Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Second Advent Sunday – Preparation

December 9, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Scripture:  Romans 15:4-13

Romans 15:4-13 (New Living Translation)

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”

And in another place it is written,

“Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”

And yet again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.”

And in another place Isaiah said,

“The heir to David’s throne will come and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit

christmas angelsMarketers and commercial interests prepare all year long because their economic survival depends on Christmas sales.  Christmas songs fill the malls in October—two full months before the holiday—but it makes shoppers think about their own preparations for Christmas.

What if I told you that God prepared for thousands of years for giving His gift!  Look at this great passage from Paul, talking about “everything written in the past.” He is saying, Look what God said about you through Moses (12-1400 years ago), through David (1000 years ago), and through Isaiah (700 years ago)!  God had been planning—and we know it was from before Creation (1 Peter 1:20) for the first Advent.

And Jesus came—when the time was ripe (Galatians 4:4). All that preparation that God had done, all of those prophecies, all of the establishment of Israel, all of the movements in history, all to bring Jesus, His only Son, to live among us.

By waiting (last week’s theme), Israel and the Gentiles too were part of the preparation. When Jesus arrived, their hope was realized, so it was a time to praise God.  That is what Paul was telling the Gentiles in Romans 15:

  • You have hope because of God’s preparations, his endurance and encouragement!
  • Jesus came, just like God had promised.
  • So now, you have hope that you can count on again because Jesus is coming again!  Don’t worry, but be filled with joy and peace “as you trust in him.” 

In fact, you are so confident in your hope because of the preparations that it overflows by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God prepared the world for the First Advent, and the result was the birth of the Savior! Now the world moves toward the Second Advent day by day.  He is again preparing us.

Our part is to join those preparations, move towards our Hope with confidence.  The Day is coming when those who have prepared will celebrate Christmas in a whole new way!

Song:  Watchman, Tell Us of the Night  (Words: John Bowring, 1825; Music Lowell Mason, 1831)

Watchman, tell us of the night,
What its signs of promise are.
Traveler, o’er yon mountain’s height,
See that glory beaming star.
Watchman, does its beauteous ray
Aught of joy or hope foretell?
Traveler, yes—it brings the day,
Promised day of Israel.

Watchman, tell us of the night;
Higher yet that star ascends.
Traveler, blessedness and light,
Peace and truth its course portends.
Watchman, will its beams alone
Gild the spot that gave them birth?
Traveler, ages are its own;
See, it bursts o’er all the earth.

Watchman, tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Traveler, darkness takes its flight,
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveler, lo! the Prince of Peace,
Lo! the Son of God is come!

 

Posted in Advent 2012 | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

Fridays With Isaiah: Chapter 12 – The Pleasures of Coming Home

December 7, 2012 by Mark Woodward

water-in-desert-pic-754528After a long trip, there is nothing like coming home! The dogs bark, the kids are peeking out the door; they then attack you with purest joy. Sitting in your chair, lying in your own bed, and eating your own food out of the frig instead of out of vending machines, oh, the joy of coming home!

Isaiah has just put hope back into the heart of his hearers by saying, “He (God) will make a highway for the remnant of his people,” a highway leading home—just as he did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt”  (11:16).

And the flashmob erupts in jubilant song! Everybody is singing,

You comfort me . . .You have come to save me

And have given me strength–

And a song, a song of victory! (12:1-2)

Sherrylee and I were in Israel last November—a quite pleasant time of the year, but we have been in Mediterranean countries in June—and it is HOT!  You can’t get enough to drink.

So when Isaiah says that on that great Celebration Day, you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation, he is drawing on an experience every Israelite must have had.  Dusty, miserably hot, and thirsty—really thirsty—but what wonderful relief and refreshment to drink from an abundant supply of cool, pure water!

Flash forward 700 years and you will hear Jesus using the same words, talking about “living water” to the Samaritan woman in John 4 and water that will quench your thirst once and for all in John 7. 

We have trouble comprehending the power of this image because water is a cheap commodity, everywhere available, but to promise a desert person that they will drink deeply is to promise them life—with its sweetest pleasure!

Of course, praise is followed by the intense desire for proclamation: “Tell the nations what He has done!”  “Make known his praise around the world!”  These passages don’t describe obedience to the Great Commission; they are beyond Paul’s sense of obligation to the Jew first and then to the Greek.

This is pure joy at salvation overflowing the banks! This is so much pleasure at the goodness of God and His leading His people to Zion, to their home, where they belong, that no one could keep from telling the world:

“For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you!”

Go grab a big class of cold water and celebrate!

Posted in Fridays With Isaiah | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Fear! Fear! Fear!

December 5, 2012 by Mark Woodward

THE FISCAL CLIFF!!  SERIAL KILLERS!!  CRISIS!!  DOOMSDAY!!  KILLER WHALE!!  BEWARE!!  OMG!!  WAR ON MEN !!  SITUATION DIRE !! BRAIN DAMAGE !!  SAVE THE PLANET!!  And that is all off just one internet page of headlines for today!!  How much worse could it get?headlines2

If you haven’t seen the drama video from Belgium, please take less than two minutes to watch it!  (You can skip the advertisement at the beginning, if you want.)  The reason this is so funny is because we are bombarded with “drama” at every turn.

Why is “drama” the only way to get our attention?  The longer I think about this, the more answers I get—which probably means there are lots of right answers—and that it is . . . well . . . complicated.  I’ll share with you what I think.

  • We are addicted to conflict. You can take the sweetest Disney movie or Winnie the Pooh or Beatrice Potter stories and you will always find conflict.  We think in terms of contrasts, distinctions, and variances.  We need differences to distinguish one thing from the other.  We don’t know how to tell a story without conflict.
  • Schadenfreude! Such a great German word to describe one’s pleasure at someone else’s misfortune.  The definition sounds more malevolent than it usually is, but it does suggest our darker, selfish nature.  “Boy, I’m glad I don’t have to handle that person’s child!”” I’m glad I wasn’t on that plane.”  There is a subtle pleasure in the fact that the misfortune happened to someone else and not to me!
  • Vicarious experience of danger!  One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is in Clear and Present Danger (1994) when the American government representative’s convoy is attacked by a drug cartel’s army in the narrow streets of a poor South American city. The big black vehicles roaring through the streets with a large police escort look invincible, but all it takes is one bad guy disguised as a motorcycle patrolman to turn the scene into mayhem! I can’t imagine how diplomats could watch this scene; it would be my worst nightmare.
  • Drama motivates others to action!  Which gets you out of your chair, the “consequences of last year’s indecisive tax measures” or the looming “fiscal cliff?”  Just the more dramatic phrase suggests danger, death, destruction—which must be avoided at all cost!!  Drama motivates.
  • Fear may be our most compelling emotion!  Fear of loss, fear of death, fear of pain! Fear seems to be built into us physically and as with our other senses, we like to overstimulate, tintilate ourselves for our own pleasure.

As Christians we know we are engaged in a great spiritual drama! Good versus evil is everywhere around us—even within us! So how does a Christian respond to a world driven by drama and conflict, but of a completely different nature?

  • Christians do not need an addiction to conflict because we know the Great Conflict has already been decided.(Spoiler alert!)  Good (God) wins!  (Knowing how the conflict ends makes all the difference, doesn’t it!)
  • Christians do not need to calm themselves with shadenfreude because having their own salvation assured, they are free to focus on the ultimate good of all others.
  • Christians do not need to seek vicarious danger because every day in our real lives, we are watching for our real enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The intense fear of the lions in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) is heightened as they take on the even more dangerous metaphor for evil itself!
  • While some Christians continue to be motivated primarily by fear, our goal is to be motivated by the opposite of fear, which is love. John says, “perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:18)  Perhaps the test is to ask yourself whether you are motivated more by love or by fear—to do anything?

If you are one who writes or speaks or provokes others to think or to do, be careful about manipulating artificial conflict or dramatic words to create fear. FDR said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.  Scripture is full of God’s messengers saying, “Be strong and courageous, and do not be afraid!”  Fear is not a harmless emotion.

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God . .  .” (Matthew 10:28).

Posted in Christian Culture | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

First Advent Sunday: Waiting!

December 2, 2012 by Mark Woodward

On this first Sunday of Advent, I want to begin a series of advent thoughts. No other historical event has affected the entire world as has the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.  Even if Christians have used the wrong date, according to Pope Benedict (CNN 11/23/2012), the fact of his birth is not disputed.

Four themes inspire the common Christian celebration of advent: waiting, preparation, light in the darkness, and the coming of the promised Messiah.  These are the themes I want to look at on each of the four Sundays of advent. I hope you’ll be blessed with these thoughts.

simeonFirst Sunday   of Advent – Waiting

Scripture:  Romans 13:11-13 (NLT)

11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.

Luke concludes his story of the birth of Jesus with the presentation in the temple, according to Jewish law, eight days after his birth.  As the holy couple was entering the temple with their newborn child, they are confronted first by the prophet Simeon, who had been told that he would see the Messiah before he died. “He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come . . . . (2:25).

We live in the day of immediate gratification. Computers don’t run fast enough, information isn’t accessible enough, and our wants and desires can’t be satisfied quickly enough.

What if someone told you—with certainty—that the whole reason for your existence, the fulfillment of your life’s purpose, would not happen until you were very old!  No matter how impatient you were, you would have to wait—just wait . . . .keep waiting . . . .not yet . . . not now . . . just wait.

Think of everything unanticipated that might change the plan . . . no, just wait.

What if the plan doesn’t work? . . . .no, just wait.

What if the plan was just a myth?  . . . no, just wait.

What if I mess the plan up? . . . no, just wait.

Simeon waited his whole life, then held baby Jesus in his arms and praised God:

Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.30 I have seen your salvation,31 which you have prepared for all people.32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

I love how Anna the prophetess responded moments later, when she realized what Simeon was saying and what it meant:  “  . . . she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.”

We Christians believe that the wait for God to come down to man is over!  We wait no more for the Promised One. We do not wait for salvation? In Jesus, the Creator of the Universe has completed His work of redeeming what was destroyed by Sin.

But we are not finished waiting! And we wait with the same certainty that Simeon and Anna waited.

God has not waited. The end of the story is written. Only we wait . . . confidently . . . while praising God . . . and telling everyone . . . while we wait!

You may want to sing this song . . .  while you wait:

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Posted in Advent 2012, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Zoophilia, Polygamy, and the Age of Consent

November 27, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Remember the sarcastic comments that followed the first state or two that legalized same-sex marriage?  Remember those who said, “So what’s next—polygamy? Abandonment of age requirements for consensual sex?  Why not sex with animals?”

That all seemed pretty outrageous at the time—until today! Today I was reading through Spiegel Online, the online version of a leading, serious German news magazine, and was shocked with the headline “Germany To Ban Sex With Animals.”

Here is the brief summary: “The German government plans to ban zoophilia — sex with animals — as part of an amendment to the country’s animal protection law, but faces a backlash from the country’s zoophile community, estimated to number over 100,000.”

And I had not known that zoophilia had been legal while we lived in Germany in the 1970s, but apparently it had been legalized in 1969.  The current government is trying, however, to appeal to the greater number of animal rights activists who are lobbying to protect animals from activities that are “inappropriate to their species.”

The zoophiles have organized themselves into a pressure group called ZETA (Zoophile Engagement for Tolerance and Information) and have been quoted as saying, “We see animals as partners and not as a means of gratification. We don’t force them to do anything.”

“People have tried to create the false impression that we hurt animals,” said Michael Kiok, who lives with an Alsatian dog called Cessie. He is quoted in this article as saying he had had  “special feelings for animals ever since he was four or five and that the fascination took on erotic elements in his teens.”

Here’s the link if you want to read the whole article: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/germany-plans-to-outlaw-sex-with-animals-a-869402.html

Lest we be outdone by the Germans: did you see the recent ABC 20/20 special on the polygamist family in Utah that just published their story in a book entitled Love Times Three? Not only are they willing to risk prosecution by “coming out” but they are also hoping with their story to change the laws in the U.S. to make polygamy legal. In fact, the family argues that they are a “typical, albeit large, modern American family.” You can read the companion article to the TV special here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/modern-polygamist-family-risking-jail/story?id=14956226#.ULQgiYdaSSp

At least we still protect our children—unless you are in Mexico where the age of consent is 12, or Japan where it is 13. Many countries and some U.S. states let 14 year-olds have consensual sex; the federal law in the U.S. sets the age at 16.

India has a big controversy going on right now with some legislators attempting to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18, a move which at least one high court termed “regressive and draconian!” http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bill-to-raise-age-for-consensual-sex-regressive-court/948994

As far as I can tell, only a few Muslim countries have made it illegal to have sex outside of marriage. I thought that was the Christian teaching! 

I suspect that we Christians are reaping the harvest from centuries of teaching against sex to the point that we have no real theology of sexuality.  Just raise the issue in your life group of what is wrong with polygamy or zoophilia. Talk about how old children should be before you should assume that they are sexually active.  Ask if being in love makes all of the above OK?

Ask if sexual activity in every form is a human right, that if denied by law, is an act of oppression.  Ask if consensuality is the only test to apply to any form of co-sexuality.

Ask your group about raising children gender neutral?  And if your group doesn’t know what that means, go get some younger people to join your group!

If you are really brave, ask your teenagers at church, or your student group at the campus ministry the same questions.

We live in a time when everyone does what is right in their own eyes, just like Israel did during the time of the judges in the Old Testament (Judges 21:25) because they had no king.

Unless we have a King, there are no definitive answers to these questions. There are only your answers—and my answers—and their answers—and someone’s answers!  That’s all—if you don’t have a King.

 

.

Posted in Christian Culture | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

Lincoln: A Film for the Ages

November 21, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Lincoln (2012) is one of the great films, so be sure to see it! But it won’t make everyone happy. The film is long (2hrs 29min), mostly dialogue with very little action, and is definitely a period piece. But for all of these same reasons, you should see it!

Lincoln, who generally ranks as the most influential president in our history, has been ubiquitous in cinema since its beginning, only a generation removed from his death.

The 1908 film The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln is the first known film to portray him, one which tells the story of Lincoln sparing the life of a union soldier who falls asleep on duty, a story re-told many times in later films, and to which Steven Spielberg pays homage when his Lincoln deliberates over the sentencing of a soldier for desertion.

Henry Fonda was perhaps film’s first great Lincoln. His performance in Young Mr. Lincoln(1939) set a high standard, but then Raymond Massey’s Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) set the insurmountable standard most thought.  I would argue that Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of the president has eclipsed both of these earlier giants.

Not only does Day-Lewis truly look like Lincoln, he speaks like him! When the first TV trailers came out, many were astonished to hear the high, tinny pitch of his voice as opposed to the more sonorous tones of Raymond Massey. Day-Lewis’s portrayal is more accurate and, once one gets over the initial dissonance, is more humanizing.

Henry Fonda as Young Lincoln

This Lincoln is very human: he stoops when he walks because he is so tall; his hair is disheveled and unruly; his grammar is hardly educated or refined, but these are just the superficial qualities that betray his humanity.  I love the scene when he lies on the floor by his sleepy young son Tad (short for “tadpole”), so that his son can crawl on his back and ride horsey off to bed.  I love his buggy ride with his wife and his stoking his own fire in his White House office—all as authentic as Steven Spielberg could make it.

I’ve read that the ticking of his pocket watch is truly the ticking of Lincoln’s actual watch; the sound of his carriage is also authentic, recorded from the sounds of a still-existing carriage of his.

Where Day-Lewis’s Lincoln excels, however, is in his ability to portray both the down-home and the imperial Lincoln!  No scenes are better than when Lincoln is telling a bathroom joke to a small crowd—he can’t help but laugh at his own jokes—except perhaps the brief scene when he stands and thunders, “I am the President of the United States and I am cloaked with tremendous power!”  To be able to capture the man who won the hearts of a nation and at the same time sent many of the sons of his people to their death in a brutally bloody civil war is a historic piece of acting. Daniel Day-Lewis is the new standard bearer.

Raymond Massey as Lincoln

You will also enjoy Tommy Lee Jones’ portrayal of Thaddeus Stevens, the Great Commoner, who was offensively common. Jones is perfectly cast for the part and rises to Oscar level in his supporting role.

You may or may not like Sally Field as Lincoln’s mad wife.  She is not a sympathetic character. If anything, Sally Field is overly sympathetic.  I thought she did a marvelous job portraying the damages of civil war on the president himself and his family.

The visual representation of the White House and of the chambers of the House of Representatives will take you to a different place in time. Again, absolute commitment to authenticity and a decade of research by Spielberg produced an intimacy in the film that is not typical. The low lighting of so many scenes—because it was winter in Washington—as well as the cramped spaces create the reality of the time.

I saw tears in our theater as you may also see or shed yourself because the 13th Amendment is being passed every three hours at most of the theaters in the US. We  witness the beginning of the journey to racial equality, one which we still find ourselves on, and we watch the moral courage of Lincoln with nothing and no one on his side—and we watch him win! And we are reminded that we all are better people because of his courage and determination.

Of course, he dies.  If you are interested in the assassination and its aftermath at all, you must see The Conspirator (2010), also an excellent film.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln

As the film concludes, audiences applaud—at least they did in our theater!  I did.

Lincoln is a brilliant reminder of other days of great dissension—even greater than today–but also that one man can make a difference if that man has vision, courage, and uses all he has been given to accomplish what is right!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Fridays with Isaiah: Chapter 11 – The Story of A Dead Tree!

November 17, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Our neighbors have a 30 foot live oak tree that at one time was strong and beautiful—thick trunk and strong branches, but then began to die.

In fact, the tree died—at least I thought it died. These neighbors,however, called a tree doctor who did massive surgery on this tree to save its life.  When he was finished the tree was only the trunk and a half-dozen large branches, chopped off at the end, mimicking half-amputated limbs. No branches, no leaves—just a bald, amputated tree.

The tree stayed that way for at least a year and maybe longer. I don’t remember when I first noticed a single branch starting to grow out of one of the “dead” branches. Then other little shoots started growing out of the other bare branches, scrawny little branches with a half-dozen leaves each, which made this tree look like a bald man with 10-12 individual hairs combed straight out from different spots on his head.

That was two or three years ago. Today, this tree has a short, but full head of hair—really. That resurrected “dead” tree once again provides a haven for birds and offers some shade from the summer sun.

Forcefully and with frightening power, Isaiah has described for Israel and Judah their pruning—no, pruning is too understated—better, the brutal chopping off of their branches and leaves until they may think there is nothing left alive!

But with Chapter 11,  Isaiah declares with beauty and power: “You are not dead!”

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him” (11:1-2a)

Once again the message of the prophet is that God is the Author of life and death—and His will is to choose life!  You may appear chopped to death; you may appear barren of any sign of life, but God brings life from what appears dead!

The Jews understood these verses as a messianic prophecy, and we Christians do as well. We know that Isaiah is foretelling the coming of the One who said “I am the Life,” and who came to live among people who were dead (Ephesians 2:1-2).

Notice what the Spirit of the Lord that rests on Him brings:

  • Wisdom
  • Understanding
  • Counsel
  • Might
  • Knowledge
  • Fear of the Lord

We today readily appreciate the first five gifts; we treasure wisdom, understanding, knowledge. We know the value of good advice and of strength well used.

We don’t know what to do with the “fear of the Lord,” yet for the One who brings Life, “he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” The prophet must not be talking about angst; he must be talking about respect, honor, deference, loving submission.  In western culture, we hardly have the vocabulary to describe the “fear of the Lord.”

But Isaiah goes on to say what it looks like to delight in the fear of the Lord:

“He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears;

Pretty hard to deceive someone who does not judge by what he sees or hears! Objectivity and just believing what can be seen and heard does not seem to be characteristic of the Almighty Judge.

but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

So the prerequisite for social justice is righteousness. To seek social justice before or without righteousness is not the way of the Lord.

“Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”  

I just saw Miss Haiti 2012 at a conference in Indiana. I knew who she was because she wore a tiara and a sash that said “Miss Haiti 2012”.  We can recognize the Branch of Jesse by his righteousness and faithfulness—and of those who are his branches.

Verses 6-8 list pairings of natural enemies: wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, calves and lions, cows and bears, lions and oxen, babies and cobras. The point of listing each of these deadly adversaries is to say that on his holy mountain, natural enemies will not “harm or destroy” each other.

That thought makes me question the validity of the very phrase natural enemies. Let’s try some other natural enemies and test this out:  rich vs. poor, conservative vs. liberal, minority vs. majority, weak vs. strong. Would you add others?

I am not suggesting that there are no contradictions or counterpoints any more than I would say that there is nothing natural.  Isaiah’s prophecy reveals a new order of natural, where peace will reign in God’s creation because “all the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD” (v. 9).

In his conclusion Isaiah describes the Root of Jesse standing “as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”  The following verses continue the gathering of His people: the scattered, the missing, the conquered, those exiled– from the four corners his people will come together again, but this time in peace.

Sounds to me like we should hesitate to pray, “Lord, come quickly,” until we find ourselves being transformed into a people of peace, a people being gathered together with others very different from ourselves—as different and as apparently threatening as babies and cobras.

In our world driven by rivalry, where so much is measured in red and blue, black and white, haves and have-nots, a peaceable kingdom seems impossible.

But don’t forget that we were as dead as that big oak tree—until the Branch of Jesse came to life and brought life.  He who brings life to the dead can—and will bring peace to a world full of enemies.

Posted in Fridays With Isaiah | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Blue vs. Gray or Blue vs. Red ?

November 15, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Last week, Sherrylee and I spent two of our vacation days in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I think Sherrylee agreed to visit Gettysburg mostly to humor me because while she is a history buff as I am, she does not get excited about visiting battlefields and old forts.

I made sure to plan a visit to the Eisenhower farm which I thought might be especially interesting enough to her. Though interesting enough, the time we spent on the battlefield at Gettysburg and going through the Gettysburg National Military Park was an extraordinary experience for both of us!

I had been to Gettysburg while in college, but had only spent an hour there, so my entire recollection was of a field full of monuments and a not very sophisticated museum show that tried but failed to connect you to this moment and battle.

I don’t know who recommended Michael Shaara’s historical fiction novel The Killer Angels (1973) to me, a novel which he wrote after too visiting the battlefield and becoming enthralled with the events and the people, but let me recommend it to you too, even if it is not the kind of fiction you usually read.  In fact, when I was teaching literature at Oklahoma Christian, it was the book that I recommended first to those students who either hated reading or simply had never read a novel. The Killer Angels never failed to capture their attention—and some even turned into avid readers afterwards.

Anyway, Sherrylee and I decided to buy the auto CD tour, the one that guides your drive through the park, giving you background and telling stories all along the way, while stopping you at certain sites to identify what you are seeing both up close as well as in panorama. The drive lasts 3 ½ hours if you listen and look at everything—very thorough and fascinating.

We drove and listened and looked until it was too dark to see anything else that day. Then I got up early the next morning and drove back to Little Round Top and to the Highwater Mark, just to see those special places in the daylight and to take some pictures. (If you don’t know those sites. . . . keep reading!)

If you know us at all you can guess what we did as soon as we got back home! We bought the movie Gettysburg (1993) and watched it—not for the first time, of course. No, we saw it when it first came out—but what a difference it makes to really know the history and to have walked the battlefield.

Put this movie into your queue. You’ll find it long (over four hours) and sometimes the pace is slow. You may think that Martin Sheen’s southern accent could be improved and that Tom Berenger needs acting lessons, but try to watch it for the history. Perhaps not absolutely, but the film is certainly highly accurate in its depiction of the people and the events.  And much was filmed on location, so you truly get a good picture of these important three days that changed the course of history in this country.

I have felt as moved before; for instance, at Pearl Harbor, at Omaha Beach, and (don’t laugh) at the Alamo, but what makes Gettysburg unique among such memorable war sites is that this deadliest battle ever fought on U.S. soil (over 53,000 killed on both sides) was brother against brother—sometimes literally.

We heard the story of the Schwarz brothers, two young men who immigrated at different times from Germany to the U.S. On the very first day of battle at Gettysburg, the younger Confederate brother is captured in a skirmish. As he is being taken back to the Union position, he asks if a Rudolph Schwarz is in this company from New York. The older brother Rudolph, whom the younger had not seen since leaving Germany, is located and the two are re-united briefly.  Literally minutes later, as the younger brother is being taken away as a prisoner, his brother Rudolph is killed in the fighting.

Many of the generals and commanders had gone to school together and served together, sometimes for years, before Ft. Sumter. The film focuses especially on Generals Hancock (US) and Armstead (Conf), very dear friends, who must fight each other at Gettysburg. Both are severely wounded, Armstead mortally and at the hands of Hancock’s own men.

President Lincoln made the words famous perhaps, but Jesus said it first: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall” Luke 11:17.

Before we pick up our muskets and march against our brethren, we should count the cost of civil war. One hundred fifty years ago, our great grandfathers were slaughtering one another, were lined up–cannon fodder—because both sides believed themselves right—and God was on their side!

Blue vs. Red has replaced blue vs. gray. I pray that even as divided as we are, that we can find a way to avoid even the rhetoric of civil war.

We dare not forget Gettysburg!

 

Posted in Traveling Thoughts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Image

November 14, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Image

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Tips for Short-Term Missions: Making the Decision

November 9, 2012 by Mark Woodward

Honestly, the first time I was asked to do a short-term mission trip, I agreed only because I could not figure out a good enough reason to say no. I was in college, so I even called my parents because I felt sure that they would want me to come home in the summer . . . but, in fact, their answer was, “You need to do what you think God wants you to do.”  I finally committed with my heart and not just my head—and I’ve never stopped. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

So here are a few tips about making the decision the first time, and I say the first time because I do believe that if you go once and do something meaningful, you will continue to find ways to go.

  1. Don’t expect all of your motives to be spiritual. I think many people do not hear the call of God because they love to travel, love to experience new things, love to meet new people. Who do you think gave you these desires? For what possible reason could He have done this? Instead of viewing these as personal or selfish desires, recognize their intended use and go!
  2. In two weeks or less, you can change the focus of your life!Especially if you are at one of those critical points in life, where you are trying to decide what you are really doing that is meaningful?  People who are now unemployed, who fear unemployment, who are nearing retirement, who are into retirement and finding it boring, who are disabled from physical work, who are unhappy in their profession with just punching a clock—a short-term mission project can give you brand new glasses to see your life with.
  3. You will never have more fun! Time spent doing the will of God—all day long—will beat fishing, skiing, cruising, touring, hunting—because it is everything you enjoy about these activities wrapped up into the same package, but framed with an eternal purpose.  When you show someone how to pray, or tell them who Jesus is for the first time, or hear them trusting you with the burdens of their heart because you care about them; when you see the light of understanding go on in their eyes, when you see your new friend baptized—and the huge smile on their face . . . it is so much more than a great round of golf.
  4. “Can you afford it” is really the wrong question. The fact is that a two-week mission trip will probably be much less expensive than a two-week vacation.  However, your investment in a short-term mission trip will come back to you for the rest of your life—and afterwards. Can you afford not to go?  (I’m going to write about raising funds shortly, so watch for those tips too.)
  5. Age doesn’t matter very much!Eighty-year-olds have gone with LST on missions. Eight-year-olds with their parents have also gone. In many cultures, age is revered.  Years ago, a man said to one of our older workers, “I’ve never met a Christian with gray hair.” His comment was the result of too many American Christians thinking that short-term missions were just a youth group or college student activity.  A friend of ours in her 70s just lost her husband this year, but she took her grief and her loneliness to eastern Europe to fulfill a mission call. Now  she exchanges the grief with the joy of pouring her life out for Christ and the loneliness with all the people God brings to her.  Her new life and joy is palpable.
  6. Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid!Fear is our enemy. God spoke these words to His people over and over again in scripture. Count them up if you don’t believe me—then do something to overcome your fears.
  7. Don’t procrastinate. Do it soon! Why should you wait? Does it sound like any of the excuses given for not coming to the Great Banquet? (business, relatives, obligations) Don’t surrender your seat at the table because of just couldn’t decide to do it.

 

I’m not particularly proud of the story of my first decision to go, but I did learn something that stuck with me. Whatever your reasons for not going are, if you will simply set them aside and go, your life will be changed because you are right in the middle of the will of God. I know that is true.

Posted in Short-Term Missions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »