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A Dream and A New Year!

January 6, 2014 by Mark Woodward

dreamsI woke up this morning trying to figure out my inadequacy dream.  It wasn’t an unusual one for me: I had an important class assignment due that I had forgotten about, but I had just enough time to get it in—if I could just get to the right information.  Of course, the frustrating part of the dream is that the book in the library that I need is not there, or I lose my way to the library, or I forget what the assignment is and need to go back to check it, but I can’t find the paper I wrote it down on….. oh, I wake up so tired after these kinds of dreams.

Then when I do wake up enough to know that I’m just dreaming, I start trying to figure out where it came from. It’s been 37 years since I had to turn in a school assignment, so there goes the literal interpretation.

Is it because it is the first day back at work after the holidays and I’m feeling the pressure of everything that has stacked up?

Is it the beginning of a new year with resolutions that I know are going to be hard to keep?

Is it the people close to me that I’m concerned about but can’t do that much to really help them?

Is it because I watched two great football playoff games and two good teams lost on the last play of the game?

Is it a divine message to remind me who is adequate and who is not?

Maybe it’s just the popcorn I ate before going to bed . . .  I don’t really know where it came from—and maybe it isn’t that important.

A word from God did, however, surface as I lay in bed and thought about inadequacy: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13

Then at our LST staff devotional today, Leslee chooses to read to us Ephesians 3:20,21: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Dreams are ephemeral; God’s Word is real! No matter how inadequate I feel—or am—if my life is lost in His, I’m real too—and more than I can imagine.

Happy New Year!

Posted in Other, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Number 2: A Letter to the Grandkids On Baptism

January 3, 2014 by Mark Woodward

kellansbaptismDear Grandkids,

Mimi and I really love you guys! I think you know that!  For the last thirteen years (since Cassie was born), we have watched you grow out of your diapers, learn to walk, to talk, to sing and play. We’ve watched you lose teeth, get braces, be in musicals, play sports—so many great times together! And don’t forget Grandkids Camp!!

Now some of you are old enough to make your decision to be a disciple of Jesus—to be a Christian.  Just last Sunday, two of you boys were baptized—and that followed a happy Wednesday when one of you girls was baptized!

It’s not the right time yet for all of you. Some are still thinking and some are too young to even know what baptism is about.

Grandad would just like to write this letter to all of you, those baptized already and those who will be.  These are just a few things I really want you to know about your baptism that I’ve been thinking about.

First, never forget your baptism. Some people forget they were baptized and act like they weren’t. It doesn’t make any sense—like playing in the mud, then taking a bath and getting all clean, then putting on your muddy clothes again!  Jesus’ disciple Peter wrote that it is like—this is really gross—a dog that eats its own . . . vomit (2Peter 2:22). Don’t forget how great it is to be clean!

Second, don’t worry about what you don’t know. Some people might think you are too young to be a disciple of Jesus. They might think you have to know more about God.  Don’t worry about them. People in Jesus’ day didn’t understand either how much Jesus loved children.

But what’s even stranger is that in 5-10 years when you are older, you yourself will start to think, “I was so young; I really didn’t know very much about Jesus or about how to be a disciple. Maybe I was too young and did not know enough to become a disciple! Maybe I should be baptized again.”

Let me tell you something you won’t know for 50 years! When you are a Grandad or a Mimi, you will look back and think, “I really haven’t ever known much about God” because we always continue to learn and grow and figure things out until the day we die.  God and Jesus are so awesome that no one can learn everything about them, even if they studied every day of their whole life.

So it is not really about what you know, nor is it about how much you feel love and devotion towards Jesus—because both knowledge and love should continue to grow in you every day of your life.  Your baptism marks the beginning—a wonderful beginning!

Third, remember Who did what!  Yes, you learned about Jesus and you decided to be baptized, BUT, this isn’t what makes you a Christian.  It’s a good thing you did to be baptized, but if God had not loved you first and sent Jesus to die for you, you would have gotten all wet for nothing!  Your baptism is a happy day for you! It feels like your birthday and everybody is happy for you!  That’s why it is easy to forget that God, not you, is the One doing the most important thing—something you could never do! He is washing away your sins, giving you the BEST GIFT, and adopting you into His Family—forever!

Fourth, don’t forget the Gift you received. When I was a young boy, the preachers would talk about the Holy GHOST, and that sounded spooky. Now we say the Holy Spirit.  I didn’t know much about the Holy Spirit when I was baptized.  In fact, I’m still learning a lot, but I’ve never forgotten that when I was baptized, God promised to give me a special gift, something that is His. He gave me—and He gives you—his very own Spirit—which is VERY holy—to live in you.  I don’t know how He does this—but I know it’s true!

It is His Spirit in us who helps us pray and who makes us grow. The results (fruit) of the Holy Spirit that God gives you when you are baptized are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.  You can have this beautiful fruit basket in your life because God’s Holy Spirit is His special gift to you at your baptism.

Fifth, don’t forget your Family. When you were baptized, God did some math on you! Yep, he “added” you.  The Bible says he “adds” everyone who is baptized to His family. On earth, this family we call the church. You may get the impression that people just join churches that they like, but that’s not really true with God’s church.  You can’t join God’s church without God’s writing your name down in His book.  This is what He does when He washes away your sins and He gives you His Spirit. Your name goes right into His family Book along with everyone else whom He adds to His family.

So don’t ever get the idea that Church is not that important! If it were not important, would He add you to it, would He give His life for it?  God’s family—and that is you when you are baptized and He writes your name down and adds you to all the other children of God, all of Jesus’ brothers and sisters–is very important!

Sixth, don’t stop talking about what God has done for you. When Mimi and I got home from our trip last week, the first thing you told us was that you were going to be baptized! I heard that some of you told your teachers at school and your friends as well. Of course you did! It’s such a happy time!

And when you were standing in the water, just before your baptism, I heard you say in front of lots and lots of people, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”   You’ve already started talking about Jesus! Don’t ever stop!

Last, remember that your baptism is a death, a burial, and a resurrection. Jesus died for you because He loved you. When you are baptized, you choose to let the part of you die that wants to be selfish and just do whatever you want to do. You let that part die.

Then someone buries you in the water just like Jesus was buried. If you had been left under the water, it would have been bad just like if Jesus had been left buried, it would have been bad for us.

When you come up out of the water, it is like the moment when Jesus came out of his grave! Wow! He was alive again! He was never going to die again. The same is true for you! It’s like being born again as a new person, one that will live forever with God.

The Very Last Thing: As you grow older, you’ll start shaving and then you’ll need glasses someday, and then a long time from now your hair turns gray and you might even be a Mimi or Grandad yourself.  Don’t ever forget your baptism—and don’t ever stop telling people what God did for you on that very special day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments »

Number 3: Mean Girls and Mean Christians

January 2, 2014 by Mark Woodward

little leaguerFor weeks now we have been listening to the almost vicious rhetoric of Washington politicos as well as their radio and TV surrogates, attacking the other party, predicting catastrophe, twisting truth to their own advantage, and leveraging the economic welfare of the entire country for the sake of their political ideology.

Even after the last-minute aversion of going over the brink, the pundits were talking about the visceral “hate” directed toward the President and/or toward the Tea Party. No pejorative, no twisted truth, no ad hominem seemed to be off-limits.

Today all of the morning shows are highlighting the very sad case of Rebecca Sedwick, a twelve-year-old girl who jumped to her death from a tower as the result of being bullied by girls at school. The bullying took the form not only of verbal insults across a variety of social media, but also words like “You should kill yourself,” and “You should die.”

The conclusion on the morning shows is that mean girls are getting meaner.

Does anyone else see a correlation between this adult hate-mongering and our children doing the same thing with their peers?

When I was in high school at a private Christian school, we started a music club for the high achievers in the school’s music program. Certain standards were set for membership: a high grade average, a certain number of performances, etc.  But we also included a “blackball” rule.  It only took one member’s “No” vote to keep someone out of this school-sponsored club.

In today’s world, this sounds pretty bad, but I’m just remembering all the country clubs, sororities and fraternities, and other social groups which had similar rules at that time.  We kids were mirroring in our immaturity the behavior we knew to be common in the “best” circles.

Is it possible that our children are simply mirroring the aggression that they hear at the dinner table or on the ball field or on the car radio as we drive to church?

Try these questions and see if they make a difference:

  • Would you use the same descriptive words about your spouse or best friend with whom you disagree as you use on those who offend you politically?
  • Do you really want to expose yourself AND your children to the ratings-oriented rantings of radio talk shows?
  • Do you want your children talking to teachers and school authorities like you talk to referees, umpires, and opposing coaches?
  • Do you really want to teach your children that a person’s relationship to God hinges on whether they approve of universal healthcare or not?

Are these verses still in our New Testaments?

 All of you must yield to the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule, and no one rules now without that power from God. 2 So those who are against the government are really against what God has commanded. And they will bring punishment on themselves. . . . 6 This is also why you pay taxes. Rulers are working for God and give their time to their work. 7 Pay everyone, then, what you owe. If you owe any kind of tax, pay it. Show respect and honor to them all. Romans 13

Yes, I know that in a democracy we participate in government and, in fact, ARE the government, if you buy into “of the people, for the people, by the people,” but I don’t think that fact gives permission and certainly doesn’t require citizens to be mean-spirited or aggressively disparaging towards those with whom they disagree.

If anything, I think it suggests that we Christians have a greater obligation to be “peacemakers,” to “honor the king,” and to “do good to all men.”

And if not for our ourselves and our country, surely we agree that we should not teach our children to be mean!

Posted in Bible Study, Christian Culture | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

Number 4: Do Your Church Leaders Have A Code of Ethics?

January 1, 2014 by Mark Woodward

On June 12, the National Association of Evangelicals published a Code of Ethics for Pastors to their 45,000 churches in forty different denominations.  Since the very beginnings of Christian community, the sin of its leaders has been the most effective weapon of its enemies.

We don’t need the public media to expose all of the sexual affairs and the addictions to drugs and/or pornography among those who preach publically. You have probably seen it played out in your own congregation.  I personally know one congregation that had a string of three preachers, who in sequence brought disgrace and sin into the church through their own lusts.

James, the brother of the Lord, wrote:  “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (3:1).

The problems of our churches are the problems of all churches; this document from the NAE is proof of this generalization.  But since restoration churches are probably not part of this circle, I wanted to share with you a summary of their code, while encouraging you to forward the entire document to your ministers and elders. Perhaps they would want to commit to its standards as well.

Pursue Integrity

  • In personal character
  • In personal care
  • In preaching and teaching

Be Trustworthy

  • In leadership
  • With information
  • With resources

Seek Purity

  • In maintaining sexual purity
  • In spiritual formation
  • In theology
  • In professional practice

Embrace Accountability

  • In finances
  • In ministry responsibilities
  • In  a denomination or a ministry organization

Facilitate Fairness

  • With staff
  • With members
  • With the community
  • With prior congregations

Codes of ethics are not for wicked ministers, the Elmer Gantrys of the world that choose their position in order to abuse it.  No, codes of ethics are like the locks on your car or that simple dead-bolt on your front door.  Serious criminals have no problem getting through either one.  These simple deterrents are used to reduce the temptation for the weak—and that includes almost all of us.

Of all of the principles above, I need to hold “Embrace Accountability” up for special mention.  Every church should be able to answer the straightforward question:  To whom are your church leaders accountable? 

Whether we are talking about elders, senior ministers, youth ministers, volunteer ministers—regardless of their role or their title, each one should be directly accountable to someone or some other group.

The pastor (a shepherd or a minister) who resists rather than embraces accountability is not to be trusted with the flock!

In the full Code of Ethics for Pastors document, you will be pleased to find each point supported with the Word of God.  Here’s the website where you can read and/or download the entire document:  www.naecodeofethics.com

I’ll close today with some of the opening words of the full document, words penned first by the Holy Spirit:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).

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Number 5: Why Europe is a Missionary’s Dream!

December 31, 2013 by Mark Woodward

immigration mapMost Christian churches/missions organizations have followed the church growth axiom of searching for areas of receptivity to which to send and spend their resources. During the last half century, this strategy has led to a lot of people and resources going to places like East Africa (English-speaking and less Muslim) as opposed to North Africa, or places like all the former Soviet countries—at least for about a decade—until post-soviet materialism took root and the eastern peoples became less interested.

South America, especially Brazil, was a hotspot for American missions for a couple of decades, but that has settled down now as indigenous leaders emerged and no longer need the baggage that comes with American money and Christianity.

Today, China is certainly in the missions’ spotlight, though political restrictions keep people from reporting the statistics that are essential to establishing patterns of receptivity.

India continues to remain high on the list of receptive countries. The poverty and class struggle also keep it on the list for young emergent churches as well.

One of the most passionate discussions in missions centers on the vast populations of non-Christians in the 10/40 window, that is, the countries lying between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator, including  Saharan and Northern Africa, as well as almost all of Asia (West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and much of Southeast Asia). Roughly two-thirds of the world population lives in the 10/40 Window.

Most of the people in these countries claim the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist,  Animist, Jewish, or atheist faith, and few of their governments allow any kind of legal Christian activity on their soil.

Christian radio breaks through these barriers, but very few missionaries are called or sent to these sites, and very few churches/missions organizations target them either.

And if receptivity is our sole criteria for resource allocation, then why would we? Any work done in the tough areas of the 10/40 window would likely take decades if not lifetimes to show first fruits—and might cost lives.

What if I could show you both the potential and the freedom to meet, to befriend, to minister to, and, yes, to share your faith with 5 million Arabs?  With over a million Pakistanis, or hundreds of thousands of Iranians?  Would you be interested in using missions resources to reach out to Iraqis, Somalis, Algerians—if you could do it where it was not illegal and under favorable conditions for the reception of the Word?

Europe, known to missions people as . . . well, really not known to missions people because Europe has had its chance and has never been on anyone’s receptivity list.

But I want to say that the new Europe is a place where we MUST be—because that’s where we can speak with much of the world that is otherwise extremely difficult to penetrate.

In 1985, the European Union passed the Schengen Agreement, which allowed for free movement across borders for all citizens of member countries. At the time only ten fairly homogeneous countries composed the EU, but now, with the Agreement extended and expanded, 27 countries enjoy relatively unrestricted movement throughout the EU.

Nine million Turkish people live outside of Turkey in the EU.  Eight hundred thousand Romanians live in Spain. Twelve million immigrants live in France and 40% of those immigrants live in or near Paris.

What does this mean?  This means we ought to send missionaries to Paris, to Spain, to Germany, to the UK, and to Sweden, a country so friendly to immigrants, by the way, that they do not even count them.

The opportunities for the Message in Europe can no longer be ignored for reasons of receptivity.  Think about these reasons for why today is the day to be in Europe with the Gospel:

  • Although some immigrants naturally cluster together and are resistant to integration into their new countries, many more long for new relationships, which makes them more open to a Christian’s friendship than they would be in their homelands.
  • European laws do not restrict Christian work.
  • Going to the west, for many immigrants, is the opportunity to explore new ideas. Christianity is seen as a western idea, so it is natural for some to want to learn about it.
  • Restrictive cultural laws and traditions are usually mitigated, if not abandoned, in their new land.  For instance, most women from restrictive Muslim countries are allowed much more freedom when living in Europe than they would have at home.
  • While social media and other public media are often highly controlled and restricted in their home countries, these immigrants have access to every media avenue (for better or worse) in Europe—which brings opportunity for all kinds of Christian information into their homes.
  • Americans think of immigrants as being primarily impoverished people, but that is not necessarily true of people movement in Europe. I was just reading about a newly licensed medical doctor in Romania who could get no job there, so she immigrated to Germany, which is in desperate need of her services.
  • These immigrants will undoubtedly meet others of their own nationality/religion who have become Christians.  They must deal with this new cloud of witnesses.

Just a couple of years ago, an LST team of mature Christians from Texas spent two or three weeks working with a church in Cologne, Germany.  One of the members of that team was telling us about a Reader of hers from either Iraq or Iran, who actually belonged to a militant cell, but who would sneak away from his group to come and read the Bible with her 2-3 times each week.  He feared for his own safety, but in Cologne, Germany, he had the space to go far beyond what he could have done in his home.

I don’t know what has become of this young man, but I know another story that started just as his has. Almost 20 years ago now, an Iranian man also responded to a simple ad for practicing his English and started reading with a Christian.  Today, he is one of the elders in his church in Cologne, Germany.

Europe is a great mission field!  If you don’t think so, you’ve got your old glasses on! That’s where the world is! The whole world!!

Posted in Christian Missions | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Number 7: Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand

December 30, 2013 by Mark Woodward

Sunday mornings I seem to find myself humming hymns as I make the coffee, take a walk, and start getting dressed for church.  Maybe it’s the new year, maybe it’s the time of life, or maybe it’s just God’s Spirit, but I woke this morning with the old hymn Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand in my head.

Our older son Philip was not an easy baby to put to bed. It seems like we would spend hours rocking and patting and singing quietly to him to coax him to give up and go to sleep.  We had the usual repertoire of lullabies that parents our age knew, but because we had to have LOTS of songs, we often slipped into some of the older, quieter hymns from our childhood.

One of Philip’s favorites from those old songs was Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand. The chorus almost  pulsates with the emphasis on each word, and even baby Philip quite quickly picked up the refrain and would start singing it with us—much to our chagrin, since we were trying to get him to go to sleep! But it was sweet as well.

Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand was written by F.L. Eiland, a 19th century pioneer of church music in the Restoration Movement.  He not only wrote many hymns himself, but he, along with others, published hymnals and started  Southern Development Normal in Waco, Texas, a school for educating those who would learn more about music.  You can find out more about him at http://www.therestorationmovement.com/eiland.htm .

I have always loved the song because in music and lyrics, it speaks truth about God’s faithfulness, especially His steadfast love!

Time is filled with swift transition! If the days were short in the 19th century, imagine how much shorter they feel to us in the 21st century! Our electronic calendars delete the days, weeks, months, and years of our lives with very short keystrokes!  Fifty-year-old neighborhoods are knocked down for new houses, five-year-old Ipods are throwaway toys for our grandchildren as we move on to Ipads. You realize one day that everyone in your favorite old movie is dead now!  Naught of earth unmoved can stand!

Trust in Him who will not leave you, /Whatsoever years may bring, /If by earthly friends forsaken/ Still more closely to Him cling.

Sherrylee and I were driving the other day and talking about how many of the people with whom we were closest twenty-five years ago are now not part of our lives any more. One or two have died, some have moved—actually we moved away—some have changed, some are divorced and remarried, and a few just don’t like us anymore!

The emphasis on relationships and community that postmodernism has reintroduced to us is absolutely wonderful and certainly more godly than an every-man-for-himself society, but we are foolish if our faith is in relationships with people instead of God! Only God will never leave you!

When your journey is completed . . . I could never remember the third verse because the tradition in our church was always to sing only the first, second, and last verses. Life has a last verse too and it comes so quickly that you wonder if you haven’t skipped a verse or two in life as well.  Brevity makes it even more  important to sing the last verse well!

Build your hopes on things eternal. Hold to God’s unchanging hand! 

Next time you see one of those cute pictures of an old couple, or a dad and his daughter, or a baby and its grandmother holding hands, let it remind you of God holding your hand. And don’t be afraid of all those changes and transitions and new chapters and abridgements—because He will never let go!

Hold to His hand, to God’s unchanging hand!  Let that pulsating refrain be your heartbeat –and you’ll sleep better every night of your life.

 

 

Posted in Christian Culture, Sunday Hymns | Tagged | 13 Comments »

Number 8: Sunday Hymns: God of Grace and God of Glory

December 29, 2013 by Mark Woodward

This prayer for wisdom and courage have always spoken to me.  It’s a strong hymn, repetitive for emphasis—a strong prayer.

Our prayers often come from our weakness. Falling down in weakness and helplessness is often our prayerful posture—as it should be in the presence of Almighty God, but the God of Grace and God of Glory in this hymn does not leave His people weak and helpless. No, the Almighty God raises His people up in His strength and power, arming them for battle, and leading them with no doubt about the outcome.

This hymn was written by Harry Emerson Fosdick, Jr for the opening of the Riverside Church in Manhattan in 1930. Fosdick’s modernist theology and the socially liberal stance of the Riverside Church are far removed from my own faith and practice, but the desire for a Body of Christ that is strong and unafraid should be the prayer of every Christian.  And that is the dominant spirit of this great hymn.

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.

The Great Depression was ripping apart the social and economic fabric of the United States in 1930.  A decade later, we would be involved in a world war, followed by more war and civil unrest, followed by the world terrorism of our own day. “For the facing of this hour” is relevant regardless of the decade—as is the “living of these days” in the next verse.

Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
For the living of these days.

The church of Christ is not just threatened from external foes. In our country, in our day perhaps the third verse is the most important.  “Rich in things and poor in soul,” God’s church turns upon itself in “warring madness.” Every church should pray

Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to Thy control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee.

We forget that failing man is failing God.

Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.

My favorite single line is “Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore.”

If we hide in our church buildings, we have resigned. If we are silent in the face of cultural opposition, we have resigned. If we pretend that there is no evil, we have resigned. If we take no risks, we have resigned.  If we think the Word has no power, we have resigned. If we quit going, we have resigned. If we live as if there is no resurrection, we have resigned. If we do not believe in a victorious Church, we have resigned.

Save us from weak resignation!

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage! 

If those words don’t wake you up on this beautiful Sunday morning . . . .

Posted in Sunday Hymns, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Number 6: A Letter To the Grandkids: On Tornadoes

December 28, 2013 by Mark Woodward

damageDear Gkids,

Some really sad things happened this week that I’m sure you heard about. Tornadoes went through Texas and Oklahoma and tore up trees and blew down people’s homes. Cars and trucks were picked up and thrown on top of each other.

The part of the story that I want to write to you about is about the children, especially the school children in Oklahoma, who were hurt—some died—by the tornado. I want to write to you about the children because I thought these sad and bad things might make you afraid, and they might make you have some questions about God.

First, I want you to know that it is OK to ask questions about God. All the grown-ups who really love God ask these same questions—yes, even your Moms and Dads. God is so much bigger than us that we have a hard time even thinking about how big and powerful and good He is.

 Most of our questions come when we make the mistake of thinking that God is just like us. Even though He made us to be a little bit like him, it’s like a tiny little kitty cat thinking that it is the same thing as the biggest lion in Africa! They are in the same family and a little alike—but a whole lot different.

BUT here’s just one of the great things about God: even though He is so much bigger and so much different, He loves every single person and knows each one of us—including you!  AND He wants us to know Him and love Him too.  That’s why it is OK to ask questions when things happen in His world that we don’t understand.

Some people quit believing that God is real because they don’t understand everything about Him or the reasons He does things. That’s a big mistake that I hope you will never make.

If I were you, my first question to God would be: why did you make tornadoes that tear things up and that hurt and kill people?

You may think that Grandad is almost as old as God, but the truth is that I am still asking God questions too. But I’ve listened to God and tried to learn about Him my whole life, so what I’m telling you is the answer that I believe is true.  Here’s what I think God would say to you:

Boys and girls—My sweet children—when I made the whole world back at the beginning, I didn’t make anything that was bad, nothing at all that would make people afraid or hurt them so badly they would die.  The wind blew just enough, no floods, and no earthquakes that shook houses down. Everything worked just perfectly.

Then the people I made tried to take over being God! They thought they could be as Good and as Wise and as Powerful as I AM, but they couldn’t. 

By trying to be like God, they broke the World!  Now the ground shook too much, the rains caused floods, and the wind blew too hard.  Now people got hurt and sick and died because every time somebody tried to be God, they would break it even more!

They even started lying and stealing and killing each other, it got so bad!  You would think it couldn’t get any worse, but then my people did the very worst thing!  They began to worship trees and rocks and animals and to call them “God”. They would sing songs to the sun and dance at night to worship the moon.  They were so messed up that they kept breaking the World—and breaking themselves—and so they kept dying. They forgot about Me!

There were always good people who tried to live without breaking the world, like Noah and Abraham and Samuel and David, but even they could not fix the whole world.

I knew what had to be done to fix things! Only My Son Jesus could do it because he is just exactly like me! He would have to take the broken world and start making it new all over again!

He started with the very worst broken thing: I had made people to live with me forever, but because they were broken, they died. Even children who had done nothing to break the world died because the whole world was broken around them and the wind blew too hard and the rain caused floods and the ground shook too much! It broke my heart!

Jesus started fixing things by creating New Life! To do this, he had to let himself die, then while he was dead, he fought Death and when Death was defeated, He was ALIVE again! Of course!

So, you remember the story, He came out of the grave and told his friends to start telling people that if they would let Him, he would keep them too from staying dead when their broken bodies died. He would help them be alive forever in a new heaven and new earth where nothing is broken!

So, I’ve started My new creation now—but I have not completely fixed everything that is broken—yet!  I want to give everyone enough time to trust Me and to believe that We want to save them from being broken. If I fixed everything right now, well, some people just need more time to be convinced of my Goodness—and I don’t want anyone to stay broken forever!

That’s the answer to your question. The world is mostly still broken. That’s why you have tornadoes and fires and earthquakes and why people—even children—die. And that’s why it is still hard to understand. It makes me sad!

But don’t worry about the children! Did you know they have angels that stay close to Me and watch over them. The angels can’t keep them from dying in the broken world, but they can bring them to me and I give them New Life just as Jesus got, so they will never die again.  They are with me now where there is no brokenness—none at all!

Don’t be afraid. Jesus is coming again soon, and all the broken world will disappear. Trust me!

I think that’s what God would say to you. He really loves you, and He is so glad that you love Him.

And Mimi and I love you too!

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Number 9: What’s A New Word For Modesty?

December 27, 2013 by Mark Woodward

modestyWe may need a new word for whatever we are trying to describe when we talk about modesty.

At lunch the other day in our office, I was eating with our mostly female staff and one of them started talking about how some of the women dressed at the church where she attends, that is, how immodest they were.

I, playing the devil’s advocate, started asking questions, trying to suggest that modesty is a very difficult concept to define at any particular time.

I remember the story my grandfather told me many years ago. He was born in Kansas in 1883, played basketball when they still used peach baskets for goals and was a cowboy in Arizona before it became a state.

He told me once that when he was a school boy, he would drop a pencil on the floor, so that he could lean down below the desks and get a look at a girl’s ankles. Not excusing my Granddad for his own responsibility for his thoughts, but does that mean that skirts that came up above the ankles might have been considered immodest?

Have you ever been in the art museums and wondered why all the women captured in portraits during the 17th and 18th centuries had high foreheads and large eyes?  I asked our tour guide once, and she told me that women then plucked their foreheads back because high foreheads were considered beautiful.  The large eyes were probably the artist “touching up” the pictures to beautify the woman as well.

Now many of these same women in these portraits also are showing a good bit of cleavage.  Sherrylee’s mother used to say with great principle: “Cleavage . . . (emotional pause for emphasis) is for the bedroom!”

So, which is more immodest—too much forehead or too much cleavage??  Too much ankle or too much thigh?

I was in an antique store the other day and they were playing “oldies.”  Purple People Eater has that sexy little musical insert of girls singing:  “Who wears short shorts? / We wear short shorts!” thrown into the middle of a pretty ridiculous song, but it did make me think the other day that what in 1958 were short shorts are pretty standard wear today.

If someone came up to you and suggested that any girl or woman in your family was dressing immodestly, I suspect everyone reading this would be first shocked, then offended!

So, here are my two questions: does anyone know what anyone else means by modest –and, perhaps more pertinent, does anyone really care about modesty anymore?

To underline my point challenging modest as a viable word, I suspect most Christians will be surprised to discover that every dictionary’s list of synonyms for the word modest as : humble, unassuming, unpretentious, along with the actions that accompany these adjectives.  None of these synonyms addresses directly the idea of how little or how much clothing someone is wearing.  Well, then what do Christians mean when they talk about modesty?

Dressing to be stylish?  Dressing to be attractive?  Dressing to be sexy? (Is there a difference between attractive and sexy?)  Dressing to be suggestive (for me at least, a step further than being sexy, i.e., like a street prostitute—and, yes, I’ve seen these all over Europe.)?

And how much does modesty have to do with appropriateness?   One of the first arguments Sherrylee and I had when we were dating was over her comment about a modest swimsuit. I argued that there was no such thing.  My understanding of modesty at the time had everything to do with how much clothing covered how much skin and nothing to do with intent, nothing to do with context, and nothing to do with appropriateness.

What word could we use that would include intent, context, and appropriateness? 

I’ve thought about chaste, but chastity seems to be forever tied to virginity.  I’ve thought about purity or perhaps even holy, and while those words speak to intent, they don’t really seem to address context or appropriateness.

Well, as you can see, I don’t have the answer, but I do think we have to have a conversation because there is a virtue here that needs to be described.

Hey, what do you think about virtuous?  

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Number 10: Give Us This Day Our Lifetime Supply of Bread?

December 26, 2013 by Mark Woodward

daily breadBoth personally and in ministry, Sherrylee and I have seen some particularly hard financial times. I once lost the last $20 that we had in the grocery store—just pulling something out of my pocket and not noticing that the only money we had to pay for groceries had also fallen out of my pocket.  I remember the tears when I told Sherry—there was no credit card—no cookie jar to rob—nothing! Three children!

And God!   That night at a small gathering in our home, some very intuitive friend left $20 on the mantelpiece—just to help out!  And so we ate that week.

But that wasn’t the last time we just barely made it—not by a long shot!

The special ministry God gave us has had the same kinds of experiences.  There was the summer that I was in Russia in May with plans for Sherrylee and the kids to join me for the last six weeks of the summer after school was out.  One evening I had to call her from Russia and say:  if you and the kids come, the ministry will run out of money before the end of the summer!  You can’t come—and I’ll come home early to reduce expenses!  She still reminds me of how disappointed she was that summer—but the ministry made it through that financial desert over twenty years ago…and still exists today to do His Will.

But we have not continued with cash reserves, not with a big savings account, not with endowments or million dollar gifts—neither we nor the ministry

This summer has been a particularly difficult summer financially.  The discouragement and disappointment associated with harsh financial realities are very real!  But in this and every crisis I’ve ever been through, it seems that God has given us a special word to hold on to—often a verse, sometimes a song, this time a prayer.

Almost every day since late June as I’ve walked each morning, instead of “working” the problem, I’ve tried to focus on giving my worries to God.  And that’s nothing that all of you haven’t done too—but I find rehearsing my fears and asking for fixes—fast fixes, if possible—can begin to sound self-centered, maybe even self-serving—especially over a long period of time.  And pretty soon I find myself starting to pray for what I think is obviously needed—my answers—often money—and my mind wanders off into what I’m going to do about it when I get to the office.

And so early in this particular drought, I decided to go to the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they asked for his help with prayer.  Every walk since that day has begun with “Our Father, who art in heaven . . . .

Every word of that prayer has been growing in my heart, but the words that have taught me and comforted me the most this summer have been: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

I have longed for financial security.  I have carried the financial responsibility for a family and for a ministry for all of my adult life, and we have never been “secure.”  A big car repair bill, an unexpected illness, an accounting error, overestimating donations, underestimating travel expenses—whether personal or of the ministry, it’s been the same very tenuous financial string holding things together—or so I have felt in the past.

But what was I thinking?  Maybe I was trying to become the rich man who stored up so much wealth in his barns that he knew how all of his needs would be met for many years?  Maybe I was trying to be the man who wanted to finish his financial transactions and secure his business deal before he left to follow Jesus?

Jesus did not teach us to pray, “Give us today enough for at least a couple of years,” or “Give us today enough to weather any unexpected expenses.”

For forty years, the people of God gathered daily manna and daily meat. If they gathered more than a day’s worth, it would rot (Exodus 16).  I’m convinced that is how God often works!

I am not trusting God if I pray “Give us this day our daily bread” and then worry that I will never be able to retire or go on cruises or live comfortably until I’m 93.

I’m only trusting in God if I pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and then thank Him that I have had bread to eat at the end of that day.

He has promised no more—and no less!

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