Month: April 2019

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Matthew 7:12

A neighbor is defined as one who lives close to you.  Recently, we had the opportunity to watch the movie, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?  the story of the life of Fred Rogers.  When our kids were growing up, Mister Rogers was on TV every afternoon, and it was usually quite popular with them.  The adults in the room thought it was a bit corny at the time,  but after seeing this movie, we were so wrong.  Mr. Rogers had it right.  The movie sheds a whole different light on him;  his background as an ordained minister, his strong Christian beliefs, and his desire to help children with positive reinforcement, self esteem and qualities of a good neighbor.

This movie begs the question, Who is your neighbor?  In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is asked the same question, and he responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  What qualities would Jesus consider worthy of being called a good neighbor?

When I picture this parable in my mind, I always remember the pictures in the Bible stories for children. It helps to set the scene.  The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is roughly 17 miles through rocky country and desert.  The road is winding, and it provides many places to encounter robbers and thieves along the way.  It was here that the traveler was robbed, beaten and left for dead on the side of the road.

Hypocritical clergymen ( a Priest and a Levite), see the injured man, and they not only pass him by, but also cross over to the other side of the road to avoid making contact with him.  They ignored the quality of faithfulness that was required of them, and they failed to exhibit the empathy required to be good neighbors.

The Samaritan on the other hand, showed mercy to the injured man.  The Samaritans were looked upon as outcasts and heretics by the Jews of this day.  In making the Samaritan the hero, Jesus illustrates how important showing mercy is no matter the bias we might feel as we strive to be good spiritual neighbors.

Finally, Jesus shows us that justice has been served here.  The priest and Levite were exposed for their unfaithfulness, the Samaritan was seen in the light of mercy, and the wounded man was restored through the kindness of the most unlikely man.

Everyone is our neighbor.  Jesus uses this story to illustrate to us that He wants us to be givers of love as well as recipients of love.  Always strive to keep the Golden Rule.  If others should fail, it is them, not us!

It is true.  The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.  Luke 24:34

It always amazes me how we seem to run into people we know in the most unexpected places.  One year we were vacationing with friends in Costa Rica at a very sparsely populated resort.  We were sitting out by the pool, got up to go swimming, and from across the pool, we heard, “Hey Randy”!  The next year, we were on a cruise ship on deck for the sailing when someone tapped us on the shoulder and said, “Hey Preacher, should I be worried about this cruise?”  As we say, “You just can’t take him anywhere.”  People can appear in the most unexpected places, and I always love the encounter.

After the resurrection, two disciples were walking to Emmaus which is about 7 miles from Jerusalem.  They were downcast and disheartened about the crucifixion of their Lord.  On their way, Jesus joined them, but they did not recognize him.  He encouraged them to tell of all they had witnessed, and still they did not know him.  They asked him to dinner, and it was only when he broke the bread and gave it to them that they realized it was their Lord.  When they recognized him, he disappeared.  Jesus turns up in the most unexpected places.

There have been and are still so many times when Jesus shows up in my unexpected places.   He shows up when I need strength to face trials, He shows up when I need comfort, He shows up when I need reassurance, He shows up when I need a friend, He shows up when I’m afraid, He shows up when I pray, and He shows up daily in the face of others.

The unexpected places was brought home to me in the early 70’s when my friend Sheryl and I were returning home from UGA.  We were late, and I was driving a little faster than I should have been.  Outside of Columbus on a two lane road as we topped a hill and headed down, there, on the side of the road, sat a Georgia State Patrolman.  We blew by him, and suddenly reality struck.  I looked at Sheryl, and she looked at me.  We said together, “We’ve got to turn around and go back.”  When we approached the scene of the crime, there he stood, outside the car now.  He had his hat on, his arms folded, ankles crossed, a giant of a man, and he was leaning on the car waiting for us.  You see, the patrolman was Sheryl’s Daddy, Mr. Ed, and he was waiting for us to come back because he knew we would.  He recognized us, and we recognized him.

We got out and approached him, heads down, eyes averted, waiting for the inevitable tongue lashing and consequences.  He didn’t do that, he treated us with grace and mercy!  He said, “Now girls, where are you going in such a hurry?  I am not gonna tell your Mamas, I am not going to chastise you, and I’m not gonna give you a ticket.  I think you may have learned your lesson. I’m just glad it was me here instead of someone else because you would be in deep trouble.”  Yep, to this day, I slow down when I come to that area of South Georgia because you never know what’s waiting on that road and over the hill.

Jesus waits for us while we find our way to recognizing Him.  He waits for us to repent and turn back to Him so he can forgive and restore us.  He wants us to rejoice in the Resurrection and recognize him as our Lord and Savior. We can find Him in the most unexpected places.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”  Tao Lzu

When I was growing up in my small town, we did an awful lot of walking. We walked because it was safe, parents liked you to be outside,  it wasn’t very far anywhere, and it was basically a kid’s only way to get where you would like to go. In my mind’s eye, I can still see every road (some of them were dirt), friends and relatives’ houses along the way, churches, and highways. It was a simple life and time, but every day was a journey somewhere.

Jesus also walked everywhere he went.  He walked the road to Jerusalem many times to attend festivals, weddings, and religious ceremonies.  He spent a lot of his ministry healing people there.  He cleansed the temple there, entered the city on the back of a donkey amid cheers on Palm Sunday, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane outside the city, had the Last Supper in the Upper Room, had his trial there, He was crucified on Golgotha, and His ascension was also there. Every day was a journey toward His final destination.

Jesus lived a simple life.  He didn’t have a huge income, a home of His own, or the conveniences, luxuries or comforts of this world.  Rather, He experienced suffering and pain. The scriptures say that despite all this, “He had a great joy”.

His joy came from the deep relationship He had with His heavenly father. He had a dependence on His Father that left him feeling nourished, uplifted and content.  He had no need for the material things.

The lesson of Holy Week to me is that Jesus’ journey is our journey.  He walked every step of the way to the cross knowing every day what lay in store for him.  Sometimes we tend to believe that since Jesus suffered and died for us, we can eliminate all the challenges life brings and go straight to the head of the class.  It just doesn’t work that way.  Jesus laid out the footsteps, now we just need to walk in them.

Tomb, thou shalt not hold him longer;  Death is strong, but life is stronger;  Stronger than the dark, the light;  Stronger than the wrong, the right.               Faith and hope triumphant say, Christ will rise on Easter Day.  Phillips Brooks

These things I have spoken to you that my joy might be your joy, and that your joy might be made full.  John 15:11

Happy Easter!

God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.  That night, while the hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared, and the grain began to grow, the thistles showed up, too.  Matthew 13:24-26

Not much in life hurts more and fills one with more anguish than an occasion when we feel as if we have been betrayed by a good friend or loved one.  It can come when you least expect it through gossip, disagreements, broken confidences, broken promises, jealousy, or other events in life.  Almost everyone has experienced betrayal.  At our house we like to call these folks, people who speak with a forked tongue.  We pray for them and for ourselves, ask forgiveness, and then, we dust the sand from our feet and move on.

Judas was a close disciple of Jesus, and for three years, they traveled together, lived together, and worked together.  Judas was treated as a confidential servant and friend.  Yet, in the end, Judas gave in to his temptation and committed the ultimate act of treachery – he sold out for money – what will you give me if I deliver Him to you?  Matt: 26:15  Rather than live and work for Christ, he betrayed our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and he sealed it with a kiss.  The Judas kiss is described as an act appearing to show friendship which is actually harmful to the recipient.

Betrayal hurts in many ways, but the ones that seem to stand out are the ways that it can effect us emotionally.  It hurts our feelings as my Mama would say.  We can’t believe someone close to us would let us down. It is frustrating because in many cases there have been no outward signs or reasons for the betrayal.  It also makes us angry to realize that we have put our confidence in someone, and they don’t respect us enough to be deserving of our respect.

Many times we witness spiritual betrayal.  We see people desert the church, deceive other Christians, even deny Christ.  What should be our reaction to these who we see as betraying their faith?

Jesus used the parable of the wheat and the tares to deal with betrayal.  The farmhands asked,  ‘should we weed out the thistles?’  No, if you weed the thistles you’ll pull out the wheat too.  Let them grow together until harvest time.  Then, I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and bind them to be put in the fire.  The wheat will be harvested and put in the barn.  Matthew 13:29-30.  This says to me that God will deal with the betrayer in His own way and at His appointed time.  He won’t sacrifice the good to deal with the bad.

Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, yet He showed grace to him. When I remember Judas, I think of him as a man who was haunted by his decision of betrayal so much that he went and hanged himself.  He couldn’t live with his betrayal. There are betrayers among us, and God allows them to exist here until He chooses to deal with them.  We live among thistles and wheat, and it’s our job to show grace to both.  Just as there are betrayers among us, there are angels here also.  Let’s choose to concentrate on the angels.

And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with boldness.  Acts 4:29

Spring is here and with it comes March Madness.  People have compiled their brackets of teams which map out how they think teams will be paired up for the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and the Final Four.  Finally, we have our Final Four and are preparing for the Championship weekend.  Basketball season is long and uninteresting for me, but this time of year is different.  I love watching the games leading up to the Championship and of course, the big game!

My high school ladies basketball team was actually quite good, and although I didn’t play in an actual game, I was on the team for a short time. They won state for a couple of years in the late 60’s with a very talented team. How I loved to watch Jackie Lane make a hook shot!   Our coach, Mr. Malcolm, was a distinguished gentleman who was soft spoken, all business, an excellent coach, and all about the love of his girls.  He taught the fundamentals of basketball while encouraging morals, Christian beliefs, and teamwork.

One of his hard and fast rules was follow your shot.  In other words, when you shoot, don’t stand there, run toward the goal and hope if your shot misses, you can get the rebound.  During the years when I watched Rob play and now as I watch all the grand boys play, I enjoyed and still enjoy cheering on the teams.  My main criticism now a days is that the teams don’t follow their shot.  

Everyone looks at me oddly when I yell this out from the stands at the games. I didn’t see the problem, but I looked it up to see if it is indeed important, (maybe I made that up), but guess what?  It IS a fundamental.  This quote was included in a basketball website:  When working on your shooting don’t forget to follow your shot.  This is one of the most neglected fundamentals of basketball these days.  Don’t sit back and watch your shot like a spectator, go after it so that if you miss, you will have a chance to get the rebound and make another shot.  Follow it in.  copied

In life, we  can learn from this fundamental.  It takes a spirit of boldness to charge the basket after a shot to make sure you finish what you began.  The distinguishing marks of a good athlete and dedicated player lies here.  This player attempts great things for their team.  The New Testament speaks of a boldness or spirit that lies within the church.  This kind of faith attempts great things for God.

Sometimes a player thinks it’s easier to stand there and watch their shot just like Christians think it’s easier to stand back and watch others do the work of the Kingdom.  I think just the opposite is true.  It’s easier to move forward in bold faith than to err on the side of caution and timidity.

I’ll be watching for the players who follow their shot with courage and conviction.  I”ll also be praying that we, as Christians, will move forward in faith, boldness, and strength to accomplish great things for God.