April 2008
April
1
In
1564 King Charles IX of France introduced a new calendar. Up until then,
the New Year had been celebrated March 21st until April 1st but Charles' new
calendar dictated that January 1st would become New Year's Day. Since
there's "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9), some people
didn't adjust to the change and kept on celebrating April 1st. They came
to be known as April Fools. Pranks soon became part of the day.
Hindsight
is 20/20. If someone fools you today, you won't realize it until after the
fact. That, I think, is a little ray of insight on spiritual
reality. In His parable about the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins, Jesus
makes clear that it's at the end, the end of your life, Judgment Day, that your
spiritual wisdom or folly will be revealed (Matthew 25:1-13).
Although
a Gallup poll several years ago showed 2/3rds of American adults believe in
hell, the poll also revealed that only 1% think they'll go there. If
you're in the 99% that doesn't expect hell, make sure your reasons are
right. "The word of the cross is folly to those who are
perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18).
April
2
“Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
(Isaiah 26:3)
Yesterday I attended a meeting, at which one of the speakers was Dr. Dennis
Golden. Dr. Golden is in his fourteenth year as president of
Fontbonne
University
in
St. Louis
. He said something that I
took to heart and I hope you find this short saying helpful as well.
President Golden recalled that some years ago he was talking to a friend
who also was a college president. She
gave this short description of the job of a college president.
“Absorb chaos. Give back calm.
Provide hope.”
Who can begin to know what’s going on in your life?
Only you…and God. Without
confidence that Christ has been raised from the dead…
Without the prayer that today’s afflictions are momentary (2
Corinthians
4:17
)…
Without the hope that “Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has
entered into the mind of man the things which God has prepared for those who
love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9)… Without
such faith, how can you and I cope today, and not only cope but be blessings to
others?
“Absorb chaos. Give back calm.
Provide hope.”
April
3
Financial
problems in our country let some people rationalize cutting back on their church
offerings.
A
church in wheat-growing country was having such great financial problems that
the church's financial secretary resigned. Church members approached the
owner of the huge grain elevator and asked him to take over the financial
secretary's duties. "Yes," he finally said, "but with two
conditions. No treasurer's report will be given during the first year and
no questions asked about the finances during the year."
The
members were surprised but agreed because they trusted this owner of the
elevator. After a year passed, he gave his report. The $200,000 debt
had been paid. The paid workers received a much-needed raise. No
outstanding bills. A cash balance of $30,000.
The
church members were shocked. "How'd you do it?" His answer
was simple. "Most of you trade with me, so when you brought your
grain I withheld 10% on your behalf and turned it over to the church in your
name. You didn't even miss it!"
There's
so much good our churches can do in this troubled society. Is there really
a lack of money or a lack of will power?
April
4
I’m
sure you’ve had this experience. After
a big rain, you walk down the sidewalk and come to a place where the rain has
formed a little lake. Not a puddle you can jump over but a little lake, and you
think about how you’ll get to the other side.
You have to cross over.
Much daily news is like that. Genocide in Sudan, astronauts in space, a fiercely
contested Democratic race… That’s
there but I’m on this side. Do I
need to connect that news to my life? For
example: Yesterday NATO voted unanimously to endorse the United States’
missile defense shield. That’s
big, big news. So what?
That news is on the other side of the pond but you’re on this side,
going about today’s tasks. Is the
news over there relevant to your life here?
Try this: Governments “do not bear the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4).
Over there the missile shield is intended to protect innocent citizens.
Here? Local police, fire,
paramedics…all intended to protect you. Basic
biblical truths integrate world news and your life: In the missile shield
example, God has provided government to protect us.
What in the Bible connects big news and your little life?
Keep asking, “What does this mean?” and you’ll make that jump,
you’ll get to the other side.
April
7
Sandra
Aldrich writes in “Will I Ever Be Whole Again?” about her children’s first
experience with a visitation at the funeral home.
Young Jay and Holly’s grandma had died.
“‘Is she breathing?’ Holly whispered.
“‘Well, Holly…’ I stalled, searching for something both simple and
theologically sound.
“Jay then turned from his study of the casket handles to face his little
sister. ‘No, Holly, she’s not
breathing. Remember?
The breathin’ part’s in heaven!’”
Your soul, your “breathin’ part,” isn’t in heaven yet.
It’s here and now, Monday, facing the push of a new workweek.
So take time to breathe in the continuing fresh air of Easter.
Do a daily devotion. Keep
hope and resurrection in mind as you work. Because
the tomb is still empty, the Spirit of life can inspire you with the faith, hope
and love that are available in Jesus Christ.
We all need that for all the days ahead!
Jesus, keep inspiring my “breathin’ part” with the fresh air of Easter
morning. Amen.
April
8
200
years ago…April, 1808…A man named Benjamin Henry Latrobe was having a bad
month.
An architect of the
United States Capitol, Latrobe became a lightning rod for controversy.
On April 8th he had to explain cost overruns.
On April 13th he said artists were good managers of money but
– if it can go wrong it will – Latrobe himself was caught making accounting
mistakes. A House committee decided
April 21st that he could keep his job, but that wasn’t the end of
his long month. On the 26th
he was blasted by William Thornton in a letter published in a D.C. newspaper.
They scheduled a duel but Latrobe seems to have backed out.
St. Paul
minimized his own bad times
by maximizing God’s help and eternal goodness. “At my first defense, no one
came to my support, but everyone deserted me….
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that the message
might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely
to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be
glory for ever and ever.” (2 Timothy 4:16-18)
Do you minimize your tough times by maximizing your trust in God’s help and
eternal goodness?
April
9
No minute
April
10
Tuesday
President Bush awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Petty Officer 2nd
Class Michael Monsoor.
President Bush
said, “On Saint Michael's Day --
September 29, 2006
-- Michael Monsoor would make the ultimate
sacrifice. Mike and two teammates had taken position on the outcropping of a
rooftop when an insurgent grenade bounced off Mike's chest and landed on the
roof. Mike had a clear chance to escape, but he realized that the other two
SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, he had two options -- to save himself,
or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself
onto the grenade, and absorbed the blast with his body. One of the survivors
puts it this way: "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You
cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'"
Shame on so
many of us for our stingy service to others.
What Petty Officer Monsoor did inspires awe, even from the writers of
Scripture: “Very rarely will
anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly
dare to die.” (Romans 5:7) The
Savior Himself commended such sacrifice of love.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends.” (John 15:13)
April
11
“April
showers bring May flowers.” I
better get to work on the ark. The
old rain gauge is overflowing. But
first, I wonder what the Bible says about all this rain.
Matthew
5:45
tells us that God’s
generosity is not confined to church-goers.
“He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and unrighteous.”
But He does want His generosity to be returned with devotion.
Deuteronomy
11:17
says that if His people
don’t follow Him, “He will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the
ground will yield no produce.” Jeremiah complains “They do not say to
themselves, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring
rains.’” (
5:24
)
Get it right through His word. “As
the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without
watering the earth…so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not
return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose
for which I sent it.” (Isaiah
55:10-11)
My curiosity about rain in the Bible is satisfied.
Now I need to get on with it and build an ark.
An ark will certainly get me to my weekend preaching destination much
faster than American Airlines MD-80s!
April
14
The
“Newseum” opened to the public Friday in
Washington
D.C.
Dedicated to journalism, an introductory film tells visitors to the
Newseum that, as Edward Rothstein wrote, “War is news, peace is news; love is
news, hate is news; life is news, death is news.
Nothing is not news, and its chroniclers take on heroic status here.”
(New York Times, April 11; B36)
On
Pennsylvania Avenue
, close to the Capitol, its
outside wall quotes the First Amendment in big, bold letters.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.”
Here’s something most journalists refuse to mention as news.
When the First Amendment begins, “Congress shall make no law” the
founders said we citizens are ruled by two sovereigns.
One is the government; the other is God.
Our duty and conscience cannot be claimed completely by the government.
People
sometimes say that there are two subjects to avoid in polite conversation,
religion and politics. Nice to know
that the document that has made our government work so well for so long was
amended to acknowledge the claim of God on America’s citizens.
April
15
In
wealthy nations people spend 10 to 15% of their disposable income for food.
Compare that to “Raju,” head of a family of six in
New Delhi
,
India
.
Correspondent Laurie Goering reports Raju makes $77 a month and spends
70% of it to buy rice, lentils and wheat. Vegetables
on the table are becoming rare. Forget about meat and milk.
Because of weather, increased biofuel production, increased demand in developing
nations, and corruption, worldwide food prices have gone up 45% this last year.
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, says that 33 nations are at
risk for social upheaval because of food shortages. Rioting is already occurring
in some nations, like
Haiti
.
And some of us are only thinking about the cost of gas?
An AP photograph by Emilio Morenatti shows a crowded food market in
Pakistan
, really crowded, people
pressing against each other. Big
neighbor
India
, second leading exporter of
rice, has stopped most rice exports. Think
about possible scenarios. Both
nations have nuclear weapons. Food
fight. (
Chicago
Tribune, April 13; 1, 21)
“Our Father who art in heaven,” we pray, sometimes thinking of others and
not just our own needs. Next time
you pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” remember the world.
April
16
The
theme of Pope Benedict’s visit is “Christ our Hope.”
Our hope for what? My friend
is having serious surgery today. There
will be prayers but the immediate focus is on the doctors.
How about hope for the homeless and starving?
Again prayers but the immediate focus is on fulfilling our duty to help.
How about hope for troubled marriages and families?
“What a friend we have in Jesus” but the need for counseling and
disciplined selflessness are immediate. And
so it goes. Christ is one of many
objects of hope.
Unlike other hopes, hope in Christ is based on His resurrection from the dead.
It is “from the resurrection of Christ that a new and purifying wind
can blow through our present world. Here
is the answer to ‘Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.’
If a few people really believed that and acted on it in their daily
lives, a great deal would be changed. To
live in the light of the resurrection – that is what Easter means.”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers from Prison,” 132-133)
Some objects of hope will disappoint us and certainly all earthly objects of
hope will pass. Christ’s
resurrection promises to take us to the other side of failed hopes.
Is it the place you take your stand?
April
17
Hi,
Christian here! Mommy and Daddy ask,
“Christian, what do you see with?” I
point to my eyes. Mommy and Daddy
ask, “Christian, what do you hear with?”
I point to my ears. Mommy and
Daddy ask, “Christian, what do you talk with?”
I toddle over and pick up the cell phone.
Opa will tell you this is true. Why
do Mommy and Daddy chuckle when I pick up the cell phone?
I learn it from them. I learn
it from big people. We children
learn what we live.
Opa says, “Christian, you are at a precious time.
You are learning habits by watching big people.
You also will learn to think twice about what people do.
You should learn to examine habits.”
Opa says that being a Christian means thinking about the things we do and
don’t usually think about.
Psalm 139:23-24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.”
Is it hard for big
people to change their natural habits? Do
you try? Is it, like Opa says, part
of repentance?
April
18
No
minute
April
21
The following prayer is worth more than a minute of your time.
I’m told it goes back to Sir Francis Drake and was adapted by Dr. Harry
Krieger.
“Disturb us, O Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves; when our
dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we have arrived in
safety because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, O Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have
lost our thirst for the water of life; when having fallen in love with time we
have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build the new earth,
have allowed our vision of the new heaven to grow dim.
Stir us, O Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where
storms shall show Thy mastery, where losing sight of land we shall find the
stars. In the name of Him who pushed
back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow Him.
Amen.”
Doesn’t that fit the tough realities of Monday morning?
In ways we cannot know, God is behind today’s disturbances to make us
people of more faith in His Son. “O
ye of little faith.” (Matthew
14:31)
April
22
God
said to Abraham, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s
household to the land I will show you.” Abraham
didn’t say, “Let me check it out and I’ll get back to you.”
The Bible simply says, “So Abram went” (Genesis 12:1, 4).
Today
is “Call Day” at Concordia Seminary. Well
over 100 men will be told where God through the Church is sending them to
serve as pastors. They will line up
in chapel, step forward one by one, and hear where in the country or in the
world they are being sent as they receive their first “calls” into pastoral
ministry. Some have an inkling where
they might be sent, those headed for team ministries, but no one knows for sure
and most have no clue. It is a very
real demonstration of putting oneself into the service of God, faith being put
into action.
Jesus
says to you and me, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow Me. For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for
Me will save it” (Luke
9:23
-27). You may
not be called to move to an unknown land, but is your faith ready to venture
into service today for Him?
April
23
When you
think about God, or when you talk about God, or when you talk to God in prayer,
what word do you use to name Him? Is
it the word “God” that you use, nothing wrong with that, or do you have
other words to name Him?
Call God “Eternal” and you remind yourself of our mortality but His
never-ending life. Call God
“Almighty” and you remind yourself that He can do all things, that He can
bring worlds into being and help you in your need.
Call God “Judge” and you remind yourself that you must give account,
but call God “gracious” and you remind yourself that He does not deal with
us according to our sins. Call Him
“Father” and you’ve got the dearest picture of all.
And Jesus? Jesus is His name and
means “Savior.” Call Him
“Savior” and remind yourself that you need deliverance from sin and so many
other evils in this world. Christ is His title.
Call Him “Christ” and you are reminded that this man from
Nazareth
is God’s anointed one.
Call Him “Lord” and acknowledge your submission to Him.
Some talk at length about God and some pray long prayers to God.
You can make it shorter but sweeter by using other words that describe
so, so much.
April
24
“You
have one new voice mail.”
So
I punch “P” to play the new voice mail.
“Hi,
Dale, this is Fred or Sally or whoever. Sorry
I didn’t catch you. What I’m
calling about is such and such.” And
Fred or Sally or whoever goes on and on, telling you about such and such.
Then more often than not, it ends this way: “You can reach me at
618-555-7145 or my
cell phone, 314-555-2076 .”
Huh? You said it so quickly
that I only got a couple numbers.
So you go
back and listen to the same message again. “Hi,
Dale…” and this time you get a few more numbers, but still not enough to
return the phone call.
“Hi,
Dale, this is Fred or Sally or whoever…” and now you’re listening for the
third time. It’s like the movie
“Ground Hog Day,” same thing over and over and over again.
Maddening!
Just
because you’ve said it, doesn’t mean I’ve understood it.
Oral communication is more than just making your point.
That works in print where a reader can pause but successful oral
communication needs slowness and repetition.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew
7:12
).
That might help communication in many areas of your life, not just these
confounded voice mails!
April
25
Here’s
a scary quotation. “We deplore
those who are led astray,” said Russian Orthodox priest Aleksei Zorin,
“those Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, evangelicals, Pentecostals and many
others who cut Christ’s robes like bandits, who are like the soldiers who
crucified Christ, who ripped apart Christ’s holy coat.”
Yesterday’s New York Times featured an article on religion in
Russia
.
Russia
has not returned to the
oppressive atheism of Soviet days but government officials decidedly favor the
Russian Orthodox Church. Baptist
minister Vladimir Kotenyov said, “This is how they think: If you are a Russian
person, it means that you have to be Russian Orthodox.”
If you’re not Russian Orthodox, especially Protestant, you and your
church are often viewed as a front for
America
.
Said Mikhail Odintsov, a senior aid in
Russia
’s Human Rights office,
“In Russia there isn’t any significant, influential political force, party
or any form of organization that upholds and protects the principle of freedom
of religion.” (New York Times,
April 24; A 1, 14)
Americans should be deeply thankful that our First Amendment guarantees free
exercise of our chosen religion. At
the same time, we should also ask ourselves a deep and revealing question: Do we
distinguish our faith from our patriotism? God
is certainly not an agent of
Russia
…or
America
.
April
28
The
credit crisis. Homes being
foreclosed. Fuel prices rising.
Food costs rising. In some
places food shortages. Layoffs.
How bad is it?
Is it as bad as this? No rain for
years. Famine.
A widow is about to prepare a meal that she and her son will eat…and
then they’ll die. Let’s tell
young people about the Great Depression. So
this widow…read about her in 1 Kings 17…this widow is about to make their
final meal when the prophet Elijah tells her to bake some bread for him!
No way, I’ve got to take care of myself!
But Elijah gets her with a promise from the Lord.
“The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run
dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.” (1 Kings
17:14
) The
widow trusted God…and He kept His word. “The
jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with
the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (v. 16)
I’ve been hearing church people talk about our economy, how times are tough
for church finances, how people can’t give to the Lord’s work.
What does Jesus say? “You
cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew
6:24) The widow took God at His
word. Why don’t we?
April
29
What’s
the purpose of the Bible? “Jesus
did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not
recorded in this book. But these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in His name.”
(John 21:30-31)
And the purpose of a minister? Timothy
was told, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from
infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
Saying attacks on him have been attacks on the black church, suggesting the
government used AIDS against blacks, identifying himself with the hatred of
Louis Farrakhan… Rev. Jeremiah
Wright is back in the news. Is he
simply a modern day prophet? Take a
random look at the writings of the Hebrew prophets.
Apples and oranges. They
chastised ancient
Israel
for leaving faith and life
in God. Repentance before God was
their focus.
Rev. Billy Graham showed us there is a way to fulfill a minister’s biblical
purpose in the public spotlight. The
word “reverend” means someone who is to be respected.
Some should be; others not.
April
30
Diane
had cleaned the house but now that’s only a memory.
The floor has things strewn here and there, including a toddler size
Elmo. The coffee table has crayons
on it, not in their box, of course. A
baby swing is off in one corner. In
another corner there’s a drum Diane bought at an antique store.
Until now it’s been a nice, silent decoration.
These days it’s getting pounded by a young drummer. Daughter
Elizabeth
has brought two-year-old
Christian and two-month old Connor to come visit Opa and Oma.
Homeland Security has declared a high alert.
My folks are here too, having their first meeting with their new
great-grandchild. For their age they
are active, but everything is relative. Right
now they sit and watch the future. Diane
is trying to keep up with everything and Dale, well, I’m in and out.
Four generations.
Tomorrow is Ascension Day, a church festival that should get more attention than
it does. “This same Jesus, who has
been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
Life marches on. Don’t let
your faith muscles get stiff. Jesus
not only died, he rose, ascended and is on the horizon. Older
people watch the kids play. Ascension
reminds us to look ahead.
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