‘He Will Come Again As You Saw Him Go’

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming, One day the skies with His glory will shine; Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing; Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!
Living, He loved me; dying; He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away;                          

Rising, He justified freely forever:  One day He's coming oh, glorious day!

Jesus made ‘an incredible journey’ to this earth.  He left the splendors of heaven knowing His destiny was the lonely hill of Golgotha to lay down His life for us.  He set His face toward Jerusalem, knowing that pain and rejection and suffering awaited Him there.  He completed His journey when he ascended to heaven.

Just before Jesus left this earth, He charged His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for power—the Holy Spirit that had been promised by God.  They were charged with being His witnesses throughout the world.  AND, THEN, BEFORE THEIR EYES, JESUS ASCENDED INTO THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.  

When I think about Jesus’ return to heaven, I am reminded of the story Jesus told about the son who left his home.  We call the story, The Parable of the Prodigal Son.  In that story, Jesus tells about the celebration that happened when the son finally returned home.  When Jesus finally arrived back in heaven, there must have been a gigantic celebration.  Revelation 5 describes scenes from heaven where thousands and ten thousands of angels fall before Jesus and sing about what He accomplished here on earth.  Just imagine how they celebrated when He arrived back home again.

On the day of His departure, immediately after His ascension, two angels appeared and they asked the apostles, ‘Why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’  When asked by Caiaphas at His trial, ‘Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’, Jesus answered, ‘Yes, and in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.’
ONE DAY HE’S COMING, OH GLORIOUS DAY.

Prayer:  Father, every day, may we look forward to the coming of Your Son back to our world to redeem us.  Lord Jesus, come!          

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas

“I Want to Go Home”

Jesus said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me.  There are many rooms in my Father's house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.

Jesus answered, "If people love me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  John 14:1-3, 23

When I was 5 years old I went to my grand-parents’ house along with one of my cousins.  It was great fun playing with my cousin in Papa Charlie’s mechanic shop and eating Grandmothers snicker-doodle cookies.  As it became late in the day and darkness approached I felt uneasy and my stomach began to hurt.  Not like when you’re sick, but when you’re nervous, anxious, and uneasy.  As Grandmother started my cousin and me towards bed I made it known with a wail “I want to go home”.  Fun and games were over.  No matter how much my grand-parents tried to calm me nothing else would satisfy my longing.  I still remember the relief I felt as Papa Charlie drove me home.  When was the last time you felt that deep longing and yearning for home?  That same feeling I felt as darkness set on my grand-parents’ house is the way I felt when I had to leave home to start first grade.  It is how I felt when my dad left to work away from home.  It is how I felt when I left home to start college.  It is how I felt when I left home to start my first job.  It is how I felt when our daughter left home for college.  It is the feeling I get already anticipating our son leaving home, though it is two years away.  When “home” is disrupted we long for the return of the comfort and peace it brings.  Our family experiences, the joy, satisfaction, and contentment of living and experiencing life with those we love makes “home” so emotionally important and so deeply imbedded into our being.  

As followers of Christ the feeling of “home” is a powerful connection in our relationship with our heavenly Father.  God knew words couldn’t describe what is in store for those He loves, so He gave us something here on earth for a taste.  Something tangible we could grasp that is probably as close as we can understand.  It’s as if the Lord has prepared our hearts to substitute that longing for home to longing for Him.  Our affection for home becomes inter-twined with our relationship with God himself.  As strong as we feel for our earthly father and mother, our brothers and sisters, our husbands and wives, our children and grand- children the Spirit tells us "as good as this is I have something better in store for you".   As we spend more time with our Father here the delight of those moments is so rich and satisfying we long for more.   And we come to realize the home we so long for resides in Him.  It is what He planned all along.  See Him in your longings for home.  Know that this is God himself calling us to joy unimaginable and peace that passes understanding.  

Lord, my soul longs for You.  Continue to guide me to You.  Show me the way.   Nothing compares to You.  Amen.

Scotty Elston
Shallowater, Texas

Your Couch is on Fire

I don't know if I'm a slow learner or if it takes all of us well into our adulthood to know and figure out our spiritual gifts.

I'm trying to prevent this in my children -- and verbalize what spiritual gifts I see in them. I'm not much of a visionary, so it's up to them to hear how God wants to use it in their lives, but I do think identifying your own gifts is the first step.

Partly because some vague gifts we don't realize that other people don't have.

So it is with my own gift of discernment.

In trying to put words to how I consider this, I began to think about each of us as a house -- no, not AS BIG AS a house. But each of us, our beings, our souls, what makes us who we are, is a house.

I think most people spend most of their relationships on the front porch. Not in the “sit on the front porch and rock” good kind of way. In the “I don’t really want you in my house, so let’s stand on the porch and talk about the weather, my landscaping, good movies, other people, and how awesome my kids are” kind of way.

I'm learning that a few people don't ever go into their own homes at all -- too painful, perhaps, too disorderly... but they simply can't walk in there at all. Not even in the quiet of their own thoughts.

So there they are on the porch. I stroll by, seeing how our relationship is going.

This is where my discernment has gotten me in trouble more times than I care to think about.

Discernment allows me to see in your windows. Not necessarily all the way to your junk closet -- but I can tell if you have a junk closet or not, and if it's bulging at the hinges or if you clean it out periodically. I can peek into parts of your house you may already know but don't want to talk about... or you may have no idea because you don't want to know.

Being helpful, I think you should know:

"Um... your couch is on fire... would you like some help putting that out? I'll go with you to get water, call the fire department... I'll even help you pick out a new couch!"

"What??" you reply. "I don't have a couch! Don't be ridiculous! Hey, did you see the new flip flops I got? Did you hear about the awesome award my kid got? What about that new TV series? Aren't you watching it?"

"Uh... yeah... all those things are great. But, seriously. Your couch? Totally ablaze in there. Can I help you with that?"

And now I have crossed the line. Because people who don't go inside their own houses don't want to hear about what's going on in there. And they give me all kinds of reasons that I may THINK their couch may be on fire, but it actually isn't. And our relationship is quite icy from there on out.

Just as we have to teach children it's rude to look into other people's windows, so we must teach those with discernment to play the game and pretend not to see... until the person is ready to see. It's rude to look into other people's windows. Not everyone is ready for what is in there.

“Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” 1 Cor. 14:12

Sarah Stirman

McKinney, Texas

The Wheelchair: A Metaphor

My brother, Steve Greek, was a missionary to the deaf population in Kenya, East Africa for about twelve years.  He and his wife Claudia now live in Pioneer, Tennessee (I believe because the Appalachians in Tennessee are as close to Kenya as he can achieve in the United States), where they are school teachers.  Most summers, Steve and Claudia return to Kenya for several weeks to assist with the continued missionary work they began many years ago.  Following is a story from a culture not like our fast-paced United States but still recognizable world-wide by other Christians. I just received the story from Steve via email.  His accompanying email message was as follows:

“I am walking around rural Kenya with a laptop in front of me searching for a network signal as if I am looking for water with a divining rod.  People are polite, but I think they are thinking wazungu are crazy.”  The story followed and I am just attaching his message entitled The Wheelchair: A Metaphor because I believe it is important for all of us to realize the far-reaching effects of our efforts to spread the Good News.

Kimani gave me a bear hug.  A slight, middle aged man of about 115 pounds, he surprised me with this display of affection, or appreciation, or simple joy at seeing an old friend.  His wife stood beside him holding one daughter in her arms while her other daughter gripped her skirt and stared up at my Mzungu (caucasion) face.  Kimani took the child from his wife’s arms so she could greet me.  Hers was also a warm greeting.  I was surprised when she touched the left side of her face to my right cheek and repeated the action on the other side of my face.  This is a relatively new greeting that is used in Christian communities and among very close friends.  Both of them stepped back and reached for my hand to initiate a more traditional greeting of a very warm and aggressive handshake.

After swinging our hands back and forth for about thirty seconds with prolonged eye contact, Kimani motioned to his two daughters.  After releasing our hand clasp, we were able to communicate through Kenyan Sign Language.  Both parents are deaf.  One of the daughters speaks Swahili, Kikuyu, and is now learning English in preschool.  Her twin sister was deprived of oxygen at birth, and some profound mental and physical impairments have become apparent since her traumatic entry into the world of her hearing impaired parents.  When I grabbed Kimani’s daughter’s palsied hand with a Swahili greeting of “Habari!” she smiled a bright, beautiful smile that spoke her answer, “Nzuri! (Good!)  The whole family was attending the annual KDPL (Kenya Deaf Prayer and Learning) meeting being hosted by Sam’s Place near Rongo, Kenya.  

They were excited to see Claudia and me for a number of reasons.  We are old friends! We have known Charles Kimani for over twenty years having worshiped together at a deaf church in Eldoret, Kenya years ago.  But also, they associate us with the purchase of a wheelchair for their daughter.  Ironically, Claudia and I did not pay for the wheelchair, but we received all of the thanks!  Last year, when we received the request for this assistance, we mentioned it to a few people, and within days, funds were available to buy the marvelous machine.  

It seems this story is a metaphor for most of the work that missionaries do.  We have the privilege of standing beside dear people from faraway lands, sharing good news and delivering loving gestures of kindness.  We also learn and benefit in amazing ways through extended time in these host cultures. We are able to enjoy a depth of relationship with God’s children in other lands which comes from shared experiences that are made possible by a sending church, loving friends, and dear family.  Yet those who make these interactions possible may never be able to exchange handshakes, or share meals, or sing and worship under the same roof (or tree) with all the beneficiaries of their expressions of love.  

So on behalf of Kimani and his wife, their children and their friends, and our new brothers and sisters in Kenya, we give thanks to all those who have supported the work among the deaf and hearing people of this beautiful country.  Thank you for the wheelchair! Thank you for supporting the National Meeting of the Deaf and sharing the financial burden of a Gospel Meeting in Marera. Thank you for your participation in a women’s meeting in Bwaliro.  Thank you for 200 Bibles that present holy scriptures to people in their native language (Dholuo). Thank you for feeding hundreds of people, caring for widows and orphans, facilitating employment possibilities, and sharing Good News of eternal life through Jesus the Savior.  You are vessels of mercy, the instruments through which Christ-like love is flowing to the people of Kenya and all of God’s creation so that Jesus will be “a blessing to all nations.”  Asante Sana!  (Thank you very much!)

Steve and Claudia Greek

Steve and Claudia are not supported by Graham Street Church of Christ, but several other missionaries do receive assistance for their special works.  We rarely witness the changes in lives that result from our monetary contributions, but they are extensive.  I love seeing the children give their “Coins for Cargo” each Sunday morning. The children are sharing their blessings.

Dear God, Please be with us each day.  Help us to share our blessings with others who are in need!

Sherilyn Svien
Stephenville, Texas