The Words Change - The Story Never Does

Today the phrase "cutting red tape" implies that a person is blasting through needless regulations to get things done. It's pretty amazing how the phrase has changed in a pretty short period of time.

Thomas Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey was the world's first great R&D facility. In six years, the invention factory at Menlo Park secured more than 400 patents. This was in an age where changes were few and the pace of invention was a fraction of the speed it is today. But not with Edison. The U.S. Patent Office watched and waited for packages that were wrapped in a certain kind of red tape. They knew these came from Edison's lab, and they cut these first. Packages wrapped in that tape might change everything.

So red tape was a good thing, and cutting it was something you did out of eagerness to see something new and of value. Not any more. Think of the words that have changed in our lifetime and imagine how hard it would be to explain American slang. Words that are tied to time or a particular culture can be difficult too. 

I chuckled to myself recently at the associational Bible drill when one of our New Hope kids who was using a KJV bible because no NIVs were present tripped over the archaic word "shew" (as in "Shew yourself an approved workman..." Changes happen over time.

And cultural differences? Try explaining what "lilies of the field" means to natives of Somalia, a land where no lilies grow.

But the story doesn't change.

I stood in front of some kids in VBS one year and told the story of Christ's crucifixion. Using nails and a crown of thorns from Israel, I did my best to make it understood. One child asked to touch the thorns and when he did, he looked directly at me and said, "He must have really loved us."

Yes He did.

1 John 5:11 (Msg)
This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in His Son.

That friends hasn't changed. We can haggle over translations, denominations, signs and wonders, church models and the like, but through Jesus, God's Son, born of a virgin, crucified under Pontius Pilate, laid dead in a tomb, risen on the third day - through placing our faith in Him - we have life. Life for today and eternal hope!

Words change - the story never will.

Tell somebody!

Grace!

David Wilson

There are all kinds of thieves.

When you read the gospel of Luke, you see how concerned God is with the lost and the broken - the not perfect. Luke's account of Jesus' ministry is full of His seeking and saving - whether it's the 1 sheep gone out of 99, or one prodigal son. Luke's Jesus is full of forgiveness, and easy to get to know.

Now He's one among three men  - in agony nailed to crosses, one spewing hatred, one seeking forgiveness, and the other weeping blood with the power to cancel all sins. Jesus' story began in filth and squalor, with outcasts to share the scene. No surprise then that here at the end, His companions once again are the least of society - thieves.

Jesus hadn't had kind words for thieves before -

10 The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. John 10:10 (NLT)

Those two are usually at cross-purposes. But today they met at the cross.

Jesus had already spoken words of forgiveness. Now anything He said was coming through a constant struggle just to breathe  - so each took a bit of the strength He had left. And one thief spent his reserves in a rant against Jesus. True to the very end to what he was, he asked Jesus to prove His worth by freeing Himself - and them besides. He saw no need to hold back anything he felt. If he couldn't figure a way to save himself, then why not go out cursing everyone else.

But in this awful place, within this tortured time, a faith began as one man took stock of his life. We aren't told how he got here - what went on in his youth, the wrong turns, the bitter reverses - or whether he ever did any one thing good.

What we are told is that he has measured himself and found himself lacking. Lacking by man's rule of law, and lacking in faith in God. Yet even as he saw how far short he fell of perfection, a belief began to grow that he was in the presence of One Who was. he says to the other thief -

"Don't you fear God even when you are dying? 41 We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Luke 23:41 (NLT)

And then he does something remarkable. 

Having heard no sermon, having received no tract, having done no act of charity, and certainly having given no offering - he asks one thing of Jesus.

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

And just at that moment, all the wheels of justice come to a sudden halt. All the momentum of a life spent in crime, all the bitterness and hatred of failure, everything in his whole life pauses as Jesus replies,

"I assure you, today you will be with Me in paradise."

Today! With Jesus! In paradise! Old life ended in agony and shame. 

New life begun - Today!

Can I ask you a question?

Which kind of thief are you?

I don't mean to be harsh, just the opposite. Because that hill Jesus was on isn't very different than the land we live on. You know that at the moment Luke records, the area around the cross was populated with only two kinds of people. Same as the world is inhabited by today.

There are those who are blind to any need of a Savior, and those who have faced up to the facts of just how much they have failed and just how perfect the Man on the middle cross is. Nothing has changed. You are either blind to who you really are, or you know.

At this point maybe you think such guilt by association is weak. Maybe you have never filched a Brach's candy "sample" from your local supermarket, or "fudged" a little on that 1040A. And maybe when you compare yourself to a Hussein or a Hitler, or even a bank robber, you feel pretty good.

But just because you've never been caught in a crime doesn't mean you are exempt from the human condition. "All have sinned and fallen short" includes, well, all. You. Me. Everyone. 

Good enough, is not good enough for God. 

Have you ever stolen the smile off a child's face, who cannot help but grin at the incredible joy of life - by harsh words like, "Will you cut that out and straighten up"? Or maybe you've crushed the dreams of a teenager when you said, "You'll never amount to anything. You are just like your ____ ." Then too there's the puncture of a vision, the deflation of a hope with, "we've never done that before and it will never work."

There are all kinds of ways to steal. Steal hope. Steal joy. Steal peace. And yes, steal stuff.

We are all thieves. We all have sinned and fallen so, so, short. We aren't almost perfect, and even if we were, we'd be lost in our sins. Good enough- isn't.

On a cross next to ours though, hangs a man eager to hear from us. A man Who even here, at life's very extremity, is still seeking to save the lost.

Today! With Jesus! Today!  

You can find peace with God... today. 

Own up to who you are, ask Jesus for forgiveness and courage and power to change. Commit right now to turning away from sin and selfishness and decide to follow Jesus as Lord of your life.

Today! You can be pardoned - today!

Grace,

David

Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

So it was Monday night, and that means our friend Allan came over to eat with us. Allan's been a fixture at New Hope for many years now, but his main job is roving ambassador for all of Valparaiso. I was getting reports on his whereabouts during the afternoon from Frank Weech, who saw Allan a mile away from the church, greeting some campaign workers as they waved at traffic coming through the busy intersection near our Dollar General store. Allan loves to wave at traffic so I'm sure they appreciated his help.

On the way home, we saw him walking toward the church and we picked him up in the Honda to give him a ride to our home. The very first thing he did was apologize to both of us for being late. I don't know who put the idea in Allan's head that being late was such a crime, but I'd like to. Grrr... Allan is so apologetic it makes us sad. So we headed home, turned down our street and Allan reaches for the remote to the garage door.

He LOVES opening the door.

And the crazy thing is that he's better at getting it to work on the first try than anyone else is. Allan will push the button and it immediately starts up. Then he said "I did it Bunny. I did it David." And after we tell him, "yes Allan you did it, you're the best", Allan grins from ear to ear and says "I so happy."

Monday night he said it several times. "I so happy Bunny. I so happy."

Because of his hearing and other challenges, Allan can be a handful. He doesn't "herd" well and tends to do what Allan wants to do, even when it makes preparing supper more difficult for Bunny. He's just so special though that every week we do everything we can just so we can see that smile and hear...

"I so happy."

God uses Allan in our lives. We thank God for him.

Dealing with Allan has a way of  making us step back and look at what we are doing in relating to him in love and whether it's in line with who we claim to be- followers of Jesus. And when we aren't in line with that, we adjust - we change - because it's not about us - it's about Allan.

We just want to see him smile and maybe get to hear "I so happy."

Makes me wonder as I write this...

What if all of us went into each day determined to do whatever it took to make God smile?

What if we overcame the frustrations, and stayed focused on pleasing Jesus?

What if we immediately took action to change when the Holy Spirit showed us areas where we are falling short of what we are called to be?

Wouldn't it be worth it all to stand before Jesus and hear Him say he was so happy with what we did with the life He gave us?

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of lifeshaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness.1 Peter 1:15 (MSG)

Well, one thing is certain after last night's meal here at New Hope - Pizza still rules as a kid pleasing menu choice. :) Actually there are two things that are certain. The second one?

Kids also love it when adults spend time doing something together they both love to do.

After the mass quantity of kids finished the mass quantity of pizza, the boys headed to Royal Ambassadors and worked on their RA racers, and the girls went to their Child2Child group and worked on "monsters" they've created to sell at the upcoming Saturday in the park.

It was obvious that some "shaping" was going on with the boys as they sanded and polished their cars in hopes of a victory on Saturday in the area competition. But in that group as well as in the girls gathering, what wasn't so obvious was the "shaping" of boys and girls' characters as caring and dedicated adults gave of themselves for the kids.

In each case, if the kids had been out of the way, the immediate product would have been better. After all. the adults have been sanding and sewing for years. But it's not about the immediate product, is it?

Pray for those like our RA and Child2Child leaders who give the love of Jesus every week to kids at New Hope and elsewhere. One day we'll be able to see just how they shaped the future, one child at a time.

When the Storms Come

We've been enjoying our Airedale pups since we adopted them from Airedale Rescue in November. They haven't replaced the irreplaceable Henley the Great Dane, but they've added their own special antics and lovable clown expressions to our everyday life here.

Stevie (after Stevie Nicks) and Mick (after Mick Fleetwood) are pretty neat pups. They travel across the back yard at light speed, play hard, and sleep deeply. Well, they both sleep deeply until thunderstorms come and Stevie gets upset. The first time it happened we awoke at 3 AM with Stevie standing between us on the bed panting incessantly. I tried to hold here and pet her until the storms subsided. At 7:30, they finally did.

Last night as a line of storms moved through, Stevie jumped onto the love seat with me and tried to climb me like a tree. She put her head under my arm and shivered and shook. So I held her tighter and she calmed somewhat. She stayed as close as she could for over an hour and then climbed down. It rained for a while longer, but she fell asleep on the floor. I guess she just needed someone to hold her tightly until the storms ceased.

Have you been there?

I have.

There are times in many of our lives when the storms roll across our lives. Health issues, job losses, relationship hurts, could be most anything. But it shakes you and causes you to experience emotional turmoil. Where do you run? To God. David wrote this in one of his times of trouble.

5 For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Psalms 27:5 (NLT)
Notice the personal knowledge God has of the psalmist's needs and the personal nature of God's care. "He will conceal"; "He will hide"; "He will conceal."

When you place your trust in God, He becomes your comforter and your strength. In times of trouble, move closer to Him. Put God between your troubles and you.

Grace and peace,

David

It's a Wednesday, like the Wednesday last week, the one before that and the one before that. In fact there have been hundreds like it. A group of boys will gather tonight around a man. And he will care for them.

It's a throwback, an anachronism in today's genderless society. Royal Ambassadors - a boy's only group.

Kind of like fatherhood is.

But it matters to those boys.

Joe Stoy matters. Larry Powell matters. Michael Weech matters.

There are men like them in churches all over. They don't get much "press", their name isn't on the sign. The Southern Baptist Convention will never call them to the microphone, but they've spoken on their behalf all those years.

The boys that gather around Joe and Michael are mostly neighborhood kids who go back to homes where dad may or may not be present. If there's a man there, chances are he's not committed to "until death do us part" to the boy's Mom, and her kids are somewhere below that level of un-commitment.

The Bible tells us to train up children in the way they should go. How will they know the way without people who care? How will a boy find that Jesus is the way unless someone they trust can share His love?

As I'm sitting here praying for tonight, I'm thanking God for Joe Stoy, Larry Powell, and Michael Weech who are giving of themselves each week to help boys become godly men.

You should too.

Grace and peace,

David Wilson
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

 A Little bird told me....

Bunny and I are wishing Spring forward with everything we've got. After last week's arctic weather here, we've stepped our efforts up even more. We look for every possible sign of progress toward the wonder that is Spring. Just last evening we noticed that it wasn't dark when we left the church whereas it had been in December. The tree trimmers are at work pruning in preparation too. Good signs.

We need it. Darkness and cold weather can really discourage folks who live for the light and warmth of summertime like us. Add a dash of tiredness, a little grief, and sprinkle a pinch of worry and you have yourself a real discouragement casserole.

What do you do when you get discouraged?

Do you sink back into the gloom?
Pretend you're not?
Or do you look hopefully for signs that no matter what you see, God sees you?

For some reason this old song popped into my head while I prayed this afternoon. I wonder how many people it has helped over the years to remember - If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Why should I feel discouraged
and why should the shadows come
why should my heart feel lonely
and long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion
a constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches over me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches me

29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin*? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

God is good. All the time.

Grace and peace,

David

Found!

After two days trapped in the rubble of his own home, toddler Claude Redjeson was running out of time. But in the aftermath of the destruction, rescuers from around the world have and are converging on Haiti with one mission in mind - save lives. Ordinary people from around the world with an extraordinary passion for saving lives.

A team that had been in Spain the day before, and arrived in darkness amid devastation, defied the dangers and pulled Claude from the jaws of death. Félix del Amo, a Spanish mountain rescuer and diver, along with Óscar Vega Carrera, a Spanish firemen, succeeded in getting Redjeson out of the rubble.

Look at the picture of Claude as he's presented to his mother. Awesome!!!

He was lost, but now he's found.

I know how that feels.

A rescuer came for me one day and pulled me out of death's grip. Forever. His name was Jesus, and all I had to do to be rescued was acknowledge my need, His ability, and accept His leadership over my life. I chose faith in Jesus.

It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. 9 Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. 10 With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" Romans 10:8-10 (MSG)

Do you know someone who is trapped?

Bring them to Jesus. Or bring Jesus to them. But go!

Are you trapped? Pick up a Bible and read it. Spend some time asking Jesus to reveal His love for you. Decide to follow Jesus.

You should see the look on HIS face when you do.

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? 5 When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, 6 and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' 7 Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
Luke 15:4-7 (MSG)

Saturday I came up to the church to do some work that I normally do on Sunday morning. My thought was that it would be a lot warmer then. Actually the difference between anything below 40 degrees seems to be irrelevant to my body, but I digress. :)

Some of our young people were up here playing their Star Wars RPG and came walking over to the office followed by a cute dog. "Brother David, this dog just showed up and we don't know where he came from." The dog didn't have a collar or any identification and I didn't recognize it. But I told them I'd figure out what to do with it.

It was a really cute pekinese type dog, with beautiful fur and was very friendly. Yes, it was a little unsure of all the strangers, but when I picked him up his shivering quickly ceased. Still, it was so cold I could not see leaving the dog to find it's way home. The picture of that puppy outside later when darkness fell was unacceptable.

I saw Jim, Mary, and Ka'rin Quinnell over in the fellowship hall and walked over to ask them what they thought I should do. They agreed that the pup was too well kept to be homeless and probably belonged to someone nearby. They suggested I call the Valparaiso Police and ask them if they had any reports of lost dogs. So I did. You get an idea of how small Valparaiso is by the dispatch operator's offer to send a police car to pick up the dog. I told her that since I had to pass the city hall on the way home, I'd drop it off, but first I wanted to drive through the neighborhood and see if anyone had lost him.

So I started praying that God would help me find the owner and that this little one would be able to be in the arms of someone who loved him. I walked over to the Honda dog-mobile and we drove away from the church. 50 feet past the first corner, I saw a couple of women loading up an SUV. I had the dog in my lap and it went off into vibrate mode and they lit up like the sun.

"Kiki! Where have you been?" And the celebration began. :)

Mission accomplished.

As I drove on home, I couldn't help but think of what it must look like in heaven when God's children are "found". I know that the good people who are part of our churches need care, need instruction, need everything we can reasonably give. But my heart tells me that God's heart for the lost should be our heart too.

It's an awesome feeling to be a part of getting someone (or some dog) "found". I hope we get more opportunities to experience that here at New Hope in 2010.

Grace and peace,

David Wilson

Was reading earlier about the some of the darkest times in history. Moments in time when it looked as though all was lost  - and would have been if it wasn't for some individuals that said "I will stand firm."

Christopher Columbus was under great pressure the last few weeks of his journey to find the New World. His crew was threatening mutiny, but he kept telling them, just a little while longer. In the face of opposition that would have robbed him of the fulfillment of his mission, he stood firm.

George Washington, if he had been pragmatic about the army he commanded at Valley Forge, would have seen only the army of that winter, not the renewed and strengthened one he saw in Spring. He looked ahead and stood firm.

Winston Churchill looked across the Atlantic where Germany had consolidated its conquests by kicking the last British troops into the sea at Dunkirk and went before the English people and told them not to quit - that this would be their finest hour.

They held onto hope until things changed. They stood firm. What's the secret to doing that?

The great British General Wellington, when asked after Waterloo the difference between his victorious troops and the beaten French said this "My men are not braver than the enemy. They are just brave 5 minutes longer."

If we can learn from history, we can certainly hear and learn from God's Word right?

3 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.14 And do everything with love1 Cor 16:13-14 (NLT)

15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.2  Thess 2:15 (NLT)

There are far too many times people quit when if they had just held on a little longer they would have realized what they longed for.

My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.
1 Peter 5:12 (NLT)

Peter - biggest failure there was, who once He experienced the risen Christ became the Rock Jesus saw he could be.

Rocks stand firm. Peter did once he let his love for and faith in Christ rule His life and overcome his fears..

There's still time to decide that your future is not going to depend on your goodness but on God's grace. Still time to rely on the strength of God in you rather than your own strength. Still time to retrace your steps back to where you stepped out of God's will. Go back and decide that the next time you are tested, you'll stand firm.

Grace and peace,

David

It's cold!

January came in like a lion almost everywhere in the eastern United States, and has everyone - including Floridians scrambling to keep warm. Sometimes we forget that there actually is a thing called winter down here. We get spoiled. Even today, with the temps peaking in the mid 40s, I've seen several die hard Floridians in shorts and flip flops. It almost seems as if they refuse to believe it's cold.

But just to repeat once again - it's cold!

At this time of year, with the shorter periods of daylight, and now the cold also acting to discourage much unnecessary outdoor movement, some people struggle with the blues. After all the bright lights and shiny things of Christmas, after you return home or the family leaves, or after you just wake up and realize another year is past, the blues can sneak into your heart.

So how to banish them?

Well, let's hear from a man who at the time he wrote this was imprisoned in a dungeon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7 (NLT)

There's a challenge in those words and a promise. First, we need to be proactive in pushing back against the chill of the blues. Just telling yourself "I won't worry" is about as effective as telling yourself "I won't eat that chocolate cake over there." Don't ask me about how I know that. :)


Substitute prayer for that useless worrying. Have a conversation with God in which you remember Who He is and what He has done for you, and where you tell Him what you need.

Then breathe in the mercy, grace and goodness that is God. Make sure He is first in your life in everything. And then you'll experience His peace and His presence - His promise is - He'll guard your heart.


So stop and focus on just what we have received in Jesus. Pardon for our sins. Provision for today. Hope for tomorrow. Strength to meet the challenges regardless of what they are.

Turn the heat up - on your relationship with God.

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

Mondays With Allan

Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters 1 John 4:21 (NLT)

When we lost our big friend Henley the Great Dane to cancer last month, we found ourselves with a house that seemed very empty. Then up walked our friend Allan. On every single visit to our home previously, Allan had never been able to come inside because of his fear of Henley. No matter what we told him about how the worst that could happen would have been some slime if Henley licked him, and maybe some boofing, Allan wouldn't come past the threshold and even asked us to step outside.

But on that day, he came in. It was the first night after we lost Henley and it was a quiet house. Allan fixed that right away. Then he surprised us by staying for supper. After he had eaten he looked at Bunny and asked "when can I come eat with you again?"

Bunny said "How about Monday night?"

And every Monday night since, we've had Allan as a guest at our table.

Allan's a great guest. He'll keep the conversation going, and ask to take your plate to the sink along with his if you are through. His presence and his attitude are that of a servant, and his job is to make you feel better.

He'll never know how much he has done for us in helping us past our grief and reminding us that God uses all His servants in His care for those He loves.

I thank God for His servant of love - our friend - Allan Hill.

Call us if you want to come next Monday night too. :)

Grace and peace,

David Wilson

Practice

Bunny teaches piano up here at church 4 days a week. All of her students right now are children and youth, though she has taught a couple of adults. The adults didn't stick with it. Learning to play an instrument - really play one, not hit the right buttons on a pretend piece of plastic - takes a dedication that looks past what you are doing today to the rewards of tomorrow.

For example, when I'm up here and Bunny is teaching, I hear an awful lot of awful. Not really as much awful playing, because Bunny is very good at what she does and the kids respond (most of the time). But a LOT of awful music - at least from the point of view of someone who listens to music with more than one note being played at once time.

I have no idea what the names of the pieces they are playing are. Most of them I have never heard before. But each piece of music is selected because it helps a student progress in their abilities. They may sound odd at times, but by playing them, students advance to the more complex pieces. There's really no other way.

Just now Emily came in and started playing a song by Coldplay.

I have no idea how many lessons Emily has had,or how many hours she has practiced. But I hear music - music I know and love - coming from the sanctuary - and I know that she has practiced.

Let me ask a simple question.

How much effort are you putting into the practice of your faith - of your walk with Jesus?

He simply said, "Come, follow me."

When you do, it's difficult. There are some spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading the Bible that might seem tedious, even boring every now and then.

Oh, but when you begin hearing the music of God's approval - as your heart changes - as you begin taking on more and more of the character of Jesus - it is awesome! It's as if you were naturally left handed but were forced to use your "wrong" hand all your life. But now, you've discovered just how you were to live all along.

Make the decision to follow Jesus with all your heart. Stay close to Him. Practice.

Grace and peace,

David

Are You Ready?

They had just met a few hours earlier. (LA Times story)

One had just come in country, the other was just about to leave. In terms of where they were placed on the official chain of command, no one would have noticed them. A corporal, a lance corporal.

But where they stood on that day was with the greats.

The day started out normally for any marine on security detail, with Cpl. Jonathan Hale explaining how to run a checkpoint - what to look for, how to handle the flow and the traffic to Lance Corporal Jordan Haeter. Only minutes had passed since the two had met as the sun rose over Ramadi.

Suddenly the two spotted a Mercedes truck coming through the winding lanes of the security barriers. They yelled at it to stop, and waved at the driver to tell him to slow down. But the truck, laden with over 2,000 pounds of explosives, and its driver wired to a switch that would detonate them even if he were killed, sped up.

The Iraqi police who were the first line of defense cut and ran.

The two Marines engaged the truck as it barreled toward them - Hale with his machine gun, Haeter with his M-16. Before the truck was able to make it into the base, it exploded, leaving a crater 5 feet deep and 20 feet across - flattening a house and a mosque nearby.

When the dust settled, Haeter was dead and Yale mortally wounded. 30 others were wounded, but the dozens of Marines and Iraqis who were inside the base were unharmed.

The commanding general of all Marines in Iraq, Gen. Kelly, personally investigated the attack, and when he viewed the security tape, there he saw the two Marines, put together minutes before, standing as brothers firing at the truck headed directly toward them. As the tape rolled you can see the others running for safety, but the two Marines were faithful unto death. They were awarded the Nary Cross posthumously.

When do you think the two men who gave up their lives for their friends made that decision? Was it done in that moment?

Or was it when they made the decision to serve their nation by becoming a United States Marine?

Friends, what kind of decision did you make when you decided to follow Jesus?

12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

John 15:12-13 (NLT)

Will you be ready when the time comes to live out your faith?

Will you deny yourself and pour out your life as an offering out of love for the One who gave His life for you?

Are you ready?

Grace and peace to you,

David Wilson

Not Yet

Bunny and I were on the way to the store last night, and both of us commented on how the same Christmas lights that seemed full of joy and anticipation just a couple of days ago seemed lifeless and frankly tacky now.

The tents that had held the Christmas trees that families bought and took home to bring some of the sights and smells of Christmas were empty, and were being converted to sell the New Year's fireworks so many down here seem to enjoy.

For some, this past week has been pretty hard.

Harriet and Bill Standifer will bury the remains of Harriet's sister and her husband Monday. Both passed away tragically last week, Harriet's sister on Christmas Eve. A pastor friend of mine, Keith McNamar, up in Connecticut lost a one month old nephew yesterday, the child of his brother who has had some real issues with family for years, and been estranged from them and from God.

So this is Christmas?

Yes, and not yet.

Yes, we celebrated the coming of Christ last week. God moved into our neighborhood. But people still hurt. Loved ones still die. Christmas is still a mixture for many of joy and pain - present or past.

But friends, all the presents that Christmas promised have NOT been opened yet. Like this one:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."5 And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" Rev 21:1-5
There's more coming. More of the Kingdom of God. More of the way God originally designed things to be. Just like those childhood memories some have, where a gift is found hours after all the others were opened, God's final gifts haven't been unwrapped... yet.

So for those of us who hurt, those of us who mourn, there's hope. God hasn't forgotten us. God hasn't said "No" to our cries for help. We are NOT hopeless. He's going to make all things new. He's going to take away all the pain, personally wipe away all the tears, banish death once and for all.

Just not yet.

Until then, we have this promise - "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."

Heb 13:5 (NLT)

It is that gift we should open everyday until Christ comes again. And we should give each other the love that God has given us, to help each of us get through the "not yet" time we live in today.

Grace and peace,

David

It was at this desk, where a man built a career. He rose from salesman, to territory manager, to manage a district. He'd leave his family late Sunday night or early Monday each week and drive all over the Southeast, returning on Friday. Later on, he'd fly to distant places and meet a salesman that he'd hope to help become better. But every Friday, he'd be home.

Saturday night he'd study his Sunday School lesson at this desk, preparing to teach the class he led for decades. I can remember the men in his class and the respect they had for him as a teacher. But it wasn't just his teaching they were looking at - it was the way he lived his life. There are lots of ways to teach.

He retired from his career, and came home. Enjoyed his wife, his kids and his grandchildren - had a garden, and a shop downstairs. Still every Saturday night would find him sitting at the desk, preparing a lesson. Broadman Commentary, Standard Sunday School Lessons, Open Bible, Amplified - tools of the teacher. In retirement, he did more around the church and around the house. He had the time.

A stroke came, and he was no longer able to teach the class he loved. Some of the other things he enjoyed were affected too. Still, he adjusted. He did what the doctors told him. Lost weight, took his medicine. Though he was not teaching anymore, he still studied his lesson on Saturday night.

Now his wife of over 60 years has fallen ill, and her recuperation comes along slowly. She's being cared for in a nursing home for now. He can tell you how many days it has been since she's been home. Her picture is placed near the desk so he can see his sweetheart every time he sits there.


And the same man who left home to take care of her and his children years ago - still does. Every day he drives himself over to where she is. He can't stay there all day, but after he goes home at lunch to take his medicine, he comes back and stays until darkness approaches.

Then he kisses her and returns to his home alone.

I looked at this desk and realized this weekend, that the lessons he taught all those years at Bethesda Baptist church about what the Bible said...

... he is still teaching.

Every day.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her...
Eph 5:25 (NLT)

Friends it's one thing to follow when the road is easy and the pathway is bright. The mark of a true disciple is that they are just as faithful in the hard times. I've seen many a man in situations like this one turn inward and pull back from what needs to be done.

Not Curtis Clinard. He's got a man's faith. The Marine Corps motto is "Semper Fidelis" - always faithful. Well friends, the decisions you make today determine whether that is true of you or not. Curtis made many decisions - first to trust Jesus with His life. Then he pledged to love and honor his wife "in sickness or in health." He has. He is.

That's why I added that desk to a list of my sacred places. God used Curtis to prepare other men for trials for many years. Now the demonstration of how to bear them is being shown to all who watch. He's still teaching us.

Merry Christmas to all of you,

David Wilson

Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

Change I Can Believe In

It was just a shawl. Lovingly crafted and prayed over by our "Hugs and Stitches" group here at New Hope, the crocheted effort might not have looked like an act of God's handiwork, but it is.

Robert and his wife Jewel are what the Bible calls gently, advanced in years. They speak with the kind of Southern drawl Hollywood has never really captured. They grew up in a time when America was separated by race, in an area not known for racial harmony. Yet I've never known either to ever utter an unkind word about anyone. But I know that when and where they grew up, people knew their places.

Both have medical issues - Robert is in the hospital right now as a matter of fact. They are two of the most loving people I have ever known. The kind of people that cause you to examine whether the way your walk with Christ is progressing will lead you to where they are - mature and solid spiritually, even though their physical bodies are weakened.

Jewel took the shawl home with here Sunday, and called her neighbor across the street to come over, adding "I have something for you." Robert and Jewel's neighbor is an amazingly caring person who has blessed her friends many times and truly been an instrument of God's love to them. She happens to be an African-American.

I say that because lots of things haven't changed about the way people of different races treat each other here in the land of the free. Sure they have where government looks over your shoulder, but not everywhere - and not among many people of Robert and Jewel's ages. That cuts both ways to by the way - when their neighbor came over, she started toward the back door and Jewel threw on the porch light and opened the front door for her friend.

She offered her friend the shawl along with her and Robert's appreciation for how kind the neighbor had been. At first, it was refused with a "that's just too nice, I can't accept that."

Then Jewel told her that she and her friends at church had prayed over that shawl and asked God to bless the person it was given to.

Her neighbor burst into tears and hugged that scarf like a long lost grandchild. the two friends shared tears of joy together.

Now that's change I can believe in.

A New Operating System

You're reading the very first devotional I have ever written using the Ubuntu operating system. For the less geeky among us, the operating system (Windows, OSX, Linux) is what makes the computer more than a collection of interesting electronic parts. Valuable those parts may be, but unless someone tells them how to live and how to live together - they're just parts.

Yours truly, in the interest of pursuing yet another geek merit badge, and having mastered Windows and Mac, is now working on learning how to work using Ubuntu. It's open source, which means it is freely available to everyone, and that people with programming skills can help develop it further. In fact, some of the neatest applications available for it were produced by people just to help others.

Pretty cool, huh.

Well, I'm sitting here thinking that there are some real parallels to what happens when a person begins their journey with Jesus. When they allow God to work within their lives, they receive a new "operating system." Then God uses them to bless other people and to tell everyone who will listen that what He's offering can't be bought for any price, He's already paid that through Jesus. But that in order to use the new operating system, you have to choose to change.

1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life— your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)

Changed from the inside out. That's how God works within us to change the way we think and make us what we were created to be.

Think about it. Maybe it's time to change your operating system.

Grace and peace to you,

David

Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.churchcloud.com/new-hope-valp/

New Jeans

Well, we've settled into summer here now with our usual heat and humidity. For those of you reading this outside the deep South and who have never been here during summer, it is very hard to describe the combination's effects. I can remember a trip I took for work to Chicago in July one year and when I got off the plane, I was shocked at how pleasant it was. It was still 80+ degrees, but the humidity was almost nonexistent.

Humidity is like that ten pounds you lost one time. You couldn't believe how good you felt without it. Well, down here, it feels like we just gained 20 pounds back.

So with the coming of summer, we adjust our clothing somewhat to fit. Granted, FL clothes are more casual anyway, but we do loosen up some more.

And I just got new blue jeans.

Hot does not begin to describe how I feel in these. I'm sitting here in my office and am strategically placed under the A/C vent. There's actually a breeze in here. But these jeans seem to radiate heat.

They replaced a well worn pair of several years that were not so afflicted. In fact I didn't wear shorts that much because the jeans were almost as cool. But a change had to come. The old ones were ripped at the knee and holes were beginning to appear elsewhere. There's no way I could wear those to church. (Yes, down here the pastor sometimes wears blue jeans to work. Not often, but sometimes.)

Now I could spend much time and energy on those old jeans.

I could wear them and refuse to admit there was a problem.
I could start trying to fix them and patch everywhere they had failed.

...or I could be thankful for what they gave me and move on.

So many people cannot seem to do that, and yet it is critical to living a healthy life, rightly related to God and to mankind. Just let it go. Think about what's coming.

8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Phil 4:8-9 (MSG)
Friends, take a minute right now and thank God for what He has provided you.

Far too often we are prone to only remember the times we struggled, and truth be told, our struggles for the most part would come off as incredible luxury elsewhere.

Look to God.

Praise Him in your home, at your workplace, when you get up and when you lay down to rest.

God is good, all the time.

Grace and peace,

David

--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.churchcloud.com/new-hope-valp/

Signal to Noise

Free Wi-Fi, get your free Wi-Fi here!

I was just working on our wireless network here at New Hope, swapping out an older and slower piece of equipment for a newer and faster one. Sometimes it is hard to believe how far we've come with all this technology. I've been walking around outside for the last few minutes doing my best Verizon guy impersonation (without the annoying "can you hear me now?" part).

So I'd get 100 feet away and still be surfing the web, but turn a corner and find that I was fading out, turn another and it was "internet? What Internet?" In terms of distance from the broadcast point, I was actually closer. What gives?

Turns out I was also close to another wireless network, blasting away on the same channel.

So my poor little Thinkpad didn't know who to listen to. When I checked what was happening with a cool program for that stuff, turns out that as I got closer to the other guy's place, the "signal to noise ratio" kept dropping. Now my guess is that the higher the noise gets, the less of the signal gets through.

It dawned on me that this wasn't the first time I have faced that problem.

Churches face it all the time as they try to reach their neighbors and friends with the "signal" of the good news about Jesus. But blasting away on the same wavelength are those of us who are not living out our faith in our everyday relationships with people.

That kind of "noise" is real loud. And it can have really serious consequences. Ghandi was employed by a Christian couple when he was working on his education in South Africa. Their coldness and harsh manner with anyone who wasn't exactly like them caused him to reject Christianity even though he professed great admiration for what the teachings of Jesus said.

You probably know someone who calls all Christians hypocrites and refuses to listen. Too much noise!

So friends, we have to really focus on being like Jesus in our relationships with the people God places us in contact with. Here's a great couple of Scripture verses from the Message paraphrase to remind us.

8 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. 9 That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless— that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8-9 (MSG)
Our job - to bless those God placed around us. To Him be the glory.

Grace and peace,

David

--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.churchcloud.com/new-hope-valp/