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My Greatest Blessings

2025-02-11T09:36:57-05:00

My greatest blessings have been found in the church. Which church is that you may ask. The Church of Jesus in the sick; the Church of Jesus in the Homeless; the Church of Jesus in the hungry; the Church of Jesus in the imprisoned; the Church of Jesus in the oppressed; the Church of Jesus in the victims of war and the list goes on and on.

I have seen Him in the eyes of the first wave of children diagnosed with AIDS. I have seen Him in the eyes of the mother whose child is critically ill and in the eyes of that child as well. I have seen Him in the eyes of the dying. I have seen Him in the eyes of the lonely and forlorn. I have seen Him in the eyes of a young woman who no longer wants to live. I have seen Him in the eyes of orphans. I have seen Him in the eyes of the first refugees who I had contact with after Putin began bombing Eastern Ukraine in 2015. I have seen Him in the eyes of the survivors of Auschwitz and Birkenau as I marched with them from one of those camps to the other being reminded that we can never forget about the evil that man is capable of. Unfortunately, it is becoming ever harder to see Him in our churches where we gather based on our own thoughts of self-righteousness. There is nothing in me that is righteous. God loves me as I am and not as I should be.

When I go to church it is to worship Him and to give Him thanks that He would use even me but I much prefer spending time with Him in those places where He said we would find Him. It is there where I have found the greatest of blessings. It is when we are about His work.

Jesus tells us, "as you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me."

Woe be to those who chose the institution, whether it be the church or the state with its political leaders, over Him.

— Woody

The People Have Spoken

2024-11-06T17:00:00-05:00

I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state— giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God‘s! (Not my idea but Jesus’) I know that many would disagree with me. This all brings to mind a story from the Bible and found in the book of Matthew. It goes, “Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For HE KNEW IT WAS OUT OF SELF INTEREST THAT THEY HAD HANDED JESUS OVER TO HIM. (Emphasis mine) While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”” (Matthew 27:11-22)

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN AND THEY HAVE SAID ‘GIVE US BARRABBAS’!

In light of that, may those who claim to be true followers of Jesus be about his business of loving and caring for the downtrodden and the oppressed, for those who have been hurt, and those who will be hurt by the actions of others and for those who are naked and thirsty and hungry. As followers of Christ we are called to stand in that gap. For Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40) It is our call to love and not hate and to rise above the division and point to the Jesus who also told us what would mark us as His followers saying, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE SWEET LOVE!
NO NOT JUST FOR SOME BUT FOR EVERYONE!

('What The World Needs Now' composed by Burt Bacharach)

Who Am I And What Will I Stand For?

2024-08-24T23:07:00-04:00

WHO AM I AND WHAT WILL I STAND FOR!

Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.” He also said, “If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.” Well I cannot, and I will not, remain silent any longer.

People who know me know that for over four decades I have attempted to live out my faith in a way that supports and uplifts others who find themselves beaten down by life events. I have simply tried to love others without condition in the same way that I have felt loved through my faith. I wasn’t concerned about anyone’s race, religion, status, sexual orientation or background. I have simply tried to see each and every person as someone who was created in God’s image. Not in the image of the ‘name-calling’ American god or the white Jesus of Christian Nationalism but the God who is the Lord of lords and King of kings; the lover of the down-trodden and the oppressed. Sometimes I have gotten it right.

For decades I also wore a cross around my neck that I had made from used guitar strings. I don’t wear it anymore because people who have been beat up by this wave of Christian Nationalism would see that and peg me as being a part of that. I have decided that I would rather have them know me by my actions. After all it was Jesus who said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you LOVE one another.”

People who know me also know of my visits to, and my love for Ukraine. This, more than anything right now, has shown me that I can no longer be quiet. For a former President of the United States to admire dictators to the point of congratulating Vladimir Putin on the recent exchange of prisoners is just mind boggling to me.

Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine which has led to the deaths of tens of thousand of civilians, and his willingness to target a children’s hospital and other medical facilities, shows that he is a man who is in no way to be congratulated. He is a war criminal responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands and should not be viewed as a good and smart man by anyone, especially by a former US President.

JD Vance added his own spin, saying that concessions to Putin would be in the America’s best interest. That is a statement one would make about allies that you support and Putin is not one that you want as an ally, so it is very telling about Vance’s own loyalties.

You cannot overlook the fact that our former President has also shown his colors by expressing his admiration of Hungarian Authoritarian PM Viktor Orbán while hosting him at Mar A Lago on at least two different occasions. He has shown us his own desire to be a dictator in stating outright that a vote for him means we will never have to vote again. My dad and father-in-law both fought in WWII against just this sort of regime and yet so many just turn their heads now as a former President tries to lead us down that same road as he spews his venom and his constant lies.

He feeds on the cries and moans of so many about inflation and the cost of living. How selfish we have become because the majority of Americans, even though we’ve had to tighten our belts, are so much better off than the majority of people in this world. On a trip to the United Kingdom last year we heard people speak of the difficulties they were facing based on the inflation which was seen as a result of the effects of Putin’ s invasion of Ukraine and the games that he plays with oil supplies and shipments of grain and other commodities out of Ukraine.

How different in our country where we now look to lay blame on fellow Americans because of our differences of opinion. To become the best that we can be, we need to face the fact that there are evil people in this world and we must become the people who will do something about it. We must stand for what is true and just and right. We must stand up against dictators and wannabe dictators! This cannot be accomplished in silence!

So, yes, I write this from my own faith perspective. I am not asking you to believe as I believe. That is between you and your Creator. But as a follower of Christ, I have tried to respond to Jesus’ command to love others as He has loved us in the way that I have treated others. We are also told in scripture to ‘FEAR NOT’. With the rampant fear mongering around us, these are also good words to take to heart.

As I stated in the opening paragraph, ‘I cannot, and I will not, remain silent any longer.’ I realize that I stand to lose support, possibly some who I thought of as friends and probably requests to play, but I accept that. It is more important to me that I am true to myself and that I haven’t sold my soul. I am who I am and who I believe I was created to be. I suppose that is the question that we each need to ask ourselves. Who are we and what will we stand for!

There Is A God!

2024-01-04T18:33:00-05:00

There is God! As I may know this and you may know this, there are many in this world who do not. They look around them at what the world presents as Christianity and reject it without ever hearing the actual Gospel. The stumbling block for many is how we seem to live in a time when we allow politicians to set the bar of righteousness, and that bar is at a point where it couldn’t get much lower. So many within the church today seem to have chosen some form of Christian Nationalism and many have chosen a path of hatred rather than love. So many live in fear of others and extol their need for automatic weapons for protection, all the while professing to follow Jesus who taught, ‘do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matthew 10:28 NASB) They promote a pro-life stance for the unborn while ignoring the plight of refugees, aliens and strangers. to which Jesus says, ‘I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ (Matthew 25:43 NASB) Christian Nationalism sways between an Old Testament belief of ‘an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth’ when it suits their purpose, but a complete reversal when it comes to their pro-life stance because after all Jesus was born into an Old Testament world where a woman pregnant out of wedlock would be stoned ending the life of both mother and child. The late Christian singer-songwriter Rich Mullins once said “[The Bible] says a lot of things in there! Proof-texting is a very, very dangerous thing. I think if we were given the scriptures it was not so that we could prove that we are right about everything. If we were given the scriptures it was to humble us into realizing that God is right and the rest of us are just guessing.” Those in the Christian Nationalism movement have become the masters of proof-texting to sell their message regardless of whether it aligns with the overall teachings of Christ or not.

We are not a Christian or Godly nation because of the laws of morality that we support or enact. We become a Godly nation when our morality is visible in the lives we live as individuals. We become a Christian nation when we have the heart of Christ within us and the heart of Christ is one that identifies with the poor and the marginalized; the downtrodden and the oppressed; the orphan and the widow. We will be known by our love for others who are not even capable of loving us in return. This cannot happen by the laws enacted by man but only through the changing of our hearts in a relationship with our Creator!

We would do well to remain grounded in the actual word of God rather than in the ramblings of man. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians, ‘But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.’ (Galatians 5:16-26) May we take heed of these words as we weigh the choices that the world places before us and make our choices based on the teachings of the One who loved us so much that He gave His life for us.
I will continue to do what I do out of love for my fellow man, founded in the unconditional love that my Creator has shown to me. I will do my best to love others regardless of their beliefs and choices. We are called to love and not judge which is so difficult but our call none the less. May God grant us the strength to heed that call on our lives.

Truth

2023-12-26T16:38:00-05:00

I sat with an elderly gentleman in the hospital yesterday. With it being Christmas I said that it probably might not be how he was feeling but that I wanted to wish him a Merry Christmas! His response caught me by surprise. He said “If you can’t understand a Merry Christmas in a place like this and in times of trial then you will never understand it. The world’s idea of Christmas begins after Halloween and ends with piles of boxes and wrapping paper. Jesus is just lost in the midst of it and then thrown out with the trash. In times of difficulty and trial we are open to the entrance of the hope of Jesus into our midst and we can rejoice. ” He then looked at me and said “Merry Christmas!” With a renewed understanding I said “it truly is!”

Church Called to Church Calloused

2023-09-04T21:45:00-04:00

We’ve taken God’s precious calling and turned it into a failed experiment. Divisions abound as we divide churches and groups of people based on our own thoughts of what is required for healing while at the same time we are taking our eyes off the healer. Rather than allowing God to build a church through our outpouring of love, compassion, grace and mercy we seem to redesign ourselves with some new marketing ploy, hoping to draw in a group of like-minded people, rather than to become attractive to those who are cast off; those who are oppressed; those who are confused; those who have been cut down by this life.

A Journal Entry

2023-03-15T18:27:00-04:00

Written in my journal after driving to Arizona for a young friend's Celebration of Life.

'Sometimes I think that God is like a sideshow oddity. You don’t want to look, but when you finally do, you can’t look away, and then I feel guilty of thinking of God in this way. But then I think about God in the distressing disguise of the poor, the sick and the needy and I realize that’s exactly how he is. Then I meet those in this journey like Thomas, and I believe that God didn’t try very hard to disguise himself. As much as my family questioned this journey, I did as well. But after driving over 2000 miles and then standing before all of those folks at Thomas’s celebration of life, and simply singing one song, I better understood. To have Thomas’s mother take my hands and look in my eyes and tell me how much joy she found in finally getting to meet me touched me deeply. She spoke of Thomas’s love for me. To then be welcomed into the Harris’s cabin in Groom Creek, and to sit with that family and to break bread, laugh and to sing brought overwhelming joy to this old soul. I don’t get to do what I do because of my goodness. I get to do what I do because God is God and he is a God of mercy and grace who, yes, will use even someone like me.'

An Oldie (but yet much the same)

2023-01-22T19:19:00-05:00

I just found this piece that I had written for a newsletter in 1993 and thought I'd share it here.

DON'T BE DISTRACTED!

I would like to share a passage with you from the 10th chapter of Luke:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

In this passage we see a harried and frustrated Martha. The Master, Jesus, has come into her home and there is so much to be done. There's cleaning and cooking and so many other things to accomplish in order to make sure that everything is just right. Can't Mary see that? Surely Jesus will understand, so Martha goes to Jesus and says, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Jesus responds in a way that must have surprised Martha for He answers, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." How would Jesus respond to our grumblings? Have we become like Martha with our own lives and within the life of the church? Have we been living Martha lives and have we, to a large extent, become a Martha church?

Do we ever take time to reflect on the words of Jesus when He says, "seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well?? We work so hard on so many details.
We are upset about many things. We go out of our way to make sure we have ministries for everything.
We have singles ministries, young adult ministries, ministries for those who are separated or divorced, men's ministries, women's ministries, ministries for those battling addictions and the list goes on and on.
It is not that any of these ministries in themselves is wrong, it is just that we can become so caught up in the details of the differences of each of these groups that we tend to overlook that which each holds in common -- the need for the healing love of Jesus Christ. We allow church events and programs to get in the way of proclaiming Jesus to the world. We waste so much money and time on secondary issues.
We spend valuable time raising huge dollars for things that don't advance the Kingdom and the cause of Christ. "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."

I think a lot of our problem stems from our reluctance to stray too far from our comfort zone.
Most times, we just don't want to get personally involved with someone who is too different from us.
I have talked to so many people who have developed a distrust and distaste for the church because they have been avoided and left alone in the midst of their hurt and need by unloving folks that have called themselves believers. "But Lord I don't have those same problems. My life is going well and I've always kept on top of the details. Isn't that enough?" No, I don't believe it is. I believe that Jesus calls us to bring all people into a family of believers where they can experience His healing and His love through each and every one of us. I'll admit that it is easier to just work at fundraising or to give someone directions to the appropriate classroom in order to let someone else deal with it, but that isn't what Jesus would do. He says to us "I've brought them to you, now show them Me." Sure we can use those with special gifts in these individual areas as resources but discipleship must begin with each of us, individually, at the initial point of contact with those in need and that, most often, is not even within the confines our church walls.

Paul, in his letter to the Roman church, writes "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."(2) What an excellent model for our church. Following Jesus is not a passive activity involving just an hour or a fow hours a week where we sit and listen without response. We are called to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He calls us to go where He would go. He let nothing distract Him from reaching out to us in our sin - not even the misery of the cross. "My command is this; Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. "(A] These are Jesus words, not mine. Are we willing to lay down our lives for others? Are we willing to go where He would go regardless of the discomfort to us. We are called to show the sacrificial love of Christ in lives that are fully surrendered unto Him. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."5] (emphasis, mine)

Why are we so unwilling to just sit at Jesus' feet and learn from He Who was with God in the beginning. 16 Why do we feel we have to keep up with the world. Why must we measure everything in worldly ways. We want to look good in the eyes of the world so we attempt to look worldly. What does that say about our relationship with Jesus Christ for He says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: No servant is greater than his master' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me." 7 To whom do we belong? We, who profess to know the One who sent us the Way in his Son Jesus, are to be as aliens and strangers in this world, so we must love unconditionally in unworldly ways, putting others before ourselves. Likewise, we are not to build up our church using worldly ways but, rather, we are to build up Christ's Church using His ways. We are not to call men unto ourselves but unto Him who sends us. We are called to proclaimed one thing; that which is the center of our faith; that Name which is above all names - Jesus the Christ. Let us not take heed of Martha's grumblings. In this passage she doesn't yet understand that "only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." How about you?

[1] Matthew 6:33
(2) Romans 12:9-16
13) Matthew 28:19-20 14] John 15:12-13
[5 Matthew 16:24-25 16 John 1:2
[7] John 15:18-21

We Are Not Forced!

2022-10-29T15:03:00-04:00

Jesus does not call us to force our beliefs on others.

He calls us to deny ourselves and live our lives for others.
Jesus demonstrated a life sacrificed for others not one where others sacrificed for Him.
Jesus called us to relationship with Him and with others.
Jesus did not call us to look down on others
He called us to see all people as those created in the image of God.
Jesus taught ‘The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Jesus did not call us to judge others saying that, if we did, we would be judged in the same manner.
Jesus spoke against those who would burden others with their rules while doing nothing to help them with their burdens.
We are not a Godly nation because we have enacted laws that we believe make us so. We become a Godly nation when we live righteous lives where we individually choose to live in the way that Jesus has called us to live. Living in that way means living a life that imparts love, mercy and grace to those around us.

Jesus never forced His beliefs on anyone. He loved them equally desiring that none be lost. Jesus said that in Him we could see the Father and He showed us a Father that gave us a choice. Yes God always desires that we choose in a way that leads to life but it is a choice non-the-less. Scripture tells us that, ‘Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Peter’s choice and plan, as well meaning as it was, was not Jesus’ choice and plan. Perhaps we should stop trying to speak for God and, rather, try to simply live for God. Let our actions be those that point to a God of compassion. Let our lives be lived in such a way that others around us

Jesus taught saying, “the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
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.” Jesus goes on to say, “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.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

And Yet Another

2022-05-02T18:21:00-04:00

Ladies and gentleman! Let me introduce to you yet another denomination! I read yesterday that the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops, ended a five-day meeting on Friday, April 29th, and acknowledged the inevitable breakup of their denomination – a schism launched out of a global movement led by theologically conservative Methodists. The breakaway denomination, called the Global Methodist Church, officially became a reality on Sunday, May 1st. The article said that its leaders have been exasperated by liberal churches’ continued defiance of UMC bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy.

I was awakened this morning with these thoughts so let me share them as imperfect as they are. As a child I grew up attending the Methodist Church with my parents. In Sunday School I learned of The Story that would give me the foundation of my life. It was a story of a perfect God who loved each of us even in our imperfection. It was a story of mercy and of grace and of forgiveness. Not that I deserved any of it but simply because God is God and his love for his children is without condition. He loved us not because of what we did, or would do, but simply because He was God the Creator who created each of us in His image. As Brennan Manning would later say it, ‘God loves us as we are and not as we should be because none of us are ever as we should be’. In that I found peace and hope. In that I found my calling from a God who taught in a way and with a wisdom that were truly not of this world. There is nothing we can do to cause him to love us less or to love us more. Do you remember the call of Matthew? The story in scripture goes like this. From Matthew 9:9-13 we read ‘As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Are we witnessing the second coming of the Pharisees?

Perhaps the problem lies with what we cannot see or refuse to see. In Romans 3:19-26 we read, ’Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus’. But it seems the argument in the present day church goes something like this. ‘I’m not a sinner, he or she is a sinner.’ It is so difficult for us to embrace the idea that none of us are worthy of God’s love. We treat grace and mercy as though they themselves are sinful in nature and in doing so become increasing devoid of them.

In 1968, at the age of fifteen I experienced an overwhelming feeling that God was in our midst as I watched the Evangelical United Brethren Church and Methodist denominations join to form the United Methodist Church; two coming together as one to minister to the needs of a hurting world. I was not aware of it at the time but this came after an earlier merger in 1946 which brought Evangelical and United Brethren in Christ denominations together to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. It was in the Methodist and later United Methodist Church that I first felt my sense of a calling to minister at the age of ten. It was in this church that I later prayed that God would break my heart with those things that broke his heart and in that he led me to that place where I could use the simple gifts that he had given me to bring a little bit of bit of peace and joy into the midst of overwhelmingly difficult times. Now I feel a sense of God’s own heart breaking as his church seems to grow in just one fashion—it grows in the judgment of one over another. Have we also forgotten God’s teaching about judgment? Jesus taught in Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

I will forever struggle with that log in my own eye and in that I cannot place myself over another. In that I feel that I can only come alongside fellow travelers in a way that lets us discover God together in a truly Holy way. That way is one of unconditional love and compassion. That way is one of mercy and grace. That way is one of allowing God’s presence in the midst of love and outreach to be the changing factor in our own lives and the lives of others. God came into the midst of all that was wrong and we feel we can somehow run to a place where all is right ‘in our own minds’. That will be the only place it is right, in our own minds, because our ways will never be God’s ways, try as we might. We market the newest denominations as the better way while there is only One Way and that is the Way that became flesh and dwelt among us. The better way is not in a church created to draw those like-minded folks together in judgement over another. That has gone on for far too long. My thoughts are many but I will simply share a story in closing.

I first traveled to the beautiful country of Ukraine in October 1998. I traveled with the Ukraine Initiative which was a part of the then Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. This group had begun working in Ukraine shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. We worked there with the Order of Goodness and Charity which was overseen by a woman named Galena. Now Galena and her husband had been military officers in the Soviet Union. In that, it seemed like our motives for being there were always under scrutiny. On our first Sunday there we asked Galena if we might be able to worship in a local church. It was obvious that this did not sit well with her but, nevertheless, she took us a a large ultra-modern church which had been built by a large American denomination that shall remain nameless. The first thing that I noticed as we pulled into the church’s parking lot was that there were elderly folks walking the recently harvested potato field that was next to the church property. They were gleaning the harvest, trying to find sustenance to carry them through the upcoming winter. Then I glanced at this building and felt such a sense of guilt and heartache. Remember the quickly passing fad where everyone was asking ‘What would Jesus do?’ I found myself asking that very question. That fad I believe fell by the wayside because it was just too difficult to love and do for others as Jesus would do and it was obvious as I looked at this monument to modern day ministry.

Over the years I continued to travel back to Ukraine for I had truly fallen in love with this country and these people. During a visit in 2002 I was leading a time of worship for our group who were staying together in a former Soviet sanatorium. Here we had been given the opportunity to minister to children who had been born into impoverished families who, leaving everything behind, had fled the Chornobyl region. We were also working with local orphanages and a cerebral palsy center. I had invited Galena to join us that Sunday and was pleasantly surprised when she arrived with her interpreter. I simply shared my heart that day. No planned message or altar call. I just saw it as a time to praise God for his goodness and for the fact that he would use even me in this place. We closed with me playing guitar and leading the group in singing ‘Amazing Grace’. The interpreter knew the song in Ukrainian so he sang along. Two languages yet one heart. I closed with a prayer. Almost immediately the interpreter asked me to sit with Galena. She asked me to specifically pray for her and said that she was attracted to this Jesus that I spoke of. Together we prayed. When I later asked her what brought her to that place she shared something that impacted me deeply. She said, ‘Many have come to our country and built their churches but you came to this country and loved our people.” How humbling. She wasn’t speaking of just me but of the Ukraine Initiative which had been serving the people of Ukraine at that point for nearly a decade. In the serving of others she found herself drawn to a place where she wanted to know this Jesus better.

My question today is this. How do we best serve God in building his Church? Is it in our judgment and division or is it in our mercy, grace, forgiveness and pursuit of justice for all whom God has created that none should be lost? Let us stop acting like the older brother of the prodigal son and let us become as the Father who would rush down the lane to embrace even someone like me.

On Atheism

2022-03-13T10:14:00-04:00

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

- Brennan Manning

Standing With Ukraine

2022-02-22T17:03:00-05:00

In January 2005 I stood with my Ukrainian friends on Independence Square in Kyiv during the Orange Revolution. In 2015 I visited a school in a Ukrainian village where the children helped make camouflage nets for the conflict on the eastern border and I heard the children sing of their love for their country. I stand with them today in prayer and I ask you to join me. My friends Ruslan and Archie Tkachuk have opened their hearts, their home and their resources to assisting those who have fled from the east. May God be with them!

‘Personal’ Savior

2022-02-20T10:21:00-05:00

American Christianity is so possessive.

The Great Commission in Matthew encourages us to embrace all that Jesus taught yet it has become the norm to jump right to asking people if they know Jesus as their ‘personal’ Savior without first feeding, clothing and loving them as Jesus does. Without love we become as clanging cymbals and the subsequent ringing left in the ears of many blocks them from ‘hearing’ the Gospel because they haven’t first seen or experienced it. I find myself wondering if we, as Christians, are as quick to provide a meal for someone who is hungry as we are to tell them that they need Jesus. Will we be known for our words or our actions?

For Unto Us . . .

2020-12-19T16:57:00-05:00

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:3-5 NRSV).

Our salvation is brought about not through wholeness, but through a broken body. Christ died and was raised, not to prevent us from grieving, but so that our brokenness would be redeemed, our faults would not define us, and our sadness would not be the end of the story.

This is what happens when you let Christ in. Christ transforms fear itself into an embodiment of hope.

When the poor are vilified or assumed to be lazy, when the only solution to systemic poverty is working harder in a system that favors the prosperous, when our mission and outreach only consist of a meal for the poor instead of a place at the table with the poor, we risk God’s kingdom being foreign to us.

Sometimes our Christmas missions miss the mark. We are so quick to offer the less fortunate gifts for stockings rather than a place at our table and room in our lives because gifts in a stocking are the extent of our limited vision of what Christ being born means.

At its heart, the first Nativity is a story born out of poverty, where scarcity is transformed into abundance by a God who will stop at nothing to be with us.

The angels appeared in the heavens, not saying, “In those days . . .”—rather they proclaimed, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NRSV, emphasis mine). In those days the palace ruled the world, but on this day the world is being turned upside down. In those days the shepherds were less than unimportant, but on this day, the shepherds received a gift of the kingdom of God! In those days we simply read about a miracle. On this day we expect one. In those days we tried to make our traditions and material gifts perfect. On this day we let go of the anxiety of making things perfect so that we can make room for a perfect God. In those days our Christmas list was full of material things for friends, family, coworkers. On this day our list contains what Jesus wants. It is his birthday, after all. Jesus wants the proclamation of good news, release, recovery, freedom, and favor. In those days we worried about what’s under the tree instead of the tree itself. On this day we see clearly the Giver of Life.

The Christmas story is the story about a miracle. . . . God decided to put on human flesh so that we could inherit the eternal, a kingdom full of life, built by grace on a foundation of love and justice.

Gracious God, fill us with your joy, the steadfast assurance that you are with us. Help us to remember that this is a holy time, not due to our preparations or celebrations, but because you have chosen to walk among us. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ doesn’t call us to provide a handout. Christ calls us to be with the lowly because it is where Christ is and Christ is inviting us to dwell with him. If you are hungry for the light of Christ, then go to where Christ is. God will be there, and if you hear the sound of silence, speak, because God is listening.

Faith is not a protective bubble against the dark places of the world. If it were, God would have never allowed himself to be raised by a pair of human, fallible, everyday, albeit blessed, parents.

While giving another a meal at Christmas is nice it is more important to give them a place at the table

Isaiah 9

6
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.

Quick Thought

2020-12-12T10:12:00-05:00

May it never be about what we’re getting for Christmas. Instead, may it be about what we’re giving. May it be about becoming the hands and feet and voice of hope and justice to those who are struggling; to those who are hurting; to those who are marginalized and oppressed. In that way we more perfectly reflect the gift of Hope born into our world that we celebrate at Christmas in the birth of Jesus.

Woody

So they say . . .

2020-08-11T16:54:00-04:00

I’ve been told that, as a Christian, I should vote for the party which values life and works to pass legislation supporting such values. I do not believe that we are called to pass such legislation and promote such an agenda. Moral legislation does not make us a righteous nation. Righteousness, a gift of God found in His mercy and grace, must come from within. That only comes through people willing to live it out not because it’s a law but because it is what’s in a heart where God dwells. We are called to live lives of compassion and strive to live in a moral and just manner. With that said we must also realize that none of us are capable of living such perfect lives and, just as God has done for us, we must show mercy and grace to one another in the midst of our shortcomings. That mercy and grace must extend to all. We are called to stand up for the disillusioned, the oppressed and the marginalized. In this, we will also realize that NO LIVES MATTER UNTIL ALL LIVES MATTER!

Complacency

2020-06-01T19:24:00-04:00

My memories of standing with my hand over my heart reciting the Pledge of Allegiance have no starting point. It has just been a part of life in these United States. In elementary school I was still naive enough to take the words of the pledge at face value. As my knowledge of what went on in our country and in the world beyond my small town increased, I realized that the Pledge was an ideal to aspire to rather than something that already was. I became increasingly aware of the violation of civil rights for those of color and I worried about my friends of color. There was the increasing unrest in Southeast Asia and it seemed like no one really knew why. I struggled with protests against war that turned violent because I believed that you could only overcome hate by doing that which is the opposite and that ‘All You Need(ed) (Was) Love’. I started to see how political agendas and covert actions could pull us into conflict or start conflict rather than protect us from these arenas. Although I disagreed with our reasons for being in Viet Nam, I served in the USAF during those years, remaining stateside. I continued to recite those words to the pledge but with ever greater doubts. Would we ever rise above our hatred and distrust of those who are different from us. When would simply doing what is right and just become the norm? Then I thought I saw progress. In the past three decades I must say that I started to believe that we were coming around. It seemed that we were caring more about each other. I may have been a bit blinded by the caring community within the hospitals where I was spending my time.

In 2011 I traveled to Oświęcim, Poland (Auschwitz in German) and as I toured the Auschwitz and Birkenau I found myself asking how people outside of the camps could allow such a horrible beast to rise up in their midst without taking a stand for what is right. Sadly I am asking the same thing in my own country these days and the story is similar. News outlets discredited; the constitution of our land pushed aside for personal gain; conspiracy theories being promoted; there is the silence that accompanies events by white supremacy groups but then outrage over an NFL player taking a knee during the National Anthem in protest of violence against blacks by police. Now we hear the cry of ‘thugs’ concerning those protesting a policeman taking a knee on George Floyd’s neck resulting in his death. While I will never condone the violence that has transpired since, I can only say that we are seeing the results of years of injustices by the privileged few and in that I include myself and all who have remained silent thinking it would just work itself out. What bothers me the most is that this comes during a time when it seems that a large segment of the white evangelical church backs the current administration with so many saying that we have witnessed the return of Christmas, the return of God to our schools and the push for a pro-life agenda. The evidence found in the midst of that which is happening around us speaks otherwise. There is nothing pro-God or pro-life about any of this.

I wrote the song 'I Heard Tell’ in early 2018 following the march, in August 2017, of white supremacists in Charlottesville, VA with the President refusing to address the evil for what it was. People had so wrapped themselves, and continue to do so, in a flag which is now definitely not symbolic of a country that pledges ‘liberty and justice for all’. In the Rich Mullins song ‘Screen Door’ he sings “There's a difference, you know, between faith and playing make-believe. One will make you grow. The other one will make you sleep.” By all appearances it seems that a church that professes to follow a Savior who identified with the oppressed and marginalized has fallen asleep from too much make-believe. Rich, in his song ‘Creed’, also wrote “I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am.” This song, 'I Heard Tell’, comes out of what I believe and it’s what makes me what I am. I am not sure why I did not record it and put it out there after I wrote it. I can only be saddened by my own delay and silence.

Setting The Bar

2020-03-09T16:43:00-04:00

Well here we are almost three months into 2020 and in our 28th year full time as Heart to Hand Ministries after 11 years part time! The phrase ‘Giving our hearts to God and our hands to man’ was where our name originated. As a way of describing our mission I would often say that it was an outreach to critically and chronically ill children and their families, and a for most of the past 39 years that is what is has been. This has involved my day to day visits to those who are hospitalized and everything that went with that, admissions to discharges, births to graduations, weddings to funerals. To travel this journey with those who, prior to their admission, you most likely had never met is incredibly humbling. This has been something that I never pursued for it pursued me. I believe in a God who created each of us to be uniquely who we are and, in knowing our abilities better than we know them ourselves, He nudges us in the direction where He knows we can use those abilities. This is what we know as a calling; a nudging by the Holy Spirit. The crazy thing is that God never forces His will upon us. It is within us, in our free will, to resist and deny a calling.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Jesus’ words saying that when we have done it to the least of these we have done it unto Him. I have looked upon the brokenness of children of trauma and I have looked into the eyes of those who are facing unimaginable battles and, in their eyes, I have seen Him. I have chosen to follow the one Who teaches ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matthew 10:28) The One who also teaches “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:27-31)

This is where the dilemma begins. I find myself at a place that seems to be out of sync with so many current day evangelicals. It seems that there are no longer standards of truthfulness and morality. Our patriotism has raised the flag above God. Self has become more important than others. The Gospel message is chopped and used to our convenience.

My prayer is that as 2020 goes on we will, as God’s people, stand strong in faith and do what the Lord would have us do, despite what the world or the leaders of our nation would tell us we should; a year that would see the spreading of God’s light and hope and peace through the hands and feet of His people; a year that would bring meaning to our pledge when when we say ‘one nation under God.’ I say this because, quite frankly, it appears more and more to me that we have become one nation over God that will only submit to God if it is convenient and beneficial to self, having absolutely no concern for the marginalized and oppressed that Jesus was drawn to.

Word of God vs words of man

2019-12-19T08:10:00-05:00

As I read this scripture passage this morning I could help but think of the current administration and the spiritual advisor to the President, Paula White. Not sure why.

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (Acts 8:9-23)

And then there was this:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Talk about a perfect letter!

A Question of Faith

2019-11-05T16:37:00-05:00

I am posting this for those of us who call ourselves Christian. We truly have not given the world much in the way of light or anything that embraces a hope that others would want to cling to. Someone asked me the other day how I am able to hang onto my faith In light of all that is happening around us and with all of the suffering, loss and sorrow that I have seen. My reply was that I have no trouble in standing on my faith in God, but my faith in people and especially in the church, being those who profess to be Christians, not the institution itself, has definitely been dealt a blow.

I want to start by saying that I believe we can never be a ‘Christian nation’. We can be a nation that is inhabited by Christians and in that we can choose to follow a path which aligns with our beliefs or we can choose evil. We can do this in the way we vote and in those we support. It will be evident in the way we love and in the way we bless others. I am more and more astounded by our choices; by a political system where one side claims to be more or less the Christian party, the righteous party, while condemning the other side. I have said more than once that if what I am seeing is Christianity then please do not call me a Christian - I prefer simply to be seen as a follower of Christ. I do not say this in order to appear more righteous, but I truly believe that to follow Christ means that we have to accept our own sinfulness. We read in Scripture that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That’s me; that you!

In my own journey, as a young registered voter and with my faith being what it was at the time I, too, found myself voting for the party that labeled itself pro life. As my faith grew I came to see that morality is something that can never be legislated. It seems we are at a place in this country where we want to give to Caesar that which is God’s. We are either a moral people or we are not. I believe that means that life is precious period. It can’t simply be important for the unborn. That choice for life needs to extend to ALL of God’s creation. We need to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. They were two different things in Jesus’ time and He wasn’t about changing them. He was about changing hearts. I will always choose life but I have come to know a God who places the choice before us. Though another may choose differently or believe other than I, Jesus shows me that I am not called to be their judge but I AM called to love them without condition for this is the example I was given in the one I profess to follow. As British writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. Christianity has been found difficult and left untried.”

The gist of it is that none of us are as we should be but the good news is that God loves us nonetheless. With that in mind I simply ask that we might all take the time to look at the fruit that is produced by those we have raised up and ask ourselves if it is good. We must ask ourselves if it aligns itself with the teachings of the one that we say we follow. Scripture encourages us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. We are told not to swear on anything but to simply let our yes be yes and our no be no. We are told that anything other than this comes from the evil one. We are told to let our light shine before men so that they may see your good deeds and praise our father in heaven.

So I will choose to look at the current every day happenings through the filter of what I read in Scripture. This doesn’t make me any less a hypocrite, it’s simply my way of trying to more faithfully align myself with the teachings I profess to believe.

Some of my thoughts that come out of that are:

Am I being faithful if I rejoice in tax cuts and greater refunds while at the same time watching those programs which helped the least of these be cut? I am encouraged to tithe within the church which I always thought was to be about the work of the church yet more and more it seems it is becoming simply about the sustenance of the institution itself. We are told that ‘we cannot serve two masters. Either we will hate the one and love the other or we will be devoted to one and despise the other. We cannot serve both God and money. I feel it is it is becoming more and more obvious as a people and as a nation what we have chosen to serve.

Am I being faithful if I choose to turn my back on the widows and the orphans; on the sick, the refugees and the divided families while Jesus says that he seeks mercy for the same. Jesus himself was condemned for hanging out with, and loving, the riff raff. I think I will choose to try and be more like Jesus.

Here’s a big one! We are told ‘do not judge, or you too will be judged. For the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ where in big trouble here folks! We truly look at the speck of sawdust in our brother's eye while paying no attention to the plank in our own eye. Ouch! Judgment divides and Jesus taught that “every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Jesus says that “men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your word you will be condemned.” The bottom line is that we are called to individual accountability. That is what we should find in our church and in our faith journey - a call to accountability that aligns with the teachings of Jesus.

Who and what we choose to follow and pledge our allegiance to tells a lot about us. Jesus says“by this all men will know you are my disciples, if you but love one another.” If we are going to profess to be followers of Christ may our actions convict us!

Just Me

2019-10-05T16:35:00-04:00

Heavenly privilege is much preferred to worldly privilege, so as people of privilege it is important that we simply walk humbly before our Lord.

- Woody

Thanks Mom!

2019-08-01T16:33:00-04:00

Twenty six years ago today I lost my mom. She was 66 years old. After her celebration of life, my wife and my sister thought it best that I travel to Arizona for Camp Rainbow, a Children’s oncology camp, where I would be leading music. The comment was made that my mom would be very upset if she was the reason for me missing camp. I was reluctant but I went, arriving after camp had started and in that place I found healing.
Today I awake in that same camp. Now I am 66 which definitely makes me pause to ponder the journey. As I have gathered throughout this week to sing with these incredible children and counselors I’m constantly reminded of the healing that I have experienced in this place and I can’t help but pause and think of the woman who raised me to be who I am. I thank God every day for the wealth I have been given in this life in family and friends.
As I sat by a campfire last evening doing music with the youngest half of this camp and their counselors, we paused to look at incredible canopy of stars above us and, as we did, I thought of a similar night 26 years ago and I can only say that I continue to find healing in this place and I am feeling incredibly humbled and blessed. Thank you Mom for guiding me down the path that led to where I find myself today.

Contrasts

2019-05-20T16:31:00-04:00

In contrast to every other kingdom that has been and ever will be, this kingdom belongs to the poor, Jesus said, and to the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for God. In this kingdom, the people from the margins and the bottom rungs will be lifted up to places of honor, seated at the best spots at the table. This kingdom knows no geographic boundaries, no political parties, no single language or culture. It advances not through power and might, but through acts of love and joy and peace, missions of mercy and kindness and humility. This kingdom has arrived, not with a trumpet’s sound but with a baby’s cries, not with the vanquishing of enemies but with the forgiving of them, not on the back of a warhorse but on the back of a donkey, not with triumph and a conquest but with a death and a resurrection.

Separation

2019-03-31T11:06:00-04:00

A wall meant to separate us from the ‘least of these’, in the end, separates us from God.

God Tamers

2019-02-03T16:27:00-05:00

The church prefers to move forward doing business as usual yet we profess to serve a God who is a God of constant surprise. In our attempt to tame Gold we force Him into the small box that our minds can envelop and wonder why we do not grow. It is not that God is ever-changing it’s just that our understanding of him will always change because he’s too big the grasp in an instant or even in a lifetime.

We gather as a church not because we have it right but, rather, because we are all equally a mess and in need of grace. We need God.

Make Me An Instrument

2019-01-06T10:25:00-05:00

We must let the Holy Spirit open our eyes that we might be able to see others as God sees them; with all of the gifts and strengths that He endowed them with as He knit them together in their mothers’ wombs. Our human tendency is to just view others through the lense of the world which limits us to a distorted view of God's creation. It only allows us to see the results of what the world has done to others and that which tends to happen with the loss of hope and with a lack of compassion and grace. The solution, I believe, is to allow grace and mercy to flow back into every part of our relationships with others in the way that God's grace and mercy has flowed into each of our own lives. With that, Hope increases. May God’s peace sustain and strengthen us this day!

The prayer of St. Francis says:

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
"O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." Amen.

Wonderful words for each of us to meditate on and to pray. May God's peace strengthen and sustain us this day!

Difficult and Left Untried

2018-11-13T16:22:00-05:00

I awoke early this morning thinking of a quote by the British writer, G. K. Chesterton where he wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

How these words have challenged me. I continually struggle with the argument that we were founded as a Christian country as I consider what that would mean. It would mean loving without condition as Jesus loved unconditionally(1 Corinthians 13); it would mean not just loving our neighbor, and those who are most like us, because it also requires us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48); it would mean feeding, giving drink to, clothing and spending time with the least of these if we truly want to minister to Christ (Matthew 25:31-46). It is difficult as I watch my own country increasingly cower in fear of outsiders, yet as I look at the hate and the horrific acts happening around me in my own country, most have been committed by Americans. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell’(Matthew 10:28) yet we arm ourselves and look for walls to protect us because we choose, instead, to live in constant fear. It seems we are most comfortable with the old testament thought of ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ yet Jesus brought us a new response. One of unconditional love. (Matthew 5:38-42) We speak words of hate and judgment and wonder why there is ever more hate and judgement around us.

G. K. Chesterton was so right! “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” I am simply choosing to TRY and PUT ON CHRIST in my own walk. I will never become what I long to be in this lifetime but I stand strong knowing that Jesus loves each of us as we are and not as we should be for none of us will ever be as we should be. I will pursue the way of love and not the way of fear and distrust. The late Rich Mullins used to say “Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.” He also said, “I had a professor one time . . . He said, 'Class, you will forget almost everything I will teach you in here, so please remember this: that God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and He has been speaking through asses ever since. So, if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think too highly of yourself. And, if on meeting someone, right away you recognize what they are, listen to them anyway'.” Lord God, let my ears, and heart, be open and speak to me as you will!

What Is Right . . .

2018-10-29T10:05:00-04:00

I have a poster in my studio that says, 'What is popular is not always right; what is right is not always popular.' In my own life I cannot deny the importance of my faith. I am a follower of Christ, a Christian, and it seems that there is a lot of negativity that goes with that in the world today and I believe it is because so many of us, who profess to be Christians, choose to live life in a manner that speaks otherwise. For those of us who would call ourselves Christians, we must always strive to align our actions with what we profess to believe. We will not always get it right, but we must do it to the best of our ability. Christianity is not self-serving. It is about sacrificial love to others - even our enemies. I look at the direction that our country seems to have chosen in recent years and I see less and less that aligns itself with the values of Christianity. We have gone from ‘one nation under God’ to one nation OVER God. We have chosen to pursue personal desires over that which we are called to in faith; we seem to have chosen to love ourselves more than we have chosen to love others. We believe that we are called to legislate morality instead of accepting responsibility for the living of our individual lives in a way that will reflect God’s goodness. We have gone from being a God-fearing nation to a being a nation fearful of everything. I choose otherwise. ‘I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.’ (2 Timothy 1:12 NIV) I also choose to be the difference that I hope to see in the world. To remain silent about injustices around us is to condone them. Will we remain silent or will we take a stand for what is right and for what is just? Hatred abounds and too many have died and we make it political! I say ENOUGH! This is about our humanity, or lack thereof. It is for each of us to decide.

Apology Needed?

2018-06-21T17:37:00-04:00

‘In Your Name’ is a song that I wrote in 2003. I found myself troubled at that time as I read about protests in Alabama. Folks were upset when they were told that a granite memorial engraved with the Ten Commandments could not be displayed in front of a public building. It drew thousands of people speaking out about their religious rights. At the same time there was intense debate as to whether or not the line ‘One Nation Under God’ belonged in the Pledge of Allegiance or whether ‘In God We Trust’ should be on our currency. Fifteen years later these and similar issues, such as kneeling for the National Anthem, still stir so many to anger. My thoughts about all of these issues come from a place that draws from my beliefs as a Christian. From my youth I had been impacted by the teachings of Jesus that spoke of love and forgiveness and relationship; not relationships with a block of granite, or a pledge or a song but with people-with other human beings. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” As I watch so many throw their support behind ‘objects’ I look out and see the suffering of people. I see racism and school shootings and the suffering of refugees and the suffering of those seeking asylum. I have seen the suffering of the children amongst these groups and now along our own southern border. Our nation was populated by those seeking a place where they could avoid persecution but now as I watch the acts of our government it appears that we have lost sight of all that our nation was founded on. I can only say that I am sick and tired of hearing about our Christian principles. No one is going to accuse us of being Christians based on the way we love. The thought that 20% of the world’s population controls 80% of the world’s resources and that we, in this country, are among that 20% sickens me. How did we become so selfish? Should we not be a blessing to others in the way that God has blessed us? As I have tried to say in this song, if we were as passionate about our love of others as we are about certain things we hold sacred, we might actually appear somewhat Christ like. If my playing sounds a bit angry, it is only because it is.

This Journey!

2018-05-04T21:14:00-04:00

William Butler Yeats once wrote, ‘There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.’ How true those words have been in my life journey. I want to thank all of my friends who took the time to send me a birthday greeting on Tuesday, May 1st. A week earlier Deb and I had set out for Columbia, SC where I had the opportunity to visit with a number of my Camp KEMO family and meet many new friends during and after visits into Palmetto Richland Hospital. I was blessed to become a part of this incredible group in 1989 and have been leading music at the camp and visiting this hospital ever since. This current visit included two days, Thursday and Friday, with children and families in the hospital and clinic and culminated with me providing music for the cancer center’s annual memorial service on Sunday. On Saturday evening I had an acoustic gig at a place called Za’s on Devine, an Italian restaurant in Columbia, which had been set up by another Camp KEMO friend. Thanks, Reggie! We were blessed to have our niece Cassie and her son Ethan travel from Charleston to join us for the evening, along with so many friends from the Columbia area. Another camp friend traveled from Charleston and friends that I first met at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who now live in Aiken, SC also made the journey. Deb and I have often talked about the fact that so many of my friends in this wonderful life have been made in the midst of some of life’s darkest moments. These friends have allowed me to join them on the ride at a time when you would think people wouldn’t want to be bothered. I don’t take any of these friendships for granted. I wish I could take the time to personally write to each and every one of you to thank you for what you have added to my life through your friendship. Because of you, my friends, I am a wealthy man. The day of my birthday found us back on the road, returning home, and that meant that I didn’t have a lot of time to actually read your messages until after we got back to Danville and got temporarily settled. I’ll explain the temporary part in a bit. I can only say that I am humbled by all of your greetings and messages. C. S. Lewis wrote, “In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out.” How true. Each of you in your own way has helped to make me the person that I am. I would be so much less without each and every one of you.

Okay, so now about the temporarily settled part. I couldn’t imagine a better time to be had around one’s birthday but I knew this year would be an exception. Our daughter-in-law, Heather, and our son Matthew were awaiting the birth of their first child and our second grandchild. The due date was today, May 4th but this little bundle of joy couldn’t wait. On Thursday, May 3rd our granddaughter Lillian Elena Wolfe entered the world and our lives. This is going to be a hard birthday to top. Thanks again everyone but now we’ve got to get back on the road. We have a granddaughter to meet!

Twas The Last Hours of Giftmas!

2017-12-26T14:11:00-05:00

Was in the last hours of ‘Giftmas’ and all through the house
People were sad, because the gifts were all out.
Nothing more to look forward to, for another whole year
What to do now ,but have hor’dourves and drink beer.

We’ve traded the Hope, for a flash in the pan
Instead of Jesus, it’s a frosty snowman
But this Giftmas, like Frosty, will soon melt away
While the Hope that’s in Jesus, will survive day to day

So we will say Merry Christmas, and think that’s enough
And we’ll then gather up, all our boxes of stuff
While we’ve left out Christ, never inviting Him in
For as we’ve done unto others, we’ve done it to Him.

NEVER LET GO OF THE HOPE OF THE SEASON!

Rumor Has It . . .

2017-12-24T18:57:00-05:00

Rumor has it that Christmas is back in our fair land and people across the land say let us rejoice!’ Well, to be quite honest, I have never stopped rejoicing over the Promise of Christmas. But how is that possible? We surely can’t be a Christian nation if we are not able to wish someone a verbal ‘Merry Christmas’! If only it were that simple.

This past Thursday, as I led a group of carolers around our local children’s hospital, we came to a room where one of my long time friends was, once again, hospitalized. She requested a Christmas version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ and then she came to the door wrapped in a favorite blanket to listen. Her mom posted a video of the event on Facebook later that evening. When I saw it the next day I was moved to tears as I watched. The young lady gently swayed to the music as we played and sang. I remembered that, from my vantage point the previous evening, I got to see her incredible smile in the midst of yet another hospitalization and I was reminded of what Christmas is meant to be. The Promise of Hope born into the midst of our suffering, our uncertainty and our fear. The proclamation of the Good News!

The angel proclaimed to the lowly shepherds that first Christmas day, ““Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) The prophets before had pointed to this time. Jesus, early in His ministry, went into the synagogue and read from a scroll the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Another reminder to ‘be not afraid’ because our Hope is in our midst. Of course they wanted to take Him out and stone Him.

And that was just the beginning. Jesus provided the best wine at the wedding in Cana. He went on to say to those who had ears to hear, “Follow Me.” When faced with the politics of the day He said “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” and then He went on about God’s business. He spoke of despised foreigners doing the right thing as a ‘good Samaritan’ while those who thought of themselves as righteous did nothing for the man who had been beaten and robbed. He revealed Himself as the Messiah to another one of those despised foreigners and then told His followers to pray for their enemies. He talked of being a blessing rather than a curse. He said that we should not judge others lest we too be judged. He marveled at the faith of a centurion, another one despised by the self-righteous. He restored sight to the blind, healed the leper, raised the dead and in doing so taught us about loving unconditionally.

So how do we measure up in this celebration of the birth of Jesus? I don’t think we have done too well. For the most part we consider the job done if we have wished someone a Merry Christmas or sent them a Christmas card, set up the Christmas tree and perhaps put some lights on the outside of our house. We may even be a little more generous in giving to causes we find worthy. I truly believe that our celebration grieves the Spirit of the living God. The billions that we spend on our celebrations could feed those that hunger, clothe those that are naked, give clean drinking water to those who are literally dying of thirst and if we weren’t so busy with our preparations we could go out and visit those in need. Ours has become a celebration of our well-being and prosperity rather than an outpouring of our gratitude and our concern for our neighbors in the world around us. If we believe that the sure return of Christmas is found in our ability to wish someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ then we must heed the words of Jesus’ brother James when he writes, ‘Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace (or Merry Christmas); keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” It is written, ’For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3:23) That’s right, all of us, and I believe that it is never more evident than at this time of the year because it is highlighted by the brightness of our Christmas displays; our loud shouts of ‘Merry Christmas’ in response to someone’s Happy Holidays; our Facebook shares of the same; our parties and our feasts. Our celebrations go on while the majority of this world long for any signs of Hope. Why will we not step away from it all and go out as the hands and feet of the Almighty to be about His work? I think part of it is, as G. K Chesterton stated that, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

The birth of Jesus was truly the birth of Hope and so many then, and now, have missed it. The followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. The prophet Isaiah shared God’s thought of their fasts in earlier days. He proclaimed God’s message as it is written in Isaiah 58:

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2
For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?
6
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11
The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14
then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

To restore the true meaning of Christmas I think it is imperative for those of us who profess to follow Jesus Christ to turn away from our wrong and evil ways and step out in faith to be the living presence of God in the midst of our hurting world. Enough of our internet isolation and our sharing of posts so someone knows we are there or that we care about them; enough of our displays. Jesus did not send us a Christmas card. He came into the midst of our suffering, our depravity and our greed and loved us. Let us go forth humbly in love and may we BE a Merry Christmas to those who live in fear rather than a simple greeting. It is in our presence and our relationships that Jesus can be truly present and felt. Jesus identified with the poor and the oppressed and we are called to do the same. Singer-songwriter Carolyn Arends in her song ‘Is Bethlehem Too Far Away’ wrote ‘But if God saw fit to travel there, should not also we?’ Yes, I believe we should.

The Gift to gifts

2017-12-24T14:04:00-05:00

Seems we have moved from the Gift to gifts; from Spirit to spirits
From the heart of St.Nicholas giving unto the least of these; to those who have wanting more.

Our celebration of Christmas has become a symbolic one. We say that we give gifts to symbolize the Gift that God gave us that first Christmas. Symbolism, to me, is something that represents something that was. I have chosen to follow a Christ who IS. God did not give us a gift. He gave us Himself, come to earth naked, approachable and vulnerable as a tiny baby. To celebrate His birth would it not be better to give ourselves rather than our tokens? There is really nothing I need but there is so much the outcasts, refugees and impoverished of this world need and isn’t our call to follow Him into the midst of the suffering and become a light?! Our token for this Christmas seems to be the freedom to say Merry Christmas. I would say that, instead, let us be encouraged to BE a Merry Christmas to someone who won’t have one otherwise.

Where Does He Reside?

2017-12-19T15:55:00-05:00

The Christ of Christmas does not reside in a palace; he does not reside in a mansion; he does not reside in the White House. The Christ out of Christmas was not born into wealth that first Christmas morning but rather in a humble stable and laid in a manger. His birth was not proclaimed by trumpets and loud proclamation. His birth was announced to lowly shepherds on a hillside outside of Bethlehem. The true Christ of Christmas resides in the hearts of those who love him.

Thinking Out Loud

2017-09-12T16:53:00-04:00

I will not attack my enemies with hatred but, instead, I will pursue them with the Love of God that has the power to destroy the very gates of hell.

80/20 Split

2017-06-21T17:19:00-04:00

In this fiasco that has become American politics I've heard this discussion about fair trade that benefits us as Americans. 'Others need to pay their fair share' I have heard shouted from the lectern. I hear talk of being a Christian nation and I have tried to put this all into perspective. I have always felt that being a Christian is to resemble the one I follow. I have chosen to follow Jesus and the Jesus I follow is one who identified with the poor and the oppressed; the outcasts. I have come to know my Savior as the One who paid it all because I was unable and, yes, even unwilling to live in the way that I knew I should live. And showing unconditional love Jesus simply loves me as I am and not as I should be. I can never pay my fair share and yet God's love for me never diminishes. Could our problem be that, although we as Americans use 80% of the world's goods while 80% of the world is left with the other 20%, we have never had the ability to simply be thankful for what we have? How do evangelicals cheer for a policy that will make the marginalized and oppressed pay when we profess to follow a savior who says I come to you in your poverty but fear not for I have paid it all. This is something a pagan nation would cheer for.

Tired & Broken

2017-06-01T03:23:00-04:00

I find myself tired and a bit broken. I lay awake at 3 a.m. in a camp bunkbed pondering 'goodness'. The quality that we all possess to some extent. Each and every human being has that one thing that brings it to the forefront. A new baby; a pet; a family member; a sick friend or perhaps a neighbor hit by catastrophe. Sadly in this day and age it even seems that, for some, goodness never extends beyond self. The goodness that I am lying here pondering is not that kind of goodness. It is the goodness that extends beyond self and is, to some extent, sacrificial. Some folks possess it in minute quantities while others have it in abundance.

Since the mid 90’s I have had the incredible blessing of being able to spend a week around the beginning of June with the latter and I can only say that these people have become as family. Some of us may be here because it is our job. Maybe for some it's simply that. That thing we must do tin order to put bread on the table. For others it's a career that we have pursued because of a passion to make a difference in certain areas of society. Regardless of where we fall in those categories, I can only say shame on us if we let this come to an end. For a week I have watched children of different ethnic backgrounds join hands to sing, to laugh, to learn, to support each other and for this one week have the opportunity to see what a more perfect world looks like. Put aside the fact that they have learned more about their disease and ways to manage it. This is so much more than that. This is to give hope to the children about the world around them. To let them know that they are important and cared about. Loved! For some it may be the first opportunity they have had to experience real caring and cooperation and we have been given the gift of being able to be a part of that.

Simply This . . .

2017-04-04T15:41:00-04:00

In the midst of suffering I have found indescribable joy; in the shadow of death I have come to know everlasting life. I would have missed both had I not gotten out of the pew.

State Of The Union

2017-01-21T08:22:00-05:00

The state of the union from my viewpoint is that God is sorely missing from the equation. Fear runs rampant. We have become a people who feel that we can legislate morality. This is dangerous because once we have made it a law it becomes easier for the rest of us to judge and complain. It seems that we opt out of entering into relationships and changing hearts, looking to others to change the laws so we don't have to leave our comfort zones. Quite a contrast to a Savior who chooses to leave the glory of heaven and enter into the midst of man's depravity.

I Just Don't Get It

2016-11-09T18:38:00-05:00

I have been trying to picture our current political fiasco and this past presidential election as it would have taken place in a Christian nation. Okay, I can already hear the moans and’ What do you mean? We are a Christian nation.’ I would beg to differ. It appears to me that we have chosen to be more of an Old Testament nation and that we are awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. An OT passage that I feel is very fitting on the day after the election is ‘The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) It will serve us well to remember this. If we journey through the Old Testament we find that it is book after book of God’s plan for his people and their inability to adhere to God’s law. We read of failure after failure. Encouraging words to me in knowing that God continues to desire the redemption of his people which points to Christ in the New Testament through the words of the prophets. In the OT we read of these people who profess to be God’s people but they feel it is too difficult to have God speaking to them directly through the prophets so they go to the prophet Samuel and declare. ‘Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.’ (1Samuel 8:5b-7) With each election it seems we move further and further from following God to simply appointing leaders who say what we want to hear which leads me to the New Testament.

The apostle Paul wrote ‘I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

The God of the OT is the same God of the New Testament but now seen through the Son, the Messiah. As I read these accounts my heart is lifted because I see the Hope that He brings to this world. His message is one of love. Jesus says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Love has not been a key part of our politics. We seem to care less about doing what is right and, instead, doing what is popular with our party. Our main concern is not what we can do for those around us but rather, what’s in it for me, while Jesus teaches that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Be careful though if you want Him to clarify who your neighbor is.

We have been filled with fear through the political rhetoric of the day but Jesus says, “My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4-7) Our human nature makes this thought very difficult but Jesus taught it none the less.

What does Jesus say to us when we are filled with thoughts of vengeance? “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Matthew 5:28-36)

We need only to scroll through the pages of posts on Facebook to feel the sting of Jesus’ words when He says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [u]added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

I have watched this election process and I must say that my heart has been so heavy as it seems that so many are awaiting the arrival of a messiah. My trust will remain in Jesus. As I walk down hospital hallways today, tomorrow and in the weeks to come the hurt will not be less because of the outcome of any election. Politicians will bicker and partisan politics will continue, while so many around us await the healing that only Jesus can give. The darkness of our politics cannot overcome the darkness of the world. Only the light of Jesus can overcome the darkness. As I have said before, Jesus did not teach us to ‘elect the right officials to feed me, give me drink, clothe me and visit me when I am sick and in prison.’ No, He taught, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been 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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [e]take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:33-46)

I believe with all my heart that the only good that can come out of any election is for God’s people to be God’s people and ‘seek first His kingdom and His righteousness’ that God’s will alone might be done. Jesus calls those of us who profess to be His followers to be vessels of love, compassion, mercy and grace. We are called to do what is right for our fellow man and not simply do what is popular. Thinking that we are a Godly nation because we have God in our Pledge of allegiance couldn’t be further from the truth. We become a Godly nation when He resides in our hearts and our actions. Thinking that we can legislate morality is foolishness when what is required is to do our best to live our lives with a sense of Godly morality that spills over into the lives around us. As a dear friend would always say after a discussion of scripture, ‘All We Need Is Love.’

In closing I pray that I might simply be able to live my life as God intended it in loving others as He has loved me, for I have come to know a God who loves me as I am and not as I should be, for none of us are ever as we should be.

Twenty Four Years!

2016-11-07T10:23:00-05:00

Twenty four years ago today I found myself in full-time ministry after working my last day as a Geisinger Medical Center employee on November 6th, 1992. I was scared, unsure of how God could use someone like me in a ministry to critically and chronically ill children because I knew I didn’t have the strength to go forward on that path, because sick children terrified me, yet here I was at the trailhead. I was just as scared about how I would provide for my family and whether or not my own kids would understand why dad was spending so much time with other kids. I wondered how my wife would hold up in the midst of this. We had one child in college and a second about to graduate from high school. The timing seemed far from perfect. As I have reflected on all of this today, I have come to see the perfection of God’s timing and I thank Him for His wisdom in calling me out on this journey. It has been a journey where, because of my weakness, I have had to depend on Him to be my strength. When someone says to me, oh I couldn’t work with sick children, I can honestly say that I can’t either but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

On this first day of my twenty-fifth year in this ministry I thank God for my family and the loving support that they have given me over the years and I thank Him for the multitudes of friends that He has blessed me with on this journey. We have laughed together; we have cried together. We have rejoiced together and we have mourned together. I have witnessed the strength found in relationship. God has a way of balancing our weak moments with the strong moments of another that He has brought along side. I am so grateful to know the kind of Love and Grace and Mercy that only a God who loves us unconditionally can give. God has allowed me to do what I do, not because I deserve it but because He is God. He loves me as I am and not as I should be. He loves us all as we are and not as we should be because none of us are ever as we should be. In this world we will have troubles but Jesus tells us to be of good heart for He has overcome the world. In that I find incredible peace and I am filled with thankfulness.

Scripture teaches us that we should ‘let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.’ To God be the glory.

In His service,
Woody

Humbled!

2016-09-20T15:21:00-04:00

A middle eastern man reaches over and touches my arm in the elevator and says 'Good to see you, brother.' I turn to see the father of a girl who was a patient at that same hospital sixteen years ago while awaiting a heart transplant. I cannot begin to tell you of the joy and concern that I felt in that moment. Joy at seeing this special friend and concern of why he was back at the hospital. He told me that his daughter was doing well and was currently in the cath lab for a follow up. A few hours later we all got to visit and it was so good to see his daughter's smile and his smile, side by side. In the midst of my day to day visits I struggle to understand the hatred that I see in the world around me. In that room, as in so many others, I was experiencing life in the way that I believe God desires it to be lived. It is a place where the gift of life and the preciousness of life is understood and never taken for granted. When I turned to leave, this friend walked me to the door and said, 'I am glad to see that you are still doing this because the children in this world need more music. I know in my heart we will meet again.' I will be forever humbled by this journey that I have been entrusted with.

Need To Look Higher

2016-03-21T17:13:00-04:00

I so struggle with all that is going on in this world and in our nation today. The us/them and believer/non-believer rhetoric and the idea that we are a 'Christian' nation just rips me apart. I am a follower of Christ and, as a follower, I feel that I must do my best to adhere to the teachings of Jesus and yet there is such a conflict with what I believe and what I see around. Been going on with the idea of a Christian nation. If I follow what Jesus said I believe that a Christian nation would be one that looked out for others around them but instead we are more interested in what a politician will do for us personally in total disregard of those around us.

You Might Need A Coffee

2016-03-03T18:08:00-05:00

You might want to grab a coffee and take a seat because this post might be a lengthy one. Yesterday I had the incredible privilege to provide some music at an event benefitting the family of one of my special friends. This young friend sat off the stage to the right of me and throughout the event I would glance over at her and see her incredible smile that reminded me of ALL that is important in life. I looked at the large number of people who were there to help make a handicap accessible addition to this family’s home a reality. People simply doing the right thing! Then I contrast it to what is going on in the world around me and find myself wishing that people everywhere could make choices about those around that would be made because it was the right thing to do. There are a few hot topics recently which have bothered me deeply.

Several have come out of the current race for the White House including so many discussions about being a Christian or Godly nation. I’m sorry but I see very little evidence to support this claim. I am a follower of Christ and as a follower I have tried to live my life in a way that impacts those around me in a positive way; in a way that lets them know that someone cares and, ultimately that God cares and loves them deeply. Some days I get it right. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This is something that seems absent in so many of the political discussions. As I read the Bible, one of the most repeated phrases I hear is ‘Do not be afraid’, ‘do not fear’ or ‘fear not’ depending son what translation I am reading yet it seems that all I see in our ‘godly nation’ is fear and fearmongers. A Godly nation places it trust in God and not on man yet it appears that we feel we can elect someone to take God’s place.

I hear people speak of the curse of immigrants. Instead I have come to see it as being blessed to live in a country such as ours. One that held a promise of hope to our immigrant ancestors for, unless you are 100% Native American, your DNA ties you to immigrants.

Heartbroken

2015-05-21T15:10:00-04:00

To have incredible friends means that there are times in this journey when we feel the incredible pain of loss. Yesterday this world lost a bright beacon of joy in the passing of my friend, Chuckie Magee. I first met Chuckie 18 years ago and he had turned 23 in March. Some would say that Chuckie had special needs but to be around Chuckie showed me, beyond a doubt, that it is the rest of us with special needs. Despite his hardships he always greeted you with a smile and let everyone in the room know how excited he was for your visit. Even when I walked into his room on Monday he lifted his head off his pillow as if to greet me. I will miss our visits, my friend, and I will never sing ‘Rainbow Connection’ without thinking of you and smiling. You were a bright and shiny light in our midst and I am a better person from having known you. I hold your incredible family in my thoughts and prayers.

Avoidance

2015-04-29T15:07:00-04:00

As a child in the 50’s and 60’s, my days were spent playing outside with friends. Life was about people. Now I’m not talking people who we know through a one dimensional picture, but real flesh and blood people. We did not always see eye to eye and sometimes there were fights and bloody noses or lips but, with our parents encouragement (sometimes via a paddle or, in my case, a wooden spoon), we would shake hands and actually go back to being friends. We learned to get along and resolve issues that arose through the very games that we played. In the winter that meant snow forts, sledding and snowball fights. When you ran inside crying after catching a snowball in the face you were wiped off and reminded to duck the next time. In the summer there were fireflies to catch, games of neighborhood hide and seek to be played, sand castles to be built and crayfish to be caught. There were skinned up knees and those annoying cases of poison ivy; mosquito bites and sunburn, bare feet and mud puddles for jumping in. There were family picnics and trips to the community pool. We reluctantly paused for lunch and dinner. In the summer we were right back outside and stayed there pretty much up to bath time and bedtime. In the winter we would gather after dinner as a family to work on puzzles, play board games or watch some television. We actually had a magazine called ‘Life’ and it covered all aspects of life. It was a time when television was family entertainment that you could watch together without embarrassment.

And now I wonder, what have we become. It is the time of ’Self’ magazine and selfies. It seems that our reality is no longer found in the people around us but in the fictional characters that we stare at on the flat screens in front of us. We text a friend to comment on an episode of a television show we are watching, and mourn over the loss of fictional characters. War and natural disaster are piped into us 24/7 and we have become so conditioned to it that we seem to no longer care. 'Oh yeah, I think I did hear that the death count in Nepal is nearly 5000 and climbing.' We laugh at obscenities and change the channel when something starts to challenge us, preferring to find something to keep us amused. Television teaches us to put people down for being themselves because, heaven knows, they need a makeover to fit into the cookie cutter society. Politics are such that Republicans are Christians and Democrats are not. (I remember when it was a matter of following Christ). Heaven forbid either party would agree with something suggested by the opposite party. It matters not whether it is simply the right thing to do to care for others. We hear talk of being a ‘Christian' nation yet we continue to hate our enemies and promote war. A horrible act such as the terrorist attack on and the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 which claimed several thousand adult lives was countered by a war that had killed untold thousands of men, women and children who had no part in the attack on the twin towers. All this in the name of world peace. We can pour money in a war machine yet allow people to go hungry and in need of health care. Why can’t we declare war on things like childhood cancers, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease and muscular dystrophy?

We are a nation that no longer seems to understand responsibility. Everyone is responsible for our troubles except us. We can not speak of God except to blame him for our miseries. The ten commandments are abandoned because they are of God and we can’t have that. The practice of ‘no moral rights’ has taken us to a place where there are ‘no moral wrongs.’

What Really Matters?!

2015-04-24T20:05:00-04:00

Since 1992 I have found myself immersed in the lives of chronically and critically ill children and their families. These have been years of incredible trial and pain and yet times of the most heartfelt laughter and joy. The faith of children, and their families, has changed me. It is in this place that I have come to know my best friends. Today Facebook had been filled with posts of sadness and sorrow over the ‘TV death’ of a character on the show Grey’s Anatomy, yet a child loses the battle against childhood cancer approximately every 6 minutes, and we don’t seem to be too upset over that. I just returned from the visitation for one of my little 10 year old buddies where his mother talked of this being the last time that she could dress her three boys alike. I have been visiting this little guy for the past 5 years since his diagnosis. He has touched me with all of the incredible faith, joy and magic that comes with childhood. Just three weeks ago he told me that he prayed for me every day. How humbling. I will be singing at his funeral tomorrow and I find myself wondering what it would take to get people on Facebook talking about the horror of this disease and becoming involved in finding cures. If not a cure for childhood cancer, how about a cure for congenital heart disease or cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy or one of the other diseases that take these precious children, my friends, way too soon? Sorry to put this out there but my heart is so broken tonight over one more senseless death of a child while our obsession seems to be over with the loss of a fictional TV character. I just don’t get it! Goodnight.

Homeward Bound

2015-03-01T14:27:00-05:00

Sitting in Frankfurt Airport waiting for my flight home. What an incredible journey from Moheliv Podilsky to the Boryspol Airport outside of Kiev which started yesterday after taking Archie an Ruslan's children to school. Yes it was Saturday and they had school. The government does not have the money to heat the schools on the coldest days so they close on those days and make it up using Saturdays.

Our first stop was in Vinnitsya where we had coffee with Ruslan's brother, Roma. It was the first time that got to meet Roma's family. He got married and they had a son during my four year absence from Ukraine. A beautiful family and Roma's son quickly took to the crazy old guy in the group.

From there we traveled on to Bila Tserkva where we treated my very first Ukrainian host family, the Zozulenko's, to dinner. What a wonderful time with this family who opened their home to me in 1998 and treated me as family. Olex and Tamara and their son Oleg and I sat down and started to talk like we'd never been apart. The father, Olex, is battling cancer and beginning a two week course of chemotherapy tomorrow. We shared an incredible time of laughter, tears and prayer together. Please join me in praying for my dear brother and his family. Our hosts from our first night in Ukraine during this visit also came by to see us off. A very emotional time for me as we left that city and there was more to come.

We traveled on toward Kiev where we visited with a friend, Dima, who I first met four years ago when we traveled together from Ukraine to Poland to participate in the 'March of the Living' that goes from Auschwitz to Birkenau. He and his wife Dina work with Christian's For Israel. Dina is originally from the Crimea region now occupied by Russia and both shared the difficulties people have been experiencing due to the conflict in the east. My heart just breaks as I see the pain which is visible in the faces of my Ukrainian friends. Dima and Dina let us catch about 4 hours of sleep there before finally traveling to Kiev.

So here I sit in Frankfurt Airport. Betsy and Dickon were on a different flight from here and have already departed. One more flight to go for me. Thank you for following these updates and for your prayers. God truly used these two weeks in a powerful way. I'll post more pix and videos when I get home and get a bit of rest. Please continue to pray for peace in Ukraine.

The Last Morning

2015-02-28T08:26:00-05:00

Wow! The last morning of our last day here in Ukraine. What an incredible and blessed time it has been. Although we left PA one day late due to weather causing us to miss a few planned stops, and my back changed plans for about three days, it has been so obvious that God had a plan.

I have experienced Ukraine's healthcare and my back is feeling great. In doing so I had the opportunity to share what God has been doing on this journey. It was humbling to be able to answer a neurologist's question of how you keep on going in the midst of crisis and tragedy by sharing how God has picked me up, time and time again, and allowed me to go on; not by my strength but by His. As my back was adjusted by my Ukraine 'chiropractor' it was wonderful to learn how God has been guiding his journey. I may come back here for future treatments.

Together we have seen the smiles of the children and tears of the adults who were so touched that we would travel here at this time of conflict in Ukraine. We have encouraged and we have been encouraged. We have taught and we have been taught. We have sung and danced and we have listened and watched dance. I can't wait to share more photos and videos when we get home.

Our time with Archie and Ruslan has been, simply, a time of family. The work that God is doing through them and this home is so incredible. From the moment we arrived and one of their girls, Olya, would not stop hugging me I knew that, even after a four year absence, it was as if we had never been apart, although Ruslan never let me forget it. I pray that God will continue to bless their work here.

This team has been wonderful! The spirit that Mike and Karen O'Toole brought to our group was surely missed during the last five days of this visit. You were able to encourage many with your faith journey and you kept us laughing. Betsy and Dickon Kleinsasser brought their enthusiasm, games and crafts to the children of Ukraine. I know the children will be awaiting your return.

Well now we begin the first leg of our journey back to the U.S. Of to Kiev with stops to see friends in Vinnitsya and Bila Tserkva. I'll try to fill in all the gaps when I get home. Continued prayers for our team and the people of Ukraine. May God bring peace to this beautiful nation.

Ukraine Update 4

2015-02-26T21:40:00-05:00

Greetings from Ukraine! I'm not even sure where to start this update. Our day started with great breakfast at home followed by a visit to a cerebral palsy center here in Mohyliv Podilsky. There was music, magic and paper crafts with the children and staff.

We returned home for lunch and then traveled to a neighboring village to visit the orphanage there. As I looked into the eyes of these children and saw an unconditional love and the smiles on their faces, I knew that I was truly in the presence of God. When I think of the lives these children know I am heartbroken and find myself asking why humankind allows this to continue. Outdoor facilities, lack of supplies, no money for heat and you find joy in that place. What a testament to those who work there.

And, with that said," there are the teachers and support staff in the orphanage and you can't help but be humbled. Though their salaries are small and worth about half of what they were two months ago, they provide their own supplies for their classrooms and donate to a fund to help with renovations. They then work on weekends doing the renovations on their own time. One of the staff members thanked us for being there during this difficult time in Ukraine and wanted to make sure that Americans understood that Ukrainians don't want to fight. They simply want to live as Ukrainians. I told her that we understood that and you could see the tears in her eyes.

We still have two days in this beautiful country and I ask you to continue to pray for our team, our hosts, the Tkachuk's and their beautiful children, and Ukraine. May Ukraine come to know a lasting peace. Good night.

P. S. My back is doing great!

Ukraine Update 3

2015-02-26T07:21:00-05:00

Update from Ukraine. Our day on Tuesday ended with a visit to an English class for adults who were so encouraged by the fact that we would travel to Ukraine at a time when the economy is so bad and there is fighting in the east. Great time of sharing.

We returned home for dinner with the Tkachuk family and then Betsy kept the kids occupied for the rest of the evening with wire crafts. Hard to imagine how the people of Ukraine survive as the exchange rate has changed twice since we've been here, today hitting 31 Ukrainian gryvna for one of our dollars.

Yesterday our schedule changed quite a bit because my back went out pretty severely. I didn't get much sleep the night before because of it so Ruslan took me to a Chiropractor in Mohyliv Podilsky who was great. He didn't want any payment because he felt that was his ministry to me. We blessed him anyway. He told me to come back on Friday for another treatment so I will be comfortable for the flight home on Sunday. We had the opportunity to have lunch with a local neurologist who wanted to know about what I do in hospitals and then we attended a concert that a few of our kids participated in. In the evening we picked up pizza and soda and provided dinner for a family of twelve. After we ate we shared song, magic and string games.

We are really missing our two teams members who had to return early but, all in all, this has been an incredible journey. Please continue to pray for our team and for the people of Ukraine and that the fighting in the east might come to an end.

More From Ukraine

2015-02-24T18:19:00-05:00

What an incredible start to our day. We first were asked to meet with the Mayor of the village of Nemiya. He showed us the supplies that the village is collecting to supply the troops fighting along the eastern border. The government does not have the funds to provide uniforms, food and necessities for those on the front lines, so it is provided by the local communities taking up collections. All this at a time when the economy keeps getting worse and the people themselves can barely survive.

From there the mayor walked with us to a local school where I was able to share using music and magic. I am so moved that music can so lift hearts in difficult times and several of the teachers thanked us for encouragement and hope. They have even asked if we could provide a one or two week camp for the children. So many open doors. One of the projects that the students are currently doing is making camouflage nets for the troops. Hard to imagine that the world stands and watches as things like this are occurring.

A wonderful lunch at home and then traveling to a local kindergarten. I am so amazed and humbled that God would use me in such a way. Continuing to pray for peace in Ukraine.

Note From Ukraine

2015-02-23T20:46:00-05:00

What an incredible day here in Ukraine! After dropping the children from the Tkachuk home off at their school, we traveled to another school where our team met with an English class. We spoke, sang and then the kids asked us questions. What a blessing that the children were so encouraged by our visit at a time when all in Ukraine have such heavy hearts due to the war in the east.

Afterward we spent time with an incredible gentleman who lived in the Jewish ghetto here in this village during World War II. We visited the local synagogue, their meal outreach and a memorial and Museum. Very moving.

We enjoyed lunch at our home and then traveled to a distant village where we ministered to a single mother with nine children; one of them her own and eight who were orphans that she has taken in to care for. She is a refugee from the war in the east and has settled in a home without a well. She carries water in buckets from a distant well to supply all her family's needs. $1500 is needed to provide a well so fundraising has officially begun.

We left there and traveled to a Ruslan's childhood home, where his mom treated us to an incredible homegrown, home cooked meal. It was wonderful to also see his grandmother again and to have the opportunity to pray for her as she deals with health problems.

Then it was back to our home where Michael and Karen had to pack and depart for Kiev for an early morning flight. We will surely miss our two team members during the remainder of our visit. We sent them off after tea and cakes and hugs from all of the children.

I am sorry that I have not posted more during our time here in Ukraine but I want you to know that each moment has been filled with blessings. Time to turn in now for the night to rest for tomorrow's journey. Please keep Ukraine in your prayers. It is so difficult for the people here as economy continues to fall. Pray for Peace!

Happy Holidays!

2014-12-26T12:14:00-05:00

Happy Holidays to one and all! I know, I know. Some of you are asking why didn’t he say ‘Merry Christmas’? Well, quite frankly, I’m okay with Happy Holidays. It’s origin is found in the Old English hāligdæg or ‘holy day’ and that is what really makes it a meaningful greeting for me. Yes, it is Christmas that we celebrate; the birth of hope and UNconditional Love into this world. It is the birth of Christ and the Hope found in Him that allows me to be with the families that I see almost every day, thus making every day a Holy Day. It is in the midst of the shared sufferings, sufferings that our God fully understands, that I most experience His Presence. It is that Presence of HOPE in this world that allows me to keep my head up when my heart hurts so badly from the loss of loved ones and this has been a year filled with loss. I pray that we can look beyond the greeting and see the person behind it and simply find someone who needs to know the Love that we celebrate. I am not always really good at that but if I look at each day as a Holy Day or Holiday, I have a constant reminder of how I should live.

Earlier this week, as my heart ached with thoughts of a family who had just lost their four month old daughter and of the difficulties that so many of my friends were experiencing, I found myself sitting in front of our Christmas tree thinking about what their Christmas celebrations would be like. My eyes filled with tears and, as they did, I experienced an overwhelming sense of God’s presence for, through the prism of my tears, the lights on our tree had been transformed into an image so incredibly beautiful. It was the thoughts of these many friends that had caused the transformation. I realized that our celebration truly needs to be one of relationship; first with God through the Gift of his Son; then through family and friends. Rather than worrying about how we are greeted during the season, or about what gifts we are getting, perhaps we should worry more about God’s children who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and in prison and about what it is that God has called us to do for them, for in doing unto the least of these we have done it unto Him. This is not necessarily a season of feeling that we are right or good; it is a season of being humbled that the God of all creation would leave the glory of heaven and enter into this world to live life as one of us, with the journey taking Him from a filthy stable to a rugged cross, and He did it for us; not because we deserved it but because He loves us. It is in the realization of what God has done that we can praise and honor Him by using the gifts we have been given to bless others. That is what brings true happiness. So I thank God for the family that He has given me and for the many friends that he has blessed me with and for the opportunity He has given me to serve Him. Blessings!

A Simple Reflection

2014-04-18T19:11:00-04:00

On May 1st, 1953, nearly sixty one years ago, my life on this planet began with my birth to a woman that I've never known. I've been told that I was born in a farmhouse in Upper Augusta Township here in north central Pennsylvania. My journey then picks up when I was five days old and placed in the arms of an incredible woman that I would know as mom. Mom raised me knowing that I had been loved by two mothers; one who had carried me for nine months and couldn't care for me yet loved me so much that she made sure I would be raised in a loving home. Mom demonstrated through her life what compassion looked like and set me on this journey that I truly believe God created me for. Lately I've been thinking about all the twists and turns in our lives and about how each of our lives would be so different if things hadn't happened just the way they did. Life as I know it would not have been. My life has been a journey of grace and God has shown me how joy can be found in the most unexpected places. If any one thing had changed in this journey I might never have known the love of my incredible wife, Debbie, or known the joy of having my two sons, Todd and Matthew and now daughters-in-law and a granddaughter. My head spins when I think of all the 'what if's?' I might never have come to appreciate this life as I have because of the gift I have been given in the friendships with so many incredible children and families which have been forged in the worst trials you can experience in this life as I have traveled the halls of different children's hospitals. I could have no greater treasures in this life than the ones that I have been given.

Until my own children were born, the love and relationships I found in this world were never about blood. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins were all the result of my adoption. In all of this I believe that God has given me a glimpse of how He created us to love; to love unconditionally and not simply because we are blood related, or of the same ethnic background or country of origin. We are simply to love because we are created in the image of a God who loves us like this; as we are not as we should be, for we will never be as we should be.

Why do I write all all this. I guess there's a part of me that hopes someone will know of the woman who gave me life and let her know how grateful I am that she allowed God to set this incredible string of circumstances in motion through her, and I pray that she has known God's peace in her own journey.

A Longing

2014-01-06T16:07:00-05:00

I long to go into church and worship a God who gathers with us in the dark places and weeps with us; a God of hope who knows our struggle to have the strength to ask for our daily bread. It seems that, instead, we come back week after week to feel good about ourselves instead of allowing ourselves to be catapulted through our worship into a world that needs lovers, criers and ,yes, at times even fellow doubters. It seems that, in those places, God's presence has become so much more real for me than it has in a church. I must be in the minority though, as most seem content with the status quo.

Just Asking

2013-09-08T10:09:00-04:00

Why did God call our church into being? I'm not really sure that He did. I know He called THE CHURCH into being but I think many of our congregations were created simply by the hand of man so that one group wouldn't have to associate with another.

Things That Confuse Me

2013-06-07T14:04:10-04:00

THINGS THAT CONFUSE ME

Facebook is called social networking while it seems that we now spend more time staring at a device than into the eyes of another person.

Churches encourage tithing of 10% to the church but I would venture to guess that most churches spend less than 10% of their budgets in feeding the hungry, giving drink to those who thirst, clothing the naked and visiting the sick and imprisoned; the very things that Christ called us to. So why are they tax exempt? At least the taxes could be used for those things that we fail to do.

Guns have become more important than people. Our excuse is that we must protect our lives. I know a Lord who would rather lose His for those He loves.

Personal wealth has become more important than caring for others through things like healthcare.

Christian women's groups gather over dinner at a country club to discuss candle making and interior decorating.

Those that gather at the table to partake of the bread and the wine seem less compassionate than those who gather in a pub to share a pint and a pretzel.

We join health clubs to work out when we could be mowing our neighbor's grass or shoveling the snow from their walks.

On a similar note wouldn't it be easier to invite more to the table than to try to cut down on portion size as we try to limit our intake while others hunger.

Why do I have so many guitars?

God & Country

2013-02-10T11:28:00-05:00

God & Country

A few weeks ago, as I got back into my car after a friend's funeral, I noticed the flag pole at the entrance to the church parking lot. A familiar site, with the American flag flying above the Christian flag, and it just struck me as wrong. Shouldn't the Christian flag be on top; shouldn't that take priority in the life of the church? We hear so much talk about one nation under God yet we fly the flags at our churches as if it is the other way around. Maybe this explains our behavior as 'believers'. I've got so many thoughts on this that I don't even know where to begin but here are a few.

Let me start with the dialogue about the phrase 'one nation under God' currently in our Pledge of Allegiance. Is God only above a nation because they acknowledge Him in their pledge? I have come to know a Sovereign God who is above all of the countries of the world regardless of whether or not they yet realize it. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord and all will realize that their nation was under God. This brings me to the idea of acknowledgment versus action. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that since that phrase was added to our pledge in 1954, there is very little evidence to show that we have become a more Godly nation. In the words of Forrest Gump, 'that's all I've got to say about that.'

Returning to what started these thoughts, as Christians our pledge should be to Christ alone and that will always create tension with the authorities, both governmental and religious. It may get you killed! When we place our country above Christ we often forget that Christ died for those in all of the other countries in the same way he died for us here in the American church. He did not do what He did for us because we were Americans. He died for us in spite of that fact and His love extends to all of those created in His image. He loves us as we are, in spite of any of the wrongs we have done in this life. That is the Good News that is extended to all peoples, in all lands, and we, as believers, are called to carry that message to the world. We are called to carry it there, not with our judgment and not with our guns, missiles and bombs, but with our lives lived in love. As Christ was willing to die for us, are we willing to die for others? Are we even willing to live for others as we whine about providing health care for those who can't afford it and for those who, in the eyes of many Americans, don't deserve it. Are we willing to make do with less so that those who are hungry might eat; so that those who are naked will be clothed; so that those who are thirsty will be given drink; so that those who are sick, and in prison will be visited? I just don't get it. It seems that we let politics get in the way of just doing what is right.

I am a sinner, saved by grace. I will never fully understand the ways of God for His ways are too great for me to understand. I have made a lot of wrong decisions in this life and God still loves me as I am, not as I should be. Is this not the way we should live our lives? I need to love others as they are. I need to love God with all of my heart, mind and soul and then go and love others as myself. I need to pledge allegiance to this God who loves me in order to truly love my country, and loving my country requires loving all of those within it as well as all of those who live outside its borders.

The love of Christ is crazy! Loving those who will kill you for telling the truth; for being the Truth, just doesn't make sense in a world where we are stuck on loving ourselves. Loving the prodigals who return home; rejoicing over the one lost sheep who is found; forgiving those that nailed you to a cross; such is the foolishness of God.

Well, there I've shared a few of my thoughts. I'm sure these few crazy remarks aren't going to make much of a difference in the way we fly our flags and pledge our allegiance but I do know that I'll be drawn in by my curiosity if I see a church flying the flags in reverse.

As We Are

2013-02-03T15:21:00-05:00

I don't do what I do so that God will love me; I do what I do because God loved me first. Recently, after doing a session at a retreat, a woman came up to me and said, "God has a special place for you in heaven." I have a problem with that thought because I don't know a God who loves one of his children more than the others. As Brennan Manning always says, "God loves us as we are; not as we should be. That is the good news, at least to some. Others are offended to hear that the prostitutes and tax collectors will make it into heaven before them. I do believe that God delights in his children when we do the good things he created us to do, but he is as excited over that one lost sheep who was lost, but now is found.

I believe that when we allow God to use us in a way that he intended it is incredible where the journey can take us and some may see you as something special. However, it is important to remember the words of the late Rich Mullins. "If God should choose to use you, one should never think too highly of themselves. God spoke to Balaam through his ass and he's been speaking through asses ever since."

Spirituality vs. Politics

2012-12-17T13:52:00-05:00

Why do we insist on tying spirituality to politics? Of course, it was used in Jesus time by the religious leaders so that Jesus could be perceived as a threat to the reign of Caesar, hoping that the authorities would kill the threat. 'And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” (Luke 23:2) Jesus never seemed to be too worked up over the problem of world government. His mind was simply on the things of God.

'He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mark 12:15b-17) In our passion for our politics have we neglected to give God that which is God's?

Although many in Jesus' day were looking to Him to overthrow the current government, He was about God's work of love and He did not do it from afar. No, He came into the midst of our sin and loved us. While we regularly sequester ourselves in our sanctuaries planning our next big in-church campaign or program, Jesus is in the streets identifying with the poor and the oppressed; with the broken and the suffering. Can we do any less? As Christians, I believe we must be engaged with society, be it good or bad. We must let those who feel unloveable know that they are loved. We must let those who are broken and suffering know that we love them, not just through our prayers, but by our very presence. We must care about the poor and the oppressed. We must demonstrate unconditional love; demonstrate forgiveness.

Our church should be important to us as a place to worship God; to refuel and find respite from the battle; to be reminded of the Promise that is ours in Jesus Christ. I believe that the largest part of our church budget should be that part which is used to give drink to the thirsty, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick and in prison. In James 1:27 we read 'Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.' To visit them in their distress means going to that place. Our church is not the front lines. It often is the farthest point from the front lines. It should not be our all in all. Save that place for Jesus and follow Him wherever He may take you. That is where we become the Church! By keeping our eyes fixed on Christ we can avoid so much of the stress of this world and that is how we remain spiritually unstained by the world. I am not saying that we won't be shaken and scarred but Jesus understands that journey well. Living the abundant life is not about wealth and possessions. It is about the abundance that cannot be taken from us. Wanna make a difference in the world? Go out and be blessed!

Where Have All The Bracelets Gone?

2001-09-16T08:54:00-04:00

This blog entry is from s brochure that I put together the week after the 9/11 attacks. I recently found a few of those brochures in my files and thought I would add it here.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BRACELETS GONE?
by Woody Wolfe, Jr.

Having my roots in the music of the sixties, I remember singing a song that began, "Where have all the flowers gone?" It was sung often during the turbulent years of the Viet Nam War. Now I am wondering, "Where have all the bracelets gone?" Let me explain.

I sit writing this just five days after a series of horrendous terrorist attacks against America with strikes in New York City and Washington, DC resulting in the destruction of the World Trade Center and serious damage at the Pentagon and, of course, the incredible loss of so many lives. Domestic passenger jetliners were used as guided missiles with one averted attack ending in a field in southwestern Pennsylvania. Like so many others I have spent a good bit of time in front of the television trying to keep abreast of all the latest developments. The casualties will most likely number around five thousand; so many innocent men, women and children. So many families are in the streets trying to find out for sure where their loved ones, or the remains of their loved ones, are.

The talk of retaliation has now become a big part of the news. Our President and so many others cry out for revenge. Acts of violence have been committed against those of Middle Eastern descent living here in the United States. Church leaders speak of justice and mount attacks on immorality. My head and my heart spin. I go to a drawer and rummage for a bracelet given to me several years ago by a young man named Daniel. It is emblazoned with the initials WWJD, an acronym for "What Would Jesus Do?" and I ask myself, "What would Jesus do?" In searching scripture I realize that His response is one that has not been mentioned.

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."(1) ' My heart cries out, "Jesus couldn't' really be serious" but deep within me, I know He is. Yet, how can we possibly love this enemy that has reared its ugly head? Let me share what I believe God has placed on my heart.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things, Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”(2)

How does this fit into our current thought? I don't know that we could squeeze it in anywhere. Time and again, through this current crisis we have heard the words of the song "God Bless America" sung by the members of Congress and others and we have seen the refrain printed on posters and banners. I just want to scream, "God has blessed America but yet we have turned our backs on Him." We have turned our backs on Him in the treatment of those who are different from us, in our treatment of the poor, in our treatment of the oppressed and the hungry and in our treatment of the refugee, yet we are so quick to turn to God in times of trial and say "God be with us." In a country where we have bent our knees to so many other idols, would God say to us as He did to His people so long ago through the prophet, Jeremiah, "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced—they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, "You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, "Come and save us!' Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.”(3) I shudder when I hear these words. I do believe that they are God's words to us this day as the polls show that a majority of Americans believe we should retaliate even at the risk of civilian casualties. We really believe that we can put an end to evil by our own might and power—through our material gods. I believe that, even if we could obliterate every known terrorist from the face of the earth, we will have accomplished nothing more than what the true enemy, Satan, would have us accomplish. There would be a new generation of terrorists, convinced that we are truly an evil nation, raised up from the children of those we would slaughter. The father of lies always stands ready to deceive the next Osama bin Laden or Timothy McVey or David Koresh. Make no mistake this is a war. This is certainly a battle between good and evil, but not in the way that our military leaders have envisioned it.

Paul wrote, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (4)

How then do we respond to such a horrible act? What would Jesus do? I don't know for sure, but I believe that Jesus would take the $40 billion earmarked for the war against terrorism and use it to feed our own and the hungry of the Middle East; that He would use it to clothe and shelter our own and those without clothes and shelter in the Middle East; that He would use it to care for the sick and dying of our own and the sick and dying of the Middle East; that He would 'preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, and that He would release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”(5) With a godly act, such as this, evil would crumble in on itself. It's hard to win followers to a terrorist agenda when the one they are told is the enemy is caring for and about them. They will be drawn first to that which gives them real hope—that hope that we can know only through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(6) Don't take my word for it, but search out His Word for the direction we should go, and pray about it without ceasing and then act upon it as His Holy Spirit would lead you. We can't save ourselves. The battle has already been won. In the most horrific act of terror of all times the very Son of God was nailed to a cross on Calvary, by our sin, and upon His return evil will be relinquished to its proper place, receiving just punishment, being cast into that void we refer to as hell. Jesus tells us, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.(7)

Stand firm on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and believe Him when He says, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’(8) May the peace that is of Christ sustain you this day.

(1) Matthew 5:38-48
(2) Romans 2:1-8
(3) Jeremiah 2:26-28
(4) Ephesians 6:10-18
(5) Luke 4:18-19
(6) John 16:33
(7) Matthew 10:28
(8) John 14:27