By His Grace Alone

Someone forwarded this to me.  Just a short reminder to keep perspective!

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slowly through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together .

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not just to those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

If you get a chance, do yourself a favor and hookup dual monitors for your system.  I had given it some thought for quite a while, and finally decided to take the plunge.  Holy smoke!  I’ve spent money to upgrade my system before, but never have I gotten such bang for the buck.  This type of setup makes work so much easier.  It’s nice to have the screen real estate to have large windows open on side-by-side monitors.  It totally revolutionizes the way you browse the Internet and takes multi-tasking to the next level. 

No regrets.  And it’s cheap too.  Take a look at Tiger Direct or your local Best Buy store.  These LCD monitors are coming down in price sharply. 

Downside: if you don’t have an adequate graphics card, you might need to plug-in a new one.  I have to admit, I started to sweat it when I cracked my case and started to do surgery on my box.  But it wasn’t too bad.  I just had to disable my onboard graphics card before the system recognized the new card.  If you don’t feel comfortable working on your system, you can get a techie set you up for small change…

If it’s a possibility for you, try it out.  Highly recommended!

Every so often I am reminded of the unique role a chaplain plays in the lives of the people he serves.  Sometimes the chaplain is looked upon as a oddity.  Strange that an ordained minister would be on the staff of a major Marine Corps command.  Doctors and other  healthcare professionals, sure.  Everybody knows that when you’re broken in body, you need medical care.  But what we often don’t think about is what do you do when you’re broken in spirit?  When you have a sick baby, you call the doctor; but when you have a dead baby, you call the chaplain. 

I went through a sad experience yesterday: to go to the emergency room and be with a mom and dad who had just lost their 2 month old baby.  When all the excitement and rushing and ambulances and CPR and heroic medical intervention had ended, it was time for the chaplain to arrive. 

It’s at times like that I’ll never forget the training and mentorship of my friend Dr. Jim Kok who taught me that 90% of helping is just being there.  In the still sadness of that emergency room, the last thing that couple needed was a pompous, know-it-all jerk spouting off Bible verses and spiritual ‘quick-fixes’.  As Solomon taught us, there’s a time for weeping and mourning (Ecc 3:4).  It was that time. 

Could I wax eloquent on the theological significance of death, and the Providence of God, and why He allows bad things to happen in this fallen world?  Sure.  Could I reassure them and tell them it would be alright and that they’re still young and can have more kids later?  Absolutely: if, of course, I didn’t mind being an insensitive windbag. 

The key to ministry in this kind of situation is being mindful of who you are, and Who you represent.  To empathize, and be in the moment.  Not to gloss over the grieving process, but to mourn with them.  The chance would come later to pray and read Scripture and speak a kind word. 

I’m reminded of David in 2 Samuel 12:18 when he lost his baby son.  The distress and anguish of soul so afflicted him that his servants were fearful he might do something desperate.  But in the end, his faith was renewed in his confession, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me…” 

When a woman with tears in her eyes confessed yesterday that she couldn’t understand this tragedy and asked me why God would allow this to happen, I had a technically correct answer, and a pastorally sensitive answer.  I gave her the latter: “We cannot know, but God is with you in your pain…”  At that point she didn’t need a theology lesson.  Perhaps that can come later.  At that point, she needed someone to grieve with her and share the moment. 

But that doesn’t change the fact that indeed, God is there.  That truly, He sees the misery and pain that sin has wreaked upon his creation.  And He has resolved to do something about it at great cost to Himself.  That’s the mission of His Son, atoning for the sin of the world, that the day would come when “God will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4).

Philip Yancy has done some good thinking on the question of suffering and pain.  “Disappointment with God” (see right sidebar) is highly recommended reading. 

Following is the 1863 Lincoln Presidential Proclamation - celebrated shortly after Lincoln committed his life to Christ and celebrated while America was still in the midst of its Civil War. It was this proclamation which eventually led to the establishment of our national Thanksgiving holiday.

by the President of the United States of America

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore.  Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln

Provided by http://www.wallbuilders.com  WallBuilders. Used with permission by http://christiananswers.net/eden/home.html Eden Communications.

Related questions…

What is the origin of America’s annual Thanksgiving Day?
http://christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g007.html Answer…

Why do we really celebrate Thanksgiving?
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/ednkc002.html Answer…

Are YOU thankful to God? See what the Bible has to say about thanksgiving. Post your thanks to encourage others.
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-g003.html Go…

As some of you know, we’re looking to start worshipping on Sunday’s, but there’s quite a lot to do before we can move forward. 

First and formost: we need to find a location!  Keep your ear to the ground, and if you find a something that might be suitable let myself or Andy know.  We’re working on it!

A partial list of gear that we’re going to want includes:

Pulpit

Paraments

Communionware

Digital Hymnal

Offering plates

More hymnals/psalters

Nursery equipment & supplies

Lord willing, there will be a new Reformed church in Oahu soon!

JC

Thanks for checking out my new blog.  Click around.  I’ve linked to some quality stuff. 

By all means, shoot me your feedback. 

By His grace alone,

JC

I have to admit, I found this crazy.  Just another sign of how bass-ackward the world is.  All kinds of sexual, materialistic and violent overtones are ok in advertising, but a message of “God gives hope” is offensive.  Just another example of people calling good-evil and evil-good (Isa 5:20).  Check out the story:

SermonAudio.com - What’s New Details

JC

JC