Mistaken Identity

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.

The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Kindness

God is kind.

I’ve been thinking about that this week. His kindness is woven throughout Scripture and is seen in those who have his heart.

Here are a few interesting verses about it:

Ephesians 2:6,7 — And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his KINDNESS to us in Christ Jesus.

Titus 3:4-6 — When the KINDNESS and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.

The kindness of God challenges our complacency, apathy, and hard-heartedness, calling us to change, to turn back to God.

Romans 2:4 — Do you show contempt for the riches of his KINDNESS, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s KINDNESS leads you toward repentance?

Luke 6:35,36 — Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is KIND to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Repentance, turning back to God, is a turn toward kindness. It’s a turn toward being kind with others. All of them.

Thursday a.m.

Good morning! It's hard for me to believe, but in 2 months from today, we will be preparing to return home from our summer trip to Honduras. These trips roll around so quickly. I am really looking forward to this summer's trip. We have a good group going. We have about 20 of us flying out of Indy and another 10 or so joining us from other places. We are working on boosting our work fund some, so if you would like to make a donation toward a house, then please let me know.

I'm liking this weather! It's so nice. I went for a short run early yesterday morning. I was pretty rung out from the previous night's workout, so a short run was all I wanted/needed yesterday. I will go a little longer, here in a little while. I hope to get a longer ride in sometime tomorrow, if I can get all my work done.

A lot of my friends are doing the triathlon in Terre Haute this weekend. I originally planned to make my sanctioned tri debut there, but a conflict came up quite a while ago. I can't go, and I think that is probably divine providence (ha ha). I don't think I am quite ready for an 800 yard swim in cold water.  John H. is making his debut this weekend, and I am confident he is going to do well. He will be a beast on the bike, after getting through the swim.

Today is going to be busy, busy. I need to get all my Sunday prep done. Plus I am speaking at Camp on Saturday, so I need to get that pretty well finished as well. Better get moving... Thanks for coming by.

Wise Words

Proverbs 15:8-10 (The Message)


God can’t stand pious poses,

but he delights in genuine prayers.

A life frittered away disgusts God;

he loves those who run straight for the finish line.

It’s a school of hard knocks for those who leave God’s path,

a dead-end street for those who hate God’s rules.

Wednesday a.m.

Good morning! How are you on this lovely warm morning? I hope you are enjoying these nice mild days. I am! I think we could finally be done with the cold until fall. That works for me.

I'm running a little behind this morning, which is fine. I got to bed late, didn't sleep that great, and got up a few minutes late. I am waiting for my Honduran coffee to fully kick in. Almost there.

Yesterday was a good day. It was one of those "interruptions are my work" sort of day. There were lots of them, and they were all fine, good. I did not get as much study done as I had hoped, but Mephibosheth will still be there today. Hopefully we'll hang out some this morning? He is an interesting character.

Last night was Time Trial Tuesday, and the key word: WINDY. I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed in my performance, but there is nothing to do but keep working at it. I averaged just a little over 20 mph, finishing last out of 8 (pretty good) riders. It's a benchmark and something to work from.

After we got back from the 37.5 mile ride, everyone but James, who is a pure cyclist of the non-snob sect (ha ha), donned our running shoes for a 3 mile run. That went pretty well. I was the only one who knew the course, so I felt compelled to stay out front with those who tend to go faster. Following the run, it was a late night (for me) trip to Wendy's for refueling and fun conversation that included a little truth occasionally.

What does today hold? Well, all kinds of things. Have to kill you...

Pray it

Jesus, a long time ago, said:


"This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Tuesday a.m.

Good morning! This picture is of another bridge in Guatemala. It's the same basic design as the bridge Typhoid Luke helped with last year. This one is shorter and they did the construction a little differently, using more substantial scaffolding. They also added a roof to this one. Lipscomb has a group of college students there for the construction. I know Luke wishes he could be there too.

My email is not working again and has not since yesterday morning. This always makes me a little nervous, wondering if I am missing something that I need to do, etc. I am not sure what is going on with it. Seems like we have had a lot of this in the last few weeks. I'm trying to connect with the web-based provider site, and it appears to be their problem. I will find out more today.

I saw somewhere that a reality show about L.A. pastors is in the works. I know there was a show recently about preachers' kids. This got me to thinking - I bet my life would be a fascinating reality show. NOT. ha ha. Perhaps it could be packaged as a sleep aid, just like my sermons.

Yesterday was a good day. I ran early, before the frost melted. Yes, I had frost on my roof yesterday morning. I wore my light winter gear and ran a good 7 miler while the sun was coming up. Then it was on to organization and meetings. Then I took a trip here, then there. I saw a couple of guys in the nursing home, stopped by the school to make sure they were running it right, and then to the Store. Saw my wife briefly at lunch to get my allowance for the week. Cut some wood with my dad after Ben got home from school. Went to his softball game and ended the day in the pool, learning to be humble yet again.  You know, I think this would be gripping TV.

Today is Tuesday. I'm going to study Mephibosheth today. He was crippled in both feet, you know. You didn't know that? Oh well, look it up. You are on the internet. It's easy. Tuesday also means a great bike ride, rolling out of the church parking lot at 5:45, returning a couple hours later with 37.5 miles, following by a 3 mile run. I think tonight is a time trial night, which means everyone takes off individually from the county, about a minute apart to see how fast we can cover 10 miles. We regroup and ride back home together. Wind may be an issue this evening.

OK, here we go!

Suffering and Joy

The sole survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but he only got depressed. He eventually built a small hut and put his only possessions in it.

One day, after hunting for some food, he came back to his hut to find it had gone up in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. He was devastated and disappointed with God.

"Why?"

Early the next day a ship drew near the island and rescued him. He couldn’t believe it. When he came on board he said asked, "How did you know I was here?"

"We saw your smoke signal."

When Paul writes the Romans, he talks, in chapter 5, about access to God. Imagine that – having access to Almighty God. This thought leads Paul in progression of thought that includes suffering as a part of joy.

How can those two thoughts, suffering and joy, connect? Because one often leads to the other, thanks to God and his way working in our problems. Let’s stay aware of this wonderful idea as this week unfolds.

Romans 5:2-5

. . .We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.