Out of Sight, Out of Mind…

We have had heroes; patriots; statesmen in our past here in America.  Men like Patrick Henry (“Give me liberty or give me death”), Nathan Hale (“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”) and Benjamin Franklin (“We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately”).  One must wonder what men like these would say and do in today’s cultural and moral (or should I say immoral) environment. 

We have stories about heroes in our Bible as well: men such as Elijah, John the Baptist and Peter.  One has little trouble guessing at how these men would respond if they were injected into our current pluralistic and amoral society.  I can imagine some fiery proclamations and powerful prayers from such holy men.

There is a trite expression that we are all familiar with: “some people refuse to discuss religion or politics.”  Of course, there are strong passions in those fields because many of the issues involved which are of such grave import.  Has it ever occurred to you, though, that in numerous cases there is no division between these two topics?  It should be no surprise that governments and churches; preachers and policemen are many times called upon to deal with similar issues.  Sometimes there is no separation at all.  Why should this not surprise us?  It should not surprise us because, the same God who instituted the church, first instituted government.  Wouldn’t it be likely that the issues which are important to God would arise in the execution of any minister’s office, whether he is a civil servant or a spiritual servant?

The “minister of God” mentioned in Romans 13 is not supposed to bring to our minds the image of a clergyman; no, he is a cop, or a judge; a governor, a president, a legislator, etc...  Read it for yourself: 

Romans 13:3-6 “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.  Will you then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil.  Wherefore you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.  For for this cause pay you tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.”

God hates evil.  Period! 

He established the family in the beginning and gave parents the responsibility of training their children in the way that they “SHOULD” go. 

He established human government after the Deluge and gave leaders the responsibility of punishing criminals in society and providing a measure of safety within the framework of governance. 

Lastly, he established the body of Christ; the church, and gave us the power and responsibility to combat evil from the inside of men by the truth of the gospel.  We are to reach out to everyone with the redemptive news; even to those who have suffered from the failures so common within the family and the condemnation that rightfully flows from governments. 

But essentially, all three of these divine institutions serve the same basic purpose – the glorification of God through the prevention or destruction of evil.

The question on my mind today concerns “what” are the greatest evils of our day.  If I had lived during the days of Christ, maybe I would have spoken out against the immoral lifestyle of Herod (like The Baptist did according to Luke 3:19).  If I had lived in the days of Martin Luther, maybe I would have spoken out against the unholy, oppressive and corrupt alliances between the Roman Catholic Church and the nations of Europe.  If I had lived in the days of Abraham Lincoln, no doubt I could have cursed the evils of the slave trade.  If I had lived in the days of Billy Sunday, I could have joined him in his tirades on the evils of alcohol – wait, I still can pick up this cause (since prohibition was overturned by the 21^st Amendment in 1933 and since drunkenness is still a terrible blight in our land). 

You know something?  I’m convinced that Christians today would know experientially what 2 Timothy 3:12 is really about if we would get vocal in our opposition to this gross evil which surrounds us.  And, let’s introduce into this meditation the bigger vices of homosexuality and abortion.  I’m not talking about seeking political solutions to assuaging the rising tide of addictive and destructive drug use, perverted immorality and the murder of unborn babies.  Not to say that I’m opposed to our government punishing such evils – it should certainly do so.  But, speaking as a minster of the gospel, we as Christians must increase the heat of our prayers, the volume of our preaching and the publicity of the testimony of our holiness so that God might revive His church and save sinners out of their miry pit of transgressions.  

If revival came to Hurlock, wouldn’t those who sell evil drugs (including alcohol) be violently upset at the church of the living God for effecting a marked decrease in the sale of their Satanic wares.  If revival came to the believers in Baltimore, wouldn’t the heathen pagans who provide abortion services be gravely disturbed into a reaction, due to a decrease in their revenues.   “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (Second Timothy 3:12).  Perhaps we are not suffering persecution because we fail to live in a godly manner.  Do we not live quietly in our sheltered environment, quarantined in a sanitized world of Christianity; ostracized and experientially oblivious to the continuing progress of Satan’s empire of deception and depravity?

The number one evil on my mind today is abortion.  I understand that the Southern Baptist preacher who is running for president (Mike Huckabee) recently stated his position on abortion thusly: in the process of human reproduction, a fertilized egg constitutes a viable human life; a person (http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Huckabee:_Fertilized_Egg_/2008/02/26/75667.html?s=al&promo_code=45F5-1).  This is, of course, is the only logical position that I personally can agree with (and still stand upon the Scripture).  I’m reminded of Matthew 1:20-23, “The angel of the Lord appeared unto him [Joseph] in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.’  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.’”  At what point did the Son of God enter the womb of Mary and begin His human experience.  If your answer is anything other than “the moment of conception” then you will be taking the definition of what constitutes a person out of the fields of reason, specificity, certainty and authority.  As such, you will be placing it squarely in the realm of speculation and biased subjectivity; i.e., opinion.  Do we really want to guess, suppose, wonder and hope about whether or not an abortion is merely the removal of tissue or the destruction of a living person?

Hypothetically, could Mary have aborted her pregnancy without killing the unborn Son of God?  I believe that if she had lived within today’s culture, the Virgin Mary would have been advised to abort the pregnancy (by people like those who work within the philosophical framework of the pro-choice; pro-abortion movement).  If she had done so, she would have killed Jesus – not the potential Christ, but the actual person.  Regardless of the size and shape of His little body, He was Emmanuel; the divine person in the womb of that young girl.  The number and shape of his cells certainly did not determine the reality of His existence within the womb of his mother.  HE was there from the moment of conception!

Again, I’m reminded of Psalm 139:13-16

“You have possessed my reins: You have covered me in my mother's womb.  I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well.  My substance was not hid from You, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Your eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Your book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” 

David points to the fact that God knew him before he was shaped at all like a human as we commonly are known. 

And, you know what?  Even if I were take some bizarre (and boldly erroneous) position… that God doesn’t give a person a soul until they have arms and legs, or until they develop a brain, or until the third trimester, or until they are born, or until they are old enough to understand right and wrong – it would still be a drastic evil for me to unjustly take the cessation of the development of that precious life into my own hands.  What gives me the right; what gives you the right; what gives any pregnant lady the right; what gives any government or organization the right; what gives any Doctor or nurse the right to be involved in stopping what God has started in the development of a human being created in the image of the Creator? 

Even if abortions weren’t murder – which, they are – there is a puzzling inversion of perspective that has occurred in our society.  This perversion of priorities is indicated by such statements as one which I read this morning – found in a pro-abortion investigation report at (http://www.prochoicemaryland.org/assets/files/cpcreport.pdf) which was sent to me by a friend.  The very first line of this summary was a quote from an anonymous girl.  Read this and look for the glaring philosophical problem: “When I first found out that I was pregnant, as most people are, I was scared and confused.  I didn't know who to turn to.” 

Question: why should pregnancy scare and confuse any female?  Worse still, why should she suppose that most women are likewise frightened and bewildered?  Did God design ladies in such a way that fear and perplexity would be their natural response to pregnancy?  Oh sure, if the girl has been raped or has been promiscuous, she would (I assume) find good reasons not to want to be pregnant.  Yet, even then, I have known girls in both circumstances who, though they would not have chosen their situation, gave birth with excitement and anticipation.  Why?  How?  Because, they were Christians and understood that according to Psalm 127:3, “Children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”  It is not little Johnny’s fault if his father is a rapist. Or in very different circumstances, it’s not little Suzie’s fault if her mother has played the part of a harlot.  In fact, a child is a blessing that can be used by God to ease the pain of a ravishing injury or a passionate mistake. 

The fruit of the womb is not a curse; not a punishment; not a bane – but, it is a reward; a blessing; a boon.  May God have mercy on us... what a wicked culture that teaches women that pregnancy is something to avoid and dread.  The Bible is full of stories of barren women who longed for such a favorable gift from God.  When the holy matriarchs of the faith found that they were with child – there was excitement, celebration and rejoicing.  I tell you the truth – Satan has duped and deceived people in our land into viewing children as a drag and a nuisance.  The Bible still says in Psalm 127:4-5, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed…”  A blessing!  A blessing!  A blessing!  Children are NOT a curse!  Not something to avoid!  Not something to fear or regret!  Certainly, not something to abort!

Oh, miserable world that has been taught by secular humanist to continue to live for self.  Even Christians within the bonds of matrimony frequently want to avoid having children because it might put a crimp in their career, their education or their lifestyle.  What a pitiful, worldly perspective.  Oh, I admit – if they don’t want kids, for the sake of everyone, I say, “Don’t get pregnant.”  But, I still bemoan the crippled culture that comforts people in their self-absorbed justifications for their lack of natural affection.

Now, think of this: Satan has been attempting to take the lives of babies for generations.  He did it in Egypt under the Pharaoh.  Under demonic guidance Pharaoh commanded the Jewish midwives to abort the male babies during their delivery.  The idolatrous Canaanites killed their children in sacrifices to their false gods.  We know of Herod’s attempt to destroy the Messiah through the hideous rage of infanticide in the region around Bethlehem.  Now in these days Satan bathes in the blood of the millions of babies who are killed mercilessly in our world of “civilized” sensibilities.  It seems that the more civilized the world becomes, the more cunning we get in our ways of justifying our barbarian godlessness.  I have never believed in the mythical “noble savage” – but, I live in a world that is full of savages who live in brick homes in comfortable suburbs; savages who work in “women’s clinics” and get paid like mercenaries to kill unborn babies wholesale.  And, I’m afraid that we who do nothing about the behavior of these savages are as guilty as the savage judges who made that horrid, insensitive and inhumane Roe V. Wade decision the year before I was born into this world.  I thank God I was not in the womb of some feminist who wanted to flex her “right to chose” – no, I was blessed to be born to a mother who loved children and who 8 times obeyed God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” – Hallelujah!

Is this about hatred?  Well, I hate the Devil.  I hate sin.  I hate abortion.  I hate what God hates.  Proverbs 6:16, “These… things does the LORD hate… a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood…”  What better description could one use for the industry that pads its pockets through the mutilation of little babies than this description from Proverbs?  The abortionists have hands that continually shed innocent blood.  What should they do?  They should repent of their sin.  They should hate the deed like God hates it.  But, so should we…

Do we hate abortion?  Or, is it more accurate to say that we hate to think about it; hate to talk about it; hate to be reminded about it? 

As far as I can tell, elective abortion for any cause (other than the rescue of the life of a mother whose life is in danger because of the pregnancy – which is another topic for another day), is nothing short of wicked.  We as believers must stand fast in our declaration of truth concerning this evil.  We must give the gospel, live holy lives, pressure evil men and help those who may be led astray into this pit. 

Maybe you and I can volunteer time or money to help one of the many agencies who try to prevent abortions; that provide for adoption services, assistance, encouragement and advice to mothers who might otherwise consider a woeful and irreversible misstep by allowing someone to take their child away.  Maybe you can increase the general awareness of the reality of this plague by speaking to family and friends about the truth.  Maybe you can pray.  Maybe you can write letters to the newspaper or to your congressmen.  Maybe you can adopt an unwanted child.  Maybe you can encourage a young girl to carry her unborn child instead of terminating that life.  Maybe you can do something else that I have not named.  Oh, but may God help us not to be apathetic.  Edmund Burke famously said that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.  Let’s all do something. 

Out of sight, out of mind?  Yes, indeed.  So, let’s keep it in the spotlight.  Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.  Let’s shed light on the reality of this war which Lucifer is currently winning in the slaughter of millions of innocent lives every year.  The battle will not be a pleasant one – but, it would be unfitting for war to be pleasurable.  We should strive for accuracy, precision, clarity, boldness and passion in our debate and instruction.  We must be vigilant and faithful.  We must be compassionate and concerned.  Above all else, we must have the leadership, guidance and power of the Holy Spirit of God, or our efforts will all be vain.

For you local readers:

Currently in Maryland there is a battle in the Senate and House based upon accusations stemming from a report by the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL).  Senate Bill 690 and House Bill 1146 would evidently force Pro-life Crisis Pregnancy Centers to state in the first contact with any client, “We are not required to provide factually accurate information.”

Today I called Bethany Christian Services (www.bethany.org) to inquire about this situation.  The following are some edited and amended recommendations concerning what we can do to help. 

 Prepare a letter to the Editor:

This whole story stems from an article which I found at http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/02_25-30/TOP.  Read the article, get informed and then write a careful and respectful letter focusing on the good that pro-life pregnancy centers do.  Send it today and watch the paper to see that it is printed.   
The Capital Gazette:  Address letters to: Letters to the Editor, The Capital, PO Box 911, Annapolis, MD 21404.  E–mail: capletts@capitalgazette.com. Please limit your response to 300 words. Or you may fax your response to 410-268-4643. Include an address and daytime phone number, so that letters can be verified.
The Bowie Blade or The Crofton Crier:  Follow the same guidelines and send to letters@bladenews.com.
The Maryland Gazette:  Send to gazletters@mdgazette.com.

Prepare letters to your Senators and Delegates regarding

Senate Bill 690 (http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/bills/sb/sb0690f.pdf)

and House Bill 1146 (http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/bills/hb/hb1146f.pdf).

Not sure who your representatives are?  Go to www.mdelect.net.  

For templates on how to format your letters go to www.pregnancyclinicministry.org.

Again, please focus on the good that pregnancy centers do.

Maryland March for Life on Thursday, March 13.  

This year’s theme is “Pregnancy Centers Help Women!!” This is an event for your family to be a part of our country’s freedom of speech and assembly!  For details, go to www.marylandmarchforlife.org. 

I know that it is unusual for me to promote such an active involvement in a specific thing.  But, this burdens my heart deeply.  And, I determined today to just be very frank.

Who Wet The Bed? (Meditation by: C. Ima Fodder)

Several years ago my wife was responsible for babysitting a little fella’ whom (for this story) I shall call: Proncey Nicolai Oysterbush.  Proncey was a little blond headed boy with one lazy eye and a grand intellect.  He was the most knowledgeable paleontologist I have met to this very day.  He knew more about extinct dinosaurs than I imagine your local veterinarian knows about living dogs, cats or birds.  (Well, maybe that is a slight stretch of the truth, but not much).

I actually had the privilege of sharing the gospel with this young man one day; watched him receive Christ as his Savior right there at our dinner table. 

I miss Proncey now; would love to go back to those days so that I might demonstrate more compassion and concern for his plight in life.  I can’t judge you very accurately, but the mirror doesn’t lie to me very often.  I can be an unusually hard, calloused and heartless beast at times.  (Less now than in years past – thank God!)  As a younger man I had little interest in anyone other than myself.  I know that you have never met anyone like that – right?  I assure you I was rather narcissistic in my social interests.

Now, unfortunately for Proncey, there was minimal tolerance from my direction for any inconvenience that he posed to our daily rigmarole.  My wife was patient enough, but my face visibly exhibited my frustration and my voice did grind with cold unconcern when my schedule was interrupted.  (The truth is, someone needed to knock some sense into me).

For the most part there were no problems.  I stayed out of Proncey’s way and he stayed out of mine.  He wasn’t afraid of me and I didn’t abuse him or anything remotely close to that – I just ignored him with cool indifference for the most part.  I was outwardly cordial as long as everything went in accordance to my liking – but periodically the unpardonable infraction would occur.  Every now and then when he was with us at night, Proncey would do that which I was certain he could have chosen to prevent: he would wet his bed.  That always involved me doing laundry in the wee hours of darkness; at a time when all sane people ought to be peacefully sleeping undisturbed (can I get an “Amen” here?).  Tonya would do the bathing honors while I held wet sheets, blankets and PJ’s at arm’s length on the way to the washing machine; grumbling, mumbling, griping, complaining, fuming and fussing all the way there and back.  No compassion, no concern for his embarrassment, no consideration of the possibility that maybe he couldn’t help it, no interest in anything other than getting my much needed beauty sleep.  What a pitiful shame…

I was reminded of these few episodes recently when my own son awakened me at about 2:30 AM.

Juxtaposition: it’s probably been eight or ten years since Proncey stayed with us and wet himself under my royal roof, but the difference in my reaction to him and my response to my own little angel in the same circumstance was a distinct contrast to such a degree that (after I had my son placed comfortably into my king sized water bed in my spot on my pillow by my wife) I sat down that night and wrote some notes about the dissimilarity.

Mrs. Bellefonte (another pseudonym) shook my hand on the way out of church the previous Sunday and asked me an unexpected question: “What can I pray for you about this week?”  Seeing that I can’t remember having that Frage asked of me before (not recently anyway), I was taken aback and stuttered the first thought that came to mind: “Pray that I’ll be nice to my wife and kids this week.”  She looked as much surprised as I felt awkward, but went on her way with that odd request from the reverend.  The real cause of my answer was my overall interest in spending both quality and quantity time with my family every week – but, God answered her prayers in a unique way that week.

My noisy snoring ceased on this particular night when I heard the tearful crying of my youngest son coming with increasing decibels though the house.  Clearly he was disturbed about something – I figured it was a nightmare, but as he entered the master bedroom and stumbled toward Daddy and Mommy’s bed, I extended a hand toward him just to check his PJ’s for moisture.  Well – my fingers found the neck of his shirt and as I touched his chest I realized that he was absolutely soaked all over.  You would have thought he had drunk a whole gallon of milk before going to bed.  Instead of sighing loudly, moaning in aggravation or pushing my wife out of bed to deal with it – amazingly, I whispered to him that it was “OK” and that I would help him get a bath.  He quieted immediately upon realizing that he was not in any trouble and that Daddy was NOT gonna’ hem and haw about helping him out.

He loves baths in our garden tub.  I turned on the water and helped him out of his cold, wet pajamas.  Daddy added bubble bath to the water, then lifted and lowered the shivering and sleepy little squirt into the bathtub.  While the water deepened enough for him to pretend like he was a frog swimming in a pond, I went to strip his bed, start the washer and retrieve some clean dry underwear and pajamas. 

Returning to the bathroom, I helped him soap up and rinse off.  After a few minutes of playful splashing swimming and ducking, he was ready to get out.  He was wrapped into a huge towel and then stood in front of the space heater as I got him ready for bed again.  Instead of putting him on the couch or on the little cot beside my bed, I laid him up close to his sleeping mother and pulled the sheet, blanket and down comforter up tightly around him.  He smiled lovingly and thankfully at me and was asleep in seconds.  Meanwhile, I turned off the lamp in the bedroom and the lights in the bathroom on the way to find something with which to clean his plastic mattress cover.

Only after all of that was over did I realize that not only had I not gotten at the least but upset – I was happy to be able to comfort my son out of the middle of his little dilemma.  I sat on a stool in kitchen and began to scratch down notes about the comparison of how I felt toward Proncey Oysterbush years ago and how I felt toward my own offspring now.  There is no doubt in my mind that there has been a marked change in my general disposition as a result of the maturity and sympathetic tenderness that (over time) the Spirit of Christ works into the hearts of those who are His children.  But, more than that, there was a huge contradistinction in my behavior because of the “whom” with which I was dealing.  My son gets preferential treatment.  He is mine.  He is really a part of me.  He is an extension of me.  I see myself in him.  I see my wife in him.  I see our future in him.  I love him with a love that is truly unconditional and limitless.  I didn’t have those same sentiments toward Proncey. 

When Proncey wet the bed, my thoughts were directed toward how it affected me and what I wanted to do.  But, when Elijah wet the bed, my thoughts were completely aimed at him and I was totally engulfed in what would alleviate his sadness and discomfort.  What an amazing difference!  But, what made that difference?  To some degree it was about being a part of the family.  In Proncey’s case, I was a hireling.  To me - he wasn’t ultimately mine or my responsibility.  But, with Eli… the buck stops with me.  God gave him to me as a grand gift and stewardship.  His welfare, health and comfort are of utmost importance to me.  Oh, I’m not claiming that I have always been so intensely exemplary in willingness to sacrifice for his needs as I was that night – I’m still very human.  Too truly the prayers of Mrs. Bellefonte were a major part of my compassionate and caring kindness toward my own son – yet, in the end, he is my son and that makes all the difference in the world.

You know what?  It is exactly the same in the spiritual realm.  How is it that the same God who quickly forgave King David’s murder, adultery and deceit (and promised him an eternal throne) angrily cried out to the religious devotees in Matthew 23 that they were “snakes headed for hell”!?!?  How can the Lord, who is preparing for me (and all believers) a place of eternal pleasures in the presence of the Father, be the same Judge who has prepared the torment-filled lake of fire into which all unbelievers will someday be cast?  What makes the big difference in God’s attitude and actions toward a man?  How can our Creator have no mercy in Jeremiah 13:14 and infinite mercy in Psalm 136? 

The answer is in this illustration that I have given of familial compassion.  God loves his Son and He loves every child of His, who, through faith, has been born again and adopted into the family of God.  The image of His Son is being formed in us because we have been regenerated.  By God’s power we have exited the vise grip of our former father, the Devil.  Through the redemption obtained by Christ at Calvary we have been grafted into the eternal family of the Divine Father of lights.  We are the sons of God.  To some extent, this explains why He is so interested, compassionate, patient, gentle, merciful, gracious, benevolent, careful, longsuffering, generous and even tolerant toward us.  Our antics and errors are as repulsive to his nature as is Lucifer himself – yet, he forgives us over and over again and draws us ever closer to Himself, not because we are better that others, but because we belong to Him… we are family.

I will never forget what my mother told me once when I was a teenager.  I had asked her why she loved Daddy.  She easily and confidently responded, “I love ye’ Deddy because he’s mine.”  It’s the same with children, whether physical or spiritual. 

I know that it is true that God loved the whole world; that He loved us while we were still lost and undone; while we were still children of hell.  But in the expression of His feelings of tenderness and mercy, in the end – only His children obtain the ultimate benefits. 

Rejoice if your name is written down in the Lamb’s book of life!  You are a joint heir with Jesus Christ.  You are a child of the Father.  You are family and have all of the blessings and assurances of a family member.  Will a loving heavenly Father discipline his own kids? Sure!  Yet, He does it reluctantly, lovingly and always for our good, because He cares so deeply for His yung’uns!

Aren’t you glad that you are in the family?  Most people are not blessed with this membership.  Everyone is invited, yet so few repent of their sin and accept the gift of kinship with the Man of Galilee. 

We all are sinners.  We all still sin.  But there is an altogether different response that is evoked from the God of heaven when the sinner is one of His precious little babies.  Aren’t you thankful for that!?     

“Mourning and Celebration”

On Tuesday, February 12, Bro. Tim Gelatt passed into the presence of his Savior.  I received the expected news with an odd sense of relief.  Why?  I was relieved because information had been shared openly that his time was coming soon, and because it was understood that further delay would only bring pain and suffering to him and to his loving family.  There had already been months of sadness and tears.  Already my heart had been through the depths of heaviness that accompanies the foreboding news of death. 

Bro. Gelatt called me back in April 2007 (I think that was the month) to tell me of his diagnosis and to share some personal words of encouragement.  He told me that he wanted to talk to me while he still could.  I remember that He mentioned me in the same sentence with two pastors that I went to high school with, Larry Branham and Wesley Waddle (this thrilled me immensely).  I thank God that he did call me then!  To hear him say that he was proud of me made me feel both uncomfortable and happy at the same time.

Sometimes we take for granted the impact that people have on our lives.  But, you know, when you fear  that they are dying (or, sometimes if they have already passed on), clear memories of their influence rise to the surface of one’s memory.  Such has been the case with me.

In 1986 my family visited Bethel Baptist Church for the very first time.  It was an evening service and we were late.  I can still remember how some of us kids were scared of such a “BIG church” and asked (as we were walking toward the sanctuary) if we could go somewhere else instead.  My, how glad I am that we did not go elsewhere that night.  Soon after that Bro. Gelatt and Bro. Goode came knocking on our front door way out in Eva, Alabama.  They were dressed so nice and smiled so sincerely.  I can still remember how impressed I was that men so important and intelligent would actually come to thank us for attending one of their services.

Well we joined Bethel and soon the kids (me too) were enrolled in the Christian Day School there.  Over the next six years, I got to know the Gelatt family.  Kim and Katy were just slightly younger than I.  Mrs. Gelatt was my teacher.  And, Bro. Gelatt was the Principal. 

I was in his office more than once during my junior high and high school days.  He was always calm, respectful, cheerful and firm.  He paddled me for threatening my teacher.  He removed me from the track team two years in a row.  He gave me a book on “the-birds-and-the-bees” (sex education in a Christian School? Yep!).  He refused to remove my “F” in Algebra (but 3 months later recanted after I brought him a whole notebook full of every answer to every problem in my Saxon Algebra II book). 

Amazingly, I can never recall being angry or even slightly upset with him when I got into trouble.  He was so steady and respectable, consistent and courteous.  He treated me kindly even when he was dishing out discipline.  He wasn’t soft or lax, but he was kind and even jovial as he laid down the law and administered justice.  He gave me the impression that he always hated to punish me; but that he would never hesitate to do it.

On the brighter note: he was my youth pastor for a while.  He was my Bible teacher for a while (he was a great and interesting teacher of the Word).  Of course he was a chapel speaker, song leader and choir leader (I was not in the choir; too distracted with futile efforts at being cool).  

Truly, I saw him in so many different roles doing such a variety of things: playing basketball, jogging down the road, mowing grass, preaching in church, playing in skits, helping run junior camp, etc., etc., etc.  Then I saw him leave a thriving ministry to go to Chili, South America as a church planting missionary.  His evident devotion to Christ was a sealed certainty in my mind after that.

Once he took me to get a civil war uniform for a part that I was playing the church Christmas play.  During the ride he asked me questions about my future, my plans for life.  I was probably only 13 years old at the time – but he appeared concerned about and genuinely interested in my direction in life.  I told him that I wanted to grow up and get rich so that I could fund other people’s ministries.  You know – he didn’t mock or criticize.  He just kept listening and encouraging me to open up to him.

The most powerful memory that I have of Bro. Gelatt is the recollection of attending the funeral of his baby son.  He wanted a little boy bad enough that he had talked about it quite a bit – and to have the little fellow die; his one and only son…  Standing in that graveyard and watching him weep over the little wooden casket was a very disturbing moment for me.  This man who always seemed to float above the circumstance allowed his torn soul to be exposed freely to all who were there.  We were there to console him and his wife, yet instead we went away influenced by him (well, at least, I did).  He was clearly a man who knew what heartache was really like.

Over the next twenty years, he repeatedly cornered me in a friendly way and asked me about my plans for the future.  “Where do you see yourself in five years?  What do you see yourself doing five years from now?”  Those kinds of questions really made me think.  He asked me that very thing when I was 25 (before I had surrendered to preach).  I can still remember standing in the back of the auditorium telling him then that I would like to be pastoring a church when I was 30.  That was so odd.  It was like we had a conversation that was a year premature; a conversation that actually was instrumental in helping me realize outwardly what I already must have known inwardly - that God was calling me to preach.  My answer to him was spontaneous and reckless – yet God had used him to open up my heart in a way that let me see something real which I couldn’t have seen at that time without some prodding.

Then later, I got to teach his two younger daughters in high school (Beth and Amy).  And again I saw Bro. Gelatt from a different angle.  If anybody had a right to tell me how to teach and instruct his daughters – Bro. Gelatt had the experience and knowledge to set me straight – yet, he didn’t.  He just encouraged me and supported me as if I was well on my way to becoming a master teacher.  He had a way of building peoples faith in God and confidence in service.

Encounters with Bro. Gelatt usually had serious significance and a lasting effect on me.  He always mixed encouragement with advice and information in such a way that it helped form certain philosophies in my mind at crucial points in my ministry.  He only came to my office a few times while I was a youth pastor, but he always had something important to say to me.  The atmosphere was always easy and casual, and the meetings were normally unscheduled and brief – but they were meaningful. 

“Don’t try to reinvent the wheel!”

“Reach the reachable and teach the teachable!”

“The ministry would be fun if it weren’t for people.  But, never forget, the people are you ministry!”

“Just because a man of God fails, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a man of God!”

“National pastors in Chili would be thrilled just to have one shelf out of your library!”

“For a preacher, books on Bible doctrine are like a Doctor’s medical books – he is always consulting them.”

“Find one author that you love to read and buy everything he has written!”

Those kinds of statements stick with a young minister.  Add to those expressions of wisdom the many compliments and words of approval that he mixed in – and what you have is an influential mentor.  And, that is exactly what he was.

Surely, his mentoring was intentional and directed.  He didn’t just accidently or incidentally sway my life’s course – he did so with purpose.  Doubtless he had so many people who looked up to him that he could not devote massive amounts of time to little ol’ me – yet, the time that he did have with me was well invested.  It was rooted in a testimony and example that was solidly Christ-like in humility, joy, diligence and zeal. 

Oh, I’m sure he wasn’t a perfect man.  All men are sinners.  Yet amazingly, he lived with such spiritual character that I can honestly say that I never “caught him” in sin; in any sin – large or small.  Now, that is amazing indeed.  Oh, I can remember him telling us about evils in his past – but, his reputation was truly blameless.  I don’t mean to lift him up on his own merit – I only say that to me he was a trophy of God’s power over and possession of a human life. 

To God be the glory – great things He did through the life of this man.  May our lives be used in the same way for God’s glorification and for the benefit of believers around us!

There are many other human instruments that God has used to drive me up the right path in life.  Bro. Gelatt wasn’t the only tool in God’s hand.  But, he was one of them and a very effective one at that!

 As I have said before about a few other deceased saints (like John Waddle).  Bro. Gelatt’s “premature” departure from this world reminds me of Hebrews 11:38, “(Of whom the world was not worthy).”  From Able in Genesis to Deacon Steven in Acts, there have been men of God whose faith was tested and tried and God kindly ushered them to the finish line ahead of their peers.  Bro. Gelatt’s journey is complete – his race has been run to completion.  Would Bro. Tim return to us today if he could?  You can’t persuade me that he would.  He is where we long to be.  He is what we crave to be.  He is with the One that we desire to know face to face.  We sorrow for one another, but we do not weep as if there is no hope, for this we know that those who are asleep in Jesus will return with Christ in the rapture and will be reunited with their bodies in a new form, and again – we will be together with the Lord forever.  In the words of Paul: for us to stay here and labor is needful, but to depart would be far better.

Bro. Gelatt – in a way (like Paul) I envy your exalted condition and completed salvation.  Hallelujah – what a Savior we have in Jesus Christ our Lord who can turn the sting of death into a sweet delight.  How very strange and wonderful.

My tears are shed for myself and for those who loved Tim Gelatt.  But my heart sings, “Count your many blessings; name them one by one…” because I know that we will love him again perfectly when we love the Savior in person together in the presence of the Father – some glorious day!  10,000 Hallelujahs!

“…What a day may bring forth…”

The way I see it, the nature of a blog is supposed to be somewhat personal; almost as if written to no one; related to a diary of sorts; a log of life.  I don’t know how close my writing comes to that from week to week, but today’s (at least) is little more than that…

Thursday my day went something like this:

9:15        - ate two strawberry pop-tarts and drank a cup of coffee

9:45        - headed to Easton in our minivan

9:45        - “Facebooked” my way to town (don’t ask)

10:20     - talked to Dave Johnson at William Hill

10:25     - got a second cup of coffee

10:30     - read about hell and heaven with the “Men’s Bible Class”

11:30     - chatted with Graham Thomson

11:45     - visited Peggy Davenport and her Mom at the Pines

12:15     - met Mike and “Snaggles” as I was leaving the nursing home

12:45     - stopped by Minia’s Bakery for a Ruben sandwich and coffee # 3.  Talked with the Switzers (and ordered a cinnamon role too)

1:00        - stopped by Phil Wigglesworth’s house and found no one home

1:05        - stopped by Don and Brenda’s to check on Don’s recovery from knee surgery

2:30        - as I pulled out of the driveway of the Griffith’s house, I thought of Bro. Buck Travers.  I remembered that I had told him I would drop by his house last week to explain some church matters to him

2:45        - returned home to babysit so my wife could take Kayla to the Dentist

4:00        - received word from my wife that Buck and Alex Travers had been in an automobile accident.   She said that Phil Wigglesworth mentioned something about Buck’s heart

4:22        - sent a “prayer chain” e-mail out about the accident while I waited on Tonya to return so I could go to Dorchester General to check on Buck and his grandson.

4:25        - got a call from Tonya telling me that Buck had passed away

4:30        - called the hospital in an attempt to find out some information on Buck

4:35        - shook as I talked with Phil, then Richard, then Brenda on the phone

4:45        - left with Tonya to go the hospital

5:00        - spent time with the family of Buck Travers

6:45        - left the hospital

7:15        - met members in church-house to practice music for Sunday night

8:30        - got a call from Tom canceling the Prime Adults party for Friday night

I can’t remember what happened after that…

Why is it that I can remember so much about Thursday?  I couldn’t tell you the details about Wednesday or Friday; not with that same exactness.  There is something unique about traumatic experiences and how it affects our memory.  And, truly, hearing about the passing of Bro. Buck shook me deeply.  Of course, there is a surrealism that seems to surround the unexpected death of anyone that you know personally.  I know I am not the only one who experiences this ethereal sensation.  As I talked with Alex, he said that he kept expecting to see his grandfather walk out the door of the hospital. 

As I had driven to Cambridge to the hospital, I had thought of Proverbs 27:1b “…you know not what a day may bring forth.”  Even though Buck was prepared to die; both ready to go spiritually and he seems to have “set his house in order” – he did not know nor likely expect that Thursday would be his last day here on earth.  After 79 years of lively activity, his journey was completed.  Over, not because of the farm truck that killed him – but because every man has an appointment with death.  God in His wisdom declared that Buck’s travels as a pilgrim and stranger were over.  I (for one) wasn’t ready for Buck to go.  I still had unfinished business with this great man.  I know his family wasn’t ready for him to leave them – yet, his time had come. 

Based upon his profession of faith in Jesus Christ we can say with confidence that his soul was separated from his body and the real Buck Travers as ushered by the angels into the presence of his Savior.  We began to mourn.  Doubtless he began to celebrate and to worship in a way that he had never done before upon this earth.

I only knew Buck for 28 months.  Yet, as I contemplated the loss of this exceptional man, the best description of him that I could articulate was that I felt as if I had witnessed the passing of a king.  To me he was like a king, his demeanor, attitude and benevolence was like that which I would expect if I were to meet a noble monarch.  It had never crossed my mind while he was living – yet, death seems to bring the concentrated essence of a man right to the surface.  He was indeed a giant – his personality, his physique, his wisdom, his confidence, his generosity, his sense of humor… in many ways he was larger than life.  Oh, I know, he wasn’t perfect.  None of us are.  Yet he was truly a uniquely blessed man.  When God made Buck, He made him very special indeed.  I shall miss him for a very long time.

But, what spiritual lesson do we derive from the loss of a dear saint?  The instruction is simple and predictable.

1.       If you have not chosen to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior – do it now before it is too late!

2.       Live every day for Christ as if it is your last one, because it just might be.  Nobody knows when our time may come as surely as Buck’s did.

3.       Consider what legacy you will leave behind.  Lt. Col. Medford Jones Travers will be remembered around here for many things.  His involvement in the work of the Lord and in the lives of people certainly will not escape from the memory of many.  His penchant for organizing and planning ahead will arise in many conversations for many years.  His devotion to his wife Frances will also not be easily forgotten.

I have said for years that I want to be remembered as a man of God.  But, some rhetorical questions are in order here.  Am I living every day in fulfillment of the holy calling of God upon me?  Am I contributing to the kind of a testimony that God can use or am I tearing the foundation away from what God wants to make of me?  Enough about me – let’s talk about you.  What will you be remembered for?  Hunting?  Fishing?  Cooking?  Smiling?  Sewing?  Fussing?  Succeeding?  Failing?  Nagging?  Complaining?  Praying?  Giving?  Caring?  Bragging?  Singing?  Working?  Shirking?  Loving?  Nothing?  It is certain that God wants us to live our lives in a holy and humble way so that He can use us as examples of what He wants to do in the lives of others. 

Thanks be to God for men like Buck.  Leaders… men that God has used to push me toward being a better and wiser steward of God’s work; work which He has entrusted to me… personally, at home, in the church and in the world.

When you die – will people feel like a great king has died; like a benevolent queen has passed?  Or, will they just politely say little or nothing in order to avoid having to admit the uncomfortable truth that your life was mostly offensive rather than constructive?  I’m not accusing anyone – I’m sharing with you my own self-examination. 

Naturally and unfortunately, sometimes self-awareness is very difficult.  Perhaps you can take a little of my advice and I could use some of yours too…

Please pardon me if I’ve rambled incoherently.  My heart is heavy and my thoughts are often rather chaotic in times of difficulty…

Please pray for the family and loved ones of this deceased brother.  He is more alive today than he has ever been, yet the distance separating him from us – his friends and family – well, the chasm feels infinite even if we are only one breath away from standing beside him...

If you want to read more about Mr. Buck – visit http://delmarvaobits.com/posts.cfm?obit=26341   

“Joseph Barsabus Justus (JBJ)"

Note: Allow at least 20 minutes to read this meditation – it’s a long one…

In Acts 1 a student of the Word can read the obscure account of the man who almost got his name written in one of the twelve foundations of heaven, almost… (Revelation 21:14)

When Judas Iscariot committed suicide, his office (bishopric) was left vacant.  In an effort to replace him, the early church leaders selected two qualified men; then they ‘flipped a coin’ to see which one would be the new apostle.  The ‘lot’ fell on the unknown Matthias rather than this unknown Barsabus fellow (JBJ, you know…. like LBJ?).”  Barsabus was nearly an apostle – but he wasn’t.  So, what happened to him?  And, more significantly for us – what can we learn from this?

I’m personally intrigued by the role of apostleship in the church and in eternity.  It was evidently  important to the original apostles to see that their number was complete.  Act 1:24-25 says that after they had elected two men, “they prayed, and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which of these two You have chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship…’” 

Of course, it seems that God eventually selected someone else altogether – Saul of Tarsus, renamed Paul.  So, it would seem by starting in Matthew 10, Luke 6 and Acts 1 that the 12 foundations of heaven have these names written in them:

1.    Simon Peter – the impetuous leader of the disciples

2.    Andrew – Peter’s brother

3.    James – the son of Zebedee

4.    John – the brother of James

5.    Philip

6.    Bartholomew

7.    Thomas

8.    Matthew the publican

9.    James the son of Alphaeus

10.  Lebbaeus Thaddaeus (Judas the brother of James) - not Iscariot

11.  Simon Zelotes, the Canaanite (and)

12.  Paul the apostle to the Gentiles (or Matthias, if you prefer) who replaced Judas Iscariot.

I’m curious – was there something wrong with JBJ that held him back.  Perhaps, but obviously this is not necessary.  God, of His own prerogative chooses certain men to do certain things – and not necessarily due to any particular superiority that they possess (maybe due to an inferiority though).  Jesus pointed to this doctrine in Luke 4:25-27:

“But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”

“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”

Was Elijah the only man of faith in his day?  We know he wasn’t because God Himself testified in First Kings 19:18 that there were 7000 others in Israel at that time who had not worshipped Baal.  But God chose Elijah and afterward Elisha to be key figures on that stage of His providential making.

Consider the parallel theological perspective found in the romantic book of Esther.  Mordecai exhorted Queen Esther to stand for the right for God’s people by arguing, “If you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but you and your father's house will be destroyed: and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Could God have used Cain, Ham, Esau, Reuben or Saul?  I suppose so – but in their cases there are glaring flaws that seemingly (to some extent) explain why they were passed over (and became little more than supporting actors in the shadows of men like Seth, Shem, Jacob, Judah and David).  But then, how about men such as Abel, Japheth, Jonathan and Stephen; or women like Hagar or Leah?  These seemed to be assigned to second fiddle to others, through no apparent fault of their own.  Stephen particularly was one of the mightiest deacons (perhaps the mightiest) of His day, yet he died a martyr so early in his Christian service.  And again, there could have been no more fitting thing than for wicked king Saul to be replaced by his valiant, loyal, God-fearing, faith-filled son Jonathan - but that was not to be.  Again, Abel pleased God – yet he was killed and Seth took his place; becoming one of the grandfathers of the greatest of men: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David… and Jesus!

So how about JBJ; what can I learn from him?  What can we glean from his brief biblical biography?

Just as God chose to use Peter to bring 3000 souls to Christ on the day of Pentecost, He is still today blessing certain men and women with ‘things’ which many others crave: position, prestige, power, influence, success, clout, fruit, effectiveness, prosperity, an audience, fame, recognition, authority, possessions, ideas, creativity, beauty, intelligence, etc., etc., etc…

Remember the “Prayer of Jabez” craze of a few years ago?  I know it generated both frenzied positive expectations and cynical negative criticism – but think of the story for a moment.  “Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’ And God granted him that which he requested” (1 Chronicles 4:10).  Are there other individuals who have sought for God’s blessing like Jabez did?  Surely there are many!  And, doubtlessly there are many who got what they sought for…… and… some… who… didn’t; who don’t (all according to the will and wisdom of God).  But his success made it into the inspired record.  Why?  Because of Providence!  God chose to do that which He desired to do.

I tremble and shake with adulation, admiration and adoration when I think of verses like Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens: He has done whatsoever He has pleased.”  He is the Great God of Heaven who “…opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens…” (Revelation 3:7).

Psalm 75:5-7 warns:

“Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.  For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.  But God is the judge: He puts down one, and sets up another.”

Old Nebuchadnezzar learned this lesson the hard way when God cursed him with lycanthropy because of his selfish pride in supposing that he (Neb) alone was to be credited with the building of the great Babylonian empire.  After seven years as a brute beast of the field… well, let’s just say that his worldview and philosophy had been radically adjusted.  Read his words from Daniel 4:34-35 describing his new attitude and actions:

“I Blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, ‘What doest Thou?’”

We have no grounds – ever – for bitterness, jealousy, selfish ambition, or carnal revenge.  If God has allowed this or that into our lives, He has done so for a purpose.  Even that which He does not cause, He could certainly prevent if He so desired.  So, if a circumstance becomes a reality in my life, well, then… (supply your favorite emphatic adjective here)… I’ll gladly leave the election and selection of people, events and timing in His hands.  Who am I to question His motives; His wisdom; His plans?

I like the way Paul said it in Romans 9:13-23…

“As it is written, ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.’  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.  For He said to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’  So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.  For the scripture said unto Pharaoh, ‘Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth.’  Therefore He has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will he hardens.  You wilt say then unto me, ‘Why does He yet find fault?  For who has resisted His will?’  Nay but, O man, who are you that replies against God?  Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, ‘Why hast thou made me thus?’  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?  What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”

Do we have justifiable reason to look down with aloof and haughty condescension on those who remain in their sin?  Oh no!  You and I are both familiar with the phrase (viewing a desperate sinner): “There go I, but by the grace of God!”  There is no one who is good.  There is no one who seeks after God of His own volition.  God came seeking for us.  He loved us while we were unlovely.  He offered salvation to us while we were steeped in sin.  He died for us while were still His enemies.  He called us to ministry despite our incompetence and foolish ignorance. 

Jesus looked at His disciples and corrected their misconceptions as recorded in John 15:16, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…”

It doesn’t matter whether you are discussing salvation or service, redemption or promotion, forgiveness or fruitfulness – in every case it is God who has taken the initiative and moved toward us.  Do we have a role and responsibility to respond to His invitations and promptings; to His call and care?  Of course!  I’m not trying in any way to water down individual (or corporate) culpability or the reality of our free will.  Yet, we must remember that without Him we are nothing and can do nothing.  So if He chooses to promote our neighbor and friend while leaving us in the shadows – do we have ground to stand on to complain?  If one pastor’s church blooms and explodes in evangelistic fervor and revival while another faithful minister struggles even to survive or perhaps even looses his ministry altogether… can God be accused as being unjust.  Is He ever haphazard, arbitrary, chaotic, inconsistent, abstract or whimsical?  Hmmm, I think I need a grand negative (clean) adjective again!  

I don’t know what Joseph Barsabus Justus (JBJ) did when he lost the coin toss and faded into the woodwork of the early church.  Maybe he got bitter.  Maybe he was angry.  Maybe he didn’t care.  Maybe he became vindictive.  Or…. perhaps he was humble and submissive to the plight that he encountered.  It is quite possible that he served God as faithfully as a layman as Matthias (or Paul) did as an apostle.  God didn’t bestow the fame and glory of apostleship upon him, but that doesn’t mean that God had no program or purpose for him.  JBJ was obligated by his status as a created being to meekly and happily surrender to the will of the Father.  I would like to imagine that he did just that.  More importantly, I would like to believe that I would respond respectfully and cheerfully if God were to choose a dark corner for me to work in.  I would hope that you too would gladly be faithful and leave the lifting and lowering of men and organizations in the hands of the only One who has the knowledge and foresight to divvy talents properly.

I have to remind myself all too frequently that I am not the center of the universe – God is.  Humanism is idolatry.  Man is not the measure of all things.  The chief end of being is not the happiness of mankind.  We were created by Him and for Him.  By Him all things consist.  Rom 11:36, “Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things…”

So, what if one man is born in obscurity, lives in poverty and dies alone – is God therefore unjust, evil or unkind?  If another man is birthed into privilege, reared with luxury, graced with beauty and culture, blessed by intelligence, gifted with talent, celebrated in friendship, revered in leadership, loved by many and sincerely mourned at his passing – is God thereby to be judged by us as being irrational, irresponsible, unfair or unworthy?  HEAVEN FORBID!  I again quote the mighty words of Christ from Matthew 20:15, “Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own? Is your eye evil, because I am good?”  Any generosity, mercy or grace bestowed on anyone is a vast gesture of unmerited goodness from the hand of the Almighty.  He owes none of any kindness at all.  We only deserve death and hell!  So if God picks one of His creatures out (for reasons known only to Him) and showers peculiar extravagances upon them – is it any concern to the rest of His creatures how that other man’s (or woman’s) favor compares to his own?  I say that it is not.

In short – let’s let God be God!  We have enough trouble running our own affairs justly without meddling in that which we do not (and can not) comprehend.  Could we ever in this life grasp the infinite and eternal purposes of Jehovah?  I’m not saying is wrong to venture curiously into that mysterious realm (it can be a catalyst for worship), but certainly we must always do so in faith and holy submission.  Evil defiance or sneering criticism can neither be productive nor can it be righteously legitimate in the face of God’s perfection. 

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  This rhetorical question bids the obvious answer – certainly He will do right, He is doing right and He has always done right!  So, who am I to question “that thing” over which I have no control or influence?  Who am I to advise the omniscient Lord of all?

Almost an Apostle…  Why?  Who knows?  Only God knows!  Was JBJ missing out?  Well, I can’t say of my own mind.  But, I would quote Paul’s judgment of the role and ministry of the apostles.  Was the apostolic office prestigious in practice?  Hardly!  (maybe this will not be new to many of you – but, it was new to me when I found it)…

“I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.  We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised.  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.”

He says, “We apostles were ordained to be the dirt in the church.”  Can we have some volunteers today to be boot-scrapings (offscouring) – anybody, don’t all come at once now?  See, truly the apostles were generally maltreated, maligned and martyred in ways that no other office in the church has had to commonly endure.  No wonder Jesus taught the apostles servant-leadership when he washed their feet. 

So, what did JBJ miss out on anyway (from a human perspective)?  The apostles were spectacles from the get-go.  I read in my devotions today how, in Acts 5 (prior to Peter’s famous imprisonment), all of the apostles were arrested and cast into prison for preaching and healing.

Anybody want to be an apostle today?

Boy, the pope sure doesn’t follow the pattern set by his supposed predecessors, eh?  I think we could stand for some Ephesian perception in judging the pontiff of that wayward denomination.  Revelation 2:2, Jesus said to the Ephesians, “I know your works, and how you can not bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars…” 

Anyway – my point is this.  Be it grand or lowly - let us be content with the calling that God places upon us.  We are – after all – His property.  I should till the row I’m on.  You, till the field your in.  The grass may or may not be greener on the other side of the fence – but the key phrase is this… it (the grass) is actually on the other side of the fence.  Hence, it is none of my business (Romans 14:4, “Who are you that judges another man's servant? to his own master he stands or falls”) nor should I covet or judge another man’s station or possession.    

Whew… I guess I had better shut up now.  I certainly commend you for your patience and diligence if you made it this far in today’s tedious reading… J

At least, I feel better anyway…

lol