To Love Well

I have never heard a teenager say that they feel over-loved. I’ve never heard them complain about how much everyone loved them. I wish I have, but I haven’t.

Towards the end of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he reminded them that the act of loving is the greatest of all actions. He wrote that you can do a lot of great and incredible things, but if you do not love, then all these things are worthless, they don’t matter. You can speak in the tongues of men and angels, you can possess all knowledge, have faith that can move mountains, and you can even give everything you have away to the poor, but if you do not love, then all these things amount to nothing. So, Paul goes down the list of the gifts that the church in Corinth was clamoring for, yet he reminds them that these gifts are nothing without love; they are clanging gongs and cymbals. Empty.

If this is true, then shouldn’t our primary desire and aim be to love well? At the end of the day, shouldn’t the only question to be asked be, “Have I loved well, today?” You can buy a kid the most fashionable clothes, but unless you have given them love, they are merely rags. You can work all day and all night so they can live in a great big house, but without love, it is only a shack. You can send them to the best schools and give them the best education, but unless you have loved, it is foolishness. You can give your kid everything they want in material items, but unless you are giving them, above all other things, love, then you are only giving them empty gifts that are temporary and will vanish like a mist. They will be forgotten.

I think at the end of a life, when a kid has grown up to be an adult themselves, the thing they most want is to be able to say they were loved. Love is greatest. Love wins. It is the only thing that matters. Let us love well.

By Eric Faison
(As printed in the East Alabama Christin Family Magazine, March 2010)

trees and nails

When Jesus created the tree with its roots that bury themselves into the dirt and branches that explode up into the sky, did it ever cross his mind that one day he would be nailed to it? When he pushed iron ore and steel and metals deep into the earth with his thumb, did he know it could become a nail that would be driven through his hands and feet? When Jesus created hands, did he know they would mightily swing a hammer?

Consider This

"If God so clothe the grass of the field . . . shall He not much more clothe you?" Matthew 6:30

A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. "Consider," says Jesus, "how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him." Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have impertinently known better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the "much more" of our Heavenly Father.

"Behold the fowls of the air" - their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your 'feathers.'

"Consider the lilies of the field" - they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself to one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. Am I continually separating myself to consider God every day of my life?

(by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest)

Update Young Life Haiti #2

Dear Friends,

This morning we were able to connect with Joe Walters, vice president of Young Life Latin America, and he gave us the following update:

1. In talking with Chedrick Caneus, national director of Young Life Haiti, it appears that all seven of our full-time Young Life staff are accounted for, but there are many student staff and volunteers whom the team has not been able to contact.

2. Joe has been able to wire some initial funds for basic medical, food and water supplies that have been delivered to Chedrick in Port-au-Prince. Roy Clifford and his team from Pico Escondido, our camp in the Dominican Republic, have also been able to directly support our staff in Haiti in providing essential supplies.

3. Chedrick has been able to purchase basic supplies in his neighborhood (on a very limited basis) and they have received aid from other organizations as well. As both the Young Life national director and the head master for a school of 1,600 kids, Chedrick along with his team have been called on by kids and their families for assistance. Many of our staff and volunteers are now living in tents pitched in front of the local Young Life house, and they are using this as a home base for ministering to the many Young Life families who need help.

I am very proud of Chedrick and our staff and volunteers in Haiti and I ask you to continue praying for their safety and health now and for the future recovery from this devastating earthquake.

You can go to the Haiti Update Page for the latest updates. A recovery fund has also been established if you are in a place to help financially.
On behalf of our team in Haiti, thank you for your continued prayers.

In Christ,
Denny Rydberg

a new definition of greatness

" ... Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness.
If you want to be important -- wonderful.
If you want to be recognized -- wonderful.
If you want to be great -- wonderful.

But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve ... You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."


-- Martin Luther King Jr. in his historic "Drum Major Instinct Speech" delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 4, 1968

YL Haiti Update

Young Life Update Haiti (click link to see pics and read update)

https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:3786.2758323790/rid:774e991cc42d1f1331d498cfd869fafe



Dear Friends,

As you know, the country of Haiti has been devastated. We have fine Young Life ministry going on in that country and I asked Joe Walters, our vice president for Latin America, to give a brief report. Here it is. Please be praying for the country, our staff and kids. And, if the Lord leads you, please help out financially.

In Christ,

Denny


Joe’s report:

Because of the disruption with telecommunications in the country, getting information on our Haitian staff and leaders has been spotty at best. Here is what we do know. We have seven full-time staff, 30 student staff and about 100 volunteer leaders, all Haitian. We have heard that our national director, Chedrick Caneus, and his wife and two daughters are safe. A snapshot of our work in Haiti: we are in seven cities, 16 clubs and about 1,000 kids coming to club each week. This team, in my opinion, is a world-class team doing a phenomenal job of reaching lost teenagers with the Good News about Jesus. About one-third of our work is centered in Port-au-Prince. From the news reports it seems this is where the major damage and destruction has occurred. Chedrick’s home is the main office for Young Life (Jenn Vi) and is located in Delmas, one of the main areas of significant damage.

How can we as a Young Life family help our brothers and sisters in Haiti? Donations can be sent in to Young Life: X3110 Haiti Earthquake Recovery Fund. You can either send a check or give online.

These funds will be used in the following ways:
• Help our team in Haiti with immediate needs of food, water, medicine, temporary shelter, etc. Our Dominican Young Life staff stands ready to drive these supplies across the border.
• Help with the reconstruction of homes, Young Life offices and club rooms affected by the quake.
• Support of the Young Life ministry in Haiti. The aftermath of this devastating quake will impact our ongoing funding of the ministry. Financial support will help ensure uninterrupted funding of our staff and leaders there.
On behalf of our Young Life Haitian brothers and sisters, thank you!

In Christ,

Joe Walters



Haitian staff at Area Director School in August 2009.

how can this be--part 2

“How can this be?” ---Mary (Luke 1)

“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

“For nothing is impossible with God.” Or, all things are possible. There is nothing—no- thing too hard for the Lord. All things can happen, no matter how absurd or ridiculous as long as the Spirit of the Lord is behind it. No matter how illogical or impossible it may sound, with God, it can happen. It doesn’t matter if we think it makes sense or not. I am not too sure God is concerned with making sense.

If all things are possible, then what are we to expect? If God can do far more than our wildest dreams or expectations, more than we could ever dare ask or imagine (Eph. 3:21-22), then how are we to pray? Wildly! Largely! Without limits!

And the drums are beating wildly in anticipation of the arrival. Echoes are bouncing and ricocheting off the cracks and crevices of the earth. All of creation is on edge as they watch the two most unlikely women get ready to have children.

Neither of them should be pregnant. One is a virgin and the other is too old. I wish I could have been there when they pulled one another aside in a secret place and exchanged their stories and are enveloped in laughter and wonder. It is laughable if we box these circumstances in with only our finite human minds. But for some reason, this is how God has chosen to work. These two babies--these two children--One has journeyed from Heaven and will save the world and the other will go ahead of Him in order to get the world’s attention; to get them ready to listen. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

“…blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”---Luke 1:45

the silence of zechariah

How Can This Be? Part 1
The silence of Zechariah—

“How can this be? How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”---Zechariah (Luke 1)

“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

If I came home from church or prayer and was silent and did not speak, my wife would hit me with a pan. She’d never believe me and would think it was a ridiculous joke. More than likely I’d lose my job. My “job” is ministry and it requires much talk and interaction. Too much talk, I think. It seems to me that there is too much talk in Christianity and ministry; not enough listening—not enough silence.

It would be extremely difficult to do ministry if I could not talk--or would it? Perhaps I would be more effective at ministry. Perhaps, because I could not talk, it would lead me to pray more, to remain silent more, to be in a better place to listen both to God and to others. God would have my attention. Perhaps with Zechariah, silence was the best place he could be. Maybe God was pushing him to a place where he could be silent and reflect on what was taking place. After all, Zechariah had been invited to sit on the front row and witness God’s plan to save the world.

“Zechariah returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.”

keeping watch

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch… (luke 2.8)

Keeping watch. It is an active statement full of stillness. It’s a verb describing inactivity and stillness. As if to say, “I am doing nothing.” To do nothing is still doing something, but it is not. It is stillness.

The announcement of the arrival of a king is usually surrounded with much fanfare and celebration. It is an event full of publicity and attention. I remember a few years ago when the Pope was chosen. The streets were crowded with thousands and thousands of people. People were packed into bars and restaurants intently watching the television. All were waiting. Then the smoke ascended out of the chimney of the Vatican, which meant that a new pope had been affirmed and chosen. The same goes with elections of our presidents. It’s a process that takes years and sucks up the attention of the media. You can’t get away from it. Everyone is constantly talking about it; debating and discussing it. Usually, the announcement of a king, pope, or president is an event that the whole world watches.

Here, though, in this field outside of Bethlehem, it is quiet. You can hear the sheep rustling, but that’s about it. The fire crackles. And the shepherds were keeping watch. The announcement of the arrival of the King of all kings is being made to people. Not to the religious, or powerful, or influential, but to mere ordinary shepherds. The declaration of the event was made privately and in secret. There was no worldly pomp and celebration to be found here. No, God had visited the earth. He had come to rescue his people.

And no one noticed…
…except a few shepherds…
...they were watching…
…were still enough to notice.

go and make a careful search for the child

“…the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but they were unaware of it.
Thinking he was in their company,
they traveled on for a day.”
Luke 2

An entire day passed before Joseph and Mary realized Jesus was no longer with them, before the silence of absence spoke up and got their attention. Neither was he among their friends or relatives. And for what it’s worth, it seemed as far as they could tell that the plans were fairly simple, clear and straight-forward: they were to go to the feast and when it was over, they were to return home, together. Somewhere along the way, what Jesus had in mind and what his parents had in mind were not the same.

As this nightmare materializes; as they come to grips with the reality of what has happened, Joseph and Mary leave the company of travelers and hurry back to Jerusalem to search for him. Fortunately, only one day had gone by before they discovered Jesus’ absence. And possibly it was not Jesus who was absent. Perhaps Jesus was where he was supposed to be all along. Maybe Mary and Joseph were the ones who did the leaving? Perhaps they wandered off from where Jesus was.

It is a parent’s worst nightmare: to be in a crowded place and suddenly realize that your child is not with you. Seconds upon realizing that your child is missing, you immediately and hastily scan in every direction, hoping to catch a quick glimpse. You begin to shake. Words have no place here because you have lost the ability to speak. You spin around and look again, knowing that every second that goes by means they may be further and further away. Fists of questions begin pounding on the big wooden doors of your mind:

Have they wandered off?
Did somebody take them?
How long?
Where?
Are they safe?
Why?
How did this happen?

As worthy as these questions are, still the matter of first importance is to find your child. To discover how it happened is secondary. You can get to that later.

“Go and make a careful search for the child.”
—King Herod

Although, these statements were made with evil intentions, they do have something to say to us. Those words are worth listening to. And I think they may even be more relevant to us today. “Go and make a careful search for the child.”

The same goes with our lives. Some of us need to go and make a careful search for our lives. The life we are leading may not be the life you had dreamed of. You may even smirk at the thought of even calling what you are doing a life. You may not feel like what you are doing is living. Perhaps it feels more like survival, struggle, or just getting through the day. A life lived simply to survive is no life lived at all. A day lived with the hopes of just getting through it and putting it behind you is no day worth living.

How do we move from simply surviving the day to living a life that is fully alive? And what does that even mean? Our culture has become more and more saturated with the idea of living a life that is fully alive. And I think the reason for that is that more and more people are realizing that they are a good ways from doing so. It’s as if we have all been awakened to the fact that we are living a pace of life that is killing us. We are distracted and hurried at every turn. There is no peace. There is no stillness. There is no life. We are learning this. And in this learning we are beginning to declare louder and louder that we want off this wheel. We want out of this race of rats.

I strongly believe that this life we are looking for is tied tightly to the person of Jesus. Jesus was the Master of living life. Nobody lived life like Jesus did. And if we are going to find life, I’d suggest we start looking a little more closely for Jesus. Not Christianity, not religion, not morality, but looking for Jesus. It is not about learning to smile no matter what or to try to be as nice as you can be. It’s about looking for life and life is about Jesus. Jesus is life. The life we desire so desperately is wrapped up in the person of Jesus.

For some of us it has been longer than a day since we last saw Jesus, or even thought about him. For some of us it has been days, months, years, or even entire lifetimes. In the rushing flow of our days, in all of the noise, busyness, and productivity of life, maybe we just forgot about him. And one day you look up and consider the distance between the two of you. How long has it been for you since you last noticed the presence of Jesus in your life? Perhaps you should leave and hurry back to Jerusalem and search for him.

Hurry. Run! There is no time to lose.

we know the script---thoughts on grace

Riley, my 3rd grade daughter is the stand-by for the lead role in Ramona Quimby—an upcoming play at her school. She’s Ramona. For the past two months she has lived in her script, reading and memorizing each line, adding flavor and emotion. She’ll sit and read her lines to Jackson, our ten year old Golden Retriever, and Jax will sit there patiently. And I’ve always heard that young kids have a brain like a sponge and can retain ridiculous amounts of information, but I have never really understood it until now.

Last night, I picked up her script and randomly picked different pages and would read the line before Ramona’s line to see how well Riley knew it. In my mind, I thought there would be no way she could pull this off but she hit it exactly right on the first two or three attempts. I thought to myself, “No way is this really happening.” “There is no way she is actually doing this.” But she did. I can’t understand how she knew the lines so well to be able to say them flawlessly as I skipped around, flipping pages and reading various prompts. Rediculous.

The younger brother Jesus talked about in Luke 15 probably knew his lines just as well. And too often when we go to God, we carry our bag of excuses and carefully rehearsed lines we’ll use to plead our case for the chance that we’ll be accepted and invited to return home. Yet we find that before we can blurt them out the Father has embraced us and calls for a party. It’s illogical and doesn’t make sense. We have a hard time with grace. Don’t we? Do you? Plus we usually give grace to others, but not ourselves. We are not good at preaching the gospel to ourselves. No, we are usually found rehearsing our lines to our dog, so we’ll be ready for the play; for opening night.

The sight of the old man running catches us off guard. We never expected it. The sight of the old man running is a mirror of the grace that has arrived with the coming and finished work of Jesus. We show up, returning to the Father with all our carefully rehearsed and calculated apologies. We’ve carefully written the script, crafted each word we will say. All that is left is to go to the Father and hope it works, to hope that the Father will even give us an audience. To hope that he’ll take us back even after all we have done, not done, and neglected. Our leaving has caused much pain and confusion; both for the leaver and for the ones being left. We’ve wished a virtual death upon the Father, gathered our belongings, took the money and run, only to find a fast train to what is empty and broken and confusing.

but there is more...

i smile when i see the old man run

Andrew Peterson's lyrics to his song: "Isn't it Love?"...good stuff

Lost my luggage out in Kalamazoo --
Same way I tend to lose my conscience, too.
Another day in these dirty old blues, and I don't seem to mind.
This is a thing that confounds me;
You can find me; You surround and remind me.
I lose my way and I forget about You
But You still remember me.

Oh, isn't it love:
This rain that falls on the sinners and the saints?
Isn't it love:This well that won't run dry?

And when I think about that prodigal son,
I've got to smile when I see the old man run.
And I know that You love us the same,'Cause the sun came up today;
Just as if we deserved it --
Just as if any one of us fools was worth it;
Truth is that we'll never be perfect,
but You love us just the same.

Well, isn't it love:
This ran that falls on the sinners and the saints?
Isn't it love:
This well that won't run dry?
Isn't it love?
Isn't it love?
Isn't it love to look down from the sky

And see Your only Son on the cross asking "Why?"
And somehow let Him die that way
And not call the whole thing off?
All for this man stuck in Kalamazoo
Who loses his bags and his way sometimes too.
But that was something that You already knew,
And still You died for me.Isn't it love? (2x)
And isn't it love:This ran that falls on the sinners and the saints?
Isn't it love:This well that won't run dry?
Isn't it love?His mercies are made new every morning.
Isn't it love?Isn't it love?And isn't it love?

a way to help

here is a letter regarding my friend, Mike Sweeney, who is on the Young Life staff in Rome, GA. I am simply passing it on.

Dear Friends,
This is not Mike or Cabell writing to you today. Actually, it’s friends of Mike and Cabell who have begged them for the opportunity to write to you regarding an important way you can help in this phase of their fight against stage IV metastatic melanoma.First of all thank you for being so faithful. Thank you for your prayers and for your phone calls, your meals, your plane tickets, and for all the heartfelt kindness you have shown the Sweeneys. You have been the real hands and feet of Christ and a wind in their sails. Countless times we have heard Mike and Cabell say with overwhelmed hearts how amazed they have been at how well you love them. So, thank you!Many of you have asked, “What else can we do? How can we help?” Please know your prayers and love have helped a ton. But today the Sweeneys face a different kind of need in the battle with melanoma: paying for a potential life saving treatment for Mike.

In Mike’s last update he described TIL therapy. He also explained that because the treatment is still in a research trial, it will not be covered by their insurance. This is very disheartening news given the fact that Mike’s doctors have made it clear that this therapy is the only real treatment they have that can offer Mike a cure.

One of the things that is so incredible about following Christ is knowing we are not without hope. We love and serve a Very Big God who cares deeply for all of us, who sees Mike’s needs, and who can provide in amazing and creative ways. We believe that by coming together as friends and family around Mike and Cabell, we can continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus to them.
-----
The price tag for TIL therapy is $200,000. The hospital will require the Sweeneys to pay 60% up front before Mike will be allowed to begin treatment. Mike is tentatively scheduled for treatment November 16th, pending payment. So, time is of the essence as we want Mike to get treatment as quickly as possible!

Here is where we get to help! There is an organization known as Helping Hands Ministry, an IRS approved 501-C(3) non-profit, that acts as a receiver and distributer of charitable gifts to people in need. It was founded by Terry Parker, who started the National Christian Foundation, in order to facilitate Christian charity through the gifting of tax-exempt donations. Through Helping Hands we have created the Mike Sweeney Medical Project. This allows you to give a gift that will go directly toward Mike’s medical treatment costs that is tax-deductible to you and does not create a tax liability for Mike and Cabell. That is an incredible blessing!!! Please visit Helping Hands website (Helping Hands) if you would like more information about the organization, or contact one of us

If you feel that this is something you would like to help with, you probably already know it in your heart. So, how can you give?Make all checks payable to Helping Hands Ministries, Inc.In the Memo section of your check, please write The Mike Sweeney Medical Project.Please mail all checks to:Helping Hands Ministries, Inc.135 Main StreetPO Box 337Tallulah Falls, GA 30573Trust that your donation information will be confidential. Helping Hands will handle all financial matters and receipt you directly. If you would like to give via credit card, stock, etc, please contact Helping Hands: Michelle York - michelle@hhmin.org

(i) wonder

Jesus goes up to a mountain and sits down. Great crowds come to him and press in around him. Many were pushing and wrestling, wedging their way through the crowd. Inside of these great crowds were the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others. Those who had brought these people put them at the feet of Jesus, and they are made well. As a result the crowd wondered. I wonder what it is they wondered about. What caused them to wonder? They began to wonder when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they glorified God.

The mute began to talk.
The crippled and the lame were made healthy and were walking.
The blind began to see.

What would the mute say once they found the ability to speak?
What would the crippled and lame do once they found the ability to walk and run?
What would the blind want to look at when they realized they could see?

Do I realize the gifts I have? Do I still wonder? Am I still amazed that I have the ability to speak words, to walk and run, or to see? Or have I forgotten? Am I not impressed anymore?

The answer is determined by what I say…where I walk…and what I take the time to look at.

A gathering of the candles

I wonder if the world outside could survive if we no longer had cell phones. We’d survive, and we might even be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I think what we might find is a quality of life that we had no idea was there; like a man who unexpectedly finds a treasure buried in a field. Who knows? Perhaps one might sell all he has to find enough money to buy it.

Sunday night brought in a cold front and a steady rain, the signs that fall is trying to wedge its way into our lives. He’s been knocking for a couple of weeks, but has yet to come in. He knocked hard this night--enough to knock out the power grid on our side of town. ESPN went out followed by the Internet, followed by the lights and anything else that breathes electricity. The world is ending. The religious fanatics were right.

My wife gathered some candles from around the house, the ones that are never lit but are only used for appearance. Form has taken over function and kicked it right out the door. All this was in the same family of thought that caused us to have a room in our house where I grew up that contained the nice furniture; the good stuff. The stuff bought not from the JCPenney catalog, but from a real furniture store, where they even deliver it to your house. This room was so nice that my mother would never allow anyone to sit in there except on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Most of our money was invested in this room, but it was rarely used enough to earn its keep. Compare it to a ten million dollar church building that’s only used on Sunday, and stays pretty much empty Monday through Saturday.

My wife and I sat, the room barely lit with about five candles. The windows were open letting in the sound of a light breeze and the steady rain. On the walls, the candles caused the shadows to dance and sway, putting on a show that is far better than anything on Facebook or recorded on my DVR. To our surprise, my wife and I started talking and when we weren’t talking, we just sat there enjoying the sound of the rain. For an hour we simply just talked. It sounds so simple that you may wonder why I mention it. It was just good, rich, unhurried, undistracted time with my wife. This was an unexpected gift; a pause of time that can be a rare experience in our lives today.

A sudden pop brought it all back. The refrigerator cranked back up, the A/C came on, followed by the TV, and all the lights and appliances.

All the clocks were blinking 1200. For a moment, for about an hour, all of time had stopped. And I sort of liked it. The thing is that when the power came back on, I was sort of disappointed. Something inside of me didn’t want it to come back on. Why couldn’t it have stayed out a little while longer?

I think God gave me and my wife something that we weren’t expecting, some time together. Face to face. No distractions, nothing but silence, which allowed a chance to simply sit and talk. For a moment in time Jesus turned our noisy, busy, distracted virtual lives into the Sea of Galilee, as if to stand up on the bow of the boat and yell “Peace, Be Still!” And there was a dead calm.

And in this field, we found a treasure. It was good. I might be willing to sell everything and buy it.