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(My friend Greg Lane posted the following on Facebook yesterday. I found it so moving and thought provoking, I immediately asked him for permission to post it here. He graciously agreed, and here it is. Enjoy, be challenged, or both…)
In the late 1950’s a young married couple with two young children got some really bad news. The wife had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. In those days Hodgkin’s Disease was not as “treatable” as it is today. Although the young mother held up well under treatments she was concerned about trying to raise a family while dealing with this disease.
Being a devout Catholic, she went to her priest to request a special permission. Since Catholics do not believe in contraception or abortion, her request would be considered unscriptural and impermissible…she asked if she could go on contraceptives to avoid having any more children as she battled with her sickness. The prospects of bringing more children into the world with her uncertain life expectancy seemed to be a sufficient excuse for her request. The response of the priest seemed almost cold and callous as he denied her plea for exemption.
She and her husband submitted to the church’s decision and continued on raising a family. They had two more children as a result of this decision. She was undergoing Mustard Therapy and some Radiation Therapy as part of her treatments when she discovered that she was pregnant with her fourth child. Many may have considered abortion as an option in this situation since the baby could have been adversely affected from these treatments. But, once again, her devout Catholic beliefs restrained her from such a decision. Her fourth child was born without problems or defects.
The mother died three years later after fighting the dread disease for well over 5 years. She left behind a grieving husband and 4 young children.
Perhaps you think that the Catholic Church was too stringent and rigid in this case…but, not me. I was that fourth child!
Mom, I never got a chance to say THANK YOU… Thank you for listening to the priest. Thank you for choosing life! We didn’t get a chance to know each other like a mother and son should…but, thank you for giving me a chance to know my children! I LOVE YOU!
Tony is a former college classmate of ours, serving today as a missionary in Matamoros, Mexico. He recently wrote this thought provoking piece:
I had an interesting conversation with a young guy last night about the difference between faith in the USA and faith in other countries – primarily third world, communist, or poor countries. My wise young friend commented that in our country faith does not mean so much, specifically because we don’t have to exercise our faith very often. I agree. Why pray for daily bread when the fridge is full and the pantry too? Why ask the Lord to bless you when you have so many blessings you are not sure which car to drive today?
Some time ago in Mexico, we were delivering food boxes to families in an area near the city dump. At one particular house a young teenage girl named Lupita came out as we drove up. She was smiling big time. She kept saying, “This is a blessing from God. This is a blessing from God!” Why? It was just a box of food, a carton of eggs, some oranges, coffee, flour and corn meal to make tortillas, some toilet paper, etc. What was the big deal?
Lupita told us the deal, “Last night we sat at the table and mother had us pray. You see, we had no food at all, nothing. She said we should pray for food to eat. And then God sent you. This is a blessing from God.”
Wow! I was almost in tears that day. I will never forget Lupita’s words that morning. When you have to beg or plead for daily bread, then, yes, then faith means something more.
I have said for a long time that what passes for “faith teaching” in the U.S. is nothing more that sanctified and slightly sanitized materialistic humanism. How hollow “Believing God for Your Prosperity Miracle” must sound to the Christ follower in sub-Saharan Africa who lives in a slum with no clean water, no sanitation, and no food. In that case, the “prayer of faith” is not for a bigger house, nicer clothes, or a private jet – it is prayed for survival.
So I agree with you, Tony, there’s a difference between faith in this country and in other countries – ours looks crass and cheap and self-centered. And the rest of the world’s faith looks like their very lives depend on it.
(If you would be interested in learning more about or supporting Ninos de Christo, Tony’s mission in Mexico, leave your email address in a comment, and I’ll connect you.)
OK, I made up the headline. But that seems to be the fascinating conclusion of recent research, as reported on ABC’s Nightline on Thursday, March 20, 2007…
Here’s an excerpt from the online edition…
At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Newberg has been conducting a scientific study of the phenomenon for a long time. According to an ABC report, Newberg found that brain scans show quite different results with Christians praying in tongues compared to Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The frontal lobes—the part of the brain right behind the forehead that’s considered the brain’s control center—went quiet in the brains of tongue-speakers.
“When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice…their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity. It is very consistent with the kind of experience they have, because they say that they’re not in charge. [They say] it’s the voice of God, it’s the Spirit of God that is moving through them,” said Newberg.
“Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or willfully trying to do. And that’s in fairly stark contrast to the people who are—like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns—in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity.”
You can read the entire article and access video at:
8000 easter eggs
3 sky divers
420+ kids
1000 people, total, at the event
and all this in a town of 2200!
We had an AMAZING day! Thanks to our Jubilee volunteers, Air Indiana Skydiving Center, Dr. Sayers and Principal Huckstep of Carroll High School, John Terhune of the Journal & Courier, and WLFI-18!
Lafayette Journal & Courier coverage here
Carroll County Comet’s coverage here
Thoughts jumping across the pond in my head…
- Somebody flipped a switch and we warmed up fast! I could not believe how quick the snow melted. Looks like we’re in for some rough weather later this week though…
- GREAT DAY Sunday! We had several new faces and very strong attendance.
- Second message in the “Deadliest Catch” series – We saw Jonah trapped in a fish – horrific circumstances that God was able to use to turn his life around and get him back on track.
- Chris E. did a great job with the Financial Peace University class, filling in for Greg. It’s neat to see how what we’re learning really is taking hold in some folks lives. If you didn’t take the class this time, we will offer it again, probably in the fall. Don’t let anything – hopelessness, false pride, embarrassment, etc. – keep you away.
- We’ve got three outstanding Deacon candidates – Josh B., Jason G., and Pam M. – please be in prayer for each of them during confirmation month, and we will install them March 1st.
- Don’t forget the Second Saturday Project! We will be doing the Kokomo Rescue Missions Winter Walk. Raise $50 in suppor to walk and get a free t-shirt! We will leave the church at 8 AM Saturday and return around 11.
- 52 Books in a Year update – finally cracking “Simple Church” by Thom Rainer. I must have had it recommended to me once a week for the past couple of years. I love Rainer’s work and this one grabbed me from page 1.
- We went to our 13 year old’s opening wrestling meet last night – he didn’t win, but man, he has improved so much. He’s faster and stronger. I predict he’ll have a very good year. It seemed like half the team was from our youth group. Props to Anthony, Cole, and Jake on their wins last night.
- Since you’re dying to know: My early fav on “American Idol” is Danny Gokey – the music teacher from Milwaukee whose wife passed away last year. We also like David (?) and several of the ladies. I was disappointed that they “blew through” the auditions – I love ‘em – but it looks like a very good competition this year.
- Here’s why we ask people to turn their cell phones off in church – God is watching…
Mark Beeson, Pastor of Granger Community Church near South Bend, IN posted this amazing, thought-provoking video on his blog a couple of days ago:
Mark’s comments: Our economy is down and the world is changing fast. Whether we’re slipping into darkness or poised for unprecedented success depends on our next steps. When I watch this video I feel like I should try to bump up my game a notch or two. How about you?
My comments: In my last message of 2008, I talked about “Changing the World from a Cornfield.” We’re a small church in a small community – how are we going to change the world? Here’s part of what I said:
The rapid development of technology is shrinking this world… Folks, remember when they showed us those films in school of what the future would look like? It’s coming true! Not the bubble top cars – closest we ever got to that was the AMC Pacer! – or meals in a single capsule – but technology, the computer and communication stuff they told us about is rapidly becoming reality…
Video conferencing and computer based meeting technology makes it possible for us to disciple and train leaders all over the world from right here in Flora! We can be connected in real time to churches and ministry leaders EVERYWHERE!
The eternal truth of God’s word and the continual development of technology makes global ministry not just a possibility – but a reality!
That video produces awe in me, excitement and anticipation, but not fear or panic – if we will harness the technology, leverage it as part of our outreach strategy, we will touch lives all over the world in ways that would not have been possible even five years ago.
TODAY is the day to begin dreaming God-sized dreams and partnering with Him to do God-sized things.
I’m a rock ribbed conservative, but I feel a strong sense of hope for our new President. He appears to be a committed family man, an honest person, and one who is willing to reach across ideological lines. Though I disagree with some of his stated positions, I truly believe he cares for this country and wants to improve things for all people. We only have one president at a time, and I choose not to mirror the rancor and disrespect shown to GWB by liberals everyday for the past eight years.
One of my favorite bloggers, and a pastor I look to for inspiration and guidance, David Foster had a great post yesterday. It made me think and has inspired me to follow his lead. Here’s the essence – slightly edited:
Here are my seven promises to President Obama as he makes history and begins his presidency.
1. President Obama, I promise to pray for you each and every day that God would give you wisdom and favor and that He would protect you from those who are evil.
2. I promise to respect you for not only what you have achieved personally and how you’ve taken advantage of all your opportunities, but also for the fact that you fulfill the role of President of my country, an office worthy of respect. Though the men who have occupied it have been imperfect, its ideal still abides; a Democracy ruled over not by a King, but by a President elected by the people.
3. I promise to support you where I can and to reserve judgment over those things I disagree with, believing that you may know more about the subject than I do.
4. I promise to believe the best about you. I won’t listen to conspiracy theories and throw you under the bus at the first sign that you may not be doing something the majority of the people agree with.
5. I promise to be the kind of American worthy of a great President.
6. I promise I will not expect you to do for me what I should be doing for myself. I’m glad I don’t live in a Socialist state. I live in a Democracy driven by Capitalism, the idea that I am personally responsible for my actions. So I’ll not ask you to pay my house payment or feed me unless I have a catastrophic disability. I’m willing to pay my taxes and my fair share and fully take responsibility.
7. I promise to remember that you’re human; that you occupy an office that no human can be expected to perform flawlessly. I’ll try to put myself in your place even though it would be hard to do.
This is a day of new beginnings for our country. I plan to be in on it. I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and throw stones. I want to be a part of the solution, the change that we all hope and pray will happen. As a man of faith it is my obligation and responsibility. And as a citizen, it is the covenant I signed up for.
Read Foster’s original post HERE.
Thoughts that are jumping across the pond in my head…
- What an amazing day we had at Jubilee yesterday! It was cold and icy and snowy, but we had very strong attendance.
- Worship was smokin’! You guys flat brought it yesterday!
- We had at least a dozen first time guests – it was very cool to see that a couple of them had signed up to help with the Chili Supper!
- Message 3 in the “Plan A” series, focusing on the essential message of the Gospel – “Christ died for our sins, and He rose from the dead. We have to trust in Christ and in His sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins.” A simple, consistent message will help our unbelieving friends move along in the process of coming to God.
- A young man trusted Christ as Savior, and a young woman re-committed her life and wants God to use her to reach her unbelieving friends. THAT’S why we do what we do!
- We’re still building momentum folks – but the “breakout” phase will be here sooner than we think. We HAVE to be ready.
- Another great class in Financial Peace University! We wrote our total consumer debt, not counting mortgages, anonymously on index cards, which were then added together. I think everyone was blown away by the total… 3 or 4 families cut up credit cards last night! I’m loving the relationships that are building. We’ve got a common goal – get a better grip on our finances!
- “52 Books in a Year” update – I didn’t quite finish “Visioneering” last week, so I plan to finish it up this week, then start “Simple Church” (Rainer) – a book everybody and their brother has read and recommended but I’m just now getting to it. I’ve still got “It” and “Crazy Love” in my sights for upcoming weeks…
- So, it’s the Steelers vs. Cardinals in the Super Bowl… I appreciate Kurt Warner as a Christ follower who has fought hard for what he’s achieved, and I noticed Roethlisberger gave the Lord a shout out after the game last night. I’m happy for the Cards making it to the Big Show for the first time, but I’m gonna remain true to my AFC and pull for the Steelers. Yeah, I know they’re a Colts “nemesis” and truthfully I’m just going to enjoy the game, no matter who wins.
- I’m hoping to blog more this week – got a couple of interesting things rolling around in the brain. Stay tuned…
- Let’s be driven not by what God has done through Jubilee in the past but by what He is going to do! “Greater things are still to come, greater things are still to be done in this city!”
Have a great week!
Blogged a “crazy idea” the other day that EVERYONE in our church should have a computer, and offered to find free training for anybody that took the challenge… (A friend of mine thought it was hilarious that I would challenge people to get a computer on my blog – where they wouldn’t see it… I just didn’t think it through. I’m putting the challenge out in other ways, too.)
I am an absolute rookie when it comes to tech-mo-nology – no comparison to some of the people I know who are completely plugged in to all things new and shiny and gadgety… But, yeah I have a blog, a Facebook page, and I Twitter…
And it’s that last one that totally stumps the computer illiterate.
“What is THAT?” they will say, while looking at me like I just said something dirty.
And when I explain that “Twitter is social networking through short form blogging, primarily answering the question, ‘What are you doing?’” I can see their eyes glaze over as they start to mentally balance their checkbook or organize their sock drawer.
Well, you know I’m all about the education – so here’s a brief video that explains the purpose and appeal of Twitter way better than I ever could. Watch it, go buy that computer, get the free training, and join the rest of us here in the 21st century… It’s nice here – I think you’ll like it.
Let’s just get this out of the way first – BRRRRRRR!!! – It was 2 degrees when worship began at 10:00 AM, the wind was howling like crazy, and I had seriously wondered if we should cancel services. I didn’t expect much in attendance, but to my surprise we had a full house with some new faces!
The worship band did a good job with their first Christmas service together – the traditional carols and hymns sounded great with a little tweaking to ”contemporize” them.
We finished out our “Joy to the World” message series with “Receiving the Gift,” focusing on the revelation of the Gospel in the Christmas story. Jesus’ birth was announced as “good news” for all people – not just good people or holy people. God also sent word that we are objects of His pleasure, and that the intention of it all is so that He will be glorified and we’ll have the peace of knowing that everything is OK between us and Him. We looked at John’s summary statement of the Christmas story, from that famous verse in John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in “
In spite of the cold and the wind, we had a great turnout for our “Financial Peace University” preview. I’m personally excited about this course – Vicki and I will be students right along with everyone else! – and after getting a little taste of Dave Ramsey’s teaching, we’re raring to go! I think we have 13 or 14 families signed up! If you are still interested but have not enrolled yet – DO NOT WAIT until Sunday to talk to me! Call me at the office, home, or cell, or send me an email ASAP. We need to order the kits right away so if you wait until after Christmas, you might not make this session. Don’t worry though, we plan on offering FPU again in the fall.
If you are interested in the vision and direction of Jubilee – you do not want to miss this Sunday! We will be talking about “Changing the World from a Cornfield.” We’ll be casting some big, scary vision - definitely not for the faint of heart or the “church as usual” crowd – the kind of vision we KNOW we have to depend on God to see become a reality. Come prepared to be challenged and stretched!
This is the second to the last of our “Sunday Replays” – after the first of the year I plan on changing up some things on the blog, and will not do the recap of Sunday like we’ve been doing. We will be putting the messages up on the website – still looking for a free sermon player to link to – to allow people to get a sneak preview or get caught up there.
2008 is almost over – a year of great change and building momentum. Thanks for all you do!
Have a great week and Merry Christmas!
