“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”

Pancreatic cancer, hmmmm, not good, not good at all. We sat around the control room lost in thought, not really anything to say to that. So, so you think we should swing by and see him, say hello, how he is doing? “Naw man, I don’t need to see him again”, one of the guys says. Another says “I tried to mend things with him before he left, he snubbed me, I owe him nothing”. I thought back to the last time I communicated with him, the day he was forced into retirement a couple of years ago. I had written him a heartfelt e-mail, explaining that we should let the past stay in the past and move forward. I said that I hoped his retirement would be all he hoped for.

Years ago, we would sometimes go out to dinner after working a 12 hour day shift. I was single; he was having problems in his marriage. A little restaurant on the outskirts of town had a steak and lobster special, we liked both. Sometimes we would go to breakfast after working all night. We were not the best of buddies, but we were friends. He had been somewhat of a mentor to me at the power plant, and had helped me a lot in my training when I was a student.

A former Naval officer trained at Annapolis, the Harvard level college of military colleges. He had served in the Navy for a normal stint, then left to start a family and settle down after the Vietnam War. He had worked over thirty years at the power plant before retiring.

He had joined the supervision team a few years back, and everything changed. In short, he became known as a tyrant. Always his way or the highway, no middle ground, and a harsh disciplinarian to boot. He changed overnight, it was heartbreaking to watch.

The man would ride people so hard, he had bad feelings with everyone he knew. He would get results at work, but at everyone else’s expense. I tried to talk to my friend many times to explain gently what was being perceived, but he would turn even on me, and our friendship was crushed. By the time he would be dealt with, he had been a supervisor for six years, and morale was in chaos. People would go to great lengths to avoid the man, not even speak with him, it was terrible.

One day, a wise manager got tired of the complaints and pulled him out of supervision, and put him on a desk. He was told he could stay a couple of months to finish out the year, but then he must retire, his reign was over. In the two and a half years since his retirement, I have not seen him. I have still carried a sadness with me over the friend lost, yet I have done nothing.

His wife is long gone, his son in his thirties and seldom seen. He sits at home alone. Last night I prayed so long and hard about him, asking God what I knew he would want me to do, and then finally listening to him. The man is my brother, and I need to go and love him, give what comfort I can. In Luke 6:32 is my answer,  ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.

 

If someone wrongs us, we are not to hold on to our anger forever, but to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are to love as we have been loved. So I am going to go see him today, I know he doesn’t have long aside from God giving him a miracle, you see my mother went from pancreatic cancer, it is really bad stuff, so there is not much time. I need to show him we are still brothers, shoulder to shoulder until the end. You see, making things right is what God wants of us, in Matt. :24-25 He says   ²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

So I am going to go, please pray for me that I can provide a small modicum of comfort to him, he is God’s child, which makes him my brother. Please pray for him that he will not be overwhelmed with pain and that his heart will be right with God.

God Bless, Jim

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“The Day I was Baptized”

We have been meeting in secret for months now, six to be exact. The other villagers think we may have crossed over to “the Way”, but they are not certain. We meet in the huts with the white men in the middle of the night, reading the words of “the way” by candlelight so as not to provoke suspicion. There are seventeen of us who have seen the light. We have discovered the truth after so many years of reciting the satanic manuscripts, agreeing with people who told stories of killing the infidels to the glory of Allah. Now we gain our strength through the stories that the white men tell us. There are also others from our village who have followed “the Way” privately, who have become learned at the scriptures, and they help us to understand in a way that the white men can’t. They study diligently to become proficient in the verses so they can spread stories of “The Christ Man” to villages far and wide. We used to only have hate and hypocrisy, now we have love for one another. We meet each other’s needs regularly now, and show kindness to all.
We have set out as a group of seventeen tonight. There are two of our village pastors that will be meeting us outside the village near the large stand of trees. No lights of any kind are allowed, no talking as we move through the bush. After moving silently toward the rendezvous, we will meet up with the others near the small brook a kilometer outside the village. My son and daughter are so happy to be going to the river to openly profess their commitment, they have a sack with white robes inside that they want to wear when they arise from the water. They wanted to wear the robes on the journey, but it is too dangerous, there are still roving bands of killers who are just lying in wait for a group like ours.
We are at the trees now, under the canopy nearest the side where the branches droop to the ground, taking cover. Our village pastors were a little late, but then we pushed on to the brook to meet the other villagers. After confirming the coast was clear, we moved on toward the river.  We walked in silence by the brook, the babbling water giving us cover of noise. For a while we do not have to worry so much about snapping a twig under foot. The cool air near the brook refreshed us, some stopped to drink deeply of its fruits, sating our thirst. Then we travelled on, nearing the river, and not long until sunrise.
The river is slow moving, this is the place we come as a family to swim on warm summer days. We bring food and several families will spend the day lying on the grass under the trees, enjoying the cool breeze. This is where my wife and I would come to sit beneath the trees when we were courting, planning of our life together. Tonight, it is where we will be immersed in Baptism for remission of sins, an outward expression of our inward faith. We are all so happy, yet somber at the same time, reflecting on the sacrifice that was made that we may know salvation. My wife and I delight in the knowledge that our children will know “The Christ Man” Now, instead of later in life like us, how much better their lives will be for it, knowing “The Way” now. My son wants to be a pastor, like Umar the villager. Umar found “The Way” several years ago and takes great risks to spread the Word far and wide. Umar is now taking the first of us into the river, the sky is getting light in the east as he immerses the first few. As one after another of our brothers and sisters comes out of the water, we embrace. We are forever joined in eternity as children of the living God. Now twelve of us have gone, and soon my son and daughter go, my heart is singing. Next my wife, my best friend, my lover goes, as tears of joy flood my eyes. Now it is I, the last to go, and then I am immersed. I feel so light and perfectly spotless as I arise from the water. I embrace with my family, my friends, my relatives, we are one.
There is noise at the shore, I look and see Sani and his men at the shore, they wait with angry expressions showing in the early morning light. They are silent, they just stare as we begin wading toward the shore, our  son and daughter dressed in their white robes, look like angels as the sun breaks the horizon. Sani and his men shout curses at us and wave their machetes at us, commanding us to curse “the Way” or die. Umar the pastor is the first to reach them, he holds his arms out and looks beyond them as they slaughter him in cold blood. Next comes my sister and her two girls, they calmly walk toward Sani’s men and are cut down like the stalks of sugar cane we harvest. My friends and family are crying gently as go forth, leaving this world for the Promised Land as they bravely walk forward. As I look at my wife, son, and daughter, I see their sweet faces and feel the impending pain of our loss from this world, calmness surrounds me, and then I see Him. Beyond Sani and his men, “The Christ Man” awaits, a smile of love and warmth on his face, but also of pain and sorrow, sorrowful of what awaits us, but rejoicing for us that we will soon be with him. As my wife reaches Sani, she looks back to me, and her face reflects a peace that surpasses all understanding, then she crosses over and stands with “The Christ Man”. My daughter reaches Sani’s captain, then over his shoulder I see her Jump into the arms of her heavenly father, my son then steps up to one of Sani’s soldiers, and bravely stands his ground, as the coward sends him to stand to the right of his heavenly father. They are all wearing the robes now, whiter than ever, my friends and family standing behind the marauding killers. But they are not sad, they are all grinning, some are beconing me, laughing, and “The Christ Man” is now grinning ear to ear, waving me on. As I reach Sani, I reach out, place my hand on his shoulder, and give it a squeeze and tell him it is okay, I forgive him. He backs up, has a look of horror on his face at what would make a man who has just lost his family say something like that, then his face changes back to the Sani I know, and finishes it for me. I look around, and “The Christ Man” is with me now, he places his arms around me and says, come go with me to meet my father now. And all of us begin the journey together, the journey of a lifetime, in a place of eternal Bliss.
Sani and his men throw our remains into the current of the river, there will be nothing to show what happened here. As he and his men start back into the bush, he thinks for a moment about Manase and what he said in the end. How could a man, albeit an infidel, forgive the killer of his children, the killer of his friends, the killer of his wife? Allah offers no peace like the peace in the eyes of Manase as he walked to his slaughter. I know to think such thoughts are an affront to Allah, but Allah rewards killing the infidel, but does not offer peace to those who are going into slaughter. Sani will think of this later when away from the others, Sani will have to consider this more deeply, find the secret to their peace. As he plunders their belongings, he finds a small book which he immediately pockets. He will look at it tonight in the privacy of his hut.

God Bless

JFT

This ficticious story was inspired by real events that occurred in Jos Nigeria in early 2010

(Previously posted but re-edited)

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“Forrest and Jenny”

The Bullies chased him down the road. He could only run so fast with these braces on, he struggled awkwardly, rapidly losing ground as they closed in on him throwing rocks at his innocent little face. His girl, his only girl was ahead of him leading him on, trying to motivate him to move faster, but he was maxxed out, he was in trouble. Next, she uttered those words he was born to hear, those three words that would forever change his life, “Run Forrest Run”.

A power he had never felt before surged through him, a power to go farther than he had ever gone. His girl was calling him, and doggone-it, he was going to get there. He poured the juice on, and he heard a snap down below as one of his braces began to come apart, then the other. He poured it on harder still and heard the other snap, then felt the flopping pieces of steel begin to flop loosely, then come apart completely and scatter in the road behind him. The bullies were receding behind him as Jenny’s love buoyed him ahead further still. He savored the feeling of running for the first time as his love, his only love beaconed him onward, “run Forrest run”.

Time went on, and they were close like no other, the best way to sum them up was to say that they were like peas and carrots. They were inseparable when they were young. As they aged, Jenny became more distracted, she began to see Forrest as a big brother. He began to feel hurt, but he still watched over her from afar, loving her unconditionally. As he went through life, he continued to exceed expectations, she began to defy them.

As a teenager, Forrest was bone skinny yet strong, his single minded focus a huge advantage. In college he played football, and excelled as an athlete while embracing his humility. During that same period Jenny ran with the rough crowd, experimenting with drugs, alcohol, sex and everything that life offered her. She loved Forrest, but the world and all of its experiences awaited her, besides, Forrest would always wait for her, she knew that. Forrest would lie on the grass at night looking up at the stars and wonder where Jenny was and imagine a life of marriage with her. It was just a matter of time, she would come around.

One day Jenny called him; she was in trouble and needed his help. She was jacked up on cocaine and was in a bad place. She knew Forrest would drop what he was doing and come get her, and he didn’t disappoint her. He brought her home, tended her and fed her, and made her well again. For a while, it was like old times, they lay on the grass under the trees, laughed and played. This was the time Forrest had waited on forever; his Jenny had come home, this time for good. Life was great again, and He just knew she would stay. But that morning came, and she was gone.

Forrest busied himself, covering his pain with other things to not think about her. Jenny was in a place she knew she didn’t belong, but she knew she had time, and when life settled down just a bit, she would go back home and fall into Forrest’s warm embrace forever. They would become a comfortable old couple; she just needed a little longer, just a little bit. Just a little bit………..

Forrest opened the letter from a place he didn’t know anyone, and his heart leapt as soon as he saw her handwriting. His girl had written him, Jenny wanted him to come see her. The time had come, Jenny was ready to build a life with him, and she had finally seen the light. He hurriedly made preparations for the trip, joy flooding his heart because his girl was finally ready to pledge her love and move forward. The life he had dreamed of was right before him. They would finally be together.

The bus stopped in front of the apartment, the address matched the one she had placed on the letter days before. He rushed up the stairs and knocked on the door, anticipation barely keeping his feet on the ground, and then the door began to open, and an older woman with sad eyes opened the door and said “yes”?

Forrest explained who he was and why he was here and asked if Jenny was home? The woman sagged a bit and then explained. She was Jenny’s aunt; there had been an accident yesterday. Jenny had been coming home from work, and was hit by a drunk driver in the crosswalk. She was severely injured and taken to a hospital. The older woman began to weep as the story continued. Jenny had been conscious until her aunt had arrived. Right before she faded out, she had asked her aunt to tell Forrest something. “Tell Forrest I am so sorry, I would give anything for just one more chance, even for one more day” she had said. Her last words had been Tell Forrest I Lo…………. And then she died. Forrest broke down and began to sob, He loved Jenny so much, and now she was gone. He turned and walked away.

Not the way you remember the story? I know it was different, but it reminds me of how much God loves us. He is always there when we need Him, He drops what He is doing every time we call and need His love. Then we soon forget Him for a while and go chase our worldly dreams and desires until we get into trouble again. We tell ourselves we will come to Him later in life, after things settle a bit, when we get a family, when there is more time on our hands. Maybe when we retire we can become close, then it happens, the unexpected heart attack, the car wreck. And we find ourselves headed into eternal judgment after a lifetime devoted to ourselves.

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

God Bless

JFT

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“Put em Up, Put em Up”

Billy the bully rang our doorbell just after dinner, and my dad went to answer it. He was surprised to see Billy with a fifteen kid entourage in our front yard, and more surprised when the brassy little boy told my father that he wanted to fight me. My dad was surprised, and asked what I had done to cause him to want to fight me, to which he replied “nothing, he just wanted to see if he could beat me”. My dad told him just a minute and came to the living room and filled me in on the situation. He told me that if I wanted to fight him, we would go into the backyard and the crowd would not be coming with us. He said if I didn’t want to do it, he would go chase the kids off, but that if I did do it, I better whip him, or he would whip me. I thought this was not a real win-win scenario, refuse the fight and become the laughing stock of the neighborhood, lose the fight, get beat up and then get then a whipping from dad, or last and least likely, whip his tail and be the neighborhood hero, hmm, what to do?

I chose to fight him and defend my honor. I had never been in a fight before, other than wrestling with my two older brothers, so this was new to me. I stood there until he lunged at me, then I clobbered him big time, and he went down. I then proceeded to beat the soup out of him (it’s true, he was leaking soup). I heard cheering only to see that his crowd was on the gate looking over at their fallen hero lying on the ground. My dad then told me to chase him away, so I did. I went after him with the promise that there was more of this waiting for him if he ever came back, to which he just ran. No one tried to bully me after that until we moved to a new side of town.

Now the truth, I hate fighting, never have liked it, never will. Last time I took a swing at someone was over thirty years ago and if I never do it again that will be fine with me. So why the story? A fellow writer asked the following question;

“If we’re suppose to go to people who ‘wrong’ us and tell them about it, how does that reconcile with  (NIV) Matthew 5:39 “³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. Is there a time to overlook what someone does to you and just brush it off, or is it always your job to say something?”

Just last night, a Christian brother and I were discussing the subject of brushing something off or saying something, and he gave me an angle of seeing it in a way I hadn’t thought of. Sometimes we see things people do and we think automatically that they had bad intentions, when it is not always that way, sometimes we perceive wrongly. Sometimes people are aloof, or naïve or are just not thinking things through and didn’t realize they were offending you. Regardless of their intent, maybe we should just swallow our annoyance and offer them love rather than a strongly worded coaching. Now to the cheek turning, does it literally mean that, that we should turn the cheek. Tell me what you think after reading these scriptures.

John 13:2-5 ² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus washed Judas Iscariot the betrayer’s feet also. “Service to ones enemies”

 In Acts 7:59 when Stephen was being stoned, this was his response to his murderers. ⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. “forgiveness”

When Jesus was being arrested Luke 22:49-51  ⁴⁹ When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.  ⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. “not worried about defending oneself”

In Luke 23:34 when Jesus was being crucified, he called out to God “³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. “Again, forgiveness”.

With Jesus and His disciples, it was all about humility, service, forgiveness and love. So no, I don’t believe we always need to tell people we are offended when they wrong us, I also believe we need to learn to turn the other cheek, as we were taught “again and again”. I think we are better off to show love and forgiveness when we are faced with that choice. The world doesn’t cut people much slack anymore, but we are not the world, we are Disciples of Christ. Love, service, and humility are what we offer the world. God Bless

JFT

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“A Castle on a Mountain”

 

The castle was so cool, nearly a thousand years old, and ornate in it’s own way. I had never seen anything so rich in history before, the state I live in is still shy of a hundred years old. As I walked around it, I noticed how well made it was, built from carved blocks and built into a rocky cliff face. As I was looking at it I realized in some places it was hard to tell where the mountain ended, and the castle began. The name of this place is Liechtenstein Castle.

The doors are made out of hammered steel to ward off raiders, and there are ramparts up above with an archer path around the top where the residents of Burg Liechtenstein were defended. Inside the castle walls there were stables, a marketplace and every other necessity needed for a castle community. Looking across the cobbled courtyard, I could almost hear the animals and hustle and bustle of this thriving community.

In looking at the stone walls, I imagined the many stone carvers who built this place and saw the pride they took in doing their job well. I wondered if those who placed the stones had any idea that the castle would be standing a thousand years later. I thought about my own home, in the desert southwest and how long it had been built to stand. No-where near the craftsmanship was placed into my home as was placed into this castle, and I have no doubt this castle will be standing long after my home is swallowed up by the desert.

I began to think about when Jesus told the story of the wise and foolish builders; 

Matthew 7:24-27

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

All my life, I have heard this story, and it has represented to me that it is important to have a strong foundation in Christ that your faith may stand firm against the test. But I think it actually goes deeper than that. Jesus says “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice”. Our firm foundation does not come merely from going to church, from tithing, from being a faithful attendee, but from putting His words into practice. In order to have that solid foundation, we must know the Savior, and the way we know the savior is through intimate prayer and studying the word if it is available.  I say this because there are still many places where it is not available, yet His church thrives. I believe an intimate prayer life with Him and living in the Spirit will also help us to know Him. It is hard to imagine talking with someone several times a day without getting to know them, the same is true with God.

Our theme at church this year is “All In”. I think it is fitting because I don’t think there is any other way to serve Jesus than “All In”. When we are all in, that means we have a hunger to know more, we have a thirst that can only be quenched by drinking in the scriptures that we may know Him more intimately. If we are not “All In” then we have a flimsy foundation that will not stand the tests of the world. If He is not our firm foundation, then the first challenge that the world throws at us will rip us from our moorings and scatter us far and wide. So I ask you to consider, what are you? Are you a thatched hut built on the beach, good as long as life doesn’t throw you any turbulence? Or are you a Liechtenstein Castle built into a rock mountain that can weather any hurricane because of its strong foundation? God Bless

JFT

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Knowledge and Humility

Where was this young man who would tell us how to practice our faith the group asked, and were pointed out toward the city center. The group of officials of the Temple walked out and saw this man, dressed in casual peasant clothes talking quietly to a group that was riveted by his every word. The officials sidled on up and appeared to listen as everyone else did to what the young man had to say. This guy was trouble, he needed to be shut down and shipped out as soon as possible. They decided to refute his claims, as they were the best educated Jews in Jerusalem.

So they began a game of cat and mouse, he would make a statement, and they would either refute it and wait for his rebuttal, or they would question his statement and ask of its authority. This young Guy was good though, obviously no slouch, and seemed to have an endless supply of qualified answers at the tip of his tongue. The Pharisees never had a chance, everything they said he made them look like fools, and that made them mad. In the end, they hated this young Man so much, that they were willing to free a murderer to get rid of him.

In the beginning, when the Pharisees were small children and they would go to the Temple, they fell in love with God to the point they chose a life path working in the Temple. They attended school after school to gain their knowledge of the Torah (Old Testament) and learn the traditions of the Temple and the Jewish religion. Somewhere along the line, their legalism came between them and God, and their hearts were hardened. Although the Torah spoke of a Messiah that would come and save them, they were not ready to accept the fact that this young Man before them could be the one. I don’t need to say anymore, we all know what happened. One thing that has always stuck with me about the Pharisees, who are supposed to be men of God, was their lack of humility, mercy and the like. They were arrogant, superior, and elitist in their nature.

In our men’s Bible study yesterday, we touched briefly on the subject of knowledge, accomplishment, and success in our lives and the danger that often accompanies them. When we study something in the Bible, whether it is continuing education or a desire to learn more, and God reveals Himself to us in scripture, what will we do with that? What is always a danger with knowledge and understanding is the danger of arrogance. We must be careful to maintain our humility when we are becoming more learned and never forget why we set out on this course in the first place, because we love God and want to know more about him. The Pharisees had gained all this information on God and the old law and were so drunk on their own superiority that they focused on making this young Man bow to their interpretation of Law rather than considering the possibility that He was here to fulfill the law.

We see this prevalently today in our society still. Have you ever been to a doctor that felt he was above having a layman conversation to explain what the problem was, then turned and walked out while you were talking to him? What about someone who is a recent college grad who believes they understand everything, and they are a bit arrogant if you question them. What about an impatient pastor or theologian who feels everyone should understand the scriptures as they do.

One thing I do know, Jesus was not happy with them, they had wrapped themselves in the warm blanket of justification by the law and in the process lost all of their empathy for those they were supposed to be leading. In closing, theology, learning and understanding are all worthwhile pursuits, but we must always keep in check that we are saved by the blood of Christ, not our learning. Humility is required of us to serve the Savior. The understanding comes from us reading the Word, and the Holy Spirit which lives in us helping us to digest it. So as we gain this knowledge, let’s be really careful what we do with it, and realize that the knowledge contained in the Bible should never be something that causes us to look down our noses at those who don’t know it as well as we may. But that through our understanding, we may lovingly educate and mentor those who do not know it as well as we do.

God Bless

JFT

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“The Good Life”

William and his new wife Hanna moved into their new apartment, the first home they had together and unpacked the few items they had from before they were married, and all of the new stuff they had been given at the wedding. The apartment was small, but adequate for a newlywed couple, and they were forced to make use of every space, they had more than they thought they had. They made do with the space they had, but William wanted to give his wife a better home, he hated apartment living.

A year passed, and Hanna whispered to him one morning that she was pregnant, and they both rejoiced at the new addition that would soon bless their little family. After the initial excitement died down, he began to think, “This apartment is too small for us and all of our things, we need to move into a bigger place, a home”. He then decided they would start looking at homes, with the intent to purchase. They had saved a little money up, and they still had some of the money they were given at the wedding, it should make a nice down payment on a house. They would get a house before the baby was born, get settled in and start living “the good life”.

Three years have passed, Hanna and William have settled into the house they purchased. It isn’t all he wanted but it was all they could afford. Jack is now two and a half, and the joy of their life. William has dreams of having a boat and taking his family out on the lake, but for now all of their income is being taken up. Things are good at work, but they are short handed, so William has the chance to work overtime to try to build up his savings so that they can have some of the finer things in life. He begins to work sixty hour weeks to try and build up the savings account, and Hanna finds herself at home with Jack more and more, having to be not only a mother, but also a father. Daddy is off with his nose to the grindstone so that we can have “the good life”.

Fifteen years have passed, and Jack is almost eighteen now, his little sister Tara is now fifteen. William and Hanna’s relationship has been strained over the past few years. William became so busy chasing the dream of “the good life” that he forgot he was needed at home too. They moved into a bigger house in a choice neighborhood that was borderline more than they could afford. William purchased the boat for the “family” a few years back, but he worked every Saturday now and they hadn’t been out on it in over a year. The last time William suggested going out, Jack wasn’t interested in going anymore, he would rather go hang out with his friends. Hanna was getting frustrated, now William was talking about getting a house up in the mountains where they could go spend their weekends and vacations as a family. They didn’t have the money and besides, he had gotten so used to working his days off in an attempt to get ahead that even he didn’t realize how much he worked. He was still bound and determined to achieve that dream of “the good life”.

Ten years have passed, William works seven days a week most of the time, and a large chunk of his substantial salary goes to alimony payments. He decides to stay at home this Sunday, he has been feeling a bit under the weather so he stays in bed and just thinks. Hanna has been gone for five years now, the kids are grown and living their own lives, and he rarely sees them anymore. He has sold the boat, and the home in the mountains was never realized thank goodness. Alone with his thoughts, he finds himself reminiscing, and he thinks about life in a much simpler time, a time less cluttered with failure. He remembers the first apartment they had together, how small it was, and how much fun they had together back then. He remembers the light in Hanna’s eyes when she whispered that they were going to have a baby, and then watching it grow inside her. He thinks about the first time he saw Jack and Tara’s face, and the wonder of the miracle God had performed before him. He remembers the first words, the first steps, and putting a dollar under their pillow each time they lost a tooth. He finds his vision getting blurry as he lingers on these memories. Oh how much he would give if he could just experience it once more, he didn’t realize he was living “the good life”.

God Bless

JFT

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“Who Should Enter His House”

Sean, a former crack addict was clearly unhappy as he walked to the rear of the church. A few of his friends were standing around; there was Sally, a former prostitute standing by Cedric, an ex-con. Sean looked at them and said, “can you believe this, why are we doing this, isn’t our church just fine as it is”? The pastor of the small inner city church had announced that they would be partnering with a larger church in the suburbs to try to reach out to more people. As a result, there would often be people and families from the other church attending with them in their small church.

Cedric said “what’s the big deal man, I have no problem with that”. Sean said “I’ll tell you what the big deal is, this is our church, not theirs”. Before you know it we will be squeezed out by upper middle class, SUV driving, fine dressing yuppies that will be looking down the end of their noses at us. Don’t you get it, this is “our” refuge, “our” home, “our” sanctuary, and it won’t be the same with them here.

Sally looked thoughtfully into the distance, then seemed to focus and looked directly at Sean. Isn’t this God’s Home, aren’t we here to worship Him? Sean look of desperation faded a bit and said yes, it is. But I just really like our little church the way it is, I look forward to coming here every week, hanging with you guys, and worshipping together, and I am just afraid that will change if the rich folk start coming in.

This sounds like an unimaginable situation doesn’t it. It is in fact a situation that happens in many churches across America, and probably in the world as well. Except it is usually in reverse. I have seen many times where our nice middle class churches want many folks like us to come, but they don’t want the crack addicts, prostitutes, and ex-cons to come into our safe little world. I recently had a friend mention that to me, that we had to be careful who we had coming to our church, we don’t want prostitutes and crack-heads peddling their wares inside our doors. This person is someone I love very much, and at one time I would have agreed with him on the subject, but I think if Jesus were asked the same question, he would say “come one, come all and lean upon your dear Lord’s breast. The truth of the matter is Christ’s church is a place for sinners.

I think sometimes we want people to go off, get their act together, get straightened out, get some new clothes, then come on back. When you begin to look and act like one of us, you will be welcome in our “oops” God’s house. The most inspirational stories I know of are of people who were trapped in a life of sin, were reached out by the church, shown Christ’s love, and then they chose to leave their sin, take up their cross, and follow Him. People are people, all God’s children, whom he loves equally.

In Europe in the 1940’s, Hitler began a campaign to rid the world of the vermin he called Jews (God’s chosen people by the way). In the Jewish community there were many different economic levels as there are today, lower, middle, upper class and rich. As they were rounded up, they were all loaded into cattle cars. The wealthy ones didn’t get first class, they all got “cattle coach” if you will. They were shipped off to camps and either worked as slaves or executed. When I was a kid, a documentary on this named  “Holocaust” was shown. They showed footage shot by the Germans of the Jews stripped naked, herded to the edge of a trench and machine gunned down, in such a way that the Germans didn’t have to get their hands dirty. Why am I bringing this up, because in the end, we all stand equal in the sight of God? There are no classes, there is no hierarchy, we are all even, and I think we all need to remember that the next time we have a chance to bring someone in with us. Remember the three “B’s” of Christianity. Belong, first we must help them to feel they belong among us. Believe, after they feel a sense of belonging, they will relax and listen to the Word, and will then believe. When they Believe, their belief will make them disciples, which will cause them to want to Behave to please God.

Matthew 21:31-32

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.

 

God Bless

JFT

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“The Battle Rages”

He was a little guy, small in stature, not particularly attractive, but that didn’t matter, he was brilliant, and that was the secret to his success. He made his way down the long hallway lined with offices on both sides. Those in his business called this mahogany row, where all of the big cheeses spend their time. This is a twenty-four hour operation, buzzing with activity at any time of the day or night, weekends, holidays, no matter. This place never sleeps, and soon, he is hoping to get an office here, he just needs the commissions.

He walks into the huge receiving room, and the secretary stops him with her stare alone, and asks if he has an appointment. He nods and says the boss is expecting him in fifteen minutes. She asks his name, and looks at the calendar on the computer, then looks back at him and nods, smiles and asks if he would like to take a seat. The room is full of others who seek an audience with the big cheese also, and he takes a corner seat and picks up a magazine to pass the time.

He looks up eagerly as his name is called and she escorts him to the large ornate door, opening it and ushering him into the spacious office. Windows all around the perimeter of the office look out onto the land surrounding the building, what an amazing view. Mr. Big stands in the center of the large window vista looking out at his territory as the little guy comes in. Mr. Lucifer says “have a seat, would you like some hot coffee, I can have my secretary bring you some if you like”? The little demon squeaks “no sir, thank you though” and sits in the large overstuffed chair facing the large desk. As Mr. Lucifer faces the little demon, the little Imp can’t help but be surprised at how handsome the powerful entity is. As Mr. Lucifer sits at his desk, he waves his hand toward the window and says “beautiful, isn’t it, the lake of fire, I cannot understand who wouldn’t want to be here”. He then looks at the little demon and says, “what have you got for me”, pleasantries obviously over and down to business now.

The little demon clears his throat and begins. Well sir, I have been very busy for you. I went to the large church you have been troubled with, and I began with a small rumor whispered into the ears of a busybody. It was concerning the distribution of your favorite thing “money”, and the rumor purported that there was money allocated to a group that some found questionable. The rumor was a total lie, but one person to another began to whisper, and the rumor started to spread like wildfire. Before you knew it, people were stating it was true, because they had it on “good authority” from a reliable source. Before long, they were questioning church leadership about it, but when the church leaders addressed the situation and refuted the accusations, most thought they were just covering their backsides. Satan leaned forward in his chair, grinning ear to ear, rubbing his hands together. Tell me more, please he howls to the delight of the little demon.

Emboldened by Satan’s response, the little demon says, “it never fails, greed is by far one of your best tools sir”, then continues on. Final count sir, we had thirty-seven families quit church over this. One hundred seventeen children were impacted, and they are now playing with their Play station on Sunday morning instead of worshipping “you know who”. That makes one hundred ninety five souls who may be choosing you sire. Satan beamed at the little guy and said, “tell me more”. The demon shifted a little uncomfortably and said “the internet pornography thing continues to pry many away from Him, affecting many husbands, fathers, wives, pastors, and this actually has parallels to drugs or alcohol, as many are now becoming addicted. It is causing divorces, separations, scandals, you name it, it is by far one of our best sellers sire, and its potential has not even yet been realized. Satan leans back comfortably in the large comfortable chair and brings his feet up on the corner of his desk. He looks on the little demon and says, is there more”?

The little guy says yes, there is always the materialism thing, I find if I hook someone up with a nice House, SUV, a boat, and some money, it isn’t long before all of their neighbors are filled with envy, and are just about ready to sell their souls to keep up. They start maxxing their cards, they second mortgage so that they can go on vacations and install pools, it is really hilarious to watch. Just then, a large wind blows through the room and papers fly off of Mr. Lucifer’s desk, and a chill makes the little demon quiver with fear. Satan stands and says hotly “you’re not welcome here” to the newcomer who stands at the door. The little demon bares his teeth and charges the intruder in a vain attempt to protect Satan. Before he knows what hit him, he is vaporized with the sweeping of the intruder’s hand.

Satan says “Gabriel, why are you here, aren’t you a little out of your element”? The huge angel in the gleaming armor and the long wavy hair walks boldly into the room, illuminating the dark space with a light that seems to pour from him. “Lucifer, when will you realize that your tactics are futile, that you have lost”? Satan tries to smile as he says futile, I think my little minion was spinning a little different story before you pureed him onto my carpet. We are winning souls at a fire sale rate; you’ll pardon the pun. It is you who have lost, your numbers are declining, you are losing, not me. Gabriel smiled lightly, and said, “You know the scriptures as well as I do, you know what is prophesied, you know the prophecy will come true as well as I do, you will be defeated. Satan had a slight tremble in his lower lip as he began to refute the giant powerful Angel. Gabriel raised a hand and silenced Satan as be continued. You will die a painful death, your head beneath the heel of God as the whole world watches, so enjoy your victory now Lucifer, for your time is coming soon.

Satan opened his eyes; he was lying on the singed carpet behind his destroyed desk. As he stood, he noticed all of the windows overlooking the lake of fire were blown out. Gabriel was gone, he looked out into the lobby, and the smoking carcass of his secretary sat at her scorched desk, the office was empty. Satan shuddered as he thought about the giant angel who had caused him more trouble than he could recount. A chill ran up his spine as he considered everything Gabriel had said, because he knew it was all true. He knew in the end he would lose, but many in the world didn’t know that, so he was going to keep working it for all he was worth. He walked back into his office and began to call his faithful in, there was much cleaning up to do, and then they needed to get back on track and focused, the battle was coming.

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“A Prayer For Asia”

Certain criminals throughout time have incited much anger among the public. Criminals who have harmed or killed children or stolen their innocence are many times marked for death even in prison. Jeffrey Dahmer, a horrible American killer was beaten to death in prison because of the wrath that people have held even after conviction and incarceration.

I have been following a story for a while now about a convict who has quite a hate following. The convict was sentenced to death in November of last year, yet that still did not quell the crowds. A local leader offered a bounty for the murder of this convict, even though the convict sits on death row. My gosh, you are probably saying, what could this convict have possibly done to incur such hate. The plain truth, she boldly shared her faith with her friends at work.

Meet Asia Bibi, a young woman in prison in Pakistan. She was convicted of Blasphemy in November and sentenced to death. A local mullah offered a large bounty for her death; meaning if she is released from prison, there will be an assassin waiting for her when she gets out. To recount, she was at work, and se began to share her faith with her friends. She told them that God and Jesus love us, and that Jesus is alive today, and told them about all He had done in her life. They responded that Mohammed was their prophet, to which Asia asked, “what has he done for you, then she told them that Mohammed was dead. These are fighting words in Pakistan.

The women beat her mercilessly, to the point that she was originally arrested for her own safety, this was June of 2009. On January 4^th 2011, a governor in Pakistan stood on Asia’s side, calling for the law on blasphemy to be repealed. He was then murdered by a member of his security detail, and large rallies in support of the murderer were held.

Asia sits on death row for her faith, yet she stays strong in her faith. There have been many like her who have been persecuted for their faith that have been rescued by God in ways that defy human logic. Maryam and Marzeih in prison in Tehran for their faith were freed last year and allowed to go to a place of freedom. I know many of our fellow followers of Christ do not face a reprieve, but martyrdom.

I call on you, my brethren to join me in daily praying for this young sister to be freed from her persecution. Her fate is in the hands of the Lord, but with much love and petition, let us pray for her fate and that of all the many Christians throughout the world who are suffering for their faith. God bless

JFT

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