They had been with Jesus

Nicolas plays basketball on a city league here in Emporia. The other evening a few of the guys that he plays with practiced out at our church’s gym. When they were done, one of the fellows approached Nic and asked him if he attended church there. Nic’s reply was yes.


The fellow then proceeded to ask Nic if he knew a certain individual who he thought attended our church, Nic replied that he did. The conversation resulted in how this gentleman knew our fellow church member when the gentleman commented “well all I can tell you is that he is a (political party affiliation).”

As Nic related the story to me I was saddened that the man’s remembrance of this fellow wasn’t that he was a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, but what his politics were.

You may think that politics are important. That by being involved you can change the world, and influence things for the better, but let me remind you that the apostles, who had every reason to hate the Roman empire, and politic against it with everything they had, choose instead to become known as followers of Jesus; people who had been with The Christ. Their influence is still felt to this day, centuries later.

Election season is upon us…whether we like it or not, and I am already sick of it, and we don’t get television. If I had a nickel for every e-mail that I have received bashing Obama, the Democrats, politicians in general, I’d be a wealthy person; and I mean WEALTHY!

When people speak of you, and they will, who will they affiliate you with? Whose follower will you be?

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Paying it Forward

Roger and I usually eat out on Sunday’s after church. It is my “day off”. However, I had quite a bit at home I wanted to try to accomplish Sunday afternoon so I ask Rog if we could just run through McDonalds and pick up lunch and take it home, plus I needed a Coke really bad.

He complied.

As we swung through the double drive through, we noticed a pretty red car in the other ordering lane that actually wound up in front of us when we turned the corner to go to the “pay here” window. It had a Missouri tag on it, which isn’t unusual at a McDonalds a half a block from the interstate. We thought nothing of it.

As we pulled up to the window to pay, the young lady told us “It is already taken care of.” I can only imagine the expressions on our faces as we both looked at her and said, “What!??” She said, “Your meal has been paid for.” “By who?” we both asked in unison. She looked at the red car at the pick up window and said, “The lady in that car. She said to tell you ‘Thank you Jesus’.”

Roger’s response was, “But she is from Missouri!” (in other words, she doesn’t even know us!) The little girl grinned and said, “I only know she paid for your meal.”

By this time the red car had pulled away. As we pulled up to the pick up window to get our food, we both strained forward to catch a glimpse of our “gifter” as she turned back onto the road. She looked over at us too, grinned really big and waved; needless to say we both smiled and waved right back.

As we drove off, the obvious question came from Rog, “WHY! Would she do that?”

I remembered a movie we saw years ago called “Pay it Forward” starring Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment. The premise was exactly what this lady had done. Do a good deed for someone with no expectation, and simply ask them to “pay it forward”.

As we watched her turn back onto the interstate I told Rog, maybe she wants us to “pay it forward”.

A gentle unexpected kindness from a stranger. Surprising and refreshing. I know how it made us feel, and I’m thinking that if something as simple as a ‘quarter pounder’ with fries and a Coke can make someone’s day, perhaps it should be done more often. I’m now looking forward to the chance to “pay it forward” for someone and hope to get to see the look on the face of the recipient…….I’m sure they will be smiling to.


"Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

Not a Trivial Pursuit

I know. I’ve been gone from here for almost two months. Life is good, don’t worry, but as usual, God is teaching me things, and I’ve been writing them down. This is one of them………

Remember the game Trivial Pursuit?

You pursued knowing trivia; unimportant mindless trivia, and you actually won for knowing it.

I am finding that my life, our world, is full of trivia.

I have spent a week off the internet. I felt compelled to fast and pray for some folks last week, and as I was having more folks over to eat than usual, I knew fasting from food was not going to be logical, yet I knew I was supposed to pray and sacrifice for these folks. I figured that the internet is something I spend a good amount of time on, so I decided to cut it…………..out.

I’m back on now, but in a very limited quantity.

I sat down and checked my e-mail on Sunday afternoon. Out of 94 emails, 5 were pertinent, and the information in those, I actually already knew. Trivia filled my in box. I deleted most or all of it without looking at it. If you forwarded me something you thought I’d enjoy reading, sorry, I didn’t read it.

I went to facebook. There were wonderful pictures of my new great nephew who is still in the NICU and thriving, those were a lift and a wonder, and some fun pictures of friends new babies, but the rest…………you guessed it… Trivia.

I did not read my favorite blogs on Sun. I waited and relished those on Mon. morning while Sam slept. Those WERE NOT trivia. They were like letters from friends telling me what they are learning as they walk with Jesus on this earth. They were encouraging, and inspiring, and uplifting. I’ll continue to check those every day.

I found that reading the word, praying the Psalms for those I was praying for and doing so many other things that are not trivial made a HUGE difference in my week.

Over the past couple of days as I’ve checked in with those I’ve been praying for, things are improving or at least they are learning new coping mechanisms for the storms that are raging in their lives.

So I ask myself; Trivia……….do I really want to pursue that?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”—Matt 6:33

In God's defense

I take a devotional magazine called Table Talk, from Ligonier Ministries. Dr. Sprole is an apologist of amazing qualifications and has the list of literary accomplishments to prove it. I appreciate him and his writing, and the work and study that it takes to defend the faith of millions of Christians against the onslaught of philosophies out there that would attempt to undermine it.

Reading his books, articles, and the devotional magazine put out by his organization simply reiterates and establishes in my mind what I already know. God IS God. That the things written about Him, and by Him, and for Him are true and I can believe it with my whole heart.

But as I read Dr. Sprole's books, and those by Ravi Zacharius, one of my favorite speakers and apologist’s, I am constantly reminded that there are millions of others out there that make these men’s job of “defending the gospel” necessary. These men like Paul who have studied and shown themselves approved defend the gospel and our faith on the world stage in debates and discussions to remind the rest of mankind that Jesus DID walk on this earth, we are not some accident of a cosmic explosion, and that there is an absolutely phenomenally well planned, and intricately detailed plan in place for what their counterparts want to call “all this chaos”.

Does God need to be defended, absolutely not, but Paul does exhort us in scripture to be prepared to defend our faith and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. I just realize that my level of defense needs to be strengthened.

I remember reading one time where one of the great current apologists was being interviewed and was asked if he ever struggled in his faith. His response was surprising to me. He said that because they spend so much time proving the scriptures, defending the faith that it can become easy to forget that it IS our faith which is the determining factor in our relationship with Almighty God.

Faith to keep going in any and all circumstances.
Faith to believe when all around you doubt.
Faith to suffer.
Faith to give your life for another.

It isn’t the facts and figures, it is Faith. That is where it starts. Faith.

You know in 2 Cor. 13 Faith is listed as one of the gifts of the Spirit. It is a gift. From God.

Many times in the gospel accounts Jesus marveled at the faith, not of the Jews, but of the unbelievers; the centurion with the sick servant, the woman with the sick child, a small boy with five loaves and two fish. It makes me think and ask myself. How is my faith?

“For it is by grace that you are saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” –Eph. 2:8-9

Focal Points

I had forgotten to give Thanks.

Life is speeding up and I’m losing sight in the blur of time to “see” what I am thankful for.

The faster Sam moves, the faster time speeds by, and I’m losing my focus—it’s easy to do….

I’ve been here before, the haste and hurry of days as children grow and begin to motor toward life, faster and faster till in the spinning it all begins to blur. But I’ve learned some lessons about finding a focal point, keeping your eye on it, and you won’t have such a hard time seeing..

So as he sleeps, and I hear his steady breathing in the monitor after he hummed and cooed himself to sleep, I am sitting here giving thanks for:

--That little sing-song voice I hear in the monitor that slowly fades into rhythmic steady breathing.

--The beautiful spring day with the Lilies of the Valley’s just on the verge of blooming.

--Clean warm laundry fresh from the dryer.

--Remembrances of the Palm Sunday when I was baptized at 12 years of age and understanding when the pastor placed his wet hand on my head and told me that Jesus had washed away my sins.

--Easter is coming

--Sunshine

--The mowing is done…….for another week.

--It’s time to start planting flowers and getting the deck ready for sitting out and lolling away warm spring days and hot summer evenings with a tall glass of iced tea.

--The sounds of the mockingbird……yes he is back and chattering up a storm.

--A bluebird that comes and sits on the pillar not 5 feet from my kitchen window, so close the blue of his feathers shine iridescent in the sun—he is beautiful.

I’ve prayed for God to give me eyes to see—really see—the things of value of importance, that will “make the heart glad”, and he is......giving me sight, because He is my focal point.

What is yours?