I am both content and conflicted today. I am content in that my daughter is home from college for a month before pursuing singing and dancing employment in Indiana, my son is back in college, enrolled at LSU Shreveport while working and living there. I am a contented Dad watching my kids step into adulthood.
Just last night, I went with my wife and daughter to see the Avengers which is a Marvel comics conglomeration brought to the big screen. In between eating an entire bag of popcorn (as I convinced myself that popcorn is "free" on a diet), I just sighed in contentment as I sat between wife and daughter.
One of the memorable takeaway quotes was from Tony Stark (Iron Man, good guy) who said to Loki (megalomaniac, bad guy) as things were about to get better for the good guys, "There is no throne, there is no version of
this where you come out on top! Maybe your army will come, maybe it's
too much for us, but it's all on you! Because if we can't protect the
Earth, you can be [word left out] sure we'll avenge it!"
That is where the conflict comes in. I liked the movie because the guys I wanted to win did in fact win. And if they didn't win, they would exact revenge. The man beside my wife was so into it that he stated (loudly) the obvious for the back third of the theater: "The Hulk just beat that man's..." well you get where he was going. The big green guy with anger issues was seen as an ally to the audience so we cheered him as he beat up the bad guy. Our guy wins.
I am conflicted because of conflict. The paper this morning (yes, I still read a real newspaper) told of conflict in our city council (which is politics as usual in New Orleans). I spoke last week at a university where some issues regarding the president's vision have created quite the conversation. I read of the distrust between state conventions and our convention missions entities. As a nation, we cannot decide which political candidate is less toxic than the other one.
When I put my introspective hat on and look at my "side" in some of these "conflicts" I am aware that my pride--the unwillingness to admit that I might be wrong about something--is at the core. Pride is manifested in a desire for power and too often it comes at the expense of others. If I am to climb the ladder, I must either push you off of it or at least be able to demonstrate that I am a couple of rungs higher than you. If I am a leader, I can make decisions that serve me and my buddies and I make them "because I can."
If I have a position, then there cannot be one inch or ounce of compromise because to concede anything is to give up everything. If I can find a verse or a teaching of Jesus to proof text my argument, I will ignore Paul and the Old Testament on my way to doing so. My stubbornness digs in and I will confess to anyone who reads this that it is simply a matter of pride--I refuse to accept that I could be arrogant, biased, or just wrong.
I also liked an exchange between Natasha and Thor in which Thor feels like he should defend his brother (Loki). Thor says, "He's my brother." Agent Natasha Romanoff says, "He killed 80 people in 2 days. Thor responds, "He's adopted." When confronted with an inconvenient truth, we put distance between ourselves and it. We hang on to our point of view, even if the facts or common sense do not support it.
I am reminded of an old youth ministry talk illustration called, "The Monkey Trap." Whether it ever really happened or not, the story goes that jungle monkeys can be trapped because they won't let go. The hunters hollow out a coconut and chain it to a tree. The only opening in the coconut is a small hole, just large enough for a monkey to squeeze a hand in. A shiny object, usually candy is placed inside the coconut and when the monkey clinches the candy in the palm of its little primate hand, the fist cannot come back through the hole in the coconut and the monkey is trapped. The monkey is trapped because he won't let go of the object he desires to hold.
I think we get trapped when we are unreasonable about holding on. I would never suggest that we compromise on a carefully-considered biblical position. But life isn't a comic book. God allows the messiness of our world so we can demonstrate the love or our Redeemer in a world that is messed up, while reading and learning and holding fast to the truth of His Word.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
On Easter
One of my volunteer ministry jobs (and one of the coolest in the world) is to be a volunteer sports chaplain. I do chapel for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the AAA baseball team here in New Orleans (Miami Marlins affiliate). During chapel on Easter Sunday, I asked the what and why of Easter as they saw it. We agreed that to understand Easter, we had to view it through the eyes of a first-century disciple.
We were in Matthew's version of the Easter events and three things emerged as the "you have to get this" list.
1. Jesus was really dead. The disciples thought He was dead. The women thought He was dead.The soldiers thought He was dead. Pilate thought He was dead. Pilate even sealed the tomb to guard against the possibility of the terrified disciples defying the Roman equivalent of Seal Team 6. Everyone in that day knew that Jesus was really dead and 800 years earlier, Isaiah told us why He had to die
Isa 53:5-6
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
2. Jesus really rose from the dead in the 1st century. I tweeted on Sunday and Monday that those had to be really tough days for the Pharisees, Sadducees, and everyone else who was so invested in Jesus being dead. We look back and cite the Resurrection as fact because we have had 2000 years to get used to the idea. At the time, it was revolutionary. Immediately, folks began to deny it. The awkward fact that a body could not be produced, even though the Romans knew creative torture methods that could have compelled anyone who actually knew where the body was to produce it and the resurrection ruse would be over. Paul understood the importance of Jesus really being alive again.
1 Cor 15:12-18
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
3. Jesus is still alive. A couple of other people in Scripture had been raised from the dead back to life. Lazarus had been raised from the dead, but he died again later on. Richard Ross has been my hero for pointing out that Jesus is STILL ALIVE. I told the ballplayers that often our (my) problem is that I perceive Jesus as "was" instead of "is." He isn't a historical figure, a gentle, well-groomed Caucasian walking around the Middle East being kind to children (Richard's words) when in reality, Jesus is. He is in heaven awaiting the Father's command to return. John's revelation view of Jesus is in the present tense.
Rev 19:11-16
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven. He really resurrected, showing the 1st century citizens and us that death has been defeated. He will come again and in the meantime, He is. He is interested in our everyday struggles, He is invested in all persons coming to Him in faith, He is a counselor, comforter, and friend. He is the One who hears our prayers and the one who cares about our struggles to be human and godly.
1 Thess 4:14-18
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Comfort one another with these words. Jesus Is.
We were in Matthew's version of the Easter events and three things emerged as the "you have to get this" list.
1. Jesus was really dead. The disciples thought He was dead. The women thought He was dead.The soldiers thought He was dead. Pilate thought He was dead. Pilate even sealed the tomb to guard against the possibility of the terrified disciples defying the Roman equivalent of Seal Team 6. Everyone in that day knew that Jesus was really dead and 800 years earlier, Isaiah told us why He had to die
Isa 53:5-6
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
2. Jesus really rose from the dead in the 1st century. I tweeted on Sunday and Monday that those had to be really tough days for the Pharisees, Sadducees, and everyone else who was so invested in Jesus being dead. We look back and cite the Resurrection as fact because we have had 2000 years to get used to the idea. At the time, it was revolutionary. Immediately, folks began to deny it. The awkward fact that a body could not be produced, even though the Romans knew creative torture methods that could have compelled anyone who actually knew where the body was to produce it and the resurrection ruse would be over. Paul understood the importance of Jesus really being alive again.
1 Cor 15:12-18
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
3. Jesus is still alive. A couple of other people in Scripture had been raised from the dead back to life. Lazarus had been raised from the dead, but he died again later on. Richard Ross has been my hero for pointing out that Jesus is STILL ALIVE. I told the ballplayers that often our (my) problem is that I perceive Jesus as "was" instead of "is." He isn't a historical figure, a gentle, well-groomed Caucasian walking around the Middle East being kind to children (Richard's words) when in reality, Jesus is. He is in heaven awaiting the Father's command to return. John's revelation view of Jesus is in the present tense.
Rev 19:11-16
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven. He really resurrected, showing the 1st century citizens and us that death has been defeated. He will come again and in the meantime, He is. He is interested in our everyday struggles, He is invested in all persons coming to Him in faith, He is a counselor, comforter, and friend. He is the One who hears our prayers and the one who cares about our struggles to be human and godly.
1 Thess 4:14-18
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Comfort one another with these words. Jesus Is.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
On What I Learned in Worship Today
Today I got to worship at my own church instead of doing ministry somewhere else. I love being home and sitting next to my bride in worship. I look forward to hearing my pastor, Dr. David Crosby preach. He is an amazing communicator and leader. But today, before he spoke, the music touched me. Robert is our worship leader and he is outstanding as well. Music has always been emotional for me, but today was special. I confess that I can be snobbish about singing in worship. Why do we have to stand up all the time? How would the music guys like it if we made them stand up while we preach? But I digress. Today I was humbled.
I have known the music reaches a different part of our brain than words or pictures. I get that sometimes the rhythms and cadence of music communicate deeply. I got it all over today as I watched two men in my church. Both were born with Downs Syndrome. One of them has been my friend for most of his life. Mike was born while I was youth minister to his two older sisters and currently, both Mike and I volunteer for the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball club. The other person I observed in worship is much younger, but was inspiring to watch nonetheless.
Mike has always served as a kind of guest conductor. Whenever music is sung at our church, you can see him caught up in it from his place in the pew. He waves his arms like the music leader, completely sold out to worship. It is his way of participating. Today, the other young man was singing. He sang every word of every song, completely caught up in the moment. He modeled for me the old saying that we worship "for an audience of One." I have not seen such uninhibited praise very often.
I confess and apologize for underestimating what God does when He connects with our hearts through musical worship. It is an amazingly universal language. It sings over us, draws us in and lifts us up. At least it does if we aren't preoccupied with our posture. I repent.
I have known the music reaches a different part of our brain than words or pictures. I get that sometimes the rhythms and cadence of music communicate deeply. I got it all over today as I watched two men in my church. Both were born with Downs Syndrome. One of them has been my friend for most of his life. Mike was born while I was youth minister to his two older sisters and currently, both Mike and I volunteer for the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball club. The other person I observed in worship is much younger, but was inspiring to watch nonetheless.
Mike has always served as a kind of guest conductor. Whenever music is sung at our church, you can see him caught up in it from his place in the pew. He waves his arms like the music leader, completely sold out to worship. It is his way of participating. Today, the other young man was singing. He sang every word of every song, completely caught up in the moment. He modeled for me the old saying that we worship "for an audience of One." I have not seen such uninhibited praise very often.
I confess and apologize for underestimating what God does when He connects with our hearts through musical worship. It is an amazingly universal language. It sings over us, draws us in and lifts us up. At least it does if we aren't preoccupied with our posture. I repent.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
On the Dance of Discipleship
I wrote a poem for the introduction to my online discipleship class. I figured I would share it.
We dance with God. We dance with each other.
Picture a square dance.
God is our "caller" and we coordinate our movements to His instructions.
We are in a choreographed yet spontaneous movement where we also take cues from each other.
We learn some steps, we listen to His voice, we connect with fellow dancers.
We share, we create, we lead and we follow.
We dance.
The Dance of Discipleship.
Picture a square dance.
God is our "caller" and we coordinate our movements to His instructions.
We are in a choreographed yet spontaneous movement where we also take cues from each other.
We learn some steps, we listen to His voice, we connect with fellow dancers.
We share, we create, we lead and we follow.
We dance.
On Social Media and Self-Revelation
I am a recent resident of the "Twitterverse" having been coerced by some of my friends (thanks Randy Hall, Alvin Reed and especially Paul Turner) who have chided me about not being current despite my role as a youth culture student and youth ministry professor.
I have told some of my friends that I go back and forth between finding it hard to believe that anyone really cares what I have to say and feeling a bit narcissistic because I hope that someone cares what I have to say.
Well today while still on my very first cup of coffee, I sort of categorized my social media participation. I use Facebook to keep up with the comings and goings of my friends. I scan the news feed and see what is up--who is having a birthday, baby or trip out of the country. I don't do Farmville or Castleville or other games because I am not really clever enough to collect all the stuff you are supposed to collect. I let other people know where I am traveling or about cool things going on in my world.
I use Twitter to post my odd observations about life. I realize I am not very inspirational and usually I have to ask someone if it is okay to post because I don't have the best filters on the planet. I like to read the 140-character thoughts of others, but it kind of makes my head spin. Plus, I really don't care that your lunch burrito gave you gas but I do kind of think it is funny.
I use my blog to write about what I believe God is showing me. I try to create words that inspire or observe, and I know I am not all that controversial (here at least) as I do not really engage in the denominational wars du jour or comment on political issues.
My early morning revelation is this: Regardless of the medium, I am selective about what I let you know. Whether I try or not, whether I admit it or not, I only let you read what I think is witty, or thoughtful (though usually falling short of profound), or clever.
I have never tweeted "I gossipped today" or "I lusted today" or "Today I put someone down so I could look better." I have never posted a picture on Facebook with the caption, "Here I am in a place I have no business being." On my blog, I have never gone to the depths of the insecurity I occasionally feel or to the details of confession that I occasionally need or to the revelation of struggle that I often have.
Come to think of it, I don't see very many other people revealing the dark side either. We put our best tweet forward in order to present a person that may or may not be as together as the cyber-words might indicate. I suppose the danger is that I might forget that God knows me whether I tweet/update/post or not. He desires that my words would be sincere and transparent and even desperate. He reminded us that He knows us and King David crafted the words to our prayer:
Ps 139:1-6 (NASB)
139 O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.
2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up;
Thou dost understand my thought from afar.
3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all.
5 Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
The psalm goes on to remind us that God knew about us as we developed in the womb, that He knows our thoughts, that He knows what will happen each day--when we will succeed, edify and encourage and when we will fail, tear down and become angry and selfish.
I like the translation of a few of the later verses in verses 17-18 of the same Psalm, but this time from Eugene Peterson's translation, The Message:
Your thoughts — how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them — any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
Since those two verses are too long to tweet, let me just repeat the last line as my prayer.
Father, let me rise this morning and live always with You!
I have told some of my friends that I go back and forth between finding it hard to believe that anyone really cares what I have to say and feeling a bit narcissistic because I hope that someone cares what I have to say.
Well today while still on my very first cup of coffee, I sort of categorized my social media participation. I use Facebook to keep up with the comings and goings of my friends. I scan the news feed and see what is up--who is having a birthday, baby or trip out of the country. I don't do Farmville or Castleville or other games because I am not really clever enough to collect all the stuff you are supposed to collect. I let other people know where I am traveling or about cool things going on in my world.
I use Twitter to post my odd observations about life. I realize I am not very inspirational and usually I have to ask someone if it is okay to post because I don't have the best filters on the planet. I like to read the 140-character thoughts of others, but it kind of makes my head spin. Plus, I really don't care that your lunch burrito gave you gas but I do kind of think it is funny.
I use my blog to write about what I believe God is showing me. I try to create words that inspire or observe, and I know I am not all that controversial (here at least) as I do not really engage in the denominational wars du jour or comment on political issues.
My early morning revelation is this: Regardless of the medium, I am selective about what I let you know. Whether I try or not, whether I admit it or not, I only let you read what I think is witty, or thoughtful (though usually falling short of profound), or clever.
I have never tweeted "I gossipped today" or "I lusted today" or "Today I put someone down so I could look better." I have never posted a picture on Facebook with the caption, "Here I am in a place I have no business being." On my blog, I have never gone to the depths of the insecurity I occasionally feel or to the details of confession that I occasionally need or to the revelation of struggle that I often have.
Come to think of it, I don't see very many other people revealing the dark side either. We put our best tweet forward in order to present a person that may or may not be as together as the cyber-words might indicate. I suppose the danger is that I might forget that God knows me whether I tweet/update/post or not. He desires that my words would be sincere and transparent and even desperate. He reminded us that He knows us and King David crafted the words to our prayer:
Ps 139:1-6 (NASB)
139 O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.
2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up;
Thou dost understand my thought from afar.
3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all.
5 Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
The psalm goes on to remind us that God knew about us as we developed in the womb, that He knows our thoughts, that He knows what will happen each day--when we will succeed, edify and encourage and when we will fail, tear down and become angry and selfish.
I like the translation of a few of the later verses in verses 17-18 of the same Psalm, but this time from Eugene Peterson's translation, The Message:
Your thoughts — how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them — any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
Since those two verses are too long to tweet, let me just repeat the last line as my prayer.
Father, let me rise this morning and live always with You!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
On Paradox
I understand a paradox to be two things that seem to be incompatible, yet are true at the same time. The ever-reliable Wikipedia (scary to me that one study found it to be more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica) defines paradox as "a logical statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which (if true) defies logic or reason"
Two scriptures I have studied lately seem paradoxical to me. I won't use that word anymore, but let me just say that it amazes me how God allows things that seem not to be related to be true. In Paul's letter to Timothy, he tells him to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). Strength in grace is an interesting and invigorating thought. They don't seem to go together--we enjoy grace because we are fallen, not strong, yet we can be strong because Jesus has redeemed us. It feels a bit like the old youth ministry "trust fall" (look up this insane practice if you don't know what I am talking about) where I surrendered logic, rational thought, and probably safety by falling backwards into the arms of people much smaller than me.
I surrender all of my preconceived notions of what strength might be by falling into grace.
A second paradox (oops) is found in Acts 3:19-20. I like the NIV translation here,
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus.
How can I repent and be refreshed at the same time? I picture repentance as a trip to the woodshed to own up for the things I have done, thought or failed to think and do, and to take the emotional beating that I deserve. Yet repentance unlocks a wiping away of my sins and a refreshing breeze of forgiveness so that my eyes are open to none other than Jesus who was appointed for me. And you. And the rest of this whole fallen world.
I pray today that you can be strong in the grace and refreshed by the repentance.
Two scriptures I have studied lately seem paradoxical to me. I won't use that word anymore, but let me just say that it amazes me how God allows things that seem not to be related to be true. In Paul's letter to Timothy, he tells him to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). Strength in grace is an interesting and invigorating thought. They don't seem to go together--we enjoy grace because we are fallen, not strong, yet we can be strong because Jesus has redeemed us. It feels a bit like the old youth ministry "trust fall" (look up this insane practice if you don't know what I am talking about) where I surrendered logic, rational thought, and probably safety by falling backwards into the arms of people much smaller than me.
I surrender all of my preconceived notions of what strength might be by falling into grace.
A second paradox (oops) is found in Acts 3:19-20. I like the NIV translation here,
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus.
How can I repent and be refreshed at the same time? I picture repentance as a trip to the woodshed to own up for the things I have done, thought or failed to think and do, and to take the emotional beating that I deserve. Yet repentance unlocks a wiping away of my sins and a refreshing breeze of forgiveness so that my eyes are open to none other than Jesus who was appointed for me. And you. And the rest of this whole fallen world.
I pray today that you can be strong in the grace and refreshed by the repentance.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
On Medical Heroes
I have already posted my thankfulness for my knee surgeon, Dr. Scott Montgomery who trained with one of my all time heroes, medical and otherwise, Dr. Mike Brunet. I continue to be blown away by the advances in medical technology that allowed a skilled doctor using a small camera to thread a new (well, new to me) ACL into my damaged knee. Under the direction of a physical therapist named Guido (I am not making this up), the "hurts so good" of stretching and bending and exercising has brought strength and mobility. He has advanced my progress more than I could imagine. Ice is my friend.
As I have iced my knee, I have been reading a book by one of my other medical heroes. Several years ago, I read Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. The point of that book was to consider the value of pain through the lens of Dr. Brand's work with leprosy patients. Leprosy robs the body of the ability to feel pain and even when the disease is stopped, the patients have no nerve warning in their hands and feet to tell them that they are doing something dangerous. The book I am reading now is He Satisfies my Soul and is a reprint of an earlier book, God's Forever Feast.
The collection of devotional chapters has gotten my attention in several ways. It is a collection of journal-type thoughts from Dr.Brand during his medical career in India and at the Carville Institute in Louisiana. In the first chapter, he writes of a fishing trip that almost went terribly wrong. Dr. Brand's family was hiking with another family with no plan for food other than the trout they would catch from the river. The fish were not biting and brunch time turned into lunch time and then into dinner time with no fish. Finally, the sunburned fathers began to catch the trout and the hungry children were fed. But not before grace.
Dr. Brand writes,
I mentioned that the children could hardly wait to sing grace before biting down on their trout on dry bread, but wait they did and if parents had forgotten, the little ones would have reminded us to sing. We had a series of musical graces that each of our families used to sing before every meal. It seemed to us that they had special meaning on picnics in the countryside. There we were surrounded with the evidence of God's bounty. . . The singing postponed the eating by just a few minutes, but I have no doubt that it enhanced the flavor or what we ate. It brought wholeness into each meal. The fare at our meals was not only an array of wholesome foods for our nourishment, but it also gave us a chance to be together and it was an invitation to our Lord to take His place at the head of the table. . .This grace gently reminds us God is the source of all that we need. He is the one who sustains and nourishes us, both physically and spiritually.
I pray that as you gather family and say grace over bountiful meals, that you will linger for a moment to assure that the Lord is in His place at the head of the table. I know I will.
As I have iced my knee, I have been reading a book by one of my other medical heroes. Several years ago, I read Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. The point of that book was to consider the value of pain through the lens of Dr. Brand's work with leprosy patients. Leprosy robs the body of the ability to feel pain and even when the disease is stopped, the patients have no nerve warning in their hands and feet to tell them that they are doing something dangerous. The book I am reading now is He Satisfies my Soul and is a reprint of an earlier book, God's Forever Feast.
The collection of devotional chapters has gotten my attention in several ways. It is a collection of journal-type thoughts from Dr.Brand during his medical career in India and at the Carville Institute in Louisiana. In the first chapter, he writes of a fishing trip that almost went terribly wrong. Dr. Brand's family was hiking with another family with no plan for food other than the trout they would catch from the river. The fish were not biting and brunch time turned into lunch time and then into dinner time with no fish. Finally, the sunburned fathers began to catch the trout and the hungry children were fed. But not before grace.
Dr. Brand writes,
I mentioned that the children could hardly wait to sing grace before biting down on their trout on dry bread, but wait they did and if parents had forgotten, the little ones would have reminded us to sing. We had a series of musical graces that each of our families used to sing before every meal. It seemed to us that they had special meaning on picnics in the countryside. There we were surrounded with the evidence of God's bounty. . . The singing postponed the eating by just a few minutes, but I have no doubt that it enhanced the flavor or what we ate. It brought wholeness into each meal. The fare at our meals was not only an array of wholesome foods for our nourishment, but it also gave us a chance to be together and it was an invitation to our Lord to take His place at the head of the table. . .This grace gently reminds us God is the source of all that we need. He is the one who sustains and nourishes us, both physically and spiritually.
I pray that as you gather family and say grace over bountiful meals, that you will linger for a moment to assure that the Lord is in His place at the head of the table. I know I will.
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