‘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

What's the "Normal" in Your Home?

I recently read what happens everyday in your home defines what normal becomes for your family.  Things that become part of the daily rhythm are things our families will come to believe are most important.

In Deut. 6:5-9 it says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The bible is full of examples of how God used families to tell his story.  Today the Father's love can be developed through the rhythm of our busy schedules to become a normal part of our daily lives in our homes by how we pursue God, how we love our spouses and children, how we treat each other, how we spend our money, how we work, and how we communicate.

Our responsibility is to point our household in God's direction.  If we prepare our children to leave home as faithful and responsible servants, God will do the rest.

So how you doing in keeping God normal in your home?

Carla Henson
Tuscola, Texas

Patience

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

Our hurry up, need it, gotta-have-it-now culture often makes us feel there’s something wrong with waiting and that we shouldn’t have to. Within seconds we can order a hamburger, Skype with a friend across the country and text our loved one. No wonder waiting can be hard to do.

David, the author of the verse above, was no stranger to waiting and knew its difficulties full well. Out of nowhere, Samuel showed up at his home to anoint the next king of Israel, who was to be chosen from David’s family. Only one of Jesse’s sons would be anointed as God’s chosen king for His beloved Israel. The son elected was David.

Scripture tells us the Spirit of God rushed over David and was with him the remainder of his days (1 Samuel 16:13 ESV). With such an anointing, we might expect David to run to the throne. But the only running David did was back to the pasture and his job as shepherd. Thus his wait began. In the wait, God prepared David to be king. The only vocation David knew was shepherding. He did not know the ins and outs of kingly protocol or have the support of the people or armies. Instead of taking the position he was promised, David waited for God to move him from the pasture to the palace.
Waiting in the present is beneficial to our future. This is something David learned, along with many other lessons that we can find hope in during the difficulty of waiting.

1. Even though we are anointed and appointed we may still have to wait. David waited fifteen years to be king of Judah and even longer to be king of all Israel.
2. God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. After being anointed and appointed David was called to serve Saul, the king who was sitting on “his” throne.
3. God doesn’t waste time … He redeems it. The time of waiting will be used to prosper us in each season of life.
4. If we allow it, our waiting will bring us an intimate knowledge of the Savior that we would not otherwise have. Most of David’s beautiful and poetic psalms were written while in caves, caverns and the wilderness, waiting on God.
5. God doesn’t ignore the cries of His children. David cried, and at times begged God for help, invention and defense. God never let David down. He did eventually take the throne, didn’t he?
6. Our waiting has a purpose for someone other than ourselves. Just think of how rich our lives are today because of the wait David endured. We have the comfort, compassion, hope and healing of his amazing poetry. 

What awesome instructions David’s life gives for waiting! Waiting is less difficult and the future is brighter when we let God do His work in our waiting season. When we let our guard and defenses down He proves Himself faithful to bring His plans for our lives to fullness.

Dear Lord, grant me patience. Help me wait well. I want to be still and allow You to bring Your plan in my life to its fullness. I can’t do this without You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Casey Dacus
Graham, TX

Bulletproof

I want to share a story in American history that shows the hand of God working to shape a person, to lead a nation, as recorded on pages 11-13 of Toby Mac and Michael Tait’s book, “Under God” (2004).

The French and Indian War: Account of a British Officer-- July 9, 1755

    The American Indian Chief looked scornfully at the soldiers on the field before him. How foolish it was to fight as they did, forming their perfect battle lines out in the open, standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms. The British soldiers—trained for European warfare—did not break rank, even when braves fired at them from under the safe cover of the forest.  The slaughter at the Monongahela River continued for two hours. By then 1,000 of 1,459 British soldiers were killed or wounded, while only 30 of the French and Indian warriors firing at them were injured.

    Not only were the soldiers foolish, but their officers were just as bad. Riding on horseback, fully exposed above the men on the ground, they made perfect targets. One by one, the chief’s marksmen shot the mounted British officers until only one remained.

    “Quick, let your aim be certain and he dies,” the chief commanded. The warriors—a mix of Ottawa, Huron, and Chippewa tribesmen—leveled their rifles at the last officer on horseback. Round after round was aimed at this one man. Twice the officer’s horse was shot out from under him. Twice he grabbed a horse left idle when a fellow officer had been shot down. Ten, twelve, thirteen rounds were fired by the sharpshooters. Still, the officer remained unhurt.

    The native warriors stared at him in disbelief. Their rifles seldom missed their mark. The chief suddenly realized that a mighty power must be shielding this man. “Stop firing!” he commanded. “This one is under the special protection of the Great Spirit,” A brave standing nearby added, “I had seventeen clear shots at him… and after all could not bring him to the ground. This man was not born to be killed by a bullet.”

    As the firing slowed the lieutenant colonel gathered the remaining troops and led the retreat to safety. That evening, as the last of the wounded were being cared for, the officer noticed an odd tear in the arm of his coat. It was a bullet hole! Amazed he took off his coat and he found three more holes where bullets passed through his coat but stopped before they reached his body. 

    The 23 year old officer went on to become the commander in chief of the Continental Army and the first president of the United States. In all the years that followed in his long career, this man, George Washington, was never once wounded in battle.

    Fifteen years later, in 1770, George Washington returned to the same Pennsylvania woods. A respected Indian chief, having heard that Washington was in the area, traveled a long way to meet with him. He sat down with him and discussed the events of that day recalling his orders to have the officer shot and then his orders to cease fire as he realized he was under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit. He then said, “I am old and shall soon be gathered to the great council fire of my father’s in the land of the shades, but ere I go, there is something bids me speak this voice of prophecy: Listen! The Great Spirit protects you and guides your destiny—you will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail you as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.”

    This story of God’s divine protection and of Washington’s open gratitude could be found in many school textbooks until the 1930’s. Now few Americans have read it. Washington often recalled this dramatic event that helped shape his character and confirm God’s call on his life.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

Though ten thousand are dying around you,

These evils will not touch you.

Psalm 91:7 NLT

Holy Father, it strengthens our faith to hear this story of a man who you prepared to lead our nation, as you prepared Abraham to lead the Israelite nation. Thank you for your protection of our nation’s freedoms. We ask that you continue to choose men to lead this great nation and that you grant them the wisdom and the courage to lead this nation in ways that you desire.
In the name of Jesus,  Amen.

Terry Smith
Stephenville, TX.