DESIGNATED HITTER

           ( BLOGGER’S NOTE:  My current effort has me thinking about what it might be like if God were to actually speak to us.  Not just in the way we’ve come to understand, i.e., through Nature, through the prophets, or through His written or Living Word, but out loud.  Face to face.  Just a sort of  ’casual conversation’ like Moses and Adam and others had.  It’s a stretch, probably, but it has me thinking more carefully about some ideas than I’ve done in quite some time.  Feeling that, if He were to engage us in such conversation, He might begin by asking a question just as He’s done with others in the past.  Then waiting and giving us time to think it over and then reply.  And perhaps not proceeding until we did answer.  I also wondered ~if He knows everything~why He’d ever ask us for any information of any sort!      

            To be quite candid with you, this has made me think more carefully and at greater length than I’d imagined when I began.  In pursuing this project, I got to the place in Scripture where God confronted Saul of Tarsus and interrupted his “Capture and Kill Christians Campaign,” and asked: “Why are you persecuting me?”  That question has forced me to look carefully at it.  I wondered, for example, what God’s definition of “persecution” might be.  And is it possible for someone to be doing what he supposed was a legitimate duty and be utterly mistaken.  Saul was, you remember, on an official mission under the authority of the best religious leadership available at the time.  I ‘ve been wondering about the things I do routinely, almost on automatic pilot, religious things you know…Is it possible that my view of  my activity may actually be hurting God!  Persecuting Him!  Wow!  Try that thought on for size!!  

          Wanting to let you know I take this effort seriously as well as  joyously, and wanting a bit more time to digest and phrase my own thoughts, I asked a bright young fellow blogger for permission to share some of  his recent work.  Pinch hit for me, please?  Be my ‘back up’ while I sort out my answer to that penetrating question.   The friend is a Christian businessman and executive who takes his faith right into the marketplace.  He takes his commitment seriously.  He thinks deeply and writes well.  He isn’t prissy and pulls no punches.  I hope you enjoy his thoughts and that you’ll visit his site.   I’ve admired his writing on his blog which is entitled Shrinkingthecamel.wordpress.com ~you can figure that out, and it will be worth your effort. 

          Bradley Moore is my ‘pinch hitter!   Batter up…     ~donkimrey)

 

Do Not Worry (Oh, Really? That Might Be Easy for You to Say…

August 2, 2009 by shrinkingthecamel
          These are worrisome times we are living in. There is an unprecedented global financial crisis, economic recession, threats of terrorism, more and more layoffs, and a growing government deficit. It’s just bad news all the way around. Add this pile of stink to the routine madness that you and I deal with daily, as a matter of course. Like trying to raise decent kids, and maintaining a good marriage, and paying all the bills, and the house is always a mess, the career pressures, friends dying of cancer, too many church committee obligations, every organization is asking you for money all the time, and what is that red spot on my shoulder? Was that there before? 

          It seems as if the sheer weight of responsibility that goes with being an adult in the modern 21st century can just about break us sometimes.

          So, I’m in somewhat of a gloomy mood as I sit down to read my daily dose of scripture this morning, and I bet you are now too, if you weren’t before. In keeping with His extraordinary sense of humor and good timing, God has lined up for me today a very propitious passage. As I open my bible to the book-marked page at Luke 12:22-33, my eyes are immediately drawn to a bold heading above the verses I’m about to read. It says, in a very objective and authoritative, yet casual, italicized font:

          “Do not worry.”

          “Funny,” I think, with a nod to God. I read the passage with great concentration and an earnest desire for tranquility. Jesus is encouraging the crowds with words of comfort and reassurance about how God will take care of them. Don’t have an anxious mind, He says, because God knows about everything you need. Seek first His kingdom.

          It isn’t sinking in.

          I read it again, slowly, trying to soak my brain in it. But the grumpy mood is still hovering all around me, distracting me, making faces and kicking me under the table. I remember how our youth director at church, Melissa, gets the kids to visualize bible passages because it helps them concentrate on the message. She has them read a passage and then close their eyes and imagine the scene in vivid detail. It creates more impact, she says. Although some folks at church are suspicious of any bible study tool that involves using one’s imagination, especially a teen-ager’s. I decide to give it a try, to visualize the passage. I take a very deep breath and blow it all out very slowly and close my eyes.

          Lilies of the field. Treasure in heaven.

          I see Jesus standing on the rugged mount. It’s a sunny middle-eastern afternoon, the wind is gusting through his shoulder-length and surprisingly well-conditioned brown hair, and billowing around his super-white 100% organic cotton robe. The disciples are all sitting around his feet in their raggedy, itchy, burlap robes, listening attentively and in eager expectation. I listen to the voice of Jesus on the mount, and I let my thoughts float along on the Jerusalem winds.

Do not worry. Do not be anxious.
Put your treasure in heaven.
Treasure in heaven. Treasure.
Treasure. Money.
Tuition payment. No, two tuition payments

Recession. No bonus this year.

Crap!

Should have saved more.
Idiot stupid idiot
Bad steward
Idiot stupid.
          I try to take in the comfort of this wonderful passage from Luke, but my worried mind is going elsewhere, and I find that I am becoming alarmingly cynical towards that sweet bible passage. This happens to me every now and then – I’m trying to get comfy with Jesus, but this harsh, skeptical, cynical voice butts in and ruins everything. And I feel compelled to see where it’s going to take me.

          So here’s what that cynical voice in my head is saying about the “Do not worry” passage in Luke 12:23-33: Sure, it’s easy for Jesus to tell these people not to worry. He didn’t have the financial responsibilities of a family to worry about! Neither did Peter, or Paul, for that matter. None of them schlocks had wives or kids to take care of! (Apparently bible scholars still debate if Peter or Paul were married, but the fact that this even is a debatable question shows the lack of priority the women and children must have had in the scheme of things.) Those disciples and apostles didn’t have a mortgage payment, or car repairs, or the care and well-being of their wives to think of, or college tuition payments to worry about so that their kids could get a decent start in life and avoid spending the next ten years paying off college loans the way their parents did.

          The great founding fathers of our faith have very little to say about the sticky little pressures of modern family life. Couldn’t Jesus and the other guys who wrote the gospels and the epistles have given us parents and spouses a little more credit? Instead we hear them encouraging men to stay single, don’t get married unless your loins are burning up. It’s like Jesus called on these random guys to be his disciples, and bam! Just like that they leave their jobs, families and homes. Goodbye responsibility, hello Jesus!

          It would have give me great comfort if, just once, Jesus told someone that the kingdom of God would be better served if he stayed at home, kept his job and took good care of his family rather than abandoning it all for the gospel.

          “Jesus approached a young man named Bartolomes at his place of work and said, “Follow me.”  Bartolomes immediately dropped his spreadsheet tablets (for lo, he was an accountant) and got up to follow Jesus. His wife and six children however, chased after him frantically, crying out desperately for him to remain with them and help pay the bills so they could eat three squares a day and have a decent roof over their heads.”

          Jesus, aware of the potential family meltdown, turned to Bartolomes and said, “No, I did not mean for you to follow me, literally. Dost thou not have a brain in thine head to think with? I meant follow me in your heart. You will do more good for the Kingdom of God by faithfully loving and caring for your family as if you were loving and caring for me, than you ever would by gallivanting across the land.”  

          Wouldn’t that be great?

          I wish that the bible had something more uplifting to say for those of us who gave up all of our youthful ignorance, idealism and self-centeredness of single living in exchange for becoming productive and responsible citizens, devoted and loving parents and spouses. It’s fulfilling, certainly, but at times it’s also difficult and stressful and expensive and time consuming.

          There’s plenty of stuff to worry about.      (To be Continued)

WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?

         I began this series of blogs by theorizing what it might be like to have a face to face conversation with the Lord God Almighty, Maker and Ruler of Heaven and Earth.  A bit presumptuous on my part, I admit; but it occurred to me while thinking prayerfully about even the possibility of such a “conversation.”  I’m aware of theological thinking and writing which tells us God has already spoken.  Clearly.  In several ways, through the ages.

         For example, one of the Psalmists expressed that thought this way: 

         “The heavens declare the glory of God;  the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

           2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night  after night they display knowledge.

            3 There is no speech or language where their  voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-4.)

            We’re also told by the writer of Hebrews that God has spoken to us through the prophets, His written word and the Living Word (His Son.). Hebrews 1:2.

           I believe that is true.  But speaking ‘to’ someone is different from speaking ‘with’ someone.  I wasn’t thinking about some kind of  séance or falling out into a trance or babbling incoherently in some indecipherable language.  I was just thinking having a conversation, and that led me to think:  Suppose God did decide to just converse with me.  Wouldn’t it seem sensible that He’d begin such a dialogue with a question?  And, I reasoned further, would such questions be any different from the ones He’s already asked some others of His children at another place in space and time?  And if He asked, would He, out of simple courtesy, await an answer before continuing any conversation.

         And, as I shared in earlier posts, I couldn’t avoid another question:  For whose benefit would God raise any question?  If He’s omniscient (has all knowledge), why would He need to ask anyone anything?!

         At any rate, I found myself out there with Saul of Tarsus (not yet the man known to us as the Apostle Paul) on a mission and on his way to Damascus:  His religion and way of life were being threatened. Therefore, he accepted the assignment to search out and destroy the heretics who were not yet designated as “Christians.”  Here’s how the incident is reported in the book of Acts:

Acts 9:1-5, “But Saul, still breathing threats of slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, that if he found any men or women belonging to this Way (a word used for Christianity), he might bring them in bonds to Jerusalem. And as he went on his journey, it came to pass that he drew near to Damascus, when suddenly a light from heaven shone round about him; and falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?” And he said, “Who art thou Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom thou art persecuting.”

         This is another of the questions I’ve been considering.  If you think about it a bit, I believe you can understand why I’m having difficulty trying to relate to it and taking more time than usual to address it. I haven’t considered myself to be guilty, or even capable, of persecuting the Lord.  Persecuting the Lord!?  Why would I do such a thing?  How could I do it?

         Nor do I believe the Apostle Paul viewed what he was doing through the lenses of that question.

         Frankly, it is the kind of question from which I want to turn away.  It should make any thoughtful person uncomfortable.

         This was a question which the Lord posed to Saul of Tarsus.  The problem with that was Saul did not view what he was doing as persecuting the Lord.

         Why are you persecuting me?  Saul probably didn’t even realize he was doing that.  In fact, he was confident that he was serving God.  Whole heartedly, but mistakenly.  What remedy is there for such misguided zeal?  Misinformed.  Wide-eyed and wide open, he was doing what he thought was service for God, namely killing these new “religious fanatics” and just erasing them.  They were heretics, as far as he was concerned, just a small, insignificant blotch on the religious scene, but a nuisance to him.  The “small sect” had not yet even been named “Christians.”  He felt his religion, based on centuries of teaching and tradition, was being threatened. Aroused, angry, very concerned, and perhaps frightened,  he went to war and was endorsed fully by the best that religion had to offer in that time.

         Organized religion can be completely wrong. And, as history has demonstrated so often in so many way, totally ruthless.   You can be mistaken, misguided, and devoutly religious. And not even aware that you’re wrong.

         What was Saul doing at this time?  It appears that he was simply carrying out instructions.  Trying to promote his religion by stamping out Christianity.  He’d gotten caught up in a mania… controlled and compelled by group thinking.  At first, he probably was just an observer.  Next thing, he was holding the garments of those who stoned Stephen to death.

         That does not seem to fit any definition of persecution that I know of.   Is it possible to persecute Christ and not even be aware of it?  Is it possible that you may think you’re doing Him a favor, when in fact you’re breaking His heart?

         “Why are you persecuting me?”  I didn’t realize I was doing that, Lord.  How was I persecuting you?  Is it possible for those who are ardently religious to be guilty of persecuting the Lord? 

                  I cannot begin to answer that question for another, or ask it of you or anyone else.  But I’m driven to think carefully and deeply about it if it’s addressed to me.

                I’ll be back after I’ve had more time to think.

 

God’s servant and son, your friend and fellow student,  ~donkimrey

ME AND MY BUDDY

 

          Many of my friends have offered encouragement concerning the little project which has occupied many of my waking hours for the past several weeks. I actually had my first official order from one of them, even though we’re still tweaking the manuscript and trying to settle on a publisher/printer.   Making every effort to see that the finished product is as good as I can make it, what is supposed to be  the final draft of the manuscript is experiencing what I hope will be the final revision.  Of the three who are reviewing it, one is a college English professor and a published author.  Another was formerly a journalist with United Press, working in Europe.  The other just happens to be an intelligent, very avid reader whom I’ve asked to serve as a “friendly adversary.”  By the time it gets between the covers,  the work should be one of the most carefully, thoroughly  critiqued minor manuscripts ever.  That, of course, doesn’t guarantee a trip to the top of the best seller lists or reviews in the New York Times.  

          My  first  “official order” came from my first real buddy growing up, Jerry Miller Perdue.  In days gone by we did some serious hunting (with our Daisy air rifles which we sometimes turned into war weapons. Pretty soon sparrows and blue jays lost their appeal. They couldn’t shoot back at you! So, when we had enough for three on each side, we’d choose sides and a war was on. We had some battles that would have impressed old George “Blood and Guts” Patton and General Chesty Puller. That is, until one of the little ammunition carriers got stung in the seat and ran home crying to his momma. We got dis-armed quickly and confined to quarters.). Jerry and I explored the woods and trails, fought imaginary Indians, bandits, and “Huns” and “Japs,” and seined all the creeks around our houses. Our “call to arms” across the hollow separating our homes was bellowing out the Tarzan yell. And then we’d be out on our adventures. It was hard to tell which of us was Tom Sawyer and which was Huck Finn.  After our practiced yells that would curdle and gorilla’s blood, we had to drop the Tarzan thing, because neither of us was willing to play the role of Cheetah or Jane.  

          Jerry was also responsible for “fixing me up’ with my first real girl friend, who was a member of his class in high school .   In my junior year I asked him and Janice Moon Isley to be co-campaign managers when I was nominated for a student government office which I had no Idea of winning. At the time, I was interested in Janice, another of Jerry’s cute classmates (There was a really great class of freshmen at GHS that year,) and I thought it was pretty clever that we had our strategy sessions at her house. Dogged if they didn’t win me the election, although I made no points with Janice Moon.

          My ‘best pal’ was with me the time I was going to demonstrate how I’d learned to “shallow dive.” I’d seen Joe Holt do that a couple days before when a bunch of us guys went skinny dipping after football practice. Back Creek was like the Arctic, even in late August, and as I stood on the bank in shivering admiration, Joe explained: “All you needed to do is turn your hands up toward the sky as soon as you hit the water. “Piece of cake.” And he had done it from a branch of a tree that hung out over the creek about ten feet above the water. Add to that  Joe performed a beautifully executed swan dive! 

          I explained the technique to Jerry with the assertive, almost arrogant confidence of any teenage expert. Then, from the bank of that little stream that rambled through a meadow across the tracks, and from a spot about two feet above the surface of the stream, I dived in. Headfirst. The stream was probably fourteen to eighteen inches deep. The stars when I quickly reached bottom were bright and beautiful!

          Needless to say, I was lucky to escape with only a bloody forehead and not a broken nose or neck. That was the summer I decided I’d never make the Olympic diving squad.

          Jerry and I kept in touch from time to time across the years, and the friendship remains intact. Since I wanted honest, down to earth evaluation of a book which I was writing for honest, down to earth folks, I sent him an email copy of one of the drafts of God’s Comeback Kids. And asked if he’d give me his honest, down to earth opinion of the book.

          Dogged if he didn’t read it! And wrote some nice things I’ll use on the book jacket or the website.

          After he did that, though, he went a bit further.  He brought the book up in his Sunday school class, and told me some of the class members wanted to buy a copy. Some of them who knew me back then, back when, weren’t even aware that I could spell. . . much less write. And Jerry, God love him, said he was going to buy a copy for the Bethany Presbyterian Church library in my home town.

          And he didn’t even ask the price (which I don’t  exactly know now). He did ask when they’d be available (‘soon’ was my best answer).

          Knowing he was always as good as his word, I consider that my first sale.  (Actually, payment in FULL, in ADVANCE, arrived in yesterday’s mail.)  Now, all I got to do is get the thing printed! But, I got a sale! Yahooo! I got a sale!  

          Who’s next?

 

God’s son and servant, your friend     ~donkimrey

(A parting note.  Those of you who think and study know it takes time.  It takes concentration.  And, unless you’re “full time” or some kind of automaton, you can’t just crank out stuff that’s worth writing, or reading, much less remembering or using in a practical way.  I’ve made it a habit to keep and cultivate a little “thought garden,” but I’ve got sense enough to know I don’t just go out and jerk something up by the roots to see if it’s growing.  Or producing anything useful, or beautiful, or edible.  I keep telling me:  ”Be patient, Don.  Be quiet.  Listen.  Think.  Pray.”  I’ll let you know when I have something of value to share.)

REALLY NOW, IS ANY THING TOO HARD FOR GOD?

 

          Still I’m working on the idea of God conversing with us. I’m not getting glassy-eyed or frothing at the mouth. I simply posed a rhetorical or hypothetical question to my self and wondered how such a thing might take place. (Just meditating, you understand. I’m not given to rambling around aimlessly, mumbling and muttering under my breath.).

         Engaged as I was in this little ‘spiritual, intellectual exercise,’ I moved quite naturally and logically to conclude that almost all of us sometimes begin conversations with a question. Then, we wait for an answer. And, of course, silence is sometimes part of a conversation. If we were attempting to speak with God, wouldn’t it make sense that He might begin a dialogue with a question? And then be quiet and not say anything else until His question was answered? And, out of respect for us He might follow the question with silence in order to give us time to ponder our reply.
        

          Doesn’t’ that seem logical and sensible?
         So far in previous posts we’ve asked ourselves some of the same questions God asked others in the past, namely: Where are you? (Adam) Who are you? (Jacob/Israel) What is that in your Hand? (Moses)
In each of those instances, the questions were asked and the person addressed was expected to reply before the conversation continued. They were also expected and encouraged to think
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.” {Jer 32:26-28 RSV}
         Is ANYTHING too hard for Me? A confident Deity would surely have no need to ask the answer to such a question.
The question was asked in a very troubled and turbulent time. The nation of Israel was in grave peril. The kind of times that try men’s souls and tests faith to the breaking point. The kind that causes Henny Penny to rush about frantically crying: “The Sky is Falling Down! The sky is falling down. What are we going to do? What can we do? The world is teetering on the edge of destruction. Where do we go? What can we say? What is there to cling to?”
         In Psalm 11:3, a rhetorical question is raised: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The short, simple answer is “They should go on being righteous.”
Now the question is on the table. The more dangerous the conditions, the more is riding on the answer. In your own personal situations, that question is crucial. I believe the question is asked in such a way it presupposes an answer. God already knows. He’s confident in His ability. Some who need to ‘get a handle’ on the answer are writing or reading and considering the question now.
You and I need to answer the question for ourselves. If we answer “Yes,” the only option left open to you is to take all matters into our own hands. If our destinies are not secure in His care, they are not safe anywhere.
If you answer the question correctly, a world of infinite possibilities and endless hope is open immediately. If that is the case~ That is, if nothing is too hard for the Lord, does it take a large stretch to go from there to being able to say: “I can do all things through Him who loved me and gave Himself for me?”*
        

         Here’s what I’ve been doing. I’m imagining God engaging me in conversation, and He does that in this instance, by asking another probing question: “Is anything too hard for me? Don. I’m talking to you. Do you honestly think ANYTHING is too difficult for me?”

          Sometimes it seems we’re pushed to the outer limits of our ability. If things are within comfortable boundaries which we establish, I can handle that job all by myself. Thank you. In such cases, I may delude myself into thinking I don’t really need God. In other instances, though, it seems God allows me to have challenges which are clearly beyond my ability.

         Abraham Lincoln must surely have felt that way when he said: “I’ve been driven to my knees in prayer often when I felt there was simply no place to go.” I’ve known the feeling, even though nothing in my experience has come close to the burdens such a man had to carry. Still, it’s as if He permits that kind of thing to happen. It serves as a “wake-up call.” It reminds me that God is God, and I am not.
So, honestly and humbly I admit there are many, many things which are forever beyond me.

         But, thankfully, they are not beyond Him. I believe what the Bible says is true: With God, all things are possible. And, believing that, we can also confidently affirm: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
          

          So, if God were to ask: “Don, do you really, really believe that nothing is too hard for me?”

         I will answer: “Yes, Sir. I do believe that to be true.”

          I imagined Him going a bit further, delving beneath the surface, and perhaps discussing the things which have stumped me. Problems which my best efforts have failed to solve. He won’t let me off the hook. In the same way that Jesus posed the question for Peter that morning by the Sea of Galilee: “Simon, do you love me?” He poses the question, presses it, and waits patiently for our answer.
What if God were to ask you, in light of every challenge facing you, every problem that threatens to break your heart, blow your mind or destroy your world . . . “Do you think THAT IS TOO HARD FOR ME TO HANDLE?”

         If you’re really convinced that nothing is too hard for the Lord, why not let Him handle the things you cannot?

 

God’s son and servant, your friend and fellow student, > donkimrey >

* (Philippians 4:13).

“. . . LEST WE FORGET. . . “

         Recently I read His Name Was Donn.  It is a collection of letters from a young lieutenant who died in combat in the war in Vietnam, interspersed with poignantly written comments by his “kid sister,” who’s grown up now, gotten her PhD and become a college English Professor and an award-winning author. 

            The book brings into sharp focus the sacrifice of the brave young men and women who are willing to give “the last full measure of their devotion” for their country. It shows also the deep pain, the lingering suffering inflicted on families who’ve loved so deeply and lost so much. It reminds me, too, of a debt I owe and can never repay.  After carrying the cache of letters around for nearly forty years, Dr. Sweet-Hurd chose to deal with her pain.  She opens her own heart, and along with grief that won’t go away, you can see the admiration and affection she felt for her big brother, who was obviously her hero.  The book pays tribute to her beloved brother …an all-American boy who could have grown up just down the street from me.  Or could have been my best friend, or brother, or my own son.

            I don’t know about you, but especially on occasions like Memorial Day and July 4, my heart swells with gratitude and pride when I think of our service personnel and their families and what they’ve given and continue to give for us. If you view some more information on the website http://outskirtspress.com/HisNameWasDonn-LettersFromVietnam.  If you wish, you may purchase a copy of your own through amazon.com.

          Just a reminder that we should be grateful and pray for our military service personnel and their families, wherever they may serve.

              God’s servant, your friend, ~donkimrey

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND?

 (Personal note from the writer: In the previous post, I mentioned the death of my friend, Donna Taylor.  Her “Farewell celebration” and memorial service will be held Sunday.  In the meanwhile, I hope you’ll take time to read the note I wrote about her, and that you’ll prayerfully remember her husband, Rick, and the Taylor family.) 

         In this present sequence, I’m continuing to explore the idea of what it might be like if God were to actually begin a conversation with us.  I concluded that, if He chose to do that in addition to the other things He’s said in Scripture, Nature, His Son and His Word, He might begin such a conversation with a question similar to what He’d asked others in different places in time. And then He’d await an answer.

         The question I’m pondering at present was one God asked Moses many years and many miles away from us.  It was raised unexpectedly.  Moses is caught completely off guard.  As we pick up the account of the incident, he’s being asked by someone he doesn’t even know to undertake an assignment that he does not want. Adamantly, defiantly he declines the request (for good reason, we suspect). Further, he explains, he’s not qualified.

          “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.  And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:”                                                                   Exodus 4:1~4

                                           WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND?

      It’s just a simple stick.  Carefully selected, perhaps, stripped of bark, moistened and carefully, patiently molded into the form with which he felt comfortable.  It could be used as a weapon.  It often was.  One of my favorite memories of my boyhood adventures with Robin Hood when he once came upon Alan a Dale who was singing at the time.  He was the troubador of the group of merry men, as I recall.  When Robin persisted, Alan finally took his staff and trounced Robin soundly.  And added: “Don’t ever interrupt me while I’m singing.”

        It was just an ordinary staff, but it could be used very effectively as a weapon. Robin Hood would verify that fact!

 

       I’ve learned from so many people through the years, that in some cases I’ve forgotten who taught me some things or where I read them.  And I’ve read some beautiful stories, some of which were fact and others which were fiction.  For the life of me, sometimes I’m not exactly certain if some of the stories were actual facts.

       Like the story I once heard about a knight who’d performed valiantly in battle. With his sword he had single handedly disposed of a number of enemy soldiers. As the story goes, he received high honors for his heroism, including a meeting with the King.  The King wanted to see the sword the warrior had used for his accomplishment, and as he examined it the King observed: “Why, this is just an ordinary sword.”

       To which the warrior replied: “Ahhh.  Yes, my lord.  But his majesty should have seen the arm that wielded it!”

       Ah!  Such is the stuff of legends.  But fact or fiction, it does make a valid point: An ordinary object in the hands of an extraordinary person can be used to accomplish mighty deeds.  What is that in your hand?  Even if you think it’s “just a stick,” do you have any idea of what God could do with it if you let go of it?

       I thought a bit further, and it occurred to me that if this were a staff, simply a shepherd’s staff, then it was the main tool of Moses trade.  It was the symbol which told you his occupation.  It was not a hammer, or an oar.  It wasn’t a magnifying glass or a stethoscope.  What he had in his had was just a rod, or a staff.  The staff was one of the tools with which he made his living, a symbol of his occupation.

       O.K., Now.  Just supposing we are hoping God would strike up a conversation with us, would it be too big a stretch to think He might ask us something like that?  Yes, you’re correct. It’s a personal question..  But doesn’t He have the right to ask?  Of all people, if He feels He needs to know something that simple, why would anyone withhold the information.  Or refuse to answer the question?

       What is that in your hand?  More directly, what is your means of livelihood?  How do you make your living?  What are the tools of your trade?  A  computer?  A scalpel or a stethoscope? A key to a successful business?  A teacher’s textbooks and skills? What are you grasping, or clutching tightly to yourself, as though it belongs solely to you.  What if God needs it?  Is it by chance a musical instrument which you play skillfully, or an artist’s brush with which you can astonish others?  If you see a world in need and the God of the Universe needs and invites your services. . .how would you answer such a question?

       What do you have in your possession right now? Has it occurred to you that might be precisely the clue you’ve searched for all your life as you try to determine your mission in your years on planet Earth?  Doesn’t it make some sense that the things you do best may give you an idea where your mission lies?

       What is that in your hand? 

God’s son and servant, your friend and fellow student  ~donkimrey

TRIBUTE

            Many who visit this site know I’ve been working on a book.  It’s pretty close to finished (I think. I hope.), but I’ve found the process of getting something proofed, edited,  and ready to be published, is actually more difficult than writing.  Those “details” would have probably been beyond me, except for the help I’ve received from some very capable, good friends.  One of them, a truly remarkable lady, is Donna Taylor.  She was the first person, outside my immediate circle of obviously prejudiced family, whom I asked an honest opinion of my effort in doing God’s Comeback Kids.  I respected both her intelligence and her integrity and when she told me it was worth pursuing, that made me even more determined to finish the task.  She and her husband, Rick, contributed as much as I did in trying to get something which looked and acted like a book.

           Donna died this morning, after a courageous, unselfish battle with cancer.  A truly remarkable lady.  To the last, she exhibited faith and expressed peace and confidence.   She worked at her computer almost till the last day, making a birthday card for her little grand daughter, leaving “wisdom” she’d compiled through the years, and “instructions” for her husband and family for them to use in her absence.   Weak, but determined to the end, I sat with her and talked and prayed a couple days ago.  She expressed her confidence that the Lord was with her and she’d  soon be with him.  And she gave me a couple of “assignments” that she knew she wouldn’t be able to complete. She was involved in so many ways helping others.  Never looking for recognition.  Always giving generously.  She will be missed by many who have treasured memories of their own.  She left a splendid example of service, and some “unfinished business” which she began and now leaves in the hands of others who should now come forward to try to fill the void.  For the glory of Christ, to be sure, but also in her honor and in her memory.

               I had already decided to include the following words in the project for which she deserves a large share of credit when it is finished.

TRIBUTE

         Rarely does a combination and concentration of intelligence, candor, generosity, patience, faith, courage and grace reside in just one person.  In Donna Taylor I found such a friend.  In days when her own health was declining sharply, Donna expressed confidence in this project, and in me.  She offered encouragement and worked tirelessly and patiently with me to get past my misgivings and doubts about my efforts and help make my rambling writing begin to look like a book. 

         With great respect, admiration, and appreciation, I acknowledge a lasting debt to her and pay tribute as I say a temporary farewell to Donna Taylor.

 

 

 

 

What is your name? Who are you?

         Please remember that a part of the reason for this current study has to do with a hypothetical question I raised a couple of posts back, namely, “what would it be like if we could have an actual conversation with God?”  In my attempt to come to grips with the question I’d raised, I figured one of the ways any of us begin any conversation is by simply asking a question.  I reasoned further and felt perhaps God has already asked questions.  Although they may have been posed to other people in other times and places, I felt He’d ask me pretty much the same thing if He were to begin a conversation with me.  And, I told myself, “If I haven’t answered such a clear question, why should I expect Him to say more?”  So, I began to consider the question.

         Here’s the next question which, I felt, deserved close consideration and a thoughtful, honest answer.  Since the last post, I’ve been reading and pondering the life of Jacob (Genesis 25:19~37.).  And, you know, it takes time to think.  For purposes of this post, I pick the story up after several years of questionable conduct which sees a respected Bible figure in a wagon load of trouble. Most of which has to do with his reaping some consequences of what he’s sowed.  Jacob has been pursued by an irate father-in-law who feels he’s been cheated.  Sweating bullets while one of his wives sits on some stolen merchandise under a clever, if delicate, disguise, he manages to wiggle out of another jam.  Con men are usually pretty smooth talkers.   But he’s still staring at the unpleasant prospect of meeting his brother, Esau, whom he’d swindled out of the family birthright years ago.  Word has just come to him that his brother has been spotted coming this way, stirring up a lot of dust, with a large band of men.   It looks as if his past is about to catch up with him.  Life has a way of doing that. He’s hemmed in on all sides and has about run out of options.  I don’t understand what took place that night under the desert sky, but he’s obviously in a pressure cooker, and here’s how the writer of Genesis relates the incident.

  
          “And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  And when the man saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.  And the man said, ‘Let me go, for the day breaketh.’  And he said, ‘I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.’  And he said unto him, ‘What is thy name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.’ And Jacob asked him, and said, ‘Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.’ And he said, ‘Why is it that thou dost ask after my name?’ And he blessed him there.  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [that is, The face of God]: ‘For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Genesis 32:24-30

            In order to understand the question (and the answer), we should probably consider the significance of names and their use in ancient times.  Names usually had substance and meaning.   A name wasn’t simply a fluffy, empty, catchy nom du jour. There was no Hollywood glitz and the silly, superficial “starlet’s” with tacky names.  There were no famous athletes with steroid inflated biceps, bloated egos and self-centered lifestyles.  Names meant something back in those times.  I don’t know how parents were able to do it, but the names they used often were expressions of their child’s own best traits.  If someone were given a name that translated “courage,” he was expected to be courageous.  I really don’t know whether the parents had some kind of uncanny way to anticipate or predict the way the child would behave once they hung a name on him. . . or whether the name verbalized what they expected of their child, and the child was steered and guided to live up to those lofty expectations.  Some cultures have been more successful than our own in molding the character, work ethics, habits of their children than we’ve been.

         Once again, I admit to not knowing how that was often such an accurate description of what a child was like or would become.  In any event, in the Scriptural context we’re viewing, the name is critical to understanding the meaning of the incident and viewing the question we’re considering in appropriate context.

         Jacob’s story is pretty well documented in the book of Genesis.   

         His name meant “schemer,” or “supplanter.”  Or “grabber.” Or “cheater.” Loosely translated, westernized, and modernized, that could easily mean “con artist.”  Everyone who ever knew him, even from the time of his birth, knew he was a selfish, self-centered, smooth talking, master of deceit.  Even if you read his brief biography casually, you’ll see the trail he left is littered with stories of people whom he cheated, used, to whom he lied, and from whom he stole.  He was named appropriately, and he lived up to his name.

         He is better known to history by a name change which took place along the way.  He became known as Israel.  Israel is the “father” of the Nation which today bears his name.  When the new name was given to him, it appears that “Jake”  also acquired a new nature, a new, very different personality.  It seems that the same thing (changing the name and the nature of a person) occurred again in the New Testament.

         I don’t think it is necessary for me to identify myself as guilty of all the rotten kinds of shenanigans Jacob did in order to see myself in a story such as this.  My flaws and sins may have been of a different nature, but regardless of what they were, the reality is that I sinned against God. . . perhaps in other ways.  And it seems that I, too, must wrestle with God and am forced to face myself honestly and confess who I really am.

         Whatever took place that night, it is clear the event marked the turning point in Jacob’s life.  It is the defining moment.  From the time he had that encounter until the day he drew his final breath, he was a different person.  When he came to terms with his real identity. . .when he was forced to face himself and the truth, he became a candidate for a new name.  Jacob had to grapple with the truth about himself and probably found that more difficult than the strange struggle that left him with a limp before God decided to make the change.  

         Who are you?  Have you ever honestly asked yourself that question?

          And, understanding that God already knows the answer, have you answered the question thoughtfully and candidly for your own benefit?

          Wasn’t it Socrates who said: “Man, know thyself?”  In my opinion, that takes time.  And honesty. 

         It isn’t as if God needs to know the answer to that question, or any other.  But you do.  I do.  What others think of me (my reputation) is really irrelevant.  Before I can have any kind of meaningful relationship with God, ….I believe this story makes it clear that I have to come clean.  Understand who I really am, and acknowledge that in the presence of God.

 

My Enemy   By Edwin Sabin

 

An enemy I had whose way                                                                        

I stoutly strove in vain to know;                                                               

For hard he dogged my every step unseen,                                                      

Wherever I may go.                                                                                  

 

My plans he blocked: my aims he foiled;                                                      

He blocked my every onward way.                                                                

When for some lofty goal I toiled,                                                             

He grimly said me nay.                                                                             

 

“Come forth,” I cried.  “Lay bare thy guise!                                                     

  Thy wretched features I would see.”                                                                

 Yet always to my straining eyes                                                               

 He dwelt in mystery.  

 

Until one night I held him fast.                                                               

  The veil from off his face did draw.                                                               

  I gazed upon his face at last. . .                                                              

  And …Lo!  Myself I saw.

WHERE ARE YOU?

WHERE ARE YOU?

          “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about. And they heard the voice of the LORD God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him, “Where art thou?”  And he said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”       Genesis 3:6-11

         That’s the first question God ever asked anyone.  And, to me, it’s really interesting.  A very compelling question and worth closer, more careful examination.

         The first thing that occurred to me is this:  God didn’t really need to ask the question in the first place.  If He’s ‘omniscient’ (knows everything), He surely did not need to ask Adam or anyone else about anything.  So it seemed to me that He must have been asking the question for Adam’s benefit, not His own.

         Holding that thought for a moment, if I were asked the same question, God would expect me to be honest with myself about where I am. If we’re going to have a conversation, wouldn’t that be a way for God to begin it?  Remember, we began this venture wondering what it would be like for God to speak.  Out loud?  To us today, here and now?  And I wondered what he might say and concluded that He might begin a conversation by asking us the same question He asked Adam.

         The question is certainly NOT limited to geography.  “Where” we are in time and space does not ever seem to be as important to God as “where” we are, speaking of things which are spiritual and eternal.

         Let’s think about that further.  Do you suppose the concern God had that morning in the Garden was Adam’s whereabouts spiritually?   You know what I mean.  “Why are you hiding, Adam?” Where are you in terms of your growth and service in the Kingdom of God?  I know some people who haven’t moved an inch in years. They are still at the entrance to the Kingdom, in a manner of speaking.  They are exactly where they were when they first began their spiritual journey.  They’ve run too long in one place.   They’re like airplanes which taxi back and forth along the runway, for years, and never become airborne!

         You probably know people who’ve been Christians for twenty, thirty years or more. . . and they’re still spiritual infants!  Their growth stagnated at about the time they entered the Kingdom of God.  Adam, where are you?  Doesn’t the question cause you to think past what is immediate and obvious?  Where am I?  Where are you?

         Others I know have been edging toward the exit.  Discouraged.  Disappointed in others or in themselves.  Ready to throw in the towel.  I can only imagine how Adam must have felt that day.  He’d failed.  He knew it and felt guilty, and embarrassed, and ashamed and afraid.  Peter later knew how that felt, and after his fiasco and Jesus’ crucifixion, he was ready to just “chuck it all.”  “I’m going fishing,” he said.  Back to the old way of life.  I quit. If anyone comes looking for me, that’s where they’ll find me.”

 

         Like so many of us, Adam had blown his assignment.  He flunked his first test.  And, of all things, here comes God to check in and see how things are going.  I confess, I felt really sorry for the poor guy.  There have been times when I was in places where I had no business being, doing things that I knew I shouldn’t.  In times and places like that, I sure didn’t want my Mom to ask:  “Where you been, Son?”  But, in this case, Adam stands guilty of disobedience in the presence of a Holy God

         That occurred to me as being absolutely hilarious. Talk about a guy getting caught with “his pants down,” this had to have been one of the most awkward scenes in human history.  Can you imagine?

         If you remember, when Adam and Eve were placed in the garden they were totally innocent.  Naïve.  And naked, and didn’t know or care about that fact.  But, when they disobeyed clear instructions from their Maker, that innocence was cracked.  With the introduction of sin and disobedience, innocence fled.  And for the first time, it dawned upon Adam that he was in a bad position.  Guilty of disobedience.  And stark ‘nekkid,’ in the presence of a holy God.

         And when God comes to visit, in a classic exercise in futility, he tried to hide.  From God!

         In answer to the call, “Adam, where are you?” I could almost visualize him responding:  “Why, I’m right here, Sir.  Over here behind this fig leaf.”  Picture that, if you can.  Attempting the impossible feat of hiding from God in the first place, and doing it by clutching a few fig leaves or branches!

         Trying to hide from God! Really, no matter who you are, doesn’t it sound absurd? 

         He knows where we are.   “Thou, God seest me.” Genesis 16:13.  There are several instances in Scripture which indicate that God is aware of what is happening in His universe.  There isn’t any place where we can hide.

         With the developments in the global positioning system, and the ability enforcement agencies have for tracking, we should have very little difficulty believing God could know where anyone is at any time He decided He needed to know.

         I don’t know how that information affects you.  Personally, there are times when it provides comfort for me.  Especially if I’ve tried to do something good and my intentions have been misunderstood. 

         Of course, there are other times when I feel like Adam must’ve felt. At those times, I wish I could find a hole to crawl in.  A rock under which to hide.  Or a loving, forgiving Father in whose love I can find forgiveness and cleansing.

         Years ago I read a poem which pressed upon my mind how impossible, unnecessary, and utterly foolish it is to try to avoid or evade the great God of the Universe and Lover of My Soul.  Though I can recall the words, I do not recall the name of the author to whom I’m indebted for the profound thoughts contained in this beautiful piece of poetry:

“All night I fled from God, across the waste and dreary spaces of an unknown land where sorrow and sighing dwelt.  I heard the cry of stormy winds behind me; and I knew that, darkly on their awful wings, He rode whom I wanted to escape.  The thunder pealed above me and in the thunder was the sound, like a trumpet, speaking terrible things and pealing ever louder; for I had sinned, and God was now awake and had arisen and left His ancient place to come and deal with me.  Through the long night I fled; yet God is fleet and scorns time and space.  And still I pressed, trembling, through swollen streams and over rough and desolate grounds; and in the dark, fell, and arose, and faintly struggled on.

Until, at last when night was almost done, I heard the sorrowful thunder of the sea, and saw the white waves crashing at my feet and no way of escape on either hand.  Then, death being close before and God behind, I turned at last to meet the majesty of His offended face. . . 

And, lo, the storms were over And the morning stars shone brightly, sweetly on the face of a Man who wore a crown of knotted thorns and smiled on me.   At sight of Him, I cried aloud.  For clear on the fair hair, which caught the dawn, I saw a crown of knotted thorn.  And on His face, as smile.  For me!

And I had drawn those wounded feet behind me.  For still, as always, He is seeking what is lost, and finding what had sought to hide from him.”

God’s child and servant, your friend, brother and fellow student

~donkimrey

 

WHAT WOULD GOD SAY?

Sometimes I wish God would speak.  I mean out loud.  To me, in such a way I could not doubt who’s talking.  And to whom He’s speaking.

         Have you ever felt that way?  What if He did speak?  What if He already has? 

          Coincidentally, the Bible has something to say on that subject.   “God, who at different times, and in different ways, spoke to us by the prophets, has in these days spoken to us by His Son.”                                                                                                    (Hebrews 1:1)

         It is quite an audacious claim, especially if it were not true.  We’re led to believe that, if you want to know what God has to say on a subject, read the Scripture.  Listen to Jesus.  That’s about as clear and specific as any conversation you’ll ever have.

         On another level, I’ve been asking: What would God say that He hasn’t already said very clearly?  What more could  He say that He hasn’t already said?  Loudly.  Clearly, and consistently.

         I’ve noticed that in conversations with others as reported in the past, God issues orders or commands, but seldom has simply “sat down for a chat” with anyone.  At least not that I know about.  (Moses and Enoch may be exceptions and perhaps Adam and Eve before they “messed up.”).  I also noticed that He often asks questions.  They are not what I’d call “boilerplate,” because they can become very personal.  In conducting interviews, a prospective employer would want essentially the same information from all applicants for the position he’s trying to fill.  In fact, you probably will have to fill out a questionnaire, or an application. And you will need to answer accurately and honestly. 

         We may be expecting a bit much to expect God to “speak to us,” if we’ve ignored His earlier questions or orders.  If we’re asking and expecting Him to use us, or “bless us,” wouldn’t it make sense that we at least answer some basic questions He asks?

         So, with my mind working the way it does, I began to wonder if that might be His way of beginning or continuing a conversation.  What if the questions He asked others in different places in time were the same questions He’d like for us to answer.  That is, of course, if we are serious about a dialogue with Deity!   Could that be the “sign” you may be seeking?

         Doesn’t that make sense?

         The information He requested from others may be precisely the kind of information He’d like from me.

         And, of course, in a conversation common courtesy requires an answer.  Preferably a serious, thoughtful, honest answer. As I pondered that thought for my self, it occurred to me there were several questions He asked of different people throughout Scripture.  Before they were able to make spiritual progress, the questions begged an answer.  Am I far off base if I assume the basis for a meaningful “conversation” between God and myself would have something to do with the same kinds of questions?

         Here are a few questions which God asks, and I’ve located them in Scripture and identified the person whom God was addressing at the time.  I’ve thought about the implications of the question.  Then I tried to put myself in a position where I figured if God wanted to say something to me, this might be how the conversation would begin. 

         Will you join me for a time, assuming the same question is what God would ask you?  Here are the first few I found:

         1.  Where are you?  

         This is what God asked Adam, at a very awkward moment early in human history. What do you make of that? Is the question asked for God’s benefit, or Adam’s?  Think about it a bit.  What do you think?  If He asked you now: “Where are you?” how would you answer?

  “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”                                                                Genesis 4:8~9

 

         2. What is your name? 

         This is the information God wanted from Jacob (Keep an eye on him.  He’s under my scrutiny as one of God’s Comeback Kids.).  Do you think God didn’t already know?  Why ask such a question?  What’s in a name?

          “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he (The Angel of he Lord) touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”     ~ Genesis 3:24-28

        

         3.What is that in your hand?  

         God asked Moses this question when they first talked on the “backside of the desert” about Moses going to work for Yahweh.  

          “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.  And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:”                                                                   Exodus 4:1~4

 

 

 

         There are more questions.  More “cues” for conversation, if you’re serious.  Let’s just drop anchor for a while and think about these.  And don’t forget to include ourselves in the conversation.

         Incidentally, I’m glad to be back!  I’ve missed you folks.

God’s child and servant, your friend, brother and fellow student

~donkimrey