize was called Pop by the family), was a hard worker. He grew up in the 1920’s, was married and trying to make a living during the Depression, and he only knew hard work. Yet, despite that ethic, he also had a very calm temperament, and very little seemed to perturb him. He took life as it came, accepting people as they were, and living peaceably with about anyone as far as I could tell. He totally lived life in the present. What a gift!

The stories go, (and I cannot verify these stories, but they are delightful to retell) that dad, when cutting the grass would get tired, and right in the middle of mowing, he would simply lie down in the grass and rest. Pop simply lay down where he was and rested until he could finish the job. Indeed, our back yard then was a long, hilly slope that ended by a driveway for apartments that had been built some years before. So, Pop’s mowing ventures were able to be seen by any of the apartment dwellers that happened to be out.

The stories go that some of these apartment dwellers noticed Pop on the ground, were worried for his safety, and called 9-1-1. Upon seeing that Pop was just fine, the crisis was averted, and Pop continued to cut the grass. It is uncertain of my mom’s response, but I am sure Pop heard about mom’s displeasure!

I tell this story for several reasons. One, I love Pop stories, so thank you for your indulgence. Second, it speaks to my dad’s work ethic and unwillingness to give in to age or a weakening body. He would work as long as he needed to and he could take care of himself, thank you very much. Finally, it speaks to Pop’s lack of concern for what others may think of his plan to rest right where he was. He was not inhibited by the potential judgment of other people.

So, there you are. Another Pop story, and I hope you have enjoyed it. Pop was a wonderful man who loved God, loved his family, and accepted people right where they were.

 What a great legacy…

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for wonderful loving parents who loved and cared for us, and taught us to love you as well, Amen

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.                        II Corinthians 4:7

Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everything that’s how the light gets in. That’s how the light gets in, that’s how the light gets in.                                                                 From the poem by Leonard Cohen “Anthem”

In the past, I have discussed the idea of being perfect- rather, the impossibility of being perfect. We can relate to imperfect, because we are. All of us. However, the idea of being imperfect, like the crack in the Liberty Bell, becomes a symbol for us. It is a reminder that brokenness is an opportunity to be real and transparent. No one will ever try to mend that Liberty Bell crack. It reminds us that the broken can still be celebrated, and it stands as a symbol of our strength in imperfection. It is the opportunity to look for the healing that we all need in this broken and imperfect world.

Our American experience is imperfect. Yet, we have survived those failures, and we are committed to a better America. Without the recent pain we have endured, there would not be the attention to addressing and mending those failures.

I really liked the way that Leonard Cohen put it in his poem- the crack is how the light gets in. If we are not broken, we do not feel a need for anything beyond ourselves. What a tragedy to think that we are self-sufficient, in need of nothing outside of ourselves.  

Paul said that we are like “fragile clay jars”, containing a great treasure. Unless that jar is broken, the treasure is not revealed. So, our imperfection is the opportunity to recognize the need for a power greater than ourselves. In the lexicon of the 12 Steps, that is the first step- the humility step, which allows us to get the help we need to solve the problems we cannot solve on our own.

For addicts, that is an addiction that has baffled and overcome them. For all of us, that is a problem of sin that we cannot solve on our own. Christians confess and believe that Jesus is the answer to that problem.

So, imperfection is our lot. But staying in the broken places is not. We learn from the pain, and we seek the remedies. Thankfully, we have a God who has provided all we need.

Prayer: Thank you for meeting us at the place of need. Jesus is the friend we need and count on, Amen.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters                                                                                                                                               Colossians 3:23

Today is Labor Day as celebrated in the United States and Canada. Many countries celebrate the dignity of labor on May first (Mayday). Whatever day we celebrate the dignity of labor, it is well deserved.

Somehow in the Genesis story, some people seem to have been confused that the need for humankind to work is the result of the original sin. I disagree. God ordained work for humans to help us appreciate the capacities that He gave us to explore and create good in our environment. I think our view of work depends solely on our attitude toward it. Is it a necessary evil, or is it the opportunity to build in us a sense of accomplishment and worth?

I am grateful that God has given us a platform, no matter what our profession or gifts, to honor him with giving back what he has given to us. God has bestowed upon all of us many talents and gifts, interests and passions, that can be worked out through our work.

Yes, work is a necessity in order to earn a living for ourselves and our family, but isn’t that also quite a gift that we are enabled to give to those whom we love?

Prayer: We give you praise Lord for the gift of expressing ourselves through our work, Amen

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
 God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
 God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied                                                                                                                  Matthew 5:3-6 (NLT)

When we begin to read the Sermon on the Mount, we get a feeling for the audience Jesus wanted to reach. He was speaking to those whom the world had “left behind” so to speak. The message of Jesus always resonates with people who do not have power. Indeed, speaking truth to power was the wheelhouse of Jesus. His Kingdom, unlike that of the Roman Empire, was to encompass all those who had been crushed by the Roman juggernaut.

There had been empires before Rome, and there have been many since. The message of Jesus will always transcend the power of empire, even if it was misunderstood in those times, and often is now.

Prayer: Lord, help us not to miss the message of hope and love for those left behind by governments and empires, Amen

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility     Proverbs 15:33

I suppose it is obvious that the closer we get to the mirror, the more we can see our blemishes or imperfections. The better the light near the mirror, the better we can see those imperfections.  Yikes!

The metaphor here is that as we get closer to the light, and we are willing to see ourselves clearly in the mirror, the more we will see our imperfections. Not just physical defects, but character defects as well. No, we do not like to take that close a look very often, but it is a necessary function for emotionally healthy people.

Seeing ourselves in the light means seeing ourselves in the mirror, not another person to whom we compare ourselves in a relative sense. You know, “gosh, I’m not perfect, but compared to that guy, I’m a real saint!” Well, that might be true, but it is not relevant when we are trying to take a clear and honest look at ourselves.

The 4^th step of Alcoholics Anonymous says to Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. This is a key step in addiction recovery, but truly, it is a step of moral responsibility for everyone.

So, periodically, get closer to that mirror, make sure the light is good, and take inventory. Most importantly, don’t get into despair. The paradoxical result of a close look at our faults is that we come to understand that it takes humility and courage to do so. The more we exercise courage and humility, and the more we see truth, the better we feel about ourselves. We can accept our shortcomings, work on resolutions as best we can, and take heart that we are on a journey of integrity!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping us to see ourselves in light of your love, Amen.

O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips     Psalm 17:1

I was recently speaking to a client about dealing with panic attacks. As we discussed behaviors that she could consider in her “anxiety tool kit” that we were developing, she mentioned that when she was a young girl, her grandmother would often take her into a church. When in church, she would light votive candles and pray for another person who might need prayer at that time.

We talked about how she could employ that strategy now in her own home. She takes a votive candle and lights it when she is feeling a panic attack building. She then begins to pray for someone who could use prayer at the time. She does not necessarily pray for herself, but does intercessory prayer for someone else.

I think this strategy is great for several reasons. First, it brings back pleasant and soothing memories from her childhood, which has a calming effect. Second, she performs an action – lighting the candle- which is a visible, sensory action. Finally, she is praying for someone else, taking attention away from her own worries and trying to help another person. In so doing, she is redeeming a negative, her panic attack, into a positive action for another person.  

We need to be innovative in ways that we deal with anxiety and stress, and this client has found a powerful and effective way to deal with hers.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord for the plan to intercede for one another, and thereby helping ourselves as well. Amen