Babies Cry?

Growing up I was/am the youngest in my family. And by “family” I mean extended. With the exception of one cousin that lived in another state, on both my mom and dad’s respective sides I was the youngest of the children and grandchildren. This means a few things. I have a permanent seat at the proverbial “kids’ table” for family holidays. Looking at family photo albums is an event full of reminiscing on how cute the babies were, soon followed by the comment, “What happened?” But most of all, being the youngest meant that growing up I had little to no exposure to babies. So the experience of having a baby of my own was somewhat similar to be awoken with a bucket of ice water; something I figured the universe would naturally prepare me for, and yet didn’t.

But that’s okay, people are either startlingly quick or slow learners, and in this case I picked up most aspects of infantile fatherhood fairly easily and just in time for him to no longer be an infant. One shocking realization for me (to reiterate, no expose to babies growing up) was the quantity of crying and the vast amount of things they could be crying about. But like I said, you learn and figure it out. And tears turn quickly to giggles and you make up remedies for their crying and being a parent really is an incredible God-created joy.

As he grows, however, I’ve noticed Boston, my son, cries less because of things that have yet to happen and more because of things that have happened. Rather than being upset because he’s waiting for something, it is because something has already happened that he’s coping with. And around our house, with the perpetual motion that is my son, that thing that has happened usually centers around a brand new bruise, bump, scrape, or even the seldom drop or two of blood. He’s crawling everywhere and taking his first few steps without mom or dad, so he inevitably sustains some small injury from getting from here to there.

As I read the gospels I like to look at the people that impress Jesus. I think this is a funny thought because Jesus was the guy that impressed the cosmos. He’s God’s gift to creation. He’s the crown jewel. So how could anyone or anything impress him? Yet, whether it was great faith in a Roman centurion or a chronically ill woman or the blind and the poor, Jesus made it a point to tell people when they impressed him. And if they impressed Jesus I want to be like those individuals. And Jesus seems awfully impressed by children. Heaven belongs to them, Jesus said. And unless we become like children heaven will always remain a dream for us. I watch my son with great reverence because somewhere between his shaky first step and his messy methods of feeding himself is the key to eternal life. Between sleepless nights for him and chasing our dog, lies the most sought after secret in history. And I want what my son has, because it was important to Jesus and it impressed him.

So as Boston tears through the house either on his hands and knees or his newly discovery feet and legs he will find something to run into that will start up that crying thing again. And without a doubt he will cry at every little bump or scrape or whatever, often times, I think, just so someone will come hold him, reassure him he’ll be okay, and set him back down with his confidence intact. And I watch him cry at every bump and bonk and look at myself and realize that the older I get the less I notice being hurt. It’s funny how frequently someone has to tell me, “Chris, I think you’re bleeding.” Which just strikes me as funny, because, shouldn’t I of all people know that? Yet I don’t.

And there’s something in Boston that impresses Jesus (besides his obvious cuteness), and I think one reason is because the little children recognize when they are hurt and want someone else to come make it better. I don’t notice as much anymore when I am hurt on the outside, but more often still I don’t notice when I’m hurt on the inside, when my soul is damaged. And if I do notice, I’m sure I can fix it myself. And I think part of this is the bitter sweetness of experience. While experience is a great teacher, it can sometimes make us cynical or numb. Because our souls and hearts have endured so much injury already, we don’t notice the pain so much anymore. In spiritual matters that are chronic in our lives, we sometimes say, “Well, it went away on it’s own last time, maybe it will this time too,” but no healing or reconciliation is ever sought.

Pain is such a new frontier for children that they don’t realize what is fatal and what is miniscule, and every injury requires immediate medical attention from mommy or daddy. And I watch Boston and I’m impressed by him and I know Jesus is too, because Boston knows that he doesn’t know how to treat his injuries, big or small, and someone else is much more fit to bandage his wounds. And I look at myself, often times unimpressed, because I don’t notice my pain so much anymore and don’t cry out for help even if I do. Because Jesus would love to bring me health and healing and fix the brokenness.

May you notice the pain. May you notice the brokenness in your life. I find it interesting that scripture notes several instances of Jesus healing people with infirmities of the senses; the blind, deaf, mute, and lepers (a disease that cripples the sense of physical touch). Is this because God knew one day his church would be full of people who have damaged spiritual senses, that Christ could heal? Eyes to see but are blind. Ears to hear, but cannot. We spend buckets of money trying to avoid pain and gobble up versions of the gospel that claim to take the pain out of following Jesus, but I read scripture and over and over it reminds me that there should be pain and a faith absent of pain is weak or fake! I want to know when I’m spiritually bleeding, I want to notice the pain for what it is and not brush it off or “rub some dirt on it,” and I want to cry out for Christ to come make it better! Funny how Jesus rebukes those who were blind and deaf and didn’t know it, but honors those who have the faith to admit it and seek healing at all costs. May you notice the pain. May you find the healer.

Chris Palmer
Stephenville, Texas

My Words, Too, Lord

As wildfires continue to devour thousands upon thousands of Texas land, wildlife, livestock and even human  life, many have suffered tremendous loss. Father, protect and strengthen the firefighters who labor to extinguish the fires.  Comfort and strengthen those who have suffered loss.  Please send rain on our land.

I’m reminded of the convicting truth from James 3:  

5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

7For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.

8But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;

10from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

It only takes a spark to begin a forest fire.  The tongue is such a small part of the body, but is capable of horrific power and devastation.  Just yesterday, I spoke words unbecoming for a Christian, at the time it seemed only harmless humor.  As the hours passed and my mind pondered the words, my heart became heavy with shame for careless words spoken.

How quickly our words can spread flames that may incinerate the landscape of our relationships.  The damage is done.  Unlike a wildfire, the prairie or field often return greener and cleaner.  But, the destruction of careless words can cause pain over and over again-spoken only once. Restoration may be possible through humility, forgiveness, love and grace.

Fire also enhances our lives through warmth on a cold winter night, or cooking the meal enjoyed around a campfire. Similarly, our tongues can and should be instruments of instruction and inspiration, encouragement and edification.  Words, I believe, are directly connected to the condition of the heart.  May our words be in worship and praise of our LORD and an inspiration to those around us.  

Most Gracious Heavenly Father, bathe my heart and mouth in Your love and grace.  For in the moments I speak careless or hurtful words, Your Spirit is not reigning in my heart.  Help me

 in this weakness.  May confession be my desire when I do fail to rein in my words and motives.  Mold me into a quiet spirit full of Your love.  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, O God.  Thank You, Father, for the gift of Jesus.  In His name, Amen.

Mischelle Oliver

Stephenville, Texas

With Eyes Wide-Open

Josh Bell is one of most renowned violinists in the world.  Several months ago he dressed up in street clothes and played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes in a busy Metro station in Washington D. C.  During that time only 6 people stopped to listen to him play.  No one knew that he is one of the top musicians in the world.  Or, that he played the six pieces on a violin valued at over 3.5 million dollars.  Or, that two days earlier he played to a sold out Boston crowd where seats averaged $100.  They just didn’t notice.  But, they caught the train on time! 

I wonder if we think about our life together in Christian community after a similar fashion?  Someone remarked the other day, “I think a lot of believers have reached critical mass in how they think about their faith – how they see themselves and those who are in journey with them.  We have developed a line of sight and a range of hearing that has reduced our vision of who we are in Christ down to something very predictable and ordinary. And, our lives look like it.” 

I want to encourage you to so something right now:  Read Ephesians 2:14-3:11.

The truth?  There is a fair amount of distance between how we typically think about the church and the vision of the church Paul describes in the book of Ephesians. 

Living with focus, zeal and courage is essentially a matter of “seeing” the church in the right perspective.  Can church become a drag?  Yes.  Is it hard sometimes.  Yes.  We’ve all had moments when we wanted to run for the hills.  We listen to the news, see brokenness in the streets and wonder if anything we do matters.  Pretty soon we just focus on “catching whatever trains are in our daily routines” and we miss the bigger picture of what is right in front of us. 

I need to be reminded that God is working through the church to demonstrate what reconciliation looks like and what a community of “rescued, healed, and Christ-formed people looks like as the Holy Spirit is able to do His work in our lives.  I need to be reminded that our word of faith and lives of faith matter because God is working through us to advance His purposes in our faithful moments.    

This past Sunday I preached a message from the Ephesians text I referred to above.  At the conclusion of the message I asked everybody to recite the following words with me. 

Today I am a participant in God’s magnificent work in Christ.

As such my life is a witness

…to the truth and sovereignty of the gospel,

…to powers both visible and invisible,

…and to every human being I meet.

Consequently, I will honor the believing community

by giving them my love, respect and service to the best of my ability.

This is my privilege and my calling.

Just imagine what our lives, families, leaderships, congregations might look like if we would intentionally reflect on these words EVERYDAY and make a concerted effort to embody the message they convey?  How would it transform how we see life in general? What would happen in our conversations?  What attitudes would prevail in meetings?  How would it change our congregations?  It’s truly fantastic because it puts “us” in the right perspective.  We would actually meet each day with our eyes “wide-open” to the truth that God is working His purposes THROUGH US.  Hallelujah!



Father, thank you for these words from the book of Ephesians.  We want to live awake in the Spirit and alert to what you are doing in the world through the gospel and through your people.  May we be carriers of this kind of faith everywhere we go.  Because of Jesus who has made all things possible….Amen 

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas 

What Do You See When You Look in the MIrror?

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Phillipians 2:5-8.

We live three lives:  the person we think we are, the person others think we are, and the person God knows us to be because He made us.

Without a solid sense of self, we’re like a ball of play dough.  We roll through life until all our colors get mixed together then find ourselves with a dull gray identity crisis.  There’s always a tension between the flawed person we know we are, the façade we show others, and the elusive, better person we want to be.

In a spirit of self-reflection, who are you really?  How would a clearer sense of self impact your lifestyle and relationships?  If you truly understood who God made you to be, how would it affect the way others see you and, more importantly, how you feel about yourself?

Being created in the image of God was a benign concept to me.  Nice words hinting at a mysterious spiritual future, but not particularly useful in the struggles of everyday life.  Until I took a fresh look at that little baby born in Bethlehem long ago whose birth changed the world forever.  Jesus the Christ – God in human form.

Jesus’ life is our model for living and explains our purpose for being here.  His sacrificial love – which included dying in our place – guarantees for us a life of everlasting joy.  We, like Jesus, were created in the image of God!  Why would we pretend to be anything else?

Father God, it’s almost frightening to contemplate how wonderfully you made us, how easily we can fulfill your purpose for our life because of your power in us, and how glorious is our future because Jesus lived and died to ensure it for us.  Please defeat our plans and inclinations to be anything other than who you made us to be.      

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas

Two Bits an Hour

As a young boy on our family’s cotton farm in Lynn County at New Home, Texas, I hoed  a lot of weeds.  I had a lot of time to think, and I decided to make a request from the boss.  The boss was my Dad.  I told my Dad that I thought I should receive ‘some pay’ for my work.  He asked me if I thought ‘two bits an hour’ sounded OK.  Since I did not know how much ‘two bits’ were, I thought it sounded like a pretty good deal.  So, for the rest of the summer, my Dad paid me two bits an hour for hoeing weeds from our cotton crop.  At the end of the week, he would give me the quarters that I earned and I would put them in a drawer.  I was proud of the drawer full of quarters in my room.  I would look at them and count them and hold them in my hands.  The quarters represented my hard work.  The quarters were a source of pride.  They were a reason for boasting.

In Philippians 3, Paul writes about his source of boasting before he became a Christian.  Paul was proud of his heritage.  He was born an Israelite, circumcised on the 8th day, of the tribe of Benjamin, and a Hebrew of Hebrews.  In addition, he was a Pharisee.  He was also proud of his zeal and his blameless law-keeping.

There are many sources of pride and boasting for us as humans.  We may take pride in our looks or our athletic ability or our education.  It may be a special skill or our wealth.  But, Scripture reminds us that our ONLY ground for boasting as Christians is Jesus our Redeemer.  

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:26-31)

It was many years ago when I earned ‘two bits an hour’ in a cotton field.  Unfortunately, in my spiritual life, I looked at my personal works of righteousness as a source of boasting before God for many years.  I am grateful that I now realize that the only ground for boasting SPIRITUALLY is the grace of God—His mercy and forgiveness.

Father, thank you for paying the price for my sins at Calvary.  Help me to live in grateful service.

   

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas