Wooden crosses.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

You may not realize it, but there is a thief in our fallen world, that comes to steal our time, steal our resources and rob us of our energy.  Satan wants all of our attention, all of our time, all of our resources and all of our energy to be used by him in this sinful world where he roams daily; seeking to devour and claim lost souls for an eternity in hell.

While I was writing the devotion for yesterday, I was listening to Bott radio on my laptop and a Pastor happened to be talking about being tapped on the shoulder and asked what our reaction is when somebody comes up from behind and taps on our shoulder.  We generally turn around to see what the person tapping wants to either tell us or ask of us; that would be a normal reaction.  Throughout the Old Testament God tapped on the shoulders of people He had chosen to do His work.  Their replies were varied.  Some said “Here I am” and some said “Please don’t send me there” and too often free will came upon them and they turned away and tried to hide.  Ever do that?

In his explanation of the third article of the Apostle’s Creed Martin Luther writes “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel and enlightened me with His gifts.”  The Holy Spirit comes into our lives, tapping on our shoulders every day; wherever we may be.

Sometimes He finds us in the kitchen peering into the refrigerator, lounging in the recliner, in the garage admiring all of OUR stuff, at the computer, at the store or on the patio.  He taps on our shoulder and nudges us in a direction that this fallen world would say “you fool.”  He taps on our shoulder and asks “what are you doing with your time?”  Often the replies of this world are “this is too much fun, it is my time, it is my money” or “I will get to your business later, perhaps for a couple of hours on Sunday.”

The Holy Spirit calls, gathers and enlightens us with His gifts.  As we occasionally drift into the alluring ways of this world the Holy Spirit taps on our shoulder and reminds us that there is work to do, more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more lost souls to save in Haiti, here in my city, here to the ends of this earth. 

Each of us was given specific gifts, talents and treasures to use for His work.  I listened to the song “three wooden crosses” by Randy Travis yesterday and it reminded me of how important it is to always be attentive to the nudging from the Holy Spirit.  I’m not going to share the whole song but just the first couple of verses.

“A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher, ridin' on a midnight bus bound for Mexico.  One's headed for vacation, one for higher education, an' two of them were searchin' for lost souls.  That driver never ever saw the stop sign.  An' eighteen wheelers can't stop on a dime.  There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,  why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows.  I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go.”

I have seen wooden crosses along highways.  There is one just outside of York, NE where my father died in a traffic accident.  I have seen them in Haiti where there were bus accidents and Christians lost their lives and gained their Eternal Glory.  This simple song not only makes me think about how many lives in Haiti that are needing to hear the Gospel message from a child in a Trinity HOPE feeding program, and receive their wooden cross when their journey is complete.

The last line, “I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go” reminds me of what am I leaving behind.  How have I finished the work He gave me to accomplish?  How many tasks have I left undone or turned away from?  I am sinful and I know fully well that I have not always turned around when I was tapped on the shoulder, but too often have turned away.

We need to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, to come and tap on our shoulder and finish well the work that He has for us to accomplish.  If it doesn’t seem like there is anything for us to do, our Savior tells us to knock on the door and ask; and be patient and wait for His directions.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

I love this photo.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13

For the past decade, it has become increasingly difficult to remember names.  And no, I’ve tried different powders, doctors and snake oil and am leaving it up to God if my memory is to be restored.  Here is my question for today; “Do any of you happen to recognize the young boy holding the chair in the attached photo?”  He attends the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian and your gift to Trinity HOPE might be providing his noon meal.  Do you remember his name?

When I look at his photo the words “I love you” seem to be in his eyes.  "I love you" is a phrase that everyone longs to hear...often.  Looking at this boy might make one imagine that real love is evident without a word needing to be said.  His eyes are saying “I love you” and thank you for your attention to his needs, affection for his school and sacrifice that you have shown for the other people they care about.  Wish I knew his name.

If you ever wondered about how much God loves you and little guy, just look at what He's done for all of us.  When Jesus’ arms were stretched out painfully wide on the cross, He was saying "I love you" more beautifully than it's ever been said before.  But God's love didn't stop there as He daily listens to your prayers and his prayers as if the two of you were the only people in His world.  He brings good things into your life and then seemingly out of nowhere He brings blessings to this nameless boy in Cap Haitian.  God's love for you will not end nor will His love for children in Haiti.

I recently came across a saying by an ‘unknown author’ that said “Jesus did not come to make God's love possible, but to make God's love visible.”  Have you seen any of His love visible in the world around you recently?  Dear friends, there won’t be any nametags in Heaven and you will know his name and he will certainly remember you.  On behalf of this little guy on this side of Heaven, I want to personally thank you for supporting this young missionary through Trinity HOPE.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Unforgettable.

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6

There are many unforgettable sights in Haiti that reflect human suffering in unimaginable ways.  My mind still recalls the Haitian man at the Port-au-Prince airport without any legs, dragging himself along the sidewalk begging for food or money.  There was the man in Les Cayes without an arm, praying with his left hand to his forehead.  And the man in the Central Plateau that I met on a hot morning, who was blinded in an accident and came up with his mother to my truck, and asked me to pray for him.  And there was the demon possessed man running naked in between four lanes of traffic on Delmas in downtown Port-au-Prince on a busy afternoon.

And then there is the man in the attached photo.  Our office had a Christian woman who cleaned and prepared lunch for the office and Seminary staff.  Her name was Odane and she is a member at Bon Berger Lutheran church in Caredeux.  The man in the wheelchair is her husband.  He had a job as a construction worker and provided for his family until he was in an auto accident and paralyzed from the waist down.

Odane wanted me to meet him and see if there was anything that I could do to help him.  It was difficult to fully understand what kept his wheelchair together, wobbly rolling into their dirt floor house and back into their small outdoor front area.  We prayed, talked about life, his family, his faith and we even laughed a little.  His wife Odane is a strong Christian and she had their children in the Lutheran school and they scratched out an existence.  By the grace of God, a newer wheelchair from Orphan Grain Train found its way from Norfolk, Nebraska into their humble home in Caredeux.

I am mindful of the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians; we need to be confident Christ did begin a good work in each of us, and will continue to do so until He returns and we are taken to our Heavenly home.  That is what is really important here, that we on this side of Heaven continue to call upon our Triune God to do His work through our lives until He comes back to take us home.  It is important that we continue to support children in Christian schools in Haiti as they do their Heavenly Father’s work in Haiti; rescuing the lost.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Light of the world.

“You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

When I was a child and attending St. John’s Lutheran school in Seward, NE we received a plastic reminder to place on our bed stands; it was the words “God is love” in white plastic and they were glued to a brown plastic base.  Before going to bed, I would put this object a few inches from my light and then turn out the light and it would glow in the dark…”God is love.”  It was a reminder to me, as I was praying and then looking at it before I fell asleep that God loved me.  I had that piece of plastic to remind me and the young girl in the attached photo with her finger to her face, that her little Gospel light is shining.  She attends Bon Berger Lutheran school in Caredeux which is a suburb of Port-au-Prince.

She learned the “This little Gospel Light of Mine” from a mission team that visited the school and she no doubt still had that light turned on and shining brightly following the earthquake in 2010.  Jesus is the light of the world but He also said to us, “You are the light of the world.”  Our lights continue to shine His light into the deepest places in this dark world.

We have the ‘light of this world’ and prayerfully we are not hiding it, under a bowl, in a closet or in a hectic life pursuing the ways of this world.  Satan would desire us to keep our light under a box and out of sight of others.  One of the verses of the song is; “Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine.”

Satan may not be able to blow out our light completely, but this world will tell us that our light is offensive to them; therefore we should never put it on display.  This fallen world can also tell us that our light will cause others to laugh; therefore we should always keep it hidden.  This young girl knows that we can’t put it under or a basket or let Satan blow it out.  This little light of mine, I have to let it shine.  Thank you for supporting her and the other 664 light houses attending school in Caredeux, who are bringing the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this world.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Looking back.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”  John 13:34

Looking back from the Spring of 2020 until today, much has changed in our world, and you already know that.  ZOOM.  Trinity HOPE has been recreating how they do work here in North America doing fund raising. connecting and educating with Feeding Program Directors in Haiti.  ZOOM.  Speaking engagements ceased and mission team activity was halted; much has changed in the past two years.

While the pandemic brought Trinity HOPE efforts in the US into different ways of raising funds for feeding children in Haiti, the people in Haiti were also faced with the pandemic, their President was assassinated, there were two earthquakes, tropical storms, raging inflation and several violent gangs that were shutting down the commerce within their country.  If you keep up and read the daily news coming out of Haiti, it would seem that their world was total chaos.  You would be wrong…God is still in control.

At the Trinity HOPE board ZOOM meeting recently, we were in awe as we learned that children were still attending school, actually 7 more schools were added this month, and they were being FED; God has always been in control, no matter what this fallen world looks like…HE is still in control.

During the past 18 months, the Trinity HOPE work has grown tremendously!  We have added over 100 feeding programs, doubled the Haitian staff, and added an additional 4 million meals per year to the programs we previously had in place.  God is still in control.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Friday...HE chose you.

“And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:26

This verse from the Book of Acts is from a period of history when the eleven apostles choose another man to fill the vacancy left by Judas Iscariot and this procedure brought me a ‘back in the day’ memory, since there is a load of snow on the ground and it’s a cold day in February, let’s dream about a warm summer day in May with a group of young boys playing sandlot baseball near the Cargill plant on the south edge of Seward, NE and the boys are choosing the teams.  Early on in the process, several egos got stung, including me, as I got selected near the bottom of the bat, close to the end of the group since nobody knew my capabilities, or lack of any redeeming qualities that related to baseball.  I wonder how Justus must have felt when Matthias was selected by the eleven?  Thankfully, sandlot baseball choices don’t last forever and my ego has since healed over the past six decades.  On Sunday, Rev. Dr. Luke Schnake commented that we celebrated Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day…and the real reason for these celebrations was that baseball season is just a short time away!  Ah…baseball.

Way ‘back in the day’ generations before you, me or Pastor Luke came to bat, HE chose each of us.  HE put your name on HIS lineup card, across the back of your jersey and it’s still there.  HE chose you, me and this smiling child from Haiti to be on HIS team, for good, forever.  Each of us are so very important to Him as we have a special reason to be on HIS team, our very own sweet spot; to go, and bring more souls into HIS Kingdom.  Please, prayerfully consider helping to feed one, or a few of the over 52,000 children like this child and pray for their recruiting efforts throughout Haiti during this coming summer; during their lifetime.  HE chose you for a purpose.  None of us know how many innings there are left in our career, make the most of them with the time, talents and treasures you have been given.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Wash those hands.

“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.  (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash.  And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)  Mark 7:1-4

When were you taught to wash your hands, WITH soap, before you ate and say a prayer before you eat?  As a child, I remember getting my fingernails checked by my mom’s hands and eyes after I had ‘washed’ my hands; there were times when my ‘wash’ was more of a ‘rinse’.  When my dad came in from doing the farm chores, he scrubbed his hands clean with Lava soap; I still recall how white his hands looked and how clean they smelled.

In the attached photo the children attending the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian are washing their hands, with soap, before they enjoy their Trinity HOPE lunch.  This is one of the ‘lessons’ that is done at every Trinity HOPE lunch program, along with prayers.  Washing of their hands is so important now especially with the pandemic of recent times.

Trinity HOPE is not just about feeding body and soul in Haiti, they also teach hygiene and reinforce the importance of turning our thought of giving thanks for all that we receive every day from our Heavenly Father.  Thank you for continuing to be a blessing to each of the over 52,000 souls who are so thankful for your daily touch in their lives.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

The challenger.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  Matthew 25:40-45

From time to time someone will ask me about the times when my life in Haiti was brushed by vodou and how that impacted me.  Today, vodou is being estimated to be practiced by over 65% of Haitians and when Trinity HOPE asks people to pray for children in Christian schools, we North Americans probably don’t really grasp or fully comprehend what they are up against in their daily lives.

The attached photo is of a vodou rara band that was marching down the street outside of my apartment building in Petionville on an Easter afternoon.  Rara bands are often led by a priest and this particular group probably numbered 400–500 followers who were chanting and honking on long bamboo or plastic horns and some were pounding on drums.  These people are following the liar and are lost; they are the challenger.  These are the people that ‘assure’ children in Christian schools that satan defeated Christ on Good Friday.  They will stress that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and is still in the grave.  In vodou temples there are crosses buried up to the cross bar to signify that Christ is still in the tomb.  These rara bands are really active during Lent as that is when they will do whatever they can to bring doubt into the lives of Christians in Haiti.  They generally begin to march on Friday night and don’t stop until mid-Sunday morning; hopeful that their commotion will keep Christians from attending worship service. 

On the first Monday of each month Trinity HOPE asks that you dedicate a time of prayer at 10 AM for children in their feeding programs.  May their lives be protected by a company of angels as they are Spirit driven to proclaim the Gospel of our Risen Lord and Savior to the lost, such as these, in their families, neighborhoods and to strangers on their streets in Haiti.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Praying for you.

“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

In this passage, Jesus is praying for Simon Peter, what a wonderful reassurance; when we pray in the name of Jesus; He intercedes for us.  This was a time when satan was seeking to separate Peter from Christ; and don’t you know, it happens to us too.  When we see something more exciting in this world than holding our eyes upon His cross we need to be reminded that He is still in our presence; it is us that are turning away.  Too often we don’t know how much we have been blessed, rescued, gifted, healed or been comforted by our Savior’s prayers.  When we are brought into our Heavenly home we will hopefully be able to realize all of the times He has touched our lives and we will have endless times to praise Him.

These children attending the Lutheran School in St. Marc pray for you daily.  They ask their Savior to bless your journey, they give thanks for you and rejoice for the blessings that you have provided for them; a meal at their school every day.  That day when you stand at the feet of your Savior, look around you and see their joy filled faces next to you as they join in praising our Savior.  I would like to close this devotion with the words from the first verse of the hymn ‘While yet the Morn is Breaking’ which was written by Johannes Muehlmann in 1613.

“While yet the morn is breaking, I thank my God once more, beneath whose care awaking, I find the night is o'er, I thank Him that He calls me to life and health anew; I know, whate'er befalls me, His care will still be true.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Refusing rescue.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.  The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.  The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,” 1 Corinthians 2:13-15

I listened to an old favorite Lutheran Hour Message with Pastor Ken Klaus that was titled “Refusing Rescue” recently, and this title was with me for much of last week; twisting and turning in my mind.  He talked about the construction of the Kariba Dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe and how the building of this structure displaced close to 60,000 people from both countries.  The people knew what was happening and even though they might not have liked the project they understood that they would have to move. 

The bigger problem was that the animals didn’t understand what was about to happen, the flood was coming and it would not cease until their territory was under a lot of water.  With the flood gates closed, a team of animal rescuers came together to rescue the antelope, leopard, elephants, the buffalo, the rhinoceros; all the animals from their shrinking islands being overtaken by the coming flood.  The animals didn’t understand the dam, nor appreciate the rising water and resisted all the efforts of their well-meaning rescuers.

The attached photo is of a vodou temple Northwest of St. Marc and sadly these temples are a haven where over 65% of the population of Haiti seek help from the rising waters, the problems caused by satan, unstable and currupt government, earthquakes, inflation, the pandemic, disease, angry neighbors and the gangs.  Some people are still seeking assistance from the vodou priest to call upon their evil spirits to rescue them from the rising waters.  The vodou priest insists that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was buried and satan was victorious…period.  The vodou followers march through the cities and rural roads proclaiming victory for satan on Easter.  Refusing rescue.

We have the Holy Spirit, and need to share the only good news, the truth, with those who are sadly following the loser, the liar and the louse of this world.  God sent a rescuer into this world, His Son our Savior, and Christ gave us a commissioning to go and make disciples throughout the world. 

Thank you for following His call to throw the only life preserver to the lost in Haiti that will save, by promoting Christian education through your generous donation to Trinity HOPE.  They will pass the life preserver to the lost, who have been and are continuing to refuse to be rescued. 

Thank you for helping them to reach out to the lost, those who have not heard the truth, those who have resisted being rescued because they believed the lies of satan.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay