Sunday Morning, 10 AM

 

Sunday Morning, 10 AM

Up until nineteen years ago,  I would be wrap up my summer visit to St. Louis before returning to Houston to pack for my mission trips to Honduras. With the passing of my parents, I found I've also missed being with their congregation who were so good to Mom and Dad. The following is from July 2, 2006 and tells about a moving worship experience in St. Louis.


Today was the first of four consecutive Sundays that will find me worshipping in four different congregations in three different states and one foreign country. This morning, I worshipped with my folks' church in St. Louis. Next Sunday, I will praise the Lord in Wichita with my brothers, Dave and Scott. In two weeks, I will assemble with saints in Choluteca, Honduras. Twenty-one days from now, I will be back with my congregation in Houston, gathering with my fellow English speakers and then preaching for our Chinese brethren immediately afterwards. That's about 4,000 miles of distance in four weeks. I bet Paul didn't cover that much ground in just a month.

This morning was tough. Mom was not in good enough shape to make it to services so she stayed with a friend. My folks are members of the Lafayette church of Christ and this body of believers is going through difficulties. One of their eighteen year old young men is undergoing treatment for liver disease. The mother of a member was buried on Friday. Right before communion, it was announced that a dear nephew to a wonderful Christian sister was killed last night in an automobile accident. You could feel the groans reverberate throughout the auditorium as the news was made public. In spite of all that, I was uplifted as we praised our maker. The love shown to God was reflected in the love displayed to each other. So much support was given to Dad and me as the truth of Mom's deterioration from Alzheimer's becomes more and more evident to all. The parents of the eighteen year old were showered with love and affection by fellow Christians who try to absorb pain and transfuse hope simultaneously with hugs. I also witnessed one of the finest acts of reaching out that I have ever seen. Wade Gillespie, Lafayette's evangelist, held up his cell phone to the congregation with the grieving aunt on the other end of the line. The church in unison loudly, and with overflowing love, recited The Blessing Of Aaron from Numbers 6:24-26 to their heartbroken sister-in-Christ:

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

My guess is there were tears shed on both sides of the connection. Isn't that what comforting and bearing each other's burdens is all about? When so many have dysfunctional biological families, isn't it marvelous to see a completely functioning spiritual body? We need both kinds of relatives, those linking us by our kinfolks' DNA and the ones we are joined to by the blood of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Today, I was with both sides of my family.

Applicable quote of the day:
"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven."
Karen Sunde


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Price Of Grace And Air Fresheners

 

We still use air fresheners in my room! This is from September 23, 2018!

Several days ago in class, I asked some of my eighth graders the cost of a US postage stamp. The first answer? $2.50 or five times the price at current rates. Kids don't buy stamps anymore- I get that. Many also don't know where to buy them or where to put them on an envelope, either. I almost get that as well. Everything is electronic and digital and that's the world these kids have grown up in. There would be no excuse for me to not know how to address and envelope. We are what we have been taught and that has evolved over the past several decades.

That led to a later in the day discussion with one of my Gospels' classes made up of juniors. Let me set the stage a bit. I learned years ago that a classroom that smells good is a better learning environment than one that reeks. So, I began keeping several gel air fresheners spread around the room to improve the atmosphere. My favorite brand is RENUZIT and the favorite scent currently of my kids seems to be Hawaiian Sunset. I close them at night so they last about two-three weeks apiece and that's with a ceiling fan constantly in the on position. We've had debates in the past on whether it's best to have all the RENUZITS to be the same scent or different ones so we get a potpourri of aroma. (Usually, I have one air freshener in each of the room's four corners.) No consensus so I simply grab one off of the WALMART shelf during my weekend shopping trip and replace the dried out model. (Thanks to Jill, my wonderful teacher's aide, for the terrific photographic work!) Anyway, my room always has a pleasant fragrance. But back to the discussion. I asked the 11th graders how much one RENUZIT cost. The shocking answer from one soon to be college student? $12!!!!! The actual price is 97 cents, about 8% of what she guessed. I try to be generous with my classes and I love RENUZIT but I wouldn't have it in my budget to spend that much per week on air freshener. They must think I'm rich!

How little we sometimes fathom the cost of things. I taught an economic class where I told a young man to guess the price of a girls' purse that was in plain view. His estimate was $10 and the young ladies scoffed as the price tag, as I recalled, was closer to $300. That was a silly example but not all examples are lighthearted. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost Of Discipleship spoke of what following Jesus would cost:
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
Bonhoeffer touched on the most terrible cost ever at the close of his passage- what it cost for God to send His Son. We used to song the hymn, Jesus Paid It All. Not part, not most, not the overwhelming majority. All. This morning in worship, we sang Here I Am To Worship and that same theme was repeated in the refrain:
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Truer words may never have been sung in any church assembly. I imagine we have no clue. We might be way off on the price of stamps or purses or even Renuzit but  those are eternally inconsequential. The cost to redeem lost humanity? Incalculable. That was the way it had to be. And we rejoice in our salvation because there was one who was willing to die for each of us, no matter the price.

Applicable quote of the day:
''Nothing that has value, real value, has no cost. Not freedom, not food, not shelter, not healthcare.''
Dean Kamen

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Name Game

 

The Name Game

As you might expect, names come up quite a bit in Bible classes. Many of the students bear Biblical names, as do I. A closer look at some of the names from Scripture reveals some surprises. The following, from February 26, 2007, looks into the matter.

Last Friday was the final day of the six weeks. Several years ago, someone came up with a brilliant idea. On the final day of the term, we would have a shortened day, releasing at 1:00 PM instead of 3:25. It's such an advantage to have several extra hours to grade papers, enter scores into the computer, and prepare for the six weeks which inevitably kicks off after the weekend. An abbreviated day means periods last thirty minutes, not forty-six. I do something out of the ordinary on these days. Friday, I divided my students into gender-based teams, with either three or four squads per period. Winning team members had two points added to a test grade while the runners-up had one point tacked on. When tests are 60% of the final grade, it's a big deal. This was the basis of the competition: without using Bibles, each team had five minutes to list in order the ten men mentioned most frequently in the New Testament. After scoring, we repeated the process with the ten men found most often in the Old Testament, followed by the ten women's names in the entire Bible. You'd get one point for correct answers and three if the name was in the same position as in the actual table, taken from Meredith's Book Of Bible Lists (Bethany House Publishers.) A perfect score was ninety. The highest score any of the nineteen teams posted was twenty-eight. It isn't as easy as it looks. I have good Bible knowledge and I would struggle. How well do you know the Scriptures? Take a shot before looking at the answers listed below.

The 10 Most-Mentioned Men In The New Testament (#10 to #1):
Philip (the deacon), Judas Iscariot, Timothy, Herod, John (the apostle), Pontius Pilate, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, and Jesus

The 10 Most-Mentioned Men In The Old Testament (#10 to #1):
Jeremiah, Joshua, Joseph, Solomon, Abraham, Saul, Jacob, Aaron, Moses, and David

The 10 Most-Mentioned Women In The Bible (#10 to #1)
Hagar, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, Abigail, Mary (mother of Jesus), Jezebel, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, and Sarah

Anything strike you as odd? How many bets could you win saying the most infamous woman in the Scriptures, Jezebel, shows up more than the Savior's mother? Would you guess that two rulers known for cruelty, Pilate and Herod, made the list while nine apostles didn't? There's a Who's Who of who didn't make the cut in the Old Testament: Noah, Isaac, Daniel, Job, Isaiah, Elijah, Adam (or his significant other.) Not all listed are good; not all good folks are listed. Judas and Saul would have been better off remaining obscure. Every woman on the list is directly connected with a corresponding man on one of the two Top Tens. I told the students that I wouldn't think that a great Biblical background would be beneficial in knowing numbers of mentions. But look at the lists again. The thirty names are intricately woven into the unfolding story of Jesus: family roots, prophecies, followers, proclaimers and hinderers, and ultimately, the Messiah of the world. You can't tell a story without main characters and a supporting cast. The Bible has it all....and more. It leaves the door open for the sequel, the final act. Get your ticket!

Applicable quote of the day:
"The Bible was written in tears and to tears, it yields its best treasures."
A.W. Tozer

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Real Definition

 

The Real Definition

Life is full of life and death situations. This post from September 21, 2013 is about one of them.

I just got back from the hospital. Earlier this evening, I received an e-mail followed by a phone conversation with a co-worker. She wanted to let me know about the situation and wondered if I could go pray. I was honored to do so. The request actually came from the wife of the man in the hospital. I've never met her; in fact, I've only seen him once before. Back in June, I was contacted by a wonderful lady from my former church in Tennessee. Her brother who lives in Houston had suffered a stroke and she asked if I could visit him in the nursing home. I did (although I think he was confused as to who I was) and requested on FACEBOOK that perhaps there were others who live close to me might also go by and see him. He and his wife have no children and no other relatives who live in Houston. My co-worker and a sister from my congregation also visited and got in touch with the man's wife, who does not drive. I left for Vietnam shortly after my one trip to see him and regretfully, have not been back...until tonight.

He's in the ICU unit of a nearby facility, 4.8 miles from my apartment. There were no other visitors in the ICU as far as I could tell. The staff was cordial and subdued as you would expect. He never opened his eyes. His kidneys have failed and they can no longer do any dialysis and he's probably down to a day or two. I prayed as I sat by his bed and had flashbacks of Dad. It was different- Dad was conscious until almost the end and he was always surrounded by family and the myriad of friends he and Mom had accumulated over the decades of their marriage and ministry. But this was the same- death is not pretty. It made me dread dying by myself and I hope his kin can get here before he passes.

You know what was fascinating to me as I sat there by this dying man? Over the sound system, the University of Texas-Kansas State football game was being played. A bunch of young men are battling for team glory and personal glory in a stadium in Austin, Texas tonight. The coach of Texas is fighting for his career as numerous reports this week have him all but terminated, with the incredible rumor surfacing he could be replaced by Alabama's Nick Saban. In our culture, we often look at sports as life and death; if you don't believe it, read some of the message boards on sports' websites and I know I've been guilty as both a player and coach of falling headlong into that mindset. But sometimes, we're confronted by the true definition of life and the true definition of death and they have nothing to do with rankings or trophies or championships. Sometimes, the scoreboard is simply the brightly lit monitoring screen next to the bed of a dying man who has no awareness of the constantly flashing numbers. And someday, inevitably that scoreboard will go blank for all of us. Please pray for Bob and his family tonight.

Applicable quote of the day:

''Birth and death; we all move between these two unknowns.''
Bryant H. McGill

God bless,

Steve
Luke 18:1

Truth Be Told

 

 Truth Be Told

There seems to be so little honesty today. This is from January 21, 2013.

On Friday, my Gospels classes tested over the Sermon on the Mount, the best known teachings of Jesus. As I do every year, as tied in with the Savior's thoughts, I made this point:
The truth is simple, lying is complicated.
Amazingly, the sports' headlines last week made my case for me. The two biggest stories in the athletic world both had to do with deception. First was the one many saw coming for years; Lance Armstrong and his use of procedures and medications banned by the cycling world. (It was the subject of one of the funniest headlines I've ever seen on a website;
Liar, Liar: Lance On Fire!) And then, last Wednesday, the story broke about Notre Dame football star and Heisman Trophy runner up Manti Te'o and the hoax surrounding his girlfriend who became a national story when she died in September even though she never existed. The Te'o circus, as bizarre a news story as anyone can remember, has simply exploded in five days. Both Armstrong and Te'o have taken extraordinary steps to explain their sagas. Armstrong confessed in a two part exclusive to Oprah and Te'o will answer questions from Katie Couric. Remember the good old days when sports were about.....sports? (*It should be noted that subsequent findings showed Manti Te'o was the victim of a clever but extremely cruel hoax.*)

As I talked with the kids, and in several classes had them write their thoughts, it became obvious that many of them believe that everyone is dishonest to some extent and that lying is acceptable under certain circumstances. I challenged them with several scenarios and the operative phrase they countered with was it depends. I warned them that this is a very slippery slope and I asked how they can ever believe anything anyone says if they believe we all lie? For the most part, they play the percentages: if someone usually tells the truth , they are more likely to believe them. (Also, if they like them.) Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that, 
The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

It certainly stands to reason that lying is the most common sin, even for Christians, and yet Jesus put no modifiers on telling the truth, like it's OK to lie if someone's feelings would be hurt. I can tell you this: in all the years of my attending worship services and Bible studies, I've only witnessed one of us confessing to the congregation that they had been lying. Maybe it's so prevalent  that we think there is some sort of blanket amnesty awarded from heaven.

I think I realized how much little lies are tempting while I did my student teaching in Bald Knob, Arkansas. Kids would ask me questions of no consequence in the outcome of humanity, like What's the leading export of Chile? and without thinking , I'd reply, Copper. No real damage, right? And yet, with the inborn tendency of children to put their trust in authority figures, teachers have a huge responsibility to never mislead the ones in their charge. I showed the clip at the top of the page to all my classes and they laughed but they got the point: in politics, those in the spotlight say what sells and not necessarily what is true. (I hope you'll take a minute to watch the clip from the movie, The Adjustment Bureau!) Jesus taught that when we get past yes and no, our speech can be influenced by the Evil One. He also says Satan's native language is lying. We need to make sure the devil is not speaking through us. He's already supplied with a multitude of spokesmen.

Applicable quote of the day, # 1:
In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.

George Orwell

Applicable quote of the day, # 1:

I can't say why people lie; they just do. Everyone has their own reasons for not telling the truth.
Eric Carr

https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-adjustment-bureau/authentic-speech

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

TAG!

 

TAG!

In the Spring, my classes will cover the twin stories of the raising of the daughter of Jairus and the healing of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. I tell the students that according to the Law of Moses, the unnamed woman was not supposed to be in a crowd, could not go into the temple, and was denied marital relations with her husband. The story of the lady making contact with the Savior brings up the following story, which I wrote on September 7, 2006.

I've followed sports all my life and thought I'd heard everything but apparently I haven't. Last night, I was listening to one of the Houston sports' talk radio stations. The topic for discussion was the superstitions of major league baseball players. Several Astros were mentioned and then the host brought up a player I had never heard of. Kevin Rhomberg played only forty-one games in his career, all for the Cleveland Indians, from 1982-1984. His batting average, based only only forty-seven plate appearances, was .383, very respectable. While Rhomberg was no more than a run-of-the-mill big leaguer, he was a Hall of Fame character. Rhomberg had a superstition that he had to touch back everyone who touched him, along the lines of children playing TAG. He could not rest without making physical contact with the person who made physical contact with him. This led to hilarious anecdotes about his interaction with both teammates and opposition. All-Star pitcher Rick Sutcliffe reached under a toilet stall and tapped Rhomberg on the toe and fled. Not seeing his toucher, Rhomberg had to tag every other player on the Indians to satisfy his compulsion. In the minors, a teammate tapped him with a baseball and proceeded to throw it out of the ballpark, leading Rhomberg on a two hour search for the offending sphere. Opponents also found great sport in making Rhomberg miserable. The New York Yankees were masters at the distraction, taking it so far that an umpire interrupted a contest and ordered the pinstripers to stop touching Mr. Rhomberg. There are more stories out there. Maybe the best is Rhomberg's wife begging one of his teammates to let her husband touch him back because he wouldn't sleep all that night otherwise.

I was superstitious when I played basketball in high school and college. I would tie and re-tie my shoes constantly. Maybe that was a nervous habit or ritual instead of a superstition. I can't figure out if Kevin Rhomberg was extremely superstitious or had some sort of compulsive disorder. I asked in class how he could live in New York City. How would he react each time a stranger brushed against him on a sidewalk? Re-touching could result in getting punched.....or worse. I wonder if he had the problem in school. Remember the first kindergarten rule: KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF! Kevin would have earned alot of frowny-face stickers in that category! Jesus also had a thing about being touched. In Capernaum, the Messiah was on his way to raise a little girl from the dead. An anonymous woman snuck up through the pressing crowd and made contact with his clothes, believing that slight brush of her hand would heal her of her twelve year hemorrhage. It did....but Jesus knew he had been touched and had power leave him. And like Kevin Rhomberg, he could not let it go unchallenged, asking , "Who touched me?" The subsequent confession of the woman and the praising of her faith by the Lord gives hope to those afraid to extend their hands and arms for help in seemingly impossible circumstances. I don't know if he ever outgrew his condition but Kevin Rhomberg always felt compelled to respond to every touch. You know, it looks like Jesus does as well. We just have to reach out.


Applicable quote of the day:
"In the absence of touching and being touched, people of all ages can sicken and grow touch-starved."
Diane Ackerman

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Checks And Balances At Chase Bank

 

Checks And Balances At Chase Bank

Love my CHASE Bank location! This is from September 9, 2013.
I mentioned recently that my checkbook went AWOL. Last Saturday morning, I went into a nearby market and wrote a check for my weekly groceries. That night, in anticipation of getting an early start on my Sunday morning routine, I prepared to write my checks for my weekly contribution. The checkbook was nowhere to be found. Several searches of  my apartment and car proved fruitless. It was past nine PM but I drove to the store to see if it had been turned in- it had not. I wasn't sure what to do since it was the weekend with a Monday holiday so I knew the banks would be closed. Plus, there was the matter of my paying bills with some of the checks and I could not be quite sure of the check numbers since, you guessed it, they were in the checkbook log. By Tuesday, the last check I knew I had written showed up in my Chase Bank online account so I knew where to start. I knew where the next set of checks began numerically so I narrowed it down to eleven lost checks. Our church accountant, Ann Stone, warned me it might be expensive to remedy but advised me to go down to the local branch in person instead of simply calling a 1-800 number to get help. That turned out to be platinum advice!

I left school early on Wednesday afternoon to resolve the problem at my Chase branch which is only a mile away. When I walked in, I stood in front of the customer service desk but a gentleman behind the tellers' glass motioned to me to come on. I replied I needed some help and he told me he was the manager and he could do just that! I explained my circumstances to the manager, Eduardo Perez, and he could have not have been more helpful or gracious. He explained the process and informed that there would be absolutely no charge! I sheepishly explained my penchant for losing things and he suggested several future options that would minimize my addiction to carelessness. I walked into the bank that afternoon dreading the consequences for my actions but I left feeling relieved, maybe even uplifted. Instead of being penalized for my mental gaffe, I escaped repercussions. 

I wish I could say it won't happen again but it will. Since then, I've twice left keys hanging in the door, potentially more serious than the checkbook. And there still is the matter of some records I wrote down in that checkbook log which I'll have to piece together at the end of the year for tax purposes. But I feel like I was exonerated in a sense from the dilemma of my own creation. I'm not saying the other good folks at CHASE could not have handled the problem but it's certain that Eduardo had the authority and the willingness to fix my mistake when I did not know what to do. That's kind of our spiritual lot in life, isn't it? There were many great saints in the Bible but we don't sing "I've Found A Friend In Abraham/Isaac/Jacob" or "Footprints of Peter/James/John." The One who can save us is The One who did save us from sin and from ourselves and from the debt we could not pay, no matter how long or hard we worked. You know, as in ''Jesus Loves The Little Children.'' The reality is that I must be protected from myself, both spiritually and in the physical realm. And make no mistake, it always pays to know the banker. 

Applicable quote of the day:
''When you're rich you don't write checks.''
Randy Moss

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1