What an Example

My intention last Sunday was to view the segment about drones on 60 Minutes, but what ended up making an impression on me was the story titled "The Coptic Christians of Egypt." It was fascinating to say the least. While I highly recommend that you view the segment through the internet, I will give a quick summary of the points that made me think.

After supporting the military take over, Coptic Christians found themselves under attack by Muslims. Let me insert here that I had no idea there were so many Christians in Egypt. They have multiple churches and even have a pope. I remember hearing of churches being burned but I was thinking the buildings were probably small and not many of them. The pictures shown on Sunday were cathedral type buildings now burned and crumpled in the wake of the destruction done by Muslims.

What the show's producers probably thought they would find were Christians seeking revenge, instead they found people still meeting in large crowds. Still worshiping Jesus. And still getting a cross tattoo on their wrist that identified them as Coptic.

But what hit home with me the most was the attitude of the leadership of the church. They embrace the discrimination. They have always had it. They have forgiven those who destroyed their churches and killed some of their membership. They feel that if they do anything less than forgive they are not just enough to ask for justice from God.

The peace and sincerity I saw in that leader's face was refreshing. He showed no hidden agenda. He truly embraces what he spoke. What a testament. Those Christians stand strong for God, for Jesus. They're not letting destruction stop them. The persecution continues to surround them and yet they keep going forward for Jesus.

I wonder. . .in our country where we have the liberty to worship God freely, do we know our God well enough to stand this strong? Would we pick ourselves up and forgive those who try to knock us down? Or do we take our fight to the court system crying foul play?

If our liberties were to change, how would we respond? How would we look at life? Would we welcome the discrimination and the chance to stand up for our faith? Would we be the God-loving example the Egyptian Coptic Christians show themselves to be? It makes you think. Doesn't it?

I thank God we have the Coptic Christians as examples of God's love and forgiveness. May God continue to bless them for their faithfulness.

Ode to Mom

Sorry about the lapse in postings. The past several weeks have involved remembering a rough time in our lives. My mother passed away a year ago after a quick battle with bile duct cancer, a silent one that leaves its victims with less than six months to live once discovered. One thing I've learned over the years is that cancer shows no respect to any area of the body and will grow wherever it pleases.

I could deviate and talk about cancer but that would not serve the purpose I have for this post.

Mom was an amazing person. Many may not realize what she accomplished in her life time. She spoke no English when she won a language-based-scholarship to study in America. She married a man who could not afford a maid, so she had to learn to cook, clean and raise children all by herself. She taught herself to paint oils and watercolors out of her loneliness for home. Later, after being taught Chinese Brush Painting by an expert, she instructed others in all areas of painting.

She experienced a mixture of receptions while she lived in America. From those thinking all people from Mexico were poor and uneducated to those who spoke to her because she was from Mexico. On many occasions she was asked to speak about her native home. She was even invited by military base leadership to accompany visiting dignitaries because of who she was.

Through it all she kept her eyes on Jesus. Right before the process of finding out what was going on with her body she complained to God that she had no one to talk with or to share what she had to say. But there in the hospital while all the tests were being run, she greeted everyone who entered her room. Telling them that her life was in God's hands and why she knew it. She didn't preach at them. She just loved on them. When they moved her to another unit, the first unit people came to visit. When she returned to the hospital for more procedures, they came back again. While waiting for me to bring the car around at the end of her stay she heard a small voice tell her, "It is finished." Less than six weeks later she was gone.

Once I knew of her desire to reach out to others I started a blog for her. Unfortunately, I was too late to have fresh lessons posted. And even though the postings are from her written memoirs she is still reaching others for God.

If I can take away anything from her life it's this. Life may not always be easy going and pleasurable, and some of the people you meet along the way make you want to shake some sense into them. But, we shouldn't let anything stop us from going on an adventure in life and doing all that God has for us to do.

Pentecost

When do you think Pentecost began? For many years I only associated Pentecost with the disciples speaking various languages when the Holy Spirit came into the upper room and filled the men with the ability to speak all kinds of dialects. Don't ask me what I was thinking, but I didn't realize that the whole event was actually named after the Jewish high holiday called the Festival of Pentecost, which I knew as the Feast of Weeks, or the Festival of Shavuot.

This week is that celebration. It occurs fifty days after Passover. The most notable one occurs in the book of Acts when over one hundred thousand people returned to the city of Jerusalem. These people would have seen Jesus crucified just fifty days earlier, but they had no idea the significance of that act until another unusual thing happened during the Pentecost.

You see the rush of wind in the upper room and its house could be heard outside and the people came running. According to A Visual Guide to Bible Events, when the room filled to capacity they moved outside, more than likely to the southern steps of the temple. Just so you know, the rabbis would frequently teach the people from that location. The steps were wide enough to accommodate many people and the apostle's voices could be heard easily.

While the other disciples spoke in tongues that got the people's attention, Peter spoke to clarify what was happening. He helps the people make a connection between what they saw in Jesus and what was promised in the scriptures. Here's an interesting fact about the feast, not only were the people giving thanks for the grain harvests but they were also recalling the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. Don't you find it interesting that on that very celebration Peter would show the people that the law and it's prophecies for Messiah had come to fruition?

And here's another interesting tidbit. Next to these steps was a large ritual bath set-up (miqva'ot) that could have been used for the baptisms that followed Peter's teaching. And while only three thousand were baptized that day, you know that the rest of the listeners went back home and shared how men from Galilee spoke the dialects of lands to which they'd never traveled.

How amazing that must of been. Today not only do we have the Bible written in almost every language, but it's also available in many forms. The first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus was the start of it all. . .getting the word out to the world that God loves them and wants them to join him in heaven for eternity.

Buying Back

Did you know that another way to say redeem is "buying back"? So when we say Jesus is the Redeemer, we are saying he bought us back. Back from what you may wonder? Back from sin and a death away from God.

But, I've also heard Jesus often referred to as the kinsman-redeemer. Do you know what a kinsman-redeemer is? I had only a vague idea until I read Lois Tverberg's book, Listening to the Language of the Bible.

Think back to the days of the Bible. Do you ever read about insurance companies? Or, benevolent people and organizations restoring homes? Or, the government using tax money to help the people recuperate in any way? There were no funds to help you rebuild after a storm tore up your field, or house, or place of business. So, the place people went to for help was their family. Relatives, as a kinsman-redeemer, were expected to come to the aid of family members in need.

In this way, if a person had to sell their portion of the family farm because of bad investments or bad crop growth then the kinsman-redeemer would buy the land to keep it in the family. Or, if someone got so indebted that they became a slave the kinsman-redeemer would buy them back.

The family member would remain obligated to his redeemer and belong to him, but not as a slave. He would be like a close family member. The example Lois Tverberg gave was the story of Boaz and Ruth. Boaz bought the land from Naomi in order to keep it in the family and this included Ruth, whom he took as his wife.

So, Jesus bought us back by his death and resurrection. We are in a sense indebted to him for the price he paid. But, he doesn't see us as his slave or servant. He sees us as family members who've been saved from being eternally separated from the heavenly realm. How awesome is that?

Where's God?

Do you remember a few weeks ago I wrote about bad things happening? Recently, it seems the global outcries have increased. . .what with, school girls being taken away from families while they were at school. . .countries invading other countries because the old regime wants their power back. . .fellow country men killing each other in order to gain political control. It doesn't appear to take much for men to kill or attack others, whether they are helpless girls or armed fellow citizens.

It's really sad to see all this happening. While most of these countries do not recognize God as their god, there are some who might ask why doesn't God intervene? In a sermon years ago, the pastor stated God can't be expected to be around when things turn bad if he wasn't asked or accepted when things were going good; he can't be where he wasn't asked to come in.

While this is true I had my eyes opened to another possibility when I read Amos 4. God called a 'non-prophet' shepherd, Amos, to speak prophecy about destruction to the well-to-do temple-going people in Bethel during a time of relative peace. Chapter four talks about what God is sending and what he has already caused or allowed in order to get the attention of his people so that they will turn back to him.

What gets me is how similar Amos 4 sounds to today. One city getting rain, almost too much, and another city on the brink of severe drought. One city borrowing water from another. The destruction of vegetation by pests. Diseases and murders. Some people being spared from the edge of destruction and still not turning to God.

Amos does speak of hope, though. In verse 5:4 he tells the people to seek God so that they may be saved. And, he ends his prophecy by saying that the destroyed cities will be rebuilt and vegetation restored.

So when I think about how bad things look, I hope to remember God will use this to bring people to him. God's purpose is being served. Let's pray that not only in our country, but in countries being thrown into the eyes of the world, there will be a calling out and returning to the one true God.

Eating to Forgive

Is there someone you enjoy eating a meal with? Or someone you avoid during meals? Is there a reason why you feel that way? Do you ever use a meal as a way to get to know someone better? Of course, there are all kinds of special meals where you may or may not have a choice who gets to join in. . .birthdays, wedding receptions, Christmas, Thanksgiving. . .I suppose the list could go on and on.

There's one meal where everyone from all walks of life is welcomed, and we celebrate it in churches across the globe. That's the last supper, better known as communion. Even those who don't frequent the door of a church may know of this meal, since the scene is recreated in many paintings.

The last supper, or Passover meal, introduces the disciples to the new covenant with Jesus. He tells them how his body and blood will take away the sins of the people. They may not have understood what he was saying at the time but they did later on. Through him there is salvation. . .our ticket to heaven, so to speak. There is, however, another meal that carries as much or more weight in the end.

Not long after that last Passover meal the disciples did the unthinkable. All but two scattered. How did the disciples know they were forgiven for running away when it really counted? Especially after they told Jesus they wouldn't run; that they'd always be there.

According to Dr. James Martin, in his book Exploring Bible Times, there was an ancient custom known as a meal covenant that signaled to those invited that they were forgiven and accepted. He referred to the meal in Psalm 23 as being of this nature.

When Jesus ate in front of the disciples in the upper room in Luke 24 he was showing them not only was he alive and well but that he forgave them. And, in case there was any doubt as to his forgiveness, he did it again. In John 21, Jesus was the provider of the meal when he called the disciples over to join him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This second time he was assuring the disciples they were forgiven and accepted by him.

Now that's the meal to remember. Even when we deny him, even when we fail to accomplish all we set out to, even when we show our weaknesses to the world, Jesus will forgive us and accept us back to his celebration table.

When Bad Things Happen

I don't like it when bad things happen. Nobody does. Especially when it happens on a large scale or to someone we love. It can make us angry at God. Or, beg the question, "Why God? Why did you allow this bad thing to happen?"

But, here's the shocker. Bad things happening and evildoers have always been around. If you don't believe me, just read the Bible. Hello, that's God's book. And, God being in our lives will not stop things we see as evil or bad from happening. . . look at Luke 13. Those things occurred while Jesus was walking among the Israelites. So if evil is not new and may eventually find its way to our doorstep, how do we deal with it when it happens to us?

Last week I saw a city struggle with a threat to its children. Parents responded in a variety of ways. But the law enforcement officers rose to the occasion and kept each and every school safe. A lesson can be learned from this I feel.

It was a moment to learn where our weak point is. For most mothers our children are our weak point. We would rather die than see anything bad happen to any of our children. For fathers, their nature is to protect and do what they need to do to protect their heirs.

Some may ask, "Why has God allowed evil?" Well, it's not really God allowing the evil so much as he allows man to have free will. Free will to choose Jesus as Savior. And, free will to choose to follow the natural path of man that leads to various degrees of evil. Of course, many things are not seen as evil until it involves children, then it gets our attention.

But if your faith is in God, knowing he will take you only when your days are completed, then nothing can stop you from doing his will. Nothing can stop you from going into the world.

So this brings up the question, is death a bad thing?

To those living and breathing, death removes someone from our lives. We don't get to speak with them, or hug them, or even argue with them anymore. It brings a separation that some have trouble dealing with. On the other hand, death takes the person who leaves us to a spiritual plane where there is no fear because God's peace surrounds them. There is no anger because things are good and righteousness rules. There are no questions because God's presence brings all the answers.  Heaven celebrates when another soul joins them.

I don't want to sound like I'm down playing the anguish a parent feels when a child is lost to heaven, but I want to encourage us as parents to downplay the stigma of death being a bad thing. We will all die. . .some day.
 
When my children were young, as a way to keep them in line and safe, I told them they could fall and die if they continued the questionable activity they were performing. That usually got their attention. Then one day I was admonished by the Lord, "That's why people are afraid of death." I stood speechless. And from that day on I never spoke of death as being an awful result of an action.

As my mom approached the day of her death she shared what she was experiencing in the spiritual realm. She told me, "Be happy because it's all good. It's ALL good. Be happy."

As I grieve her passing I remind myself. . .it's all good where she's at. I still cry for her. And I still have an emptiness that only her pictures and paintings can fill. But it's all good. And some day. . .I'll be there. . .where it's ALL good.