Digging Deeper to Find Compassion

 

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  Psalm 103:13

Some years ago I served as pastor at a church in Florida’s Gator city, Gainesville.  The city-wide pastime there is finding a street without a traffic jam.  I used to take a shortcut down one of the side streets every day on the way to the church because it was usually never crowded.  There were a number of very beautiful homes on this street. 

Driving down that road one day, I noticed a large hole had been dug in the middle of a front yard.  It was curious.  The next day the hole was twice the size.  I wondered.  On the third day the hole was humongous, covering nearly half the yard!  I almost stopped to check it out, but resolved if there was time tomorrow I would stop and ask the owner what was going on. 

On day 4, there was a hastily made sign near the hole, a half-sheet of plywood, propped up with a two-by-four, facing the street for all the curious drivers of cars to see.  Three words were painted in angry red:  It's a Pond!

We don't live in a friendly world.  For the most part people hang their signs out that say, Leave me alone – Don't stop – Don't ask – Don't bother me!   That's not the way they really feel.  It's a conditioned response to growing up in a scary world.  It's like when people whistle in the dark; the louder you whistle the more frightened you may be on the inside. 

People are afraid to trust.  There are so many voices, it’s scary to trust.  But the Father has called us to fellowship.  He's called us to be trustworthy, and vulnerable, and open, so the signmakers of this world will see that we were meant to love each other.  And the signmakers of this world really do want you to stop and ask; they've just been taught to be afraid. 

For You Today

There are hurting people with their little signs posted all over.  Will you ignore those signs and stop anyway?  Will you go to those without hope?  Will you hear their pain?  Will you share the peace of Jesus you've found? 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

 

We Mortals

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Thursday, June 13, 2019

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!  Your glory is higher than the heavens.  You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.  When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?  Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.  O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!              Psalm 8:1-9

As a pastor I’ve been blessed to have a part in many funeral and memorial services.  Now that sounds strange, doesn’t it?  I mean, who wants to hang-out at funerals? That would seem a somber, even morose perspective.  But, it’s true; sharing the lives and memory of many of God’s family with other believers is more than rewarding – it’s holy!  The overwhelming blessing in it is when I’ve been privileged to know the believer for some time, and understand something of their passion in life, and their strength of hope for beyond this life.  In the case of my mother, the challenge I faced participating in her service, considering how much she loved Jesus and His Kingdom, was trying to figure out how to keep the service shorter than a week.  A still-greater blessing is when the one in the casket has taken the time to plan with me at least some of the details (Scripture, music, what message they’d like to leave behind, and more). 

About 30 years ago I preached my funeral sermon…really…mine, what I’d like the pastor to say when it’s me in that casket.  I actually borrowed a casket from a funeral director friend to use as “support” for that day. 

(My bride wasn’t too thrilled with us driving downtown Main Street in Gainesville, Florida on homecoming Saturday, and 100,000 people in town for the big game gasping at the sight of that big oak box sticking out of the back of the family station wagon …but, hey…any chance to preach the word!) 

For my homegoing service of worship I’ve chosen Psalm 8 as one non-negotiable Scripture to be shared.  The base message is that I am merely mortal…and magnificently mortal.  I’m merely mortal, in the sense that, compared with God’s creation, I’m hardly a grain of sand on a huge beach.  But I’m also magnificently mortal in that God allows me to participate in his glory and honor.  In that sense I am merely nothing, magnificently everything, and most importantly eternally His child!

The blessing in preparing ahead of time with your pastor is that an informed pastor can cooperate with speaking your heart at a time when those who remain need assurance, and sometimes inspiration, just to make it through the next week after great loss. Thoughtful people do this thinking ahead – after all, you only get one shot at speaking from the grave.  Your loved ones need that blessing; they cannot ask you one more question or call you back for one more loving touch.  Those who received your loving care in this life deserve that touch from beyond.

For You Today

The next time you have some free time, invest in your friends, family, and the Kingdom; do some deep thinking about what you’d like to be that day’s outcome.  Then call your preacher and have a holy conversation about that day.  If he doesn’t faint dead-away from surprise, you’ll be surprised what that will do for your hope and faith…and what it will do for your pastor’s preaching!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com  
             Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

Wondering About the Big Stuff - Part 3

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?  Psalm 8:3-4^(NLT)

Part of the big stuff about which everyone wonders is death.  When I was in my early twenties I worked for an insurance company.  My boss, who was in his fifties, tried to teach me that everyone, not just a few people, or most people, but every single one of us, when we get past age forty or so, thinks about death at least once a day.  Now, trying to get a twenty-something to understand that is like trying to get a Bassett hound interested in your stamp collection.  My boss was trying to teach me this important fact because it was helpful to have as a motivating tool when talking to people about buying life insurance.  I had the facts about mortality, because my boss would’ve fired me if I wouldn’t learn the numbers.  But I didn’t believe it; I was twenty-three and invincible.  Nowadays, at 70, I know my old boss was right. 

Part of wondering about the big stuff of our lives is what it will be like to pass off this scene and into what comes next.  It’s truly mind-consuming to even consider!

About the time I turned forty I was pastoring a church in Gainesville, Florida.  We had a mostly young-to-middle aged congregation, and, while I wasn’t exactly dominated night and day by thoughts of death, I thought more often (and more seriously) about it than I did at twenty-three.  I began to think my congregation ought to as well!  So I decided to preach one Sunday on this text of Psalm 8.  I called the sermon This Preacher’s Funeral, and the main points were: 

1.     I am nothing (because I’m so small in a big universe). 

2.     I am everything (because God made me just a little lower than himself; I’m part of His crown of creation), and

3.     I am God’s (because I gave back to Him all there is of me, forever!). 

Actually, it’s a good sermon, and I still want whoever preaches my funeral to use it.  (If there’s still someone out there who doesn’t know I’m a control freak, well, that cat has escaped the bag now!)

For a visual aide on the sermon I decided to borrow a casket.  My friend at the funeral home wouldn’t deliver, so Mrs. Preacher and I had to lug it in our old grey horse of a station wagon across town…well actually, through the middle of downtown Gainesville on Homecoming Saturday when the Tennessee Volunteers had come to play our Florida Gators.  We made quite a scene for the college crowd on the streets that day, two forty-somethings with a casket sticking out of the back of our ’83 Ford Granada station wagon.  (Cue the background music of Deliverance).

After I set up the casket in the church I shared my grand plan with Elizabeth; designed for maximum evangelistic effect, I would preach the sermon sitting in the casket!  Mrs. Preacher looked at me with those eyes that said everything without a word; it was something like:   you might do that married on Sunday morning, but I’ll be widowed by lunchtime.  I’m pretty sure she wasn’t talking about anybody else in the church doing the widow-making.

So…what’s the point of my remembering one of my more foolish attempts to proclaim the Gospel?  It’s simple really – fear of the unknown can drive you to weirdness!   It’s true; if a forty-plus person thinks about death, uncertainty can generate the kind of fear that makes you think harder about why you’re here, how you got here, and where you’re going.  You think about mortality and eternity.  In short, mentally you put yourself in that casket in the back of my Ford wagon, and you imagine where you’re going to wind up once we get through town with all those surprised college students waving and cheering!

For You Today

Once the cheering stops, and the family leaves, and the workmen lower that casket…what then?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy  Pixabay.com

In the Devil's Millhopper

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Monday, April 11, 2016

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Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!  Turn away from evil and do good.  Search for peace, and work to maintain it.  The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.  But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth.   
Psalm 34:12-16^(NLT)

Today’s Psalm reminded me of a place a mile or so from our home in Gainesville, Florida in the mid-1980’s – The Devil’s Millhopper.

“Devil's Millhopper is a National Natural Landmark that has been visited by the curious since the early 1880s.  Researchers have learned a great deal about Florida's natural history by studying fossil shark teeth, marine shells and the fossilized remains of extinct land animals found in the sink.  The sinkhole is 120 feet deep and 500 feet across.  A one-half mile nature trail follows the rim, and there is a 232-step stairway to the bottom of the sink.”[2]

Because it is a State Park, the admission is very reasonable, so the preacher’s family found themselves taking advantage of the place.  As you’re descending those 232 steps to the bottom of this impressive hole in the ground, there is life you cannot see.  The walls are primarily very hard limestone, whose surface is not conducive to the growth of vegetation.  However, tiny spores called “liverworts” which look like moss, take hold.

I am convinced that our life’s inner walls produce a spiritual kind of liverwort during those dry spells of our devotional lives.  Like the Millhopper’s walls in Florida’s hot climate, our souls are a host to growth of all kinds; we are spiritually “hard-wired” to learn, adapt and flourish.  But just as the ground can sprout weeds in un-tended soil, so our souls can sprout a devilish mess when we don’t work at maintaining peace.

In our daily lives we all have dry spells of dimming spiritual awareness; we hardly realize that what is being created is a perfect atmosphere for the liverworts of sin to gain a foothold.  And as they grow they produce the larger consequences of sin which can flourish and blossom into fully-mature apostasy.

This is why there are so many cautions in Scripture to be diligent in the quiet, dry times.  It is then the liverworts of sin can begin their ugly work on your soul.

The Psalmist warns us to guard our tongues, turn away from evil – both defensive measures…cleaning out the liverworts of sin’s foothold. 

But he also warns to move offensively, or in a positive step towards doing good.  And, like laughter is a wonderful medicine for the soul, good deeds and healthy Christian relationships with other followers of Jesus is the best kind of antibiotic against spores of sin that want to get started.

For You Today

I was once told that there is nothing better for keeping weeds out of your lawn than making the grass strong and healthy – it will crowd out weeds! 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image:  By Ken Watford (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

[2] Florida State Parks website

A Breath Away

Friday, October 17, 2014

The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories.  But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.        2 Kings 5:1 (NLT)

896 B.C.

The commander of the world's most powerful and feared armed forces awoke one morning and began his regular routine of preparing for the day.  As he splashed some rose scented water over his face, his mind thought back to the recent ceremony where he had received his nation's highest honor.  What a glorious day that was, having his place assured in history, and the admiration of all those people. 

Putting on his uniform, he mused, "Who knows, maybe I could even get into politics.  After all, I've gone as far as a soldier can go.  There may be more to conquer than just some other country's armies.  Life is great," he thought – "life is exciting...hey, what's this?" he wondered aloud, as his eyes noticed a small, irregularly shaped circle of white near his elbow. 

For Naaman life was too good to entertain any thoughts of his world falling apart.  He had seen circles like that before; but his mind wouldn't allow that it could happen to him.  He could not picture himself with ugly, open sores all over his body.  He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose those strong fingers that held his sword.  But worst of all was the unimaginable scene that flashed through his mind – of people turning away from him in disgust and loathing. 

Naaman was a handsome man, strong and virile.  The obscene thought of people treating him like he was dirty, something to be avoided...it was more than he could stand.  That could not – it would not happen to the Captain of the host of Syria's armies. 

He wouldn't let it!

For the next several weeks the spot was observed every morning.  As much as Naaman tried to tell himself that the spot wasn't growing, when that other spot on his neck appeared he began to panic.  Daily (it seemed) other spots, and small brownish red blisters formed.   Naaman lost his usual hearty appetite.  It was an easy thing to give up food, as nothing seemed to stay down for long anyway.   Long sleepless nights became his constant companion.  Lethargy was creeping into the daily routine.  Naaman no longer looked forward to planning strategic military campaigns.  He constantly felt feverish.  

There was no denying it – Naaman had leprosy.  His life was about to change…forever!

Fast-forward 2,900 years

R. B. Ward was my dear friend.  He was the chief of detectives for the Gainesville, Florida Police Department, and a member of the church I served.  He was a strong follower of Christ, and served on our leadership board.  When he joined the church I asked him, should I call you, “Captain Ward” or “R.B.”?  He said “Just Richard”.  I said, “OK, Richard, the Justified shall be Just Richard!  It became a running joke with us.  We corresponded for years after I left that church, and he always signed off, Just Richard.

In the fall of 1990 Gainesville and the University of Florida had a serial killer unleash his fury on 5 college students.  It took months and months of intensive investigation and following this trail of evil, but Danny Rolling was finally caught. 

In the middle of that all-consuming investigation my friend found out he was suffering from what the doctor described as terminal cancer of the lungs.  Aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments were successful, and R.B. was in remission. 

After fighting the killer loose on the streets, and the killer loose inside of him, R.B. was interviewed on a national television show.  My friend, Just Richard told the viewers this simple sentence: 

Walk with the Lord daily; 

death is only a breath away.

For You, Today…

If that one single breath that separates you from meeting your Creator was going to be drawn today…what would be different about how you live this day?