Caring For One Another

Last night I saw the movie Won't You Be My Neighbor? Seeing Mr. Rogers' passionate desire and mission in life to help kids know they’re deeply loved by someone was absolutely inspiring. Mr. Rogers did everything with a heart of genuine humility.

People felt special around him. They knew he really cared about them. During national tragic events from the Challenger Space Shuttle, Presidential assassinations to 911 Fred took on the difficult challenge of helping kids and their parents grapple with grief and loss.

You could see his compassion and feel his hurt for others. Fred took comfort during times of disaster by something his mother would tell him during times of loss. “Look for the helpers. You can always find people who are helping.”

In our humility we find the strength and the power to take care of one another.
Unfortunately, acts of kindness more often than not are small news stories that escape our notice. I wish it were not so. But we live in a world where social media saturation and negative controversy can win our attention. Gratefully, we do hear compassionate stories of healing and restoration.

Over the weekend I heard Natasha’s story about her life in Russia.One day Natasha’s dad left their family and never returned. Her mom was an alcoholic and would leave her daughters for days. Eight-year old Natasha and her five year old sister would go to the only neighbor who would let them stay with them and feed them.


Eventually other neighbors turned them into social services. Then one day as Natasha described it a big black car pulled up and took Natasha and her sister far away to an orphanage. There Natasha lived for eight years in a state run Russian orphanage with another 200 orphans in very squalid conditions. Her younger sister was placed in a foster home.

At one point with no dad, no mom and now no sister, Natasha felt deserted, isolated and lonely. She was often deeply depressed and would go to her dorm room and cry wondering if anyone cared for her and what would become of her. Because of her shyness Natasha most of her free time at the orphanage was spent doing homework and reading.

Then one day she was invited to go a Christian ministry center in a town called Kostromo not knowing what that was or where. Some of her friends were invited too so she went. It took two separate long bus rides to get there.

While there the Natasha met people who actually cared about her and listened to her whole story. The people at the center helped her by giving her a place of safety, acceptance and belonging. They provided an opportunity for Natasha to learn practical occupational skills for later in life. 

Natasha was encouraged to go to the University for her education where she also learned English. She eventually became office manager of the ministry center and now eight years later she is the program coordinator.

Natasha’s life was forever changed all because there were compassionate helpers who were willing to love, listen and change a life. Just because acts of kindness are under the radar it doesn’t mean they don’t change the world. 

We can all learn from Natasha’s story and others’stories. Whether it is heartache, fragility, vulnerability, breakability, weakness or disillusionment we can all offer simple acts of kindness and generosity.

Sometimes we need to hold someone without having to say a word. Sometimes we need to let ourselves be held by someone who tells us they care for us. Sometimes, more often than not, we need to say I love you. Sometimes we need talk with a friend or bring a meal to a storm victim. Sometimes we need to be very still for an afternoon or an hour and use our stillness to pray for those we care about. Sometimes we need to …

Sometimes I can get too easily cynical, but in my heart I know that only light can push the darkness away in this crazy mixed up world. You can be a light to someone by pointing them to the Savior. You can be a refuge from the storm for someone. You can make a difference. You can pay it forward. You can be a helper to someone who needs help.

Ordinary Heroes

18-year old swimmer Yusra Mardini finished 45th in the 100-meter freestyle heats, 12 seconds behind the top time. Nothing close to a medal. Nothing close to notable. But the story of how she got to Rio, transcends sports. Even more, it is story vital for our collective heart.

In August 2015, Yusra and her sister saved the lives of 20 people, including their own, after jumping off their sinking dinghy into the Aegean Sea. They swam for three hours, pushing and pulling the boat until it reached the shore at Lesbos.

Yusra was one of the 10 members of the Refugee Olympic Team (athletes from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In war-torn Damascus, Yusra was a talented swimmer and professionally backed by the Syrian Olympic Committee. The unrest in the besieged country made training difficult. “Sometimes we couldn’t train because of the war,” she said. “And sometimes you would be swimming in pools where the roofs were blown open in three or four places.”

As Damascus became increasingly unstable, Yusra and her sister Sarah left Syria, traveling through Lebanon and Turkey before trying to reach Greece. Thirty minutes after setting off from Turkey, the motor on their boat, which was meant for six people but carrying 20, began to fail. Most of those on board could not swim. With no other alternative, Yusra, Sarah and two strong swimmers jumped into the sea swimming for the three hours in open water.

“We were the only four who knew how to swim,” she said of the experience. “I had one hand with the rope attached to the boat as I moved my two legs and one arm. It was three and half hours in cold water. Your body is almost like… done. I don’t know if I can describe that.”

This is made-for-TV-movie stuff. A nightmare that could make anyone’s heart stop.

It is not surprising that Yusra now hates open water, but the memory of that swim is not a nightmare for her. “I remember that without swimming I would never be alive maybe because of the story of this boat. It’s a positive memory for me."

I love this girl’s attitude. She is self-effacing and resilient. “It’s tough,” she has said. “It was really hard, for everyone, and I don't blame anyone if they cried. But sometimes you just have to move on.”

And funny. She talked about the children in the boat who were very afraid. “I needed to make them smile and laugh.” Her patience with those who want a slice of the phenomenon she represents seems boundless. Including the Serbian journalists asking her to smile and say: “Hello Serbia” to the camera.“A lot of people want pictures of me.” She smiles.

Although they made it to shore in Lesbos, that wasn't even the hardest part. The sisters traveled by foot or on smuggler's buses through Greece, Macedonia and Serbia and into Hungary. They finally made it to Berlin, where they spent a hard, cold winter. With the help of an interpreter at the refugee camp where they lived, Yusra connected with a local sports club and began training. When she and her German trainer heard about the refugee team, she applied for and was granted a training scholarship.

A refugee is a person forced to leave their home because of persecution. They are now displaced. And when that happens, your world is on tilt. You are at a loss. At sea. Without a home. Your dreams fractured. Without a sanctuary. Literally.

This story inspires me because every single one of us can relate to times when our world has been on tilt. Or the world of someone we dearly love.

Yusra inspires me. "It was quite hard to think that you are a swimmer,” she remembered thinking, “and you are gonna end up dying in the water."

Even so, when their boat began to sink, she jumped in the water. You see, here’s the deal:

I don’t know if we’ll make it. But I do know I can keep swimming. I don’t know if all will turn out according to the script in my mind. But I do know that I can show up to this moment with my whole heart.

I don’t know if anything I do will make a difference. But I do know that just by jumping in, I already did. Sometimes I wonder if I’m made of that kind of stuff. You know, hero and all that. There are two kinds of hero. The Olympic sporting gods and goddesses, larger than life. Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Katy Ledecky, Simone Biles. I watch them in wonderment and awe.

And, there are ordinary heroes. I’m pretty sure I may never be required to pull a boat filled with people in open water, but there is no doubt that I can…

Practice kindness. For everyone needs moments of gladness.

Practice compassion. For everyone knows pain and needs comfort.

Practice mercy. For everyone needs an antidote to hatred, to sorrow and to loss.

Offer sanctuary. For everyone has moments without a home.

Let us remember that heroes are ordinary souls who carry the weight of ordinary life. And heroism is born in every act of kindness and compassion, no matter how small. Because in a world cynical and afraid, kindness is always bravery. And it takes courage to be kind and to fight for mercy and justice and sanctuary.

Asked about the Opening Ceremony, Yusra said. "I was so proud and happy that everyone was cheering for us. I just felt like dancing. I don't know how to dance samba, but maybe I'm going to learn. (Syrian) dancing depends on your hips and your stomach. You have to be a really good (butter) fly swimmer to do it.”Yes, Yusra. Yes. Dance.

written my friend Terry Hershey

God Meant It For Good

If you were Joseph and looked back at your life journey you would have to conclude, that's not what I expected!  Now that Joseph’s father has died his brothers fear that Joseph will change his mind and finally exact his revenge upon them. Gen.50:15-21. In an incredible act of kindness Joseph responded to their fears.

"Don't be afraid.  Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don't be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children."  And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.  

Joseph was wise enough to lead a nation and big enough to forgive. He didn’t allow his seemingly endless trial to pin him down with bitterness and cynicism. Unlike so many today, he did not waste his life dwelling on the injustices that were perpetrated upon him. He did not arrange for air time to share his grievances for all to hear. Wow, how refreshingly different is that? If Joseph was interviewed today would he be portrayed as a victim or victor?

Joseph’s trial was a very long and hard road of disappointment and desperation, yet God was up to something much larger than Joseph’s personal struggle.

Like Joseph, our times of trouble and darkness are meant to teach us some lessons that we desperately need and can learn no other way. A premature deliverance can circumvent God’s work of grace in our lives. Moving the hand of a clock to suit yourself does not change the time. Trust that God is working for you with your best interest in mind.

God will remember and reward you

The cup bearer and the baker might have forgotten Joseph, but God did not and He has not forgotten you!  No matter what you’re facing God knows and understands your situation and will reward your patient endurance.

Joseph’s long obedience in the same direction led to saving many lives. God ultimately rewarded him by allowing him to see the deliverance of not only his family, but the entire nation of Israel. Joseph’s patient suffering was blessed by God for the sake of others.

God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4.

May our prayer of desperation be like the One who in the midst of His greatest trial cried out, “Not my will, but your will be done.” The result of that submissive prayer saved the lives of countless people like you and I. May that heart posture be true of us and one day we will receive our reward as well.

What we remember about our lives will depend on how we respond to God’s amazing grace in the midst of our trials. Hang in there. It is never too late to look up!

God Knows

After Joseph’s prison release and his several years of faithful service in the Pharaoh’s court he becomes the equivalent of Egypt’s Prime Minister. During a severe famine twenty years later Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt seeking food for their literal survival. Ironically, they have to bow before Joseph to buy food (remember his dreams?) not recognizing their brother.

Because he deeply yearns to see his dad and younger brother Benjamin Joseph not only provides for them but suspects they are spies and in order to prove their innocence they must leave their brother Simeon behind until they bring back the younger Benjamin from Palestine.

After Joseph’s request his brothers are absolutely undone, "Surely we are being punished because of what we did to our brother Joseph.” In an extraordinary contrast we read, before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and my entire father's household." The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. Gen. 41:50-52.

Ultimately, none of Joseph’s rejection and heartbreak was wasted. Nothing in our lives is insignificant in the hand of a loving God for He does not waste our pain, but uses it (2 Corinthians 1:4).

The brothers return to Egypt for more food and as requested bring their younger brother. At the sight of Benjamin Joseph hurriedly runs from their presence and is overcome with emotion. Joseph plays another ploy on them and keeps Benjamin with him in order to get them to bring back their father Jacob.

The oldest brother Judah emphatically tells Joseph that their father will die of grief if they don’t bring back Benjamin alive. At the hearing of this pleading Joseph can no longer restrain himself and openly weeps as he tells his brothers, “I am Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt,” His brothers were unable to speak because they were terrified at his presence Gen.45:4. Can you imagine being there right then?

Then Joseph kindly said to them, “do not be afraid, and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” Genesis 45:1-8  Absolutely amazing! Joseph maintained that God had his best in mind.

God knows and understands your life and can turn evil into good
You can be so easily disillusioned when your hope is in man or the very common shallow fixes the culture readily provides. If you come to place where you think God doesn’t care about you, you are in a very dark place indeed. But it’s just not true. I don't have to know all the answers. I just have to know that God knows, that he is good, and that he loves me. God does care about you and is intimately acquainted with your life.Ps.139:3; Heb. 4:25; 1 Pet.5:7

God wants you to be free from bitterness.
God doesn’t want your heart to become callous and hard. Guard you heart and don’t allow it to slowly become bitter and closed. If you do, you will not be fun to be around. There is a more excellent way.

Joseph had every reason to be bitter, but we have no indication that he hated his brothers after all they did to him. After his 27 years of imprisonment Nelson Mandela who also could have sought revenge said, “People learn to hate, they can be taught to love.” Love that!

“The most difficult ingredient of suffering is often time. Short periods of pain can be endured, but when a sorrow drags on its long and weary way year after monotonous year, returning day after day with the same dull routine of hopeless agony, the heart loses its strength. Without the grace of God, the heart is sure to sink into dismal despair.” C.W. Cowman

God knows your story and He sees every tear drop fall.Thankfully God’s grace is always available to you, it will never run dry. God has not forgotten you. He does cares about you and has the all of heaven’s resources to help you right now! Like Joseph, will you trust that He has your best interest in mind? Trust Him you’ll be glad you did.

With hope and assurance,

Mark

Doubt and Faith in Suffering and Evil

Christian Reger, spent four years as a prisoner in Dachau. His crime? He had belonged to the Confessing Church, the branch of the German state church which under the leadership of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, opposed Hitler. Reger, turned over to the authorities by his church organist, was arrested and shipped to Dachau.

During the final winter in that horrid place, when coal supplies ran low the ovens were finally shut off. Prisoners no longer had to put up with the constant stench of burning comrades. Many died of exposure, however and the bodies were stacked naked in the snow like cordwood, a number stenciled in blue on each. Reger will tell such horror stories if you ask. But he never stops there. He goes on to share how faith, and how even at Dachau he was visited by a God of love.

“Nietzsche said a man can undergo torture if he knows the Why of his life,” Reger told me. “But here at Dachau, I learned the Who of my life. He was enough to sustain me then, and is enough to sustain me still.”

It was not always so. After his first month in Dachau, Reger, like Elie Wiesel, abandoned all hope in a loving God. From the perspective of a prisoner of the Nazi’s, the odds against God’s existence seemed too great. Then, in July 1941, something happened to challenge his doubt.

Each prisoner was allowed only one letter a month, and exactly one month from the date of his incarceration Christian Reger received the first news from his wife. In fragments of the letter, which had been carefully clipped into pieces by a censor, she chatted about family and assured him of her love. At the very bottom Reger’s wife printed a Bible reference: Acts 4:26-29.

Reger who had smuggled in a Bible, looked up the verses, which formed part of a speech delivered by Peter and John just after their release from prison.

“The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. Indeed Herod and Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

That afternoon Reger was to undergo interrogation, the most terrifying experience in the camp. He would be called on to name other Christians in the confessing Church outside. If he succumbed, those Christians would be captured and possibly killed. But if he refused to cooperate, there was a good chance he would be beaten with clubs or tortured with electricity. He knew firsthand about “rulers gathering together against the Lord,” but other than that, the verses meant little to him. How could God possibly help him at a time like this?

Reger was moved to the waiting area outside the interrogation room. He was trembling.  The door opened, and a fellow minister whom Reger had never met came out. Without looking at Reger or changing the expression on his face, he walked over to him, slipped something into Reger’s  coat pocket, and walked away. Seconds later SS guards appeared and ushered Reger inside the room. The interrogations went well, and they were surprisingly easy and involved no violence.

When Reger arrived back at the barracks, he was sweating despite the cold. He breathed deeply for several minutes, trying to calm himself he crawled into his bunk and covered himself with straw. Suddenly he remembered the odd encounter with the other minister. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a matchbox. Oh, he thought what a kind gesture. 

Matches are a priceless commodity in the barracks. He found no matches inside, however, just a folded slip of paper.  Reger unfolded the paper, and his heart beat hard against his chest. Neatly printed on the paper was this reference: Acts 4:26-29

To Reger, it was a miracle, a message directly from God. The minister could not have possibly seen the letter from Reger’s  wife-the man was a stranger. Had God arraigned the event as a demonstration that He was still alive, still able to strengthen, still worthy of trust?

Christian Reger was transformed from that moment . It was a small miracle, as miracles go, but sufficient to anchor his faith in bedrock that could not be shaken, not even by the atrocities he would witness over the next four years in Dachau.

“God did not rescue me and make my suffering easier. He simply assured me He was alive and He knew I was here. We Christians drew together. We formed a church here, among other convicted pastors and priests and became one Body. I can only speak for myself. Others turned from God because of Dachau. Who am I to judge them? I simply know that God met me. For me, he was enough, even at Dachau.”

Adapted from Philip Yancey's Where Is God When it Hurts p. 157

We All Need Fans

In the article by CBS journalist Steve Hartman writes:   The high school basketball team for the Gainesville Tornadoes in Gainesville, Texas usually has a fan base of zero. One Gainesville player said, "My parents came to one game but they didn't come to the other ones because they didn't have time."

The other students at Gainesville—a juvenile correction facility for felony offenders—don't come to the games either, mostly because they can't get out. One of the few perks at the facility—for very good behavior—is a chance to leave the prison a few times a year to play basketball.

They play against private schools like Vanguard College Prep in Waco. And it was before that recent match-up that two Vanguard players—Hudson Bradley and Ben Martinson—announced they it didn't seem right to play a team with no fans. 

So before their home game against Gainesville, Bradley and Martinson asked some Vanguard fans for a favor: To cheer for Gainesville instead.

The shocked Gainesville players walked onto the court to find their own signs of support, their own cheerleaders, even their own fan section. 

Half the crowd was assigned to cheer for Gainesville. But as the game went on, everybody started to cheer for Gainesville. One Gainesville player said, "When I'm an old man I'll still be thinking about this." Hudson Bradley said, "I mean every time they scored the gym was just lit up with cheering and clapping and everyone was on their feet. It showed me the real impact that encouragement and support for anybody can make."

Steve Hartman summarized, "We all need someone to believe in us. We All Need Fans. We all need someone who knows our mistakes and loves us anyway. And for that, the Gainesville players can't thank those boys enough." See CBS video here

My son John suffers daily severe chronic pain from Crohn’s Disease and made another trip to the ER last week. My daughter Sara’s 4^thgrade students called him and prayed for him over the phone and brought him to tears. They also sent written prayers for her brother. Here is one of them.

Dear Johnny,

I really really hope that your stomach will feel better, and that everything will go well. Dear Jesus, thank you for this day please hope that Jonny will feel better and that he won't be worried on what's going to happen next. Please hope that the medicine will help Johnny and that he will be blessed by you in your name, Amen.  Janelle

After the Bible study I teach in the Fremont Correctional Facility in Canon City, Colorado an inmate asked me, “Will you please think about me this week because no one does.” An another incarcerated Christ follower asked me, “Please pray to God that I will sleep better because I stay up worrying every night about when I get out.”

We all need someone to think about us and believe in us especially in the middle of hardships. There is Someone who thinks about you and loves you. Thank God He does not give us what we deserve, but what we need – grace.

We all need grace.  

It's something you can't pay for. It’s something we can all give to someone else who really needs it. Now, go out and show grace to someone this week, maybe to someone who would least expect it. You can do it!

Preventing Terrorism - One Woman's Response

Life can be brutal
There were hundreds of innocent lives lost in Paris, Beirut and on Flight 9268 this last week. Terrorism is not new and our sorrow is compounded because acts of evil are not unfamiliar. So many parts of our world are torn and besieged. So many parts of our world are cauldrons of violence and cruelty.

Over two millennia ago Queen Esther was overwhelmed with terror over Haman’s violent and hideous plot to exterminate her people. Maybe like Esther you’re asking, what is going on? Why are these things happening to me? What can I possibly do?

As we saw last week king Xerxes was reminded that Mordecai had saved his life from assassination. Wanting to honor Mordecai the king asked Haman, his second in command,“What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Thinking the king was about to honor him Haman tells the king to put the king’s royal robe on the man, put him on a horse and parade him through the city streets.

The king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. You lead the horse. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” Esther 6:10-11

Haman runs home puzzled, dejected and absolutely undone. While telling his wife what had just happened he is hurried away to Esther’s banquet? The king again asked, “Queen Esther, now what is your petition?

Esther tells the king the dire news that her people are going to be destroyed. The fickle forgetful King Xerxes asks, “Who would dare do such a thing? Esther replies, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”  The king is enraged and Haman begs Esther for his life. Ironically the king hangs him on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai.

God appointed promotion
King Xerxes promotes Mordecai and replaces Haman as his new chief of staff. Esther reminds the king that his edict is still in force and weeps and begs the king to rescind his kingdom wide edict to annihilate the Jews.  Xerxes revokes his edict and the Jews are miraculously delivered. Let the party begin!

In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. Esther 8:17

An entire nation was saved because a young woman said yes to a bigger purpose than her life of safety, security and wealth. That was her day. One day it will be yours.

You are here for a particular reason
Maybe you wonder why you are where you are, but you’re here for a particular purpose. It may not seem to be as dramatic as Esther, but like Esther you will have God appointed opportunities.

Your life is part of a much BIGGER story – God’s story
Conditions for the Jews were far from ideal. They were dismal. They we’re in exile thousands of miles from home and in danger of losing their culture and language and no corporate place of worship. In the book of Esther God is not even named, he’s off stage, you can’t see Him, but He is the main character.

Things are not what they seem. God shows up in unlikely places like a manger, a cross, at your work, at your home, in your life. God is present! As in Esther’s life God is sovereignly at work behind the scenes in your life. Who knows what He has in store for you “for such a time as this”?

You have a crucial role to play
What is your role in the Story? The only one that can tell you that is the Author.  Ask Him to show you what He intends for you and what you are to do. Don’t underestimate your role in the everyday stuff of life. 

These are desperate times and people need grace from you and I. Grace is found where God is found, in the pressure points of life. And even in a very broken world, grace and deliverance can be found in one opportunity at a time.

Mark

Get Back Your Freedom and Dignity

To better understand the essence of self- control we need to see the connection between freedom and dignity.  When we lose or damage our dignity by philosophy, someone, something or by ourselves we can feel deeply humiliated. Several humiliated and oppressed people groups have developed from centuries of human slavery to the Taliban and have left their undeniable marks on our world.

There is an old story that Abraham Lincoln went down to the slave block to buy back a slave girl. As she looked at the white man bidding on her, she figured he was another white man, going to buy her and then abuse her. He won the bid and as he was walking away with his property, he said, "Young lady, you are free."

She said, "What does that mean?"

"It means you are free."

“Does that mean," she said, "that I can say whatever I want to say?"

Lincoln said, "Yes, my dear, you can say whatever you want to say."

"Does that mean," She said, "That I can be whatever I want to be?"

Lincoln said, "Yes, you can be whatever you want to be."

"Does that mean I can go wherever I want to go?"

He said, "Yes, you can go wherever you want to go."

With tears streaming down her face, she said, "Then I will go with you."

Like this young lady we are given a choice to be free. God want s us to be free.
Like the Hebrews we don’t want to go back to Egypt do we? Like the freed lion we don’t want to be reintroduced to the cage. We want to stay free. Free from the things that kept us enslaved and stuck.

We need to be aware of the subtle temptations to cave into the things that once kept us enslaved. What are you allowing to have control over you? What desire, activity, substance or environment has a tendency to lure you into its trap? What is it you cave into? Who is it? What is it? Name it. Why can’t you say no?

Biblical self-control is not self-mastery or your strong will power. Biblical self-control is empowered by God’s spirit who wants to heighten our determination to STAY FREE!

We need to fight for our freedom by making the choices that God wants for us. Most of us have the freedom to choose many things, but some of those choices are definitely not the best for us.

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.  1 Corinthians 6:12

Regain or retain your freedom and dignity by making four choices
Firstly, run when you need to!

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2:22

Nobody is exempt from going backwards, we all have weaknesses, character defects and blind spots. Whether it’s a person, place or thing that will take you to places you will regret later you need to leave. Don’t go there. Don’t rationalize or justify, just flee.

Secondly, allow God to change your heart
The story of our lives involves our hearts. True lasting change is a work of the heart not merely an outward appearance. As Solomon said, “The heart is the well spring of life.” So much of who we are originates from our hearts, whether it’s our dreams, passion, disappointment, genuineness, love or fulfillment.

When we are deeply hurt by betrayal, abuse or deep neglect our hearts become calloused, hard, stunted, resentful and defensive. Sadly, over time our hearts begin to close. As a result we can unintentionally disengage our hearts by medicating themselves with all manner of empty trivial pursuits.

This elusive pursuit produces a kind of numbness in our hearts and we unknowingly miss out on God’s best for us.  We wonder where did the joy go and we become hindered to see ourselves and others realistically. As the blind Helen Keller said, “It is better to see with you heart than to have two eyes and see nothing.”

God has so much more for you and me. He wants to change our hearts from the inside out and desires us to participate with Him by making life giving choices.

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2
Join us next time for the two other life giving choices.

Songs of Hope - Zechariah's Song

Songs can leave an impact upon us. Songs can change things. Most of us sing when things are going great, but what if they’re not, can we still sing? In the last blog we saw that Mary could sing after receiving very startling and overwhelming news.

When you love someone you might want to sing to them. Sometimes parents sing silly songs to their young children. I used to sing Sinatra’s ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ to my daughter Sara as we danced and I held her in my arms. Over the years it became ‘our’ song.

Were all marked by songs aren’t we? Certain songs stand out when were celebrating or grieving. Some songs bring back memories or can bring us to tears. Zechariah sang a song from the depths of his heart that had to with his son John the Baptist and hope of Israel. 

Imagine the old Jewish priest Zechariah singing to his son John? Maybe John like my daughter would say,”sing it again dad, sing it again.” Maybe Jesus would tell his mom, “Sing it again mom, please.”

Maybe while John was growing up Zechariah told his son, “Your heavenly father might ask you some day to do something really hard?” We know that John’s mission “to prepare the way of the Lord” was not an easy one, especially when your diet includes eating honey and locusts.

Miraculously (both well beyond childbearing) Zech’s wife gave birth to their son John and they were both very excited to say the least! At his birth Zech broke out into his celebrative song, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:  “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed his people.” Luke 1:67-68

Notice Zech’s three words about Israel’s long awaited Messiah, ‘He has come’ Jn.1:1-4,14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God is with us) Isaiah 7:14.

After years of waiting, God’s divine visitation had ‘finally’ come to Israel just as God had promised! Israel had been wondering when their God would speak again? After four hundred years of silence since the prophet Malachi spoke God fulfilled His promise as he said He would!

How long have you been waiting for something or someone?  

Maybe you’re in a long cold winter of waiting and are feeling kind of hopeless and losing your sense of purpose? Then, you need hear Zech’s chorus, ’He has come!’ 

He has come and revealed His Son to show His extravagant love to you! He wants to assure you that He knows everything about you and cares about you. You are His work of art that is yet to be completed!

Perhaps we’ve become cold and numb and in desperate need of a touch from God? Maybe we’re feeling guilty about something we’ve gotten into? Maybe we're worried about our future? Once again we need to hear Zech’s words, ’He has come to redeem His people’ to give us hope for today and our future.

In the midst of our winter of discontent sometimes we can’t see clearly. We might not even be able to see our own reality. We might be blinded by our own grief and tears. If so, hear the encouraging words of Isaiah.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16

When things seem hopeless and uncertain be encouraged that, ’He has come’ for you too! He has come to bring light into your darkness.  Jesus came to live and die for you so that you could truly know Him and be His now and forever!  Now, that is something to sing about don’t you think?

Everyone sings something. So, what will your song be? May you be reminded this winter that Zechariah’s chorus ‘HE HAS COME’ can be “your song” too!

Your comments and thoughts are always appreciated

Merry Christmas,

Mark 
mark@markskalberg.com

I'm Flying

There are times in life when we need people to believe in us. We need people to tell us, “you can make it, you can do it.” We need people to cheer us on and encourage us. This is one of those stories…

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was raised in an orphanage.

The little boy had always wished that he could fly like a bird. It was very difficult for him to understand why he could not fly. There were birds at the zoo that were much bigger than he, and they could fly. "Why can't I?" he thought. "Is there something wrong with me?" he wondered.

There was another little boy who was crippled. He had always wished that he could walk and run like other little boys and girls. "Why can't I be like them?" he thought.

One day the little orphan boy, who had wanted to fly like a bird, ran away from the orphanage. He came upon a park where he saw the little boy, who could not walk or run, playing in the sandbox.

He ran over to the little boy and asked him if he had ever wanted to fly like a bird.

"No," said the little boy who could not walk or run. "But I have wondered what it would be like to walk and run like other boys and girls."

"That is very sad," said the little boy who wanted to fly. "Do you think we could be friends?" he said to the little boy in the sandbox.

"Sure," said the little boy.

The two little boys played for hours. They made sand castles and made really funny sounds with their mouths. Sounds which made them laugh real hard. Then the little boy's father came with a wheelchair to pick up his son. The little boy who had always wanted to fly ran over to the boy's father and whispered something into his ear.

"That would be OK," said the man.

The little boy who had always wanted to fly like a bird ran over to his new friend and said, "You are my only friend and I wish that there was something that I could do to make you walk and run like other little boys and girls. But I can't. But there is something that I can do for you."

The little orphan boy turned around and told his new friend to slide up onto his back. He then began to run across the grass. Faster and faster he ran, carrying the little crippled boy on his back. Faster and harder he ran across the park. Harder and harder he made his legs travel. Soon the wind just whistled across the two little boys' faces.

The little boy's father began to cry as he watched his beautiful little crippled son flapping his arms up and down in the wind, all the while yelling at the top of his voice,

"I'M FLYING, DADDY. I'M FLYING!"

by Roger Kiser Sr.

 

Think about someone you know that needs some encouragement today? Someone who needs someone to believe in them?  Now, go out there and encourage someone, “just do it!”  

Your comments and thoughts are always appreciated.

With Hope,

Mark
mark@markskalberg.com

Suicide Bomber Changes Her Mind

Millions hope that the cease fire between Israel and Hamas will hold. The deeply imbedded issues behind this conflict will eventually be addressed. After decades of conflict both sides do not trust each other and have understandable doubt that they will be able to come to a lasting peace agreement.

Many if not most political commentators and scholars agree that an immediate cease fire was desperately needed for both sides, but continually say that real change is not possible.

In desperate situations many people take stances that, “nothing is going to change” or “that person will never change, it’s not possible.” While that perspective may be true for some, but not for Arin Ahmed, a twenty year old Palestinian terrorist.  

In 2002, Arin Ahmed, age 20, in order to pass as a young Israeli woman was told to wear tight pants and a short shirt exposing a bare midriff. She did what she was told. She was on her way to the Israeli city of Rishon le-Zion. After writing a farewell letter to her family she put on her backpack containing a bomb.

Arin, who expected to undergo several months of preparation, was summoned to carry out an attack only four days after she had expressed her will to be a martyr. "Congratulations," a militant told her as if she had just won the lottery. "We've chosen you. You are going to do a suicide bombing."

“I was in shock. I never imagined it could happen so fast. I thought they would teach me about weapons and things like that. They told me, you'll gain a very special status among the women suicide bombers. You'll be a real heroine.”

Arin was part of a double suicide bombing operation. Arin and her partner Issa Badir had been introduced only that day, came from the outskirts of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank with the aim to kill as many Jews as possible. Arin and Issa carried their black backpacks into the densely populated city just south of Tel Aviv.

Arin, fortunately, suddenly got cold feet and an unexpected warm heart. The would-be suicide bomber looked into the faces of the crowd and saw not hateful Jews, but an aging grandmother, a gurgling baby, a loving father, and a teenager who looked like a Jewish friend she once had.

"I suddenly understood what I was about to do and I said to myself how can I do such a thing? I changed my mind. Issa also had second thoughts, but they managed to convince him to go ahead. I saw him go and blow himself up." She ran back to her two handlers cowering in a car and told them she was scratching her mission. They were furious, of course. Her disappointed handlers glumly drove her back to Bethlehem. They asked her to carry out another mission in Jerusalem, but she refused.

We know Arin's story because several days later Israeli security forces arrested her and her accomplices, members of the military (and terrorist) arm of Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah organization. She's was an Israeli jail, where Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer visited her to try to learn how typical was she and what drives people to kill innocent civilians?

How many like her want to change their minds, but can't? Is there a point of no return? If so, where is it?

"Mr. Minister," she asked of Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, "what will become of me? I have no future. I don't want my whole life to be ruined because of this. I didn't do anything. Don't forget that. I didn't do it. I changed my mind. Please let me out."

Arin spent seven years behind bars for planning the attack and was released in February 2009. She has no regrets about aborting the bombing. When she emerged from prison she said, "Everything is
changing and continuing in a way or another, but you have to go forward."

Today, Arin gives lectures at universities about why “she changed her mind.”This surprising
conversation was documented by a reporter for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. For the full audio
and word transcript click here.

It’s encouraging to know people can change! There’s real hope for you and those you know. God has been changing hearts and minds of people and nations for thousands of years.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

The God that changes not, changes everything!  Let's be grateful that His love for you and I will
never change! That’s one thing we can count on!

With Hope,

Mark
mark@markskalberg.com

Johnny The Bagger

A true story as told by Barbara Glanz

A few years ago I was hired by a large Supermarket chain to lead a customer service program – to build customer loyalty. During my speech I said, “Every one of you can make a difference and create memories for your customers that will motivate them to come back.” How?

“Put your personal signature on the job. Think about something you can do for your customer to make them feel special – a memory that will make them come back.” About a month after I had spoken I received a phone call from a 19 year old bagger names Johnny. He proudly informed me he was a down syndrome individual and told me his story.

“I liked what you talked about,” he said, “but at first I didn’t think I could do anything special for our customers. After all I’m just a bagger. Then I had an idea,” Johnny said,
“every night after work, I’d come home and find a thought for the day. If I can’t find a saying I like,” he added, “I’d just think one up.”

When Johnny had a good thought for the day, his dad helped him set it up on the computer and print multiple copies. Johnny cut out each quote and signed the back. Then he’d bring them to work the next day.
“When I finish bagging someone’s groceries, I put my thought for the day in their bag and say, thanks for shopping with us.”

It touched me to think that this young man – with a job most people would say is not important – had made it important by creating precious memories for all of his customers. A month later the store manager called me….

“You won’t believe what happened. When I was making my rounds today, I found Johnny’s checkout line was three times longer than anyone else’s. It went all the way down the frozen food aisle. So I quickly announced, 'we need more cashiers; get more lanes open.' As I tried to get people to change lanes no one would move." 

They said, “No that’s OK – we want to be in Johnny’s lane. We want his thought for the day.”

The store manager continued, “It was a joy to watch Johnny delight the customers.”
“I got a lump in my throat when one woman said, “I used to shop at your store once a week, but now I come by every time I go by, because I want to get Johnny’s thought for the day.”

A few months later the manager called me again.

“Johnny has transformed our store. Now when the floral department has a broken flower or unused corsage, they find and elderly women or a little girl and pin it on them. Everyone has had a lot of fun creating memories.

Our customers are talking about us… they’re coming back and bringing their friends.”

A wonderful spirit of service spread throughout the entire store…all because Johnny’s chose to make a difference.

Johnny’s idea wasn’t nearly as innovative as it was loving. It came from his heart – it was real. That’s what touched the customers, his peers…and those who read this story.

How about you? What’s your thought for the day? How can you inspire someone in your every day encounters? If Johnny can do it so can you! Now go out there and give’m heaven!

Your comments are always appreciated.

Mark
mark@markskalberg.com