Christmas 2007

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

How quickly this year has rolled past! Cindy and I are running behind -- we just returned from a business trip to the UK and are now trying to get in gear for the fast approaching holiday. We traveled to London the Monday following Thanksgiving and stayed at St Albans, a historic little town of about 125,000 north of London. It has lots of history -- dating back as far as the Roman times. I worked there for 2 days, then we traveled to Wales -- which was just beautiful -- for work over the weekend, then back to St Albans for the rest of the week, returning on a long, long flight Friday, December 7. It was all a tremendous blessing that neither of us would have ever thought we could have enjoyed. You can see comments and links to our pictures at:

http://uk-roots.blogspot.com

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

Joseph graduated cum laude from University of Central Arkansas with double majors in Communications and Writing. During his last semester, he interned at Arkansas Educational Television Network which has its headquarters there at the university. He since was hired by AETN as an associate producer and has been working all through the fall on a broadcast project for which he is now writing the music score. He is getting to apply many of the talents he has developed over the years in a medium he really enjoys.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

We have had a number of health challenges during the year. Things were going well with Cindy's chemo treatments, such that we asked for and received a break from the treatments beginning in June. Cindy has felt better and better throughout the summer and fall. Shortly before Labor Day, she began having tremendous problems with breathing and activity -- then the night of Labor Day, she had to be hospitalized, learning that what she had been experiencing was congestive heart failure. We were fortunate to be able to get good treatment for that and she is doing much better in that regard. However, after returning from the UK, her routine scans for cancer revealed that some of the growths that had been under control previously were now growing and becoming troublesome again. Her weakened heart condition will make that more difficult to deal with and she is in the prayers of many.

With Cindy's heart failure, we had to make a difficult decision about caring for Eddie in our home and he is now being cared for in a nursing home nearby. Cindy gets to visit him almost daily and he is still a joy to us.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

You may have noticed that I have included the words to Isaac Watts' hymn "Joy to the World" in our letter this year. Those people of faith in years-gone-by proclaimed something we have forgotten in our world of turmoil. Jesus came to set creation and, most importantly, people free from the damage done by sin -- wherever it is found. To replace the curse with blessing. To overcome evil with good. He is the ruling King, not just in some future time, but now. He wants us to enjoy it with him.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 8

1 Corinthians 8-10 (Part 2): "Rights" of a Christian.

Example: Paul himself. The Corinthians thought they had rights. Didn't Paul have "rights" as an apostle... to food and shelter, to take a wife with him. Soldiers don't pay their own expenses. Farmers eat from their own crops and herds. The oxen on the threshing floor get to eat from the grain they are threshing so they have strength to work. So, Paul had a right to expect what he needed from those he labored among -- from them. But... he purposely did not exercise that right, so that nothing would create an obstacle to the message of Christ.

More than that, Paul considered himself a servant of those he worked among, becoming whatever they needed to win them to faith. Paul was for the Body, not for himself and he made every choice with that in view. Winning was winning others, overcoming every obstacle -- not getting his own way. Paul said that if he did otherwise, he was in danger of forfeiting his life purpose and all he had worked for. Even Paul, with all the things endowed to him by God and all the "importance" of his role as an apostle, could lose and disqualify himself from God's work by living selfishly. His standard: I (we) win when the Body wins.

Example: Israel in the wilderness. They had been chosen for great blessing, for a great work. They had been set free from enslavement and provided for -- for what? To satisfy their own lusts? To desire evil things? To fool around with idols and false gods? To complain about what God had done and would do for them in the future? God made an example of them to us -- who have also had a great deliverance and given a great calling in God's purpose for the world. If we live for ourselves and "play both sides of the fence" we are in danger of being disqualified. God knows we live with temptation. God knows that no one has "unique" temptations. He will bear us up through it. He uses it to improve us, not disprove us. There is a vast difference between being tempted to sin and doing sin (living out the temptation).

Therefore, don't be arrogant with your "superior" knowledge, don't play with demonic things. If you eat some meat from the meat market, and it has been sacrificed to idols, don't worry about it since idols are nothing. However, if someone says, "This meat is special, it has been blessed by sacrificing it to Zeus" or "We're celebrating Gaia! Come join us in our celebration meal..." don't eat it for their conscience sake. More than that, if you join them in celebrating Gaia -- YOU are participating willfully with demons!

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 7

1 Corinthians 8-10 (Part 1): "Rights" of a Christian.

As someone has said, freedom isn't being able to do whatever you want, it is the power to do what you ought. Christians have gained truth that sets us free from things that harm and destroy life.

Intellectual knowledge is like cotton candy -- it gives the appearance of substance, but is really just a little sugar "fluffed up". Love (the action, not the "feeling") is substantial. As with the Corinthians, knowledge can become an instrument of individualism, separation, of competition. Instead of acting in the interest of their weaker brethren, those who had "knowledge" about the non-reality of idols and sacrifices to them used that knowledge to prove their "superiority" to those unenlightened ones who let those kinds of things trouble them.

To be clear, we are not to remain children and this concern for the weaker should not be construed as a reason to let the immature stay that way. It is the responsibility of the mature to lovingly build up the maturity of the weaker members. That may take time and patience but it is essential for the growth of the body.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 6

1 Corinthians 7: Again, our bodies are not our "property". In the case of the marriage relationship, we owe physical, emotional, spiritual affection to our mate. It should be a debt we are glad to pay, but it is a debt nonetheless. This keeps the home fires burning in a wandering, immoral society. God didn't make us to be stoic or ascetic on the one hand or stray dogs on the other.

A married believer should not instigate a divorce from an unbelieving spouse, but especially a believing one. If so divorced, reconciliation or celibacy are the only options as long as both are alive. If an unbelieving spouse divorces a believer, let them go peacefully.

Unmarried believers who are considering marriage need to make the decision with their eyes open -- not "blinded by love". Singleness offers greater flexibility and service to Christ with fewer distractions. As Paul says -- and I think every married disciple would agree -- when we are married we have the additional desire to please our spouse. Just reality. Marriage is not a "second class" option to singleness, but it needs to be stripped of the phony expectations of our Cinderella and the Handsome Prince way of seeing it. When we make marriage vows, we are binding ourselves to God's purpose in marriage, with attendant covenantal blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 5

1 Corinthians 5-6 Part Two: We quote the scripture that God has given us "everything pertaining to life and godliness." The scripture also says that the mature are those "who through practice, have their sensed trained to discern good and evil." In other words, the mature person listens to God's instructions, practices them and gains clarity and discernment. They are not clueless about "the right thing to do" any more. These are the ones that Paul says to go to for conflict resolution, not to judges that are spiritually clueless.

While God's standards must inform -- even condemn -- the world, the church "polices" its own, God deals with those outside. When we are "grown up" we will judge the world and even angels. Are we getting ready for that -- by studying and practicing -- or are we just "expecting it to happen" by and by? This was another area where the Corinthians were dishonoring the body. Instead of pursuing maturity and helpfulness toward the church, they were living just like those whom God condemns, preying on one another. People are either servants or predators. The Corinthians were being the latter.

For Christians -- and in the usage of Paul -- "the body" can either refer to an individual's flesh and bones, or to the corporate church. It would seem that those who dishonor one dishonor the other. That is definitely true throughout 1 Corinthians. Paul's warnings apply equally to both. A person's body is for Christ, not for immorality. The Church body is for Christ, not for immorality. God made both the stomach and food, but food doesn't rule the stomach, God does. Sexuality (or anything that tends to "control" people) doesn't rule the person or the church, Christ does. He owns the lives he bought. Beware of your appetites.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 4

1 Corinthians 5-6 Part One: Tolerance of evil is not maturity. God created the body for holiness and that holiness is part of the testimony that his salvation is real -- not just "god talk". Those who practice evil need to be put outside the protective sphere of the church, for their own good and the good of the body. A father with an independent and rebellious son will not allow him to continue to stay at home, live as he pleases and disrupt the household. For the good of the son and the protection of the rest of the family, the father will make him move out and fend for himself. The father will still love him and try to work with him, but not in the home. There is no biblical evidence of the modern attitude "we'd rather have them in church."

Churches with no discipline are inviting ruin to the whole family. The notions of "whoever is without sin, let him throw the first stone" or "first take the log out of your own eye" do not apply to situations of habitual gross disobedience like this. We have allowed those principles to be mis-applied to the degree that they make church discipline toothless. Paul's rebuke to the Corinthians is also very clear that he and the church are given authority to "turn over to Satan" those who prefer sin over obedience. That's pretty serious authority for the church to have responsibility for. God's standard for the church is purity. It is not an elective for those who are "really serious" about their faith.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 3

1 Corinthians 4: As said before, Paul took the Corinthians apparent liking to "one up" each other by the horns. He used himself and his discipling companion Apollos -- another one of their "superstars" -- to show the foolishness of that way of looking at things.

We start adding our own extras to give our position a little more pizzazz than the other guy. Paul urges them not to "go beyond what is written." The gospel is an equalizer -- everything we have that is good is a gift and no one is an earner. One of the pleasant characteristics of liturgical churches -- from my standpoint -- is that is doesn't focus on the preacher. Many evangelicals are like the Corinthians. "I think Pastor X is really dynamic." "No, Pastor Y is better!"

Liturgical worship, for all its formality, has the capability to focus on worship and reflect on the word of God, not on how much ga-ga the service has. We could learn from that.

The Corinthians took "ruling or reigning" in the same manner as the pagan rulers -- they wanted to be distinguished, esteemed, opulent. To Paul, reigning came by serving (just as his model -- Jesus -- said, "the one who rules must be servant of all") and he gave examples of how that manifested in the lives of his fellow apostles.

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

Make no mistake, Christians are destined to rule, but it will not be by force, it will be by service.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 2

1 Corinthians 1 and 2: The Christians at Corinth had "sided up" with different gospel superstars as if their stars had unique messages, but especially because they had different "styles". Paul's warning is that nothing spiritual originates in men and Christ's spirit does not divide himself up and represent himself differently through different people. He warns that the message is quite simple and "style" can only take away from it, the Spirit and the message are going to be the same no matter who is speaking. If it takes gimmicks or "pizzazz" to succeed, it is not success by God's definition.

Richard Dawkins and other extremists of the materialist faith accuse Christians of a "God delusion". Paul says that there is wisdom that is hidden from the eye, that materialists can't know. This wisdom is only revealed by the Spirit to the spirit. The things God has prepared for those who love him fall into this category. Only spiritual men, then, are playing with a "full deck".

Next: Chapter 3

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 1

I have been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about Paul's first existing letter to the Corinthian church lately. I don't presume to uncover anything new, but in the next few posts, I will briefly put some of my thoughts out here.

After reading the letter, there are many similarities to the modern (especially American) church. Lest we shrug that off, it was so serious at Corinth that some people were sickly and others had died as a result of their wrong-headed and careless approach to body life. In fact, the warnings of chapter ten about Israel's self-willed practices -- tying together with the warning about the temple of God and about the Lord's supper -- were obviously meant to be taken seriously by them, and by us.

This church is all about distinguishing oneself from others: "I'm better than the others because..." Their meetings were about "what's in it for me" and "I'd better get mine before others do." It was a sick body, the parts not working together in healthy way and the immune system down (chapter 5 -- allowing sin to openly go on which even pagans considered out-of-bounds). It was a far cry from the holy body God called it to be -- see Titus 2:14.

Next: Comments about chapters 1-2.

The Great Plains -- A Retrospective

Calling Out Your Name

Well the moon moved past Nebraska
And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills
And angels danced on Jacob's stairs
Yeah, they danced on Jacob's stairs
There is this silence in the Badlands
And over Kansas the whole universe was stilled
By the whisper of a prayer
The whisper of a prayer

And the single hawk bursts into flight
And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

I can feel the earth tremble
Beneath the rumbling of the buffalo hooves
And the fury in the pheasant's wings
And there's fury in a pheasant's wings
It tells me the Lord is in His temple
And there is still a faith that can make the mountains move
And a love that can make the heavens ring
And I've seen love make heaven ring

Where the sacred rivers meet
Beneath the shadow of the Keeper of the plains
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

From the place where morning gathers
You can look sometimes forever 'til you see
What time may never know
What time may never know
How the Lord takes by its corners this old world
And shakes us forward and shakes us free
To run wild with the hope
To run wild with the hope

The hope that this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
And I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

And I know this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And with the prairies I am calling out Your name

Rich Mullins
Psalms 19:1-6

It has been over twenty-five years since I left the Great Plains. I still carry with me the nasal southwest Kansas twang -- I will probably have it till my dying day. I had no appreciation for my homeland of western Kansas when I was growing up. It was a place to get away from. Definitely un-cosmopolitan, consisting mostly of wheat farms, pasture, cattle rances and prairie. Life revolved around planting and harvesting the wheat crop, getting cattle to market, Friday night football games or basketball games. Small farm towns, like Protection, where I grew up, were a symbiotic partner with the farms and ranches. I was a "town kid" -- my family provided services to the farmers, ranchers and townspeople. As the seventies hit, and the small farm was beginning to decline, I was one of those with stars in his eyes - who wanted to get far, far away from the seemingly dull existence that the high plains offered.

Rich Mullins, on the other hand, was making the journey in reverse. Already a "star" (though that is not what he intended to be and sought not to be), Rich came to the plains of Kansas as someone who could appreciate it's unique beauty for what it was -- and that is partly what he communicated in the song printed above, "Calling Out Your Name".

I came late to appreciate Rich Mullins. And I came late to appreciate my homeland. Better late than not at all.

Poor Man's Blackberry (tm)

Most people these days have a cell phone and most of them have an SMS or Text Messaging function. It is possible to use that feature to turn your phone into a "poor man's Blackberry". Most likely, you would not want to be notified of every email message that comes to your account, but would like to be kept aware of specific mail messages when the arrive.

Most corporate mail systems have the capability of user-created and user-managed rules regarding disposition of messages. In my case, if I'm away, I would like to know if I get email from my boss and I would also like to stay on top of the requests coming into the corporate help desk -- since they affect me, as a systems admin. So, to accomplish that, I set up a mail rule to do the job which I can turn on when I'm preparing to be away from work and turn off when I'm in the office.

My mail rule (see screenshot below) notices any Help Desk messages or any messages from Joe, my boss and routes a copy to my cell phone via text messaging.

The only real downsides to this approach are 1) SMS messages are limited in length and 2) your plan may charge by the message versus unlimited. My plan charges about .10 for each text message, but if I need it, it's no big deal, as far as I am concerned. This allows me to stay on top of what's going on Helpdesk-wise without being tied to the PC.

Tornado Alley

Since yesterday morning, it has been hard to watch the cable news or the Weather Channel without seeing footage and commentary about the Greensburg, Kansas tornado. We were staying at a hotel preparing for our son's college graduation, as my Mom and Dad joined us for breakfast. Their first words were, "Did you hear about Greensburg?"

This was not the first tornado "experience" I have had, but the amount of devastation is hard to get my arms around. I was living in Emporia, Kansas in 1974 when a killer tornado struck, destroying a shopping mall, a large trailer court and a wide area of upper-middle-class apartments and residences. There were 12 fatalities. It was eerie. The description of Greensburg as "looking like a war zone" was used then, as well. I'm not sure they were using the rating scale on tornados that they are using today. I don't believe Emporia's tornado was an F5 like the one that took out Greensburg.

Years later, when we were living in Bloomington, Indiana -- a tornado struck on the the south side of Bedford, about twenty miles south with similar types of damage, only a much smaller area. The reason I write this is: I grew up very near Greensburg. I have been there and driven through there countless times in my growing up years. It is all very familiar to me -- and to watch from afar -- it is even more gripping for the memories of the town I knew, but is now nothing but rubble.

Finally (but one never knows), we have had a several tornados near our home in Junction City, Louisiana in the last few years. One came as near as half-a-mile and thankfully we had no damage though others a few miles down that tornado's track had localized but massive destruction, like the Greensburg photos.

Our prayers are with the people of Greensburg.

Addendum: My dad forwarded a news article that stated that the Greensburg tornado originated near my old hometown of Protection, Kansas -- accounting for the 20-30 minute warning that the residents of Greensburg had. Here is a link to a stormchaser site that covered another multi-tornado outbreak near Protection on April 23.

Shame on Me (Telling on Myself)

My wife, Cindy, and I traveled to Little Rock yesterday so that she could have a PET scan prior to making some decisions about her ongoing chemotherapy. I was sitting in the Imaging waiting room at Baptist Hospital while she was going through the process back somewhere in the bowels of the Imaging department.

I like to encourage Christians to speak up when there is an opportunity to choose the right thing and oppose the wrong thing. As it turns out, while I was sitting there a couple sat on a love seat next to where I was sitting. The said is wife would just go crazy if she didn't get to see "The Young and The Restless" and would anyone mind if he turned the TV to that channel. My response was, "I don't care one way or the other." As he changed the channels, I thought to myself, "You don't care? -- What do you mean 'I don't care one way or the other'?"

I had a good experience of Jesus admonition to take the log out of my own eye. How can I encourage others to do what I don't do myself? Shame on me!

Being a Follower: Closing Thoughts

Back to "following" -- what does it mean to be a follower? If you said: 1) going after something as it moves from place to place, 2) mimic or imitate, or 3) following instructions thoroughly from start to finish, you would be correct.

Some other, maybe not so obvious examples of "following" in the scriptures are:

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

Most sheep follow their shepherd. The ones who don't end up getting into trouble. In David's experience as a shepherd, he had a vital interest in the sheep that were entrusted to his care. He made sure they had the care, provision and protection they needed. His reputation depended on it.

Ruth 1:11-18

But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!”

Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

But Ruth said:

“ Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.

Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”

When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

When the widowed Israelite Naomi and here widowed Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth were considering their futures during a famine in Moab's pagan environment, Naomi wanted to return to her own people and leave Ruth to start over again. Ruth's loyalty was expressed by her declaration that, as far as she was concerned, Naomi's people were her people. Naomi's god was her god. Naomi's land was her land. She would follow Naomi no matter what.

2 Tim 3:10-11

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Paul was writing to his disciple Timothy, who had been through thick and thin with him. Paul knew that sending Timothy to do something was just that same as going himself, because Timothy would do it right. Paul reminded Timothy what following him had meant.

Hebrews 13:7

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

God requires that men aspire to leadership and in so doing, to model a life worth following. Having followers is not a gimme. It is earned.

Last, you can't be a leader unless you have learned to be a follower.

He leadeth me, O bless'd thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since 'tis my God that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the victory's won,
E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Being a Follower: No Longer In Control

After the "instant replay" of the fishing miracle, the risen Jesus prepared breakfast for his fishermen. Then he took some time to help Peter re-focus on what following him means for his life.

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

Peter's calling, his life focus, is to care for God's people. The followers may have been thinking that the passion (arrest, trial, cross and resurrection) put an end to all that. It didn't put an end to following, it made it permanent.

Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

"Make hay while the sun shines" is an old cliche. Fact is, life tends to impose restrictions on us the older we get. Jesus was preparing Peter for what was ahead -- service, yes, then loss of freedom and comfort, then finally death. In Peter's case, it was a death much like the one he followed -- execution on a Roman cross. Jesus said that the time would come when Peter would be taken where he wouldn't have chosen to go. Like I said, circumstances, particularly aging imposes things on our lives that we don't choose and would like to avoid. That is why we need to make preparation while we can.

Peter had a way to make his ministry outlive him. He was a writer (at least he was a speaker who had a ghost writer). Through his letters, his travels, his speaking opportunities, he encouraged the believers to persevere under trial and obey -- to get their nourishment from the Scriptures and to be committed to maturity in life and character. He invested his life in younger men, like John Mark, who would continue after his death. This is how he "laid up treasure" in the Kingdom of Heaven. Today, 2000 years later, it is still paying off in my life, as well as others'.

A frequent topic in the news is how my generation -- the baby-boomers -- have not prepared for our retirement years. We might plan to bask on the sunny beaches in our golden years, but instead we end up as greeters at Wal-Mart so we can pay the bills. We did not save and invest, we did not prepare for that inevitability.

The same thing holds true for our service to the Kingdom of God. If we don't prepare for that inevitable time when we can't work like we used to, to let our investments in the Kingdom keep working for us and outlive us, we are missing an important point Jesus was making to his follower, Peter.

The same point is made by the apostle Paul and, in fact, the issue of preparing for what is to come is raised many times in the book of Proverbs. Seems like an important thing for a follower to pay attention to.

What will be leave behind? What will be our "legacy"? Presidents worry about their legacy, but it is not just for the rich and famous. It is for us little guys, too. Will others still be benefitting from my work after I'm gone?

Being a Follower: The Beginning

Take a look at the same series of precipitious events that led a bunch of "nobody" working-class guys to leave their comfort zones and become world-changers, even to this day. These events are "covered" from three perspectives, three sets of eyes. Consequently, the telling varies slightly from reporter to reporter.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:12-25

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. Mark 1:14-20

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” John 1:35-43

Fishing is all Peter, Andrew and the Zebedee brothers had known... It was the family business - they had grown up in it and most likely would pass it on to their sons. But Jesus said to "follow him" and they did.

Having looked at the three gospel narratives, let's take a "closer look" at the coup-de-grace that took Peter from the boats to his new life as a "follower":

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. Luke 5:1-11

Jesus' hook in Andrew's life was the fact that Jesus was able to tell him where he had been and what he had been doing - sight unseen. For Peter, this unforgettable event sealed the deal. You can imagine working hard all night out on the water. You are getting ready to pack it in and some guy you hardly know tells you that if you throw the net where he tells you, there will be a catch. "Yeah, right. If you say so. If it makes you happy, okay, I'll give it a shot."

Surprise! Not only a catch but one that just about swamped two boats. Peter never forgot that one.

Three years later, we pick up the narrative again. This from John 21:

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

After all that had happened for the last three years, all that they had seen and heard
and been a part of in their "following" Jesus... They had been in the thick of miraculous works, great popularity on one side and intense hatred and opposition on the other. They had seen betrayal, abandonment and execution. They had seen their Master and Teacher twice - alive - after his execution.

They didn't quite know what to do with themselves. You can imagine their converstion, sort of like:

"What do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Hey, I know! Let's go back to what we're comfortable with. Let's go fishing!"

Back to the narrative in John 21:

But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered Him, “No.”

And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Here we have deja vu (all over again). The event that hooked Peter three years ago is being replayed before their eyes. Sometimes we don't learn our lesson the first time - we have to have a little reminder.

To be continued...

Living Hand-to-Mouth

You've probably heard the expression "God helps those who help themselves..." at least once in your life. Evangelical Christians are usually quick to retort with "...but you can't find that in the Bible!" They are correct... in that they are usually defending the biblical truth of justification. That is, being judicially absolved from our wrongdoing through Christ's substitutionary payment.

An interview with Thomas Sowell, a well-known independent-thinking economist, got me to consider this. He made a statement regarding social welfare funded by taxation. His comment was, "Why should I be required to provide for others what they are unwilling to provide for themselves." Sowell is big on personal responsibility -- and so is the Bible.

There is ample biblical support for both the cliche phrase ("God helps those...") and Mr. Sowell's comment -- speaking in terms of practical, everyday living.

First, I think of two Proverbs:

19:24. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

26:15. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

Next, Paul speaking to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 3):

10. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

12. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

There are some who would use the Bible as an escape from responsibility. Truth is, on balance, it helps us face responsibility head-on. If we were all more responsible, wouldn't the world be a better place?