Are you in focus?

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:1-5

Have you ever thought about a time when you were doing God’s work that He planned for you, then like Peter walking on the lake; you felt uncomfortable; out of focus.  Doing God’s work is designed to make us more like Christ, to conform to His will.  Sometimes, doing God's will is humanly illogical in this fallen world.

In this life, we have “focus” choices. We can focus on ourselves, we can focus on our circumstances, we can focus on other people, or we can focus on God. When you think biblically, you focus first on God.  Regardless of what you want, regardless of the circumstances you're under, regardless of what others say or think, regardless of how you feel; God and God alone is working out His great plan through you.  You are in focus.  God is shaping us into the image of Christ, which means His Son's discipline.

I read about this in a devotion recently and it's a different way to look at God's will.  What can we do to be more in focus?  Spend less time analyzing God and more time obeying Him.  When you follow His will and find yourself in a situation you cannot explain, don't even try.  If you do, you'll likely use human wisdom, and you'll just mess things up.  It’s okay to say to others watching you “I don’t understand.”  “This is beyond me.”  “I can’t explain why it works.”  “It doesn't make sense to me…but that's okay.  God knows.”  Why do I help feed kids in Haiti?  It’s God pleasing.  I’m in focus.

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

Is the door open?

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds.  See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Revelation 3:7-8

The attached photo is of an open door to a classroom at Font Baptist.  It was ventilating their room on a hot morning.  If I had been the teacher, the door would have been closed to prevent a curious dog or stray chicken from entering their room.  That open/closed door caused me to think about the closed door I am facing now.  Job, my stump, is still draining about one teaspoon of ooze every day and until it stops, the door for my prothetelic journey is closed.  I am in a season of waiting.  The schools in Haiti are facing a closed door too as they wait for forces of good begin to defeat the forces of evil gangs.

Are you struggling with a closed door?  Job and me learned a few lessons from scripture that have helped me in my own process of dealing with this closed door.  We have to have faith that God is sovereign; He has this covered.  He can open and close the door.  Read today’s verses from Revelation.  He is sovereign, in full control; God takes full responsibility for the results.  Job, the doctors and me are in a season of waiting.  Stay in His Word and wait.  A closed door is a good opportunity to wait for a better one.  Job and me have been doing a lot of PT and listening to Psalms on Bible Gateway.  The day is coming when we will walk through the open door and will realize the benefit of the previously closed one.  As a result of obeying God, doing His will, accepting the closed doors, and walking through the open ones, God will honor you with a different perspective you would never otherwise have.

Job, me and school kids in Haiti are in a season of waiting.  How long?  God knows; He is in control.  Isn't it about time we stopped trying to figure it all out; our own way?  Let Him take 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

How we view God's Will.

“Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”   God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.  When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.  And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord; that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”  Job 28:22-28

A few weeks ago, I read a devotion by Rev. Charles Swindoll regarding God’s will and how we often view it through our world wise eyes.  Too often our idea of the will of God is that He leads as we would lead and plans as we would plan.  That would be wrong and wrong.  God’s will is not like that at all.  Then Rev. Swindoll shared four simple principles we need to keep in mind regarding God's leading.

First: God's preferred method is surprise.  Most Lutheran’s aren’t thrilled by surprises.  On April 10th, I wasn’t excited when to my surprise I learned my right leg had been amputated five inches above the knee.  A few years ago, Trinity HOPE was surprised to learn of how many gangs were disrupting life in Port-au-Prince.  God will take a surprise and make something out of it

Second: God’s surprises require faith, flexibility and adaptability.  When you get in a situation that you didn't expect, you have to adapt; you are forced to adjust.  Have faith; God hasn't made a mistake.  You haven't made a mistake. You're just going through the process of internal development that is all part of God's arrangement of events, painful though that may be.  I’m in a standard wheelchair living in an Assisted Living facility, eating with people two decades older than me; I’ve adjusted.  Haitian gangs have control of most of PAP and are spreading into the North Central part of Haiti.  God is still in control.

Third: Behind God's surprises are purposes we are not aware of.  We may think we know but we don’t.  We need to remind ourselves that this is no mistake.    This is no accident.  God has deliberately planned for what is taking place. Instead of planning a pity party, have faith and pray.  Rather than becoming embittered, angered, and disillusioned, rather than calling the whole thing “a mistake,” ask, “What can I learn from this?”  This is a season of waiting.  When my butt got tired of waiting, I got a new seat cushion for my wheelchair and began reading the Psalms.

Fourth: When God surprises us, He supplies sufficient grace to handle the unexpected.  As we lean on Him, He supplies what we need to endure whatever His will encompasses for us.  God's surprises can be very scary and unsettling at times.  They can push you to the absolute limit.  But His surprises draw you closer to Him as you grow deeper in His Word.  You're learning to view life from a vertical perspective.  By doing so, you can release your world wise vision and start to see this world as His child.  

The sovereign God of surprises still reigns supreme and how very grateful I am for that.  And it could be that the biggest surprise of my life, or your life, or these Haitian school kids may be just a few months ahead.  Wait for it.  Or perhaps you're right in the midst of one of those surprises today.  It's possible that God's surprise is intended to help you to see for the first time in your whole life, your great need for Him.

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

Been planning?

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Have you done any planning recently?  Made plans for the weekend or for the end of summer or for a special vacation?  Have you made plans for your retirement?  Have you made plans for where or what you are going to eat tonight?  I looked at the menu here at the facility and have decided I will just have a cup of soup.  The dictionary indicates that making plans should be a realistic view of the expectations; depending upon the activities, a plan can be long range, intermediate range or short range.  Preparation of a comprehensive plan will not guarantee success, but lack of a sound plan will almost certainly ensure failure.

I’ve sat down and made some plans for the remaining years of my life and have an agenda that set a course for the remainder of my journey.  If my history repeats itself in the coming months, I can tell you now, there will be some challenges and failures.  I’ve presented my plan to my Heavenly Father and am still watching, waiting and listening for His guidance.  I truly want the Lord to determine my steps on this journey regardless of my own agenda.  I am hoping that His directions and my steps will intersect at some point but if things look too dark, I will turn to His course and be confident of His wisdom and my life blesses more people.

Our Triune God will determine your steps, my steps and the steps of this child who lives in Ouanaminthe.  My journey intersects with his journey as my life is bringing him a noon meal at his Lutheran school.  I don’t know how much longer he will be blessed by my gifts but I am confident that this is a direction that is God pleasing.  God knows our hearts and He will often direct us to do things in which we are gifted or where our personalities just seem to be a natural fit; it is His plan for us and for this child.  Thank you for feeding children in Trinity HOPE programs and preparing them for their journey...His journey for them.

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

Going home.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  Matthew 24:14

Johnny Cash and I sang a duet while sitting in my apartment last night, well, actually Johnny sang the songs and I just sang “when the roll is called up yonder” while the song was being played by Alexa.  Going home, have you ever considered who will be worthy of having their names written on the role?  Am I considered worthy?  President Trump mentioned a few days ago that he hoped he had done enough to get into Heaven.  I try to live in a way which is good and God-pleasing but the reality is that the face in morning mirror failed again and again.  What about the children in the attached photo?  They are some of the children that attend the Lutheran School in Balague which is located in the Arcahaie District.  Are they considered worthy?  They probably try as hard as we do to live God-pleasing lives but not sure if they are able recite the six chief parts of the Lutheran Catechism like you and I can.

Good news!  While we are pleading the worthiness of our lives is exactly where Jesus comes in!  Jesus came to this world not because we were good people, but because we were bad people, sinful people who needed a Savior.  His death on the cross paid for all our American and Haitian sins that made us unworthy.  We can now, because of Jesus, look forward to eternity in the glory of heaven together with the children from Balague and all of God's family of believers!  I hope these words will be with you today.

“When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair.  When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.  On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of His resurrection share.  When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.  Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, let us talk of all His wondrous love and care.  Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”  James Black, 1893

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

Let us walk with Jesus.

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me.”  John 12:26

A recent rerun devotion from Pastor Ken Klaus shared a brief story of Helen Roseveare who was a missionary to the Congo.  During her years serving our Lord in the Congo her faith had been challenged many times and she was often physically brutalized.  She shared the following observation "There is no cost in following Jesus" and added “there is only privilege."

The young girl in the attached photo attends school at Bon Berger Lutheran School in Caredeux and she has been given a high honor by her teacher.  Entrusted to her is the task of bringing a tray with noon lunches to the children in her class.  It may not seem like much of an honor but this child will not spill one drop of food while taking to children who will have nothing else to eat on this day.

We should consider serving Christ as an honor.  Helping to support the noon meal at Bon Berger is an honor as we serve our Lord with our talents and treasures.  Although being His servant is a free will choice each of us can make on our own, we should embrace the opportunity to humbly follow Him and serve Him.  We should be eager at having the opportunity to be Christ’s servant here in our home town, across the State, in the Congo or in Haiti.  Serving Him is such a wonderful privilege.  We should not walk our Christian path in a spirit of pride or ego as all the Glory is His.  Thank you for sharing your blessings and bringing a plate of hope to the children in Caredeux.  The hymn “Let us ever walk with Jesus” by Sigismund von Birken (1653) is a great reminder of the honor of walking with and following our Savior.

“Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure.  Flee the world, which would deceive us and to sin our souls allure.  Ever in His footsteps treading, body here, yet soul above, full of faith and hope and love.  Let us do the Father's bidding.  Faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead, I follow Thee.  Let us suffer here with Jesus, to His image, e'er conform; Heaven's glory soon will please us, sunshine follow on the storm.  Though we sow in tears of sorrow, we shall reap with heavenly joy; and the fears that now annoy shall be laughter on the morrow.  Christ, I suffer here with Thee; there, oh, share Thy joy with me!  Let us also die with Jesus.  His death from the second death, from our soul's destruction, frees us, quickens us with life's glad breath.  Let us mortify, while living, flesh and blood and die to sin; and the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate to heaven.  Jesus, here I die to Thee there to live eternally.  Let us gladly live with Jesus; since He's risen from the dead, death and grave must soon release us.  Jesus, Thou art now our Head, we are truly Thine own members; where Thou livest, there live we.  Take and own us constantly, faithful Friend, as Thy dear brethren.  Jesus, here I live to Thee, also there eternally.”

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

Don't worry about tomorrow.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34

This scripture reading and the song “I am trusting thee Lord Jesus” have been bouncing around in my head today.  In this fallen world that we live in, worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles; it only takes away today's peace.  This world’s self-help courses tell us to fight fire with fire but we need to remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

The girl in the attached photo attends Bon Berger (Good Shepherd) Lutheran School in Caredeux, Haiti.  I confess that there are times when I worry that this child may not get her meal at school tomorrow because of gang activity; God has never let the Trinity HOPE pot go empty.  My doubting that financial responsibilities will slow and come to a halt have never been realized.  Jesus wants us to let go of our anxiety; we must live in the present moment.  There are too many opportunities we could miss today by worrying about what might happen tomorrow.

The Lord could come between now and tomorrow and all our worry would have been silliness and you, me and the children at Bon Berger will be together in Heaven.  Thank you for joining me in trusting in our Lord Jesus to keep the pots full at Trinity HOPE schools in Haiti.  Thank you for joining me in sharing our financial blessings with those who have so few.

“I am trusting Thee, Lord, Jesus, trusting only Thee; trusting Thee for full salvation, great and free.  I am trusting Thee for pardon; at Thy feet I bow; for Thy grace and tender mercy, trusting now.  I am trusting Thee for cleansing in the crimson flood; trusting Thee to make me holy by Thy blood.  I am trusting Thee to guide me; Thou alone shalt lead; every day and hour supplying all my need.  I am trusting Thee for power, Thine can never fail; words which Thou Thyself shalt give me must prevail.  I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; never let me fall; I am trusting Thee forever, and for all.”  Frances R. Havergal, 1836-1879

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

Who is calling?

“The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.  One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was.  Then the LORD called Samuel.  Samuel answered, “Here I am.”  And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”  But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”  So he went and lay down.  Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”  “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.  A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”  Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.  So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”  1 Samuel 3:1-9

As a child, calling a person was done on a telephone with a rotary dial or by opening the door and yelling out a name.  The scripture reading talks about how Samuel received his ‘call’ from God.  It is good to read these passages from time to time as we too have been called but sometimes, we don’t understand who was calling or what it was they wanted. 

The young boy in the photo attends the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe and this is one of those special photos as the boy sitting next to him is wearing a North American throw away t-shirt that proclaims “saving the best for last.”  This young boy and you both have received the ‘call’ from our Heavenly Father; but each of your calls was different but will both bring blessings back to our Heavenly Father.  Your gift is feeding this child and he is growing the Kingdom in Haiti.

We get calls all the time and sometimes we answer and sometimes we just let the phone ring and ring and hope that they will leave a message.  He continues to call you and His children in Ouanaminthe and around this world.  Thank you for answering His call and taking the message.  Last weekend, while listening to Alexa, George Younce sang a song titled “Who at my door is standing” and its words seem relevant to this passage in 1 Samuel. 

“Who at my door is standing, patiently drawing near, entrance within demanding?  Whose is the voice I hear?  Sweetly the tones are falling; “Open the door for Me!  If thou wilt heed My calling, I will abide with thee.  Lonely without He’s staying, lonely within am I, while I am still delaying, will He not pass me by?  Sweetly the tones are falling; “Open the door for Me!  If thou wilt heed My calling, I will abide with thee.  All through the dark hours dreary, knocking again is He; Jesus, art Thou not weary, waiting so long for me?  Sweetly the tones are falling; “Open the door for Me!  If thou wilt heed My calling, I will abide with thee.  Door of my heart, I hasten!  Thee will I open wide.  Though He rebuke and chasten, He shall with me abide.  Sweetly the tones are falling; “Open the door for Me!  If thou wilt heed My calling, I will abide with thee.”

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 lost son.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.  So, they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:20-24

The lost son didn’t understand how much his father loved him and seldom do we really understand how our Heavenly Father can possibly be excited when we are walking back to Him after being lost in the affairs of this fallen world.  The children in the attached photo are some of the 215 that attend Grace Lutheran School in the Les Cayes District.  They are His kids and they, like you and me, have strayed now and then and we have been tempted by this world to turn away.  Their temptations are different than our temptations.  We take our food for granted and think nothing of spending around $75 a month for cable TV, a cell phone, groceries, clothes, shoes; seventy-five dollars would feed all the children at Grace for one day. 

When we find that this world’s temptations don’t bring what we had thought they would, we turn and return home to our Heavenly Father who is changeless.  His love is everlasting; for you, for them and for me.  Have you been following the temptations of this world recently?  Have you been searching for something you can't find?  Are you running with nowhere to run to?  Come home; come home to the One who loves you more than anyone.  Thank you for helping to feed His children.  I heard a song recently which was written by Cleavant Derricks and this is not found in the Lutheran Service Book, but a quartet sang it on the internet radio station.  The title is ‘We’ll soon be done with troubles and trials’ and the words hit home.

“Some of these days I'm going home where no sorrows ever come, we'll soon be done, we'll soon be done with troubles and trials; safe from Heartaches, pain and care, we shall all that glory share, and I'm gonna sit down beside my Jesus, Lord, I'm gonna sit down and rest a little while.  We'll soon be done, we'll soon be done with troubles and trials, troubles and trials.  In that home yes, in that home on the other side, on the other side, and I'm gonna shake glad hands with the elders, tell my kindred good morning.  Then I'm gonna sit down beside my Jesus, and rest a little while.”

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

HE wept.

Back in the day, this was the Bible passage that many of us hoped to draw for our memory verse in 1964 when Pastor Heidemann was assigning us confirmation verses.  It is hard to imagine that the Son of God ever wept but while reading the news headlines these days it seems that this sinful world has many reasons to bring tears to the eyes of Jesus.

Tears came to His eyes when He came to the tomb of Lazarus.  Theologians assert that the tears of Jesus were tears of anger as He saw what the sin of this world had done to Lazarus.  The tears of Jesus could have been tears of sadness at the thought of bringing Lazarus back to life as he had to come back to this sinful world.

The tears of Jesus were tears of compassion.  One can imagine that Jesus might be smiling upon you for having compassion on this child who attends the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe.  There may be a tear of joy as this child receives his daily meal, from you, in this sinful world.   Thank you for showing compassion to the children being blessed by Trinity HOPE and consider the compassion that God had for you by sending His Son to die for you on the cross.  The words from a Statler Brothers song seem like a wonderful way to close this devotion on Saturday; hope that they will touch you and possibly bring a tear to your eye.

“There were tears in the eyes of Jesus; there were nails in the palms of His hands.  There were thorns in his brow and only God could know how much pain he could withstand.  There was blood all around the hillside as a mother mourned her loss, and we all stood to gain from the heavenly pain on the other side of the cross.  On the other side of the cross, the side that no one could see; hung the Spirit of things yet to come, hung the future of you and me.  And what He gave that day on the cross not one bit of love has been lost.  Hold my hand, stand up and say if you were there on that day; on the other side of the cross.”

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