Rescue Those

Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.  If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

Proverbs 24:11-12

There are so many texts in Scripture that are difficult to understand.  I find myself getting frustrated as I begin to uncover the literary genre, the intended audience, even the situation of the author.  The fact that we live in the 21st Century also doesn’t help as we seek to understand the original meaning of any biblical text.  We read and understand things differently than folks in the 1970’s, let alone before the time of Christ!  So as I come to certain texts, I begin to run them through all of the filters to better understand exactly what was meant by the author when the words were actually written.

Every once in a while, you’ll come across a biblical text that just seems to make sense no matter what filters you might put it through.  Proverbs 24:11-12 seems to be one of these texts.  No matter how it is read, the message is still the same.  Rescue people.  Put yourself into a situation in which you are able to help those who are truly helpless.  Seek out those who are facing death and rescue them.

Here’s the problem: no matter how I read this text, how many times I hear the words, no matter how much I soak in the truth of it, who have I rescued?  Some of the easy answers come quickly.  Support a child from another nation.  Give to the crisis pregnancy centers.  Donate to the local food pantry.  The struggle comes when I ask the question, “Is this what the author intended when he told us to rescue or hold back those who are facing death?”  I don’t know the answer to that question, and I tend to struggle with it pretty often.

It seems pretty extreme to say that followers of Christ must sell all of their possessions and give it all to the needy, but again, am I looking at that through an American mindset?  Maybe what all can agree on is the command to seek out those who are dying and bring them rescue.  We must be willing, at least at times, to get out of the comfort of our homes and communities and into the world around us.  Isn’t this exactly what Christ did on our behalf?

So my challenge today is simply this: who needs rescue from death?  How can we actively seek out these folks and sacrifice what we have in order to hold them back from their demise?  It needs to happen here in town, around the area, around the state and around the world.  Where might God call you to serve?  Where might he call me?

-The Pastor

You Are Now Entering…

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

-Philippians 1:21-23

This will be a morbid post; I know that as I begin typing.  Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t believe it to be morbid, but I know that anytime I have this conversation with folks, they respond by letting me know that I probably shouldn’t be thinking about this kind of thing until I am much older because for someone my age, it’s simply too morbid.

The beginning of Paul’s letter to the Philippians can be seen as pretty depressing.  I don’t think Paul ever intended it that way, but he is speaking of being in prison and then brings up the ultimate reality of dying.  How can we not be depressed by such an introduction?  But Paul, through everything that has happened to him, continues to be joyful.  As we read these opening words, we would expect the attitude to be much different as we understand the topics that are being discussed.  Death is sad.  Imprisonment is sad.  And yet, Paul writes with hope, love and the comfort of knowing his Savior.

Recently, I was driving a group of junior high students home from a concert about an hour away.  It wasn’t a long drive, even with a van full of junior high students!  However, my buddy Colsen was sitting directly behind me and as we were getting closer to Heyworth, he said, “Don’t you just love seeing the sign that tells us we are entering McLean County?”  I don’t know why, but it struck me as a really meaningful question.  When I am on vacation, driving for 8-10 hours, that sign is such a welcome sight.  It let’s me know that I am so close to being home, that the bulk of my difficult journey has passed and that soon I will be back where I belong.  What’s funny to me is that I have that same feeling when it comes to only driving an hour.  Though it’s not a long drive, I still am eager to get back to the comfort of my home.

This makes me believe that the sign is not so much about the journey behind, but instead about the destination ahead.  I loved the concert and those junior high students were incredible!  I even enjoyed the van ride!  I love my vacations, getting out of the normalcy of life and doing something adventurous and all the while being with my family and friends!  There is rarely a better feeling than getting away for a week or so.  However, by the time I see that sign, I have forgotten everything behind me and my sole focus is on my destination.

Is it possible that this is what Paul is feeling?  As he is approaching the end of his life, he is saying, “I love life, I love ministry, I love people, I love preaching.  But there is nothing on this entire planet that can compare to what I am about to experience!”  To live is Christ.  To live is godly.  To live is incredible.  But to die…now that’s even better.  He’s not suicidal.  He’s not wanting to end his life because it’s gotten so hard.  He appreciates all that God has done for him, the many provisions, the love and mercy, the grace!  However, he knows that what is ahead is far better than anything he can imagine.  So he states that he will stay here on this earth, fulfilling his obedience to God as long as God allows him.  But one day, he will see the sign on the interstate that welcomes him into the fullness, perfect, sinless, pure presence of God.

It’s the same way for those who love Christ.  I am at a stage in my life, right now, that is unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Married to a wife who has never given me the tiniest reason to doubt her love for me.  Father to a daughter who has the ability to turn around the worst of days with a simple smile.  My parents and sister love me in a way that I never thought imaginable, completely unconditional love.  Ministry is one of the most fulfilling endeavors I’ve ever been on.  And my church family, well, there is a reason they are called my church “family.”  We are close and they let me know their love for me on nearly a daily basis.  And yet, this is the journey, not the destination.  This doesn’t downplay any of what I just mentioned.  I love it all and will continue to love it all.  But, it’s not as good as it will get.  Home will be something that dwarfs what I am currently experiencing.

Death is a scary thing.  We cry when our loved ones approach it.  We panic when we nearly experience it.  We tremble at the reality of it.  And yet, as I age, I hope that I see myself getting ever closer to the sign that states, “You are now entering His presence.”  May fears be replaced with confidence.  May anxiety be replaced with peace.  And may sadness be replaced with great joy.  Thank you, Colsen, for reminding me of the future which I will one day be able to experience completely unhindered by sin and disobedience.

-The Pastor

The Sparkle Treatment

Today was the first nice weather day in a long time. So after lunch with friends, we decided to go to the car wash. Normally we would go to a cheaper place where you do your own or maybe even splurge to have a machine do it. But this time, we tried a new place per a friends suggestion. As we pulled in, we realized we were at the “fancy people” car wash surrounded by cars we will never be able to afford. And here we are in our minivan; car seat and all 🙂

The car wash people didn’t seem to mind and took our order for the Sparkle Treatment. After watching the car from inside of the building go through its executive treatment, it emerged from the opposite end a brand new vehicle. It looked so pretty; all shiny and new (ish). As we drove home, Ernie was adamant to not get a single drop of dirt on it. He took an alternate route, dodged puddles, even made a friend walk across the church parking lot to his car just so we wouldn’t cross the “river” of mud.

As we drove home, I couldn’t help but wonder what if we looked at sin that way. God gives us The Sparkle Treatment of mercy each morning and Christ’s blood had made us white as snow. We too, should be avoiding ditches, swerving to miss mud puddles and even alternating our route to navigate away from sin. Wether we wake up feeling like a BMW or a beater, we are made new in Christ and we should behave that way. So what routes in our lives do we need to change? What sin do we need to be actively avoiding? Identify the mud puddles and purposefully change the route.

“11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
-1 Timothy 6:11
-The Pastor’s Wife

No Condemnation

When I was young, I discovered that the worst days of my life were Report Card days. Every nine weeks of the school year, this day would approach and I would find myself beginning to stress over what was sure to be bad news. Throughout the entire quarter, I would have been turning in assignments late (if at all) and receiving poor grades on tests and quizzes, all the while reporting to my Dad that my grades were just fine. By the time it was the week of report cards, I had craftily spun a web of lies to my father that in no way represented reality. I found myself stuck in a pretty difficult place. As the day was quickly approaching, I would make up something like, “Dad, I had a really great grade in English but I just got back a paper and received a C+ on it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t end up with that A I figured I’d be getting.”  He was not fooled by my antics.

Sure enough, the day would arrive and I knew that punishment was imminent. This would be no short grounding, but instead an entire semester away from those things that I loved the most (my car keys, television, soda, etc.). Let it be said here and now that my Dad knew how to punish and would always make sure that I was incredibly aware of the consequences of my actions. This is not said in a negative light, but instead, he would discipline out of an attitude of love.  He wanted what was best for his kids.  All of this added up to a feeling of dread welling up inside of me that I’m not sure I’ve really experienced since high school. I would go to bed at night and literally dream that I received really good grades and would come home and show them to Dad and all would be well…that is until I woke up and realized it would not all play out that way. There was guilt, shame, sadness, embarassment, all mixed into one really depressing day.

This past Wednesday, one of our students was baptized at The Hype. As I was mulling over what to say to her as a word of encouragement before her baptism, I thought of Romans 8. I read the first three verses, but the part that really stuck out to me was verse 1, which says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I thought back to my teenage years and quickly realized that many of us come before God the same way I would approach my Dad on report card day. We tremble, knowing the extent of our guilt. We are so ashamed that we could have done as poorly as we have. We lack hope, knowing that the consequences we deserve will be brutal. And yet, there is no condemnation.

How can this be?  God is perfectly just…and holy…and righteous.  So how is it possible that he could have simply allowed our sin, our mess-ups and our mistakes to go unpunished?  The simple answer is that Christ took the penalty.  The complex answer is probably a blog post best saved for another day.  However, suffice it to say that we stand before our righteous Creator and are no longer condemned.  All the sin, guilt, shame that we can muster is completely erased as God accepts us into his family.

Sometimes, I simply can’t shake the feeling that my guilt is too big, that my sin is too great.  Yet, these thoughts have no place against the backdrop of the Gospel of grace.  My sin and guilt are massive and yet I serve a Father who is even bigger.  He desires for us to live free, repentant lives in which we never question or doubt His love for us.  There is therefore now no condemnation.  How incredibly necessary it is for me to read these words over and over again.

-The Pastor

Baby Gates Required

As I sit down to write what will be my first post as a new blogger, I hear my daughter in the far distance.  I had left her in the play room on the lower level where I am and thought I closed the gate.  Plus, Ernie and one of our students are also down here so you would think one of us would know where she is.  You can imagine my confusion when I heard her upstairs.  As I ran up the stairs, I found her in the dining room, pulling books off the shelf with dog treat remnants around her mouth.  After getting her cleaned up, taking a deep breath, and trying to assure myself I’m not the worst mom in the world, I can’t help but think what a perfect beginning to this blogging journey…

Many times, as pastor’s wives, we are perceived to be perfect or at least we believe that is the perception of us.  But I’m not.  I’m not even close.  I make lots of mistakes as a mom, wife, and ministry partner.  I get lonely despite my extroverted personality.  My house is a never-ending cleaning project and my hair is often found in a mess.   What business do I have writing a blog?  A few friends mentioned this would be a good idea and I kept thinking, “What in the world am I going to write about and who would want to read it?”  But God is faithful and even if no one ever reads a single entry, it will still be a place where the joy and love of Christ is found. So our blog will be made up of scriptural wisdom (those would be Ernie’s posts), silly stories to make you laugh, crafty ideas, lesson’s learned, and joy abounding.

So back to the start of this blog: Aletheia will take any opportunity to break free.  She has even been known to go through open gates, shut it behind her to keep us out, and giggle as she crawls away.  Little does she know that we can open the gate.  We are the ones that put it there in the first place.  Raising a one-year-old often gives me glimpses into how God sees us.  I imagine our understanding of the things of this world is directly proportionate to a one year old’s understanding in comparison to God’s.  How often does God set boundaries for us to protect us from things like stairs we shouldn’t climb, to places we shouldn’t be, eating food that wasn’t meant for us.  And how often do I go through the gate and shut the door behind me as if God can’t open it.  How much safer, freer and joyous would we be if we would just stay within the boundaries God has so clearly laid out for us in Scripture?  

So the lesson learned today: Baby gates are required.

-The Pastor’s Wife