A Moment of Hope

Hope drifted gently on the wind on a sunny Anchorage summer day recently. Hope in this case was encapsulated in millions of cottony seeds filling the air and sky from thousands of cottonwood trees. I sat suddenly awed by the meaning embedded in that commonplace annual event.


The tiny seeds of the cottonwood are surrounded by feathery material. They almost float. With a little dry warmth that breaks open their natal seed pod they burst into the wind carrying the hopes of the cottonwood tribe.

I doubt that trees have a soul, but could they be intelligent? They are certainly aware -- trees can alter their growth and turn their leaves to the sun. Could it be that there is something akin to a very slow neural network in the intricate array of moisture and nutrient pathways within plants?

Are trees capable of praising the LORD? The prophet David thought so:

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

Linda and I once arrived on the scene of a foaling minutes after a young colt was born. The mare was exhausted, but the geldings were beside themselves with excitement, even having had nothing to do with the conception of the tiny horse now bathed in early April sunlight.

Are cottonwood trees excited in their own treeish way about the hope that floats away from them as their seeds are released on the wind? Are they filled with joy and peace that they have accomplished an important part of their purpose?

It is tempting to think that we are like cottonwoods, full of joy...and hope....and fulfilled purpose as children come into the world. And it is true that children is part of the purpose of mankind. But if we put our hope in children, or parents, or spouses or friends or institutions or things, we will be disappointed. They fail. Like the seeds of the cottonwood, some take root and grow, but others fail in various ways.

The seeds of the humble cottonwood are a lesson in hope. But we are created by God at the very pinnacle of creation, and while we may delight and even hope in children, family and friends, there is for us a hope that will not fail. The apostle Paul put it this way: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can entrust our hope in Christ, because we know he cares for us.

US Fails to Halt Paramilitary Invasion on American Soil

The United States has been invaded by foreign paramilitary units, and the federal government is only making ineffective, politically correct moves to stop it.

How is it the most powerful nation on earth can successfully liberate countries a half a world away but allow heavily armed and well-equipped paramilitary units of Mexican drug cartels to occupy American soil? In Arizona today, American citizens are warned to stay out of portions of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge because of the risk of violence. Police officers in a border town are warned by Mexican drug bosses to "look the other way" or die. Paramilitary groups are even occupying permanent bases on the hills of southern Arizona to monitor US Border Patrol units.

Mr. Obama, do your job: rid our soil of foreign invaders.

Turnagain Arm Bicycle Trip

Turnagain Arm is very scenic mountain fjord southeast of Anchorage, Alaska. It is itself an arm of Cook Inlet, a deep notch in the Alaska coastline. Once only traveled by boat (tricky with the tide and mudflats) or trails, today there three ways along the north side: the Alaska Railroad, the Seward Highway and, at least along a portion of it, a bicycle path.

We started at the NW terminus of the path about 24 miles from Anchorage and rode only about 6.5 miles to Bird Point. The grades are mostly easy, as evidenced by the number of families making the trip with small children.

There are many interpretive signs about geography, geology, ecological relationships, and other natural history notes along the path. There are even more than can be seen from the Seward Highway itself. The trail is near the road in a few places, making it a bit noisy, but in other places it is pleasantly far from the highway as it wends through the woodlands above the fjord.

The mudflats below the trail look interesting, but they are dangerous and have claimed a number of lives over the years. The inrushing tide is sometimes faster than rescue for stuck hikers.

Katie and I made the 6 mile trip in about an hour, but we weren't pedaling fast, just enjoying the late spring day.

The path continues for several more miles to Girdwood.

In the days after the Resurrection

In these days following Easter, I have been wondering what must have been going on in the minds of the disciples in those days right after Christ's resurrection.

Something powerful happened -- the echos of their transformation reverberate even after 20 centuries. We know they were filled with fear at first. The Gospels report that they were behind locked doors -- probably for fear that a similar fate to Jesus' awaited them. Crosses were much too common in first century Israel to be sanguine about them.

They were also confused. Acts records that the disciples asked the risen Jesus if was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at that time. That says to me they were still trying to fit the mighty sign of resurrection into their grid of understanding.

Jesus gave them a hint of what was to come: wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit....and receive power to witness to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1) That is just what happened: the disciples who were sheep without a shepherd on Saturday turned into lions only seven weeks later.

But now, not even a week on after Jesus returned from the dead, the disciples were still trying to put all the pieces together.

That's not unlike us as we joyfully receive Jesus into the locked room of our hearts. It is wonderful to believe in His resurrection and to follow him as Lord. But, it takes the power of Pentecost; the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to receive all that God has for us as believers.

For the disciples in those days right after the resurrection, Pentecost was still weeks away.

Today, as I try to look through the veil of centuries to see into the events of those amazing days, I am reminded again that ordinary men became lions. I am reminded again that resurrection power and the power of Pentecost are available to us today as well.

Lord, let me be filled with that Power of Pentecost again and again so that I can labor faithfully as a witness wherever you call me.

Scammed

We're so accustomed to ordering items from Internet suppliers, and so accustomed to good results, the scammers at GotBody.com took us by surprise.

Several weeks ago my wife ordered some fruit and nut food bars from a company called GotBody.com They showed up quickly, we paid our bill and we thought no more of the supplier.....until unrelated charges of $29.95 and $2.97 showed up on our credit card statement. The former was for NBS * LifeFitMovers and the latter for NBS * MyCostFreedom (Cost Smashers).

We didn't order either of these "services"....or so we thought. On investigation, it appears that even my sharp-eyed wife missed the "fine print" on the checkout form at GotBody.com that said we were signing up for these services unless we unchecked a check box, or something of the sort. Turns out that many others have had similar complaints about GotBody.com.

I called the toll free number of the suppliers and asked them to cancel the subscription. I then called Bank of America where we have had our VISA for many years. They removed the charges, and told me that similar scams happen all the time. They said it was a lucky thing the bogus charge was only $29.95....often they are $149.95.

Lesson learned: stick with reputable sellers, and check the fine print carefully on checkout forms. As for the supplier, after the bad experience at GotBody.com we won't be back.

More C.T. Studd: Hot, Lively Heroes for Christ

The difficulty is to believe that He can deign to use such scallywags as us, but of course He wants Faith and Fools rather than talents and culture. All God wants is a heart, any old turnip will do for a head; so long as we are empty, all is well, for then He fills with the Holy Ghost. The fiery baptism of the Holy Ghost will change soft, sleek Christians into hot, lively heroes for Christ, who will advance and fight and die, but not mark time.

C.T. Studd 1860-1931

Snatching men from the very jaws of hell

"Christ's call is to feed the hungry, not the full; to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; not to call the scoffers, but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to raise living churches of souls among the destitute, to capture men from the devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus, and make them into an Almighty Army of God. But this can only be accomplished by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither Church nor State, neither man nor traditions are worshiped or preached, but only Christ and Him crucified. Not to confess Christ by fancy collars, church steeples or rich embroidered altar-cloths, but by reckless sacrifice and heroism in the foremost trenches..."

CT Studd, Missionary to China

Help and Hope for Haiti

It is good to provide help for hurting Haiti. But perhaps it is better to provide help and hope? World governments, aid agencies, the Red Cross, and many, many organizations are pouring help in the form of relief supplies and personnel into the disaster area. It is inspiring to see the world rushing to the aid of these stricken people, among the world's poorest.

For myself, I am sending aid to the church in Haiti. My money to a large international aid organization would be a good thing, but I am expecting with my money to contribute to a great thing!

I'm not so concerned that church buildings be rebuilt, although that will be helpful in the long run. My interest is that the churches, God's people, be strengthened and enabled to help those around them, and that leaders be trained and sent out across the nation. In addition to immediate needs, it is the hope of the Good News of Jesus that Haiti will need for the weeks, months and years ahead as people rebuild lives and communities. It is Christianity that can be the foundation for a stronger and more economically viable Haitian society.

I talked by phone yesterday to Darrell Damron, Vice President of Haiti Arise. Damron told me that the first priority for the organization is to provide immediate aid and medical care for those around them, and then rebuilding of the structures they are using for educating and training. Haiti Arise also sponsors a Bible School and for the third year year this year, sponsored a large conference of Haitian pastors.

A team from Ministers Fellowship International (MFI) had just returned to the USA from the 2010 conference at Haiti Arise when the quake struck. Hundreds of pastors had been together at Haiti Arise in Grand Goave for days of teaching and encouragement. MFI is the relational body of church leaders of which my community, Anchorage City Church, is a part.

MFI churches are being asked to support Haiti Arise because of this relational connection and because of its work to build the church in Haiti. Founders Marc and Lisa Honorat are MFI members.

Pastors Marc Driscoll (Mars Hill Church) and James McDonald (Harvest Bible Chapel) have established another great way to send hope to Haiti through a new organization, Churches Helping Churches. Driscoll and McDonald traveled to Haiti to better understand the situation and are asking their church families to contribute to rebuilding the church through this new organization.

McDonald puts it this way:

The waves of humanitarian aid are washing ashore in Haiti and beginning to meet this massive need but I can’t escape my sense that little if any of this medicine will soothe the sores of the suffering church. The country will be rebuilt in time, but so little of that aid will go to my brothers and sisters and I feel I must do what I can to help them. But I really have no idea what that help would or should entail.


Galatians 6:10 says, “and let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of faith.”


Without question the priority of the ‘church helping the church’ is commanded by Paul in scripture and modeled by Paul in his crisis care for the Corinthians and the church in Jerusalem. If Paul were alive today there is no doubt his first concern as a church planter and leader in the body of Christ would be for the family of God in Haiti. How can the priority Paul lived and taught not be mine as a Bible believing Christian?

Please join me and others sending help and hope to the hurting Haitian church, so it can offer the great hope of Jesus to the hurting nation all around it.

The Manhattan Declaration

The Manhattan Declaration is a line firmly drawn in the sand by Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox Christians. This remarkable statement was crafted by leaders from three of the most significant branches of the Church in America. Its purpose is to reaffirm our commitment to "fundamental truths about justice and the common good." Here is an explanatory paragraph from the summary of the Declaration:

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty. Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The statement is not political, although some will surely try to make it seem so. It is not anti-gay, although it is already being painted as "hate speech". Neither does it condemn people who are living together outside of marriage.

Its purpose is to defend life, marriage and religious liberty all now so much under assault in the United States and the West in general.

You can read the entire (4700 words) declaration here, and if you agree with it, you can also sign it here.

And here is the line:

As Christians, we believe in law and we respect the authority of earthly rulers. We count it as a special privilege to live in a democratic society where the moral claims of the law on us are even stronger in virtue of the rights of all citizens to participate in the political process. Yet even in a democratic regime, laws can be unjust. And from the beginning, our faith has taught that civil disobedience is required in the face of gravely unjust laws or laws that purport to require us to do what is unjust or otherwise immoral. Such laws lack the power to bind in conscience because they can claim no authority beyond that of sheer human will.

Therefore, let it be known that we will not comply with any edict that compels us or the institutions we lead to participate in or facilitate abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that violates the principle of the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every member of the human family.

Further, let it be known that we will not bend to any rule forcing us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality, marriage, and the family.

Further, let it be known that we will not be intimidated into silence or acquiescence or the violation of our consciences by any power on earth, be it cultural or political, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.

We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

Sunday School Fun

Linda and I took the opportunity to teach Sunday School for a large group during the second service today, teaming with our friends Ed and Danielle. This was our second week on the job....this week perhaps only 50 in the class!

It was actually quite a bit of fun; even more than the previous week. Last week, we had to work hard to maintain control because the kids naturally came in and sat with their buds.

Ed asks the kids questions for Bible
tic tac toe with Danielle in the background.

We nipped that in the bud [:)] this week by having the kids count off by sevens and then having them move to the the table with their number.

That did not fill them with joy, but once they were away from their friends, it was easier to reach them.

We sang with them, went over last week's story (Jesus' miracle feeding of the 5,000 at the Sea of Galilee) and told them a new story (how God used Gideon for the miraculous defeat of the Midianites with only 300 Israelis). Then we gave them a snack and played a game. The hour and some went quickly.

We had them participate in the story....asking questions and bringing it to their level. They had lots of ideas.....and two main stock answers to every question: "Jesus" or "God".

"What was Gideon doing in the winepress?"

"God"

"How many soldiers did Gideon have when Midian was defeated?"

"Jesus"

They had some good answers, too, but I'm chuckling in retrospect with their stock answers.

Getting them engaged in the story worked well. They were able to answer questions easily at the end....they "got it!" We even ran into one young fellow and his family at the restaurant later in the day and I asked him "what was our story about today" and he said "GIDEON!"

Ed did a great job with Bible tic tac toe. He split the kids into boys and girls and selected a captain in each group. He would ask them questions and then the kids would huddle for an answer. The end result was a draw, but a tie-breaking question led the girls to seconds on muffins. The kids loved it.

Another friend later said she heard one youngster say to her mom, "we had FUN in Sunday School today!" It's music to a teacher's ears....especially when it's combined with the fact that they "got it."