The Way to Racial Reconciliation

There are two parties involved. The offended and the offender. I will deal with each separately. As in the previous post I will base the steps on principles set forth by Jesus either directly or through representatives speaking for Him.

The offended.

These principles are not necessarily meant to be applied in order but there is a little bit of intent in the order presented.

Principle 1. Jesus speaking through one of His closest followers and half-brother James says “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” I have a white acquaintance who also knows my son. At the time of this post my son is in his mid twenties and this acquaintance is well aware of his age. Invariably when I see this acquaintance he says “How’s your boy?” Decades ago referring to a grown black man as a boy would be offensive. In this case, when I apply Principle 1, I understand that this is part of his vernacular. He refers to every friend’s son as a boy and when asking about a daughter he says “How’s your girl?” no matter the age of the man or woman. By applying Principle 1 I don’t take offense. I don’t even say “He’s a man now”. I just answer the question and continue with the conversation.

What if after applying Principle 1 it is obvious that there is reason for to be offended?

Principle 2. Jesus says “ . . . and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors . . . For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

There are three words that are similar that I would like to distinguish. Mercy, forgiveness and pardon.

Mercy is needed when someone has ill-will towards you and has the ability to do you harm. For instance, if a two-year old has purposed to do me harm, most likely I won’t feel the need to ask for mercy because there is no real threat of harm. On the other hand, if the person wishing to harm me is a 6’3” 250 lbs. (1.9m, 113.4kg) athlete, then I have a need to ask for mercy.

When someone causes me to experience anger or wrath, then I need to forgive.

A pardon is a legal term for when the record of a person’s crime has been removed along with the punishments to which it is associated. This usually done by the executive order of a leader in a government.

There cannot be reconciliation without the foundation being that the offended forgives. This must happen whether or not the offender asks for forgiveness. The initiator in forgiveness must be the offended.

Principal 3. Jesus says “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . . For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? . . . And if you greet only your brothers, [and sisters, i.e. friends] what more are you doing than others?”

Jesus also says through his former enemy Paul “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all . . . if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The person who projects hate or ill-will should be treated with the same treatment as a best friend.

Principal 4. Paul again speaking for Jesus says “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’

Jesus’ representative Habakuk says “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

After applying the first three principles, wait

The offender.

Principal 1. Jesus states “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

It is not possible to come to God if an offense is knowingly unresolved.

What is the best way to resolve and reconcile?

Principal 2. Jesus says through Paul “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

A little background is in order. Simply put, Jews have a strict diet and non-Jews do not. This was causing friction at he time of this statement.

That means if there is something that can be removed or an aspect of lifestyle that can be altered, make the change.

These principles are actually laws. Just as there are laws governing the physical universe, there are also laws that govern our relationship with each other. Just like the physical laws (e.g. gravity) these laws are universal and absolute because they are ordained by our creator. If we do not respect and understand gravity, it will bring about our ruin. It is the same with these principles.

In conclusion, if you think these seem hard, you’re wrong. Their impossible. Only God can give the guidance and strength to apply these effectively. Check out my first post here about taking the first step.

Next. Why I don’t associate with Black Lives Matter, or All Lives Matter for that matter. (that was kind of a pun)

Non-Emergency Prayer Request

A looming possibility for which my Salina doctor was continually watching initially (but eventually relaxed his watchfulness) was shingles. Well shingles manifested themselves on me this past Wednesday. My family insisted that I blog about it. I was reluctant which is why the post is 4 days past the onset of the attack. Shingles are caused by the same virus as the chicken pox. They can be very painful causing severe burning and itching. On a scale of 1-10, I would my set my discomfort lever has been about 2 at the max and much of the day I don't realize that I have the shingles. So why the push to post? Location. Because of the possibility of underage readers I will describe placement my using the digestive process. We will call the mouth as the front end of the digestive process. My shingles have appeared on the back end of the selfsame process. So even though the discomfort is incredibly low, the discomfort is at the most inopportune times. This is not life threatening nor an emergency. So if you want to remember me in prayer over this I will gladly accept it. You guys have a great track record as far as prayer. If you need a reminder simply fold your hands and bow your head during a corresponding bodily function and remember me. If you feel the need to chuckle or laugh over this, I don't mind. If this were a sitcom or comedy movie it would hilarious. Unfortunately for me it is real life. I did rejoice over this just like the initial announcement of my cancer to be obedient and to release God's power and strength in my life either for healing or to endure to the (dare I say it?) end. Thanks for everything.

Michaela is in Chiapas

Michaela and Velda left for Wichita at 4:30AM to catch a 7AM flight with connections to Mexico on Saturday morning. It had snowed 3 inches in the night and the roads had not been cleared yet. They made it in time even though could only drive 40-60mph most of the way. After boarding the plan it sat being de-iced and checked until departing at 9:30AM. This delay caused her to miss her connecting flight from Atlanta to Mexico City. She was booked on the next available flight leaving 2 hours later. This caused her to miss her connecting flight from Mexico City to Chiapas. She was booked on the next available flight leaving 4 hours later. Michaela, while waiting in Atlanta for her flight to Mexico City, noticed that she was the only non-hispanic that she could see in the waiting area. Even more surprising was while navigating the Mexico City airport she found just one employee who could manage some english and that person only said 2 words to her in english. Possibly a foreshadowing of her 5 weeks to come. Anyway she made it. She is in San Cristobal de la Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Population about 186,000. Elevation abut 7,000 feet above sea level. The city is surrounded by densely forested (jungle?) mountains. The weather will  have highs in the 70's-80's with the lows in the 40's. She is the only person on the team who has not been in a spanish speaking country in the past. She feels like she is in last place as far as how much spanish she can speak prior to coming but she knows how to work hard and we are confident that God will accomplish His purposes in her and her contribution to the team while there. She has more internet access than she originally thought so she said she is going to post pictures of where she is on facebook. Global Encounters has already posted a prayer page which you can see here.

Catching Up

I have not memorized John 14-17 but have managed to retain the book of James. I have memorized all the verses of the John passage but did not adequately review them to say them in one setting. The fault is my own. I was going great and had the first 2 chapters cold and was working on chapter 16 when my discipline of rising early took a sharp decline. If I don't get up with sufficient time to pray, read and memorize scripture then it just doesn't get done. I am resurrecting early rising (pun intended) and hope to make the next goal. I want to reclaim Philippians, a book that I had memorized in the past, plus quote John 14-17 and James before January 16. I have enough time, the only question is my personal discipline.

Getting Serious

I have given the impression to most that know me that I take the Bible as the verbal and plenary inerrant word of God. Lately God has been asking me "Oh really. If that is so, what would be the evidence of Psalm 1 in my life?" I didn't have a good answer. I have a strong to desire to be a success but haven't really applied God's formula. So I have become more intentional in memorizing and meditating on the God's word. Joshua and I set October 1st as our deadline for memorizing James. We had been trying for a couple of years. He made it, I did it on October 2nd. I have to memorize John 14-17 by December 8th and reclaim Philippians by mid-January before Joshua leaves for ALERT. We also want to retain what we memorize. On December 8th I have to quote John 14-17 and the book of James. In January I have to quote Philippians, James and John 14-17. So far, since October 2nd, I can quote John 14:1-15:8 and can still quote James. I will keep you posted. Joshua as well as you followers of this blog can keep me accountable.

The Choice

This morning, I was sitting considering the options for the future. My associate's degree in Child and Youth Character Development is almost done. This spring I will finish all my class work and then will move on to an internship. Since, I have several options for this internship it is hard deciding which one. It seemed logical to get advice from wise people in my life and then go with my instinctive choice. After all, the culture tells me to follow my heart.

However, the passage I came across this morning counsels otherwise. While considering my choices, I thought of Jer. 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" God seemed to be striking out the choice of relying on my instincts.

Then, it occurred to me that I had never read the passage around this well known verse. I soon found the first verse had some very strong language. "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord" (Jer. 17:5). Whoa, there goes my second option of relying on other's advice! It was if God was saying to me, that people will fail me. Listening to others is important, but God showed me another choice.

"7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" (Jer. 17:7-8).

The last verse in the passage reminded me why trusting the Lord supersedes all other choices. "O Lord, the hope of Israel... the fountain of living waters" (Jer. 17:13). God is the ever living water that plants the tree of our lives. When we anchor ourselves in Him as by a river, then it will not matter when trials of heat come because His strength keeps us from despair. Our leaf will remain green. Through Him, we can continue to yield fruit. Why use a substitute when He is a living hope.

This morning I was thinking on many things. The day ahead, my dreams in the night, and what on earth to wear today. But the thing that moved me to post was my last thought before getting ready for the day. Because my father is a music teacher I have been exposed to a wide variety of songs throughout my life. The one that stuck in my mind this morning is one of my favorites. It's a fun spiritual but more than that the chorus has a powerful message:

Who will be a witness for my Lord?

I will be a witness for my Lord.

I always thought of witness as something you do. People will witness to their neighbors, family, friends etc. In my recent readings for my Perspectives course I found this quote by Steven C. Hawthorne: "A witness is what you are far more than it is something you do. God arranges for His servants to display what they declare. By public testimony in the face of hostility, ordinary people accomplish far more than merely affirming the truth of Christ." Now I have another verse to add to the line:

How will I be a witness for my Lord?

Facade

I am often described as a person that seems calm and collected and most of the time that is true. After becoming a husband and father, I suddenly had to deal with anxiety attacks. Living on 9th Street allows us to hear many sirens because of the location of the police department, hospital and fire station. When coming home from work on 9th Street it is not uncommon to see an emergency vehicle heading in the direction of my house. I will usually have waves of thoughts wash over me wondering at first if it is my house and eventually this first thought will grow into a vain imagination of horrific proportions. Fortunately I recalled being told that this is the time to pray. So my routine now is to recognize that these thoughts do not originate from my heavenly Father. (Philippians 4:8) Next I spend some time thanking God for every moment that I have had with my family thus far (I Thessalonians 5:16-19) and affirm that I will worship Him whether or not He gives me another moment with them. (Habakkuk 3:17-19) This usually puts things in perspective and causes my adversary to flee. My last 2 incidents were when Velda and Michaela drove to McPherson with a spare tire. Nothing out of the ordinary. Michaela and I drove to KC with a spare when we had a flat on the way to the airport. Still it was a test for me. The other one was with Joshua. Joshua received his driver's license on December 30. Yesterday he drove to Whitewater by himself for a campout. Joshua's character includes a healthy amount of caution and He has been a very good driver. I was the one who decided to let him drive. It seemed like a good idea at the time. He has driven there a few times with me. Both Joshua and the car returned in about the same condition that they left. While he was gone, I got some good practice on the above concepts.

Are you Hungry?

Lately I've been noticing that this is a time in my life when something amazing is happening. For the past month God has been giving me spiritual food like crazy. For instance, for graduation I received a Christian devotional called "Streams in the Desert." The first Sunday of January I started it and was determined to go through the whole year with it. Well in church our pastor ends his sermon with the verse Isaiah 35:6 which last words are streams in the desert. So apparently God wants to use this verse and the devotional in my life.

Also reading Amazing Grace about William Wilberforce has been amazing. He was incredible. But not only do I get to learn about him but also about other Godly characters who were his friends. I really like the determinedly tenacious Granville Sharp. He was an accomplished musician, Christian, and lawyer and often signed his name G#. This guy could play two flutes at once!

Then for my Christian online college "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" is recommended. This book is packed with 12 essential disciplines that all Christians should practice along with practical examples and steps of how to implement them. Also my goal is to finish the biography of Hudson Taylor sometime this year. He particularly struck me with how much he would sacrifice for the advancement of God's kingdom. At one point in China he was only living on $10 a month! Also while in London he only ate twice a day and literally only bread and water.

One Christian man said if he were stranded on a desert island with only one book of the Bible to read he would want Romans. That's the book I started this morning in prayertime. Last but not least my Mom and I are starting the Perspectives class which is an intensive 15 week course about world missions and how Christians should be acting about them. My old partner in crime Ethan Greene will be attending this class with us as well and will be riding with us. With all this feeding of my spirit it will be exciting to see how God will use me to teach the lessons I'm learning and what growth will occur. Am I hungry? Oh yeah!

Our Tract Record

I have watched a DVD series hosted by street evangelist Ray Comfort and actor Kirk Cameron (star of Fireproof) produced by their organization The Way of the Master. It challenged me to get more involved in evangelism. The Yoders, friends of ours who live near Hutchison, KS, related to us how they passed out gospel tracts to people waiting for a parade to start. Salina had an upcoming parade called The Parade of Lights. It is the Saturday before Thanksgiving and commemorates the city's Christmas season by turning on the Christmas lights downtown. I decided to take my family there and pass out tracts to the people waiting for the parade to start. Joyce Songer, a member of our church joined us. We started where the parade was supposed to end and worked our way towards the beginning for 30 minutes until the parade started. Velda, Michaela and Joyce were a team on the east side of the street while Joshua, Grace and I were on the west side. The other team made it farther than ours because I kept running into people I knew who wanted to visit. Otherwise we felt good about our efforts to dabble in spreading the gospel. I was especially pleased with Joshua. Our son who is normally reticent in public (especially with people he first meets) handed out all his tracks but one. I stopped passing out tracks to watch him in amazement. Click on the link to view a video of him reenacting what he shared on the streets.

Joshua's Tract Record

Good For the Soul

Today we started what we hope will become a new Creer tradition. We gathered in the living room and spent a time of confession. We confessed offenses to each other and general instances of falling short of God's standard for us. We will conclude the time with a celebration meal where we will share answers to prayer and personal victories. Besides the benefit of God's forgiveness (I John 1:9) we are also expecting healing and our effectual fervent prayers to avail much (James 5:16). It also is an added bonus that we are having hamburgers and french fries tonight :)

Trusting God

Trusting God as instructed in Proverbs 3:5-6 is difficult since it seem so natural to lean into my attempt to understand and respond to life's challenges. Yet at the same time I am pressed to lean into Jesus when I can't understand and figure things out on my own. So I choose as the psalmist says to acknowledge him and he will direct my path. I also hope for God's grace to see clearly his direction. Knowing that, all things work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.(Romans 8:28)

II Timothy 4:7

This verse contains what is appropriately inscribed on my fathers grave stone. Today we have visited a man who epitomizes this verse as well. We visited Lloyd Engle who was born 9 days after my father in 1924. We first met him as a man who delivered us fresh milk to our door over 10 years ago. Here was a Bible-spouting gospel track-distributing man that had many stories of serving God and His faithfulness to him right here in central Kansas. He grew up near Abilene Kansas and now resides in the Miltonvale Kansas retirement center. I recall stories he told us of visiting soldiers in Fort Riley and visiting patients in the hospital so as to bring as many people as possible the gospel of Jesus Chirst. We spent an hour with Mr. Engle today after church and dinner. Mr Engle spent most of the time spouting Bible verse and praising Jesus. He offered us a few of his books to read for inspiration and encouragement. He is not able to rise from bed without assistance but he uses what energy he has for the Lord. I don't know how many more years I have on this earth or if the Lord will come while I am alive. Either way I hope I can exemplify this verse in a similar manner.

Good Friday

Today I'm going to share a verse of the hymn And Can It Be. I picked this hymn because I love the tune and the power of the words. I also picked it in recognition of Good Friday. I am sharing the second verse.

He left His Father's throne above,

So free so infinite His grace!

Emptied himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam's helpless race!

'Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For, O my God, it found out me.

Comparison

A week ago I was very excited to be able to participate once more in the annual Vocal Festival where homeschoolers from all over KS gather to sing in a choir. Well the night before we had a winter storm warning with western KS predicted to receive at least a foot of snow. So sadly the event was postponed but the later date was still undecided. Next morning a verse came to mind which perfectly described my attitude: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life." (Pro. 13:12) My heart also complained to God about controlling the weather to ruin my plans. Then later in a publication I read about Christians in Indonesia who said: "Three of us stood outside our boarded-up church in the darkness and prayed. We thanked God that He allowed this to happen to us." These Christians had lost their church building and thanked God. So right away I realized that my attitude at first had been selfish and needed to change. After listing the benefits of the Vocal Festival being postponed my decision was to follow the example of the Indonesian Christians.

Discipline

I'm just starting to break out of some bad trends in my personal habits. I haven't been having my personal devotions and have missed many family morning devotions as a result of a lack of the discipline of early rising. There is a pattern in my job (I'm not making excuses) that challenge me in this respect. The musical each year causes me to work late which in turn causes difficulty in rising early. Not impossible, difficult. The last 4 days I have risen at the proper time and got myself and my family started with God. I'm looking for many more days like this and also looking forward to victory during the musical next year.

Looking Back . . .

Looking back on our Good News Club (which is almost over) brings back good memories. We started out with three regular girls. Then, they became enthusiastic about inviting their friends and now we have eight girls (and no boys). Many positive things have happened six girls have accepted Christ, and they all are beginning to learn more about the Bible. We thank God for each one.

The rest of the story

You know I've found out when I'm nervous or in trouble I pray a lot. This is what I was doing at 6:30 am driving down the road to Topeka on Tuesday. I prayed until my nerves calmed down and then as we were getting close to Topeka I prayed some more because big cities make me jumpy. Anyway I told my mom, "we went right to our exit, right to the capitol, right to a parking space, and right to the correct office." You can't get much better than that. Watching the House of Representatives was my favorite part because I got to see part of how Kansas laws are made. It was quite an honor. Since it was St. Patrick's Day they had a man play the bagpipes at the beginning. Then later two ladies who had different ideas about a bill were able to sit down and talk to each other cordially without any reference to it. The trip went well and God did the driving.

I Almost Blew It

In my previous post I said that the trip to Kansas City with my quarter was going to be a date as well with my lovely wife Velda. On Friday I hadn't planned anything yet and I was going to be working late. I called Velda and asked her to take care of some of the details which showed how oblivious I was to her schedule. She graciously did this and asked about the hotel. I suggested the Motel 6 (They'll keep the light on for us) and to internet search for free attractions in Kansas City. Are you starting to get an idea of the bent (flaw?) of my personality? She still graciously accepted this as well. I came home for supper and noticed that Velda was really dragging physically and possibly emotionally from her normal day, let alone the extra I put on her for our "date". I encouraged her to press on and went back to school and worked to 11pm. When I got home I noticed some things she had tried to do but nothing really was done. I went to bed thinking she would finish in the morning. The next morning, during my quiet time, God revealed to me my egregious error. I promptly made a reservation at the Hyatt and found things to do in Kansas City that cost money and would interest both of us. When we met for family devotions I apologized and told her everything had been taken care of for our date. What a God we have that he would take the time to guide me through something seemingly as insignificant as a date when He has a universe to keep running. And what a wonderful woman He has given to me.

Recent Readings

Just this week I finished a book recommended to me by Michaela. I enjoyed it immensely for the challenges and difficulties that were worked through by the author as well as her awe inspiring tenacity to cling to Jesus Christ in word and deed. The book entitled Evidence Not Seen is the story of Darlene Diebler Rose missionary taken captive by enemy forces during World War 11. Her pointed honesty with her trials and battles of the mind and attitude during the very difficult circumstances as a POW on death row results into a riveting story of God's faithfulness to this faithful servant. As you can tell I enjoyed it and would recommend it not only as good reading but also excellent application for personal spiritual growth.