obscene and opulent

The cat’s name is Cyrano.  He weighs 20 pounds and is 10 years old.

Two years ago his owners spent thousand of dollars on radiation and surgery for cancer.  Now he is partially disabled because of a painful leg and his owners apparently can’t bear to see him in pain, or with three legs, or dead.

Today a ten-member team of surgeons at a leading veterinary school were to have spent hours giving Cyrano a knee replacement.  Surgeons and engineers have spent 7 months designing the artificial feline knee.

The cost?  No one could say for sure but $20,000 has already been spent and one spokesman said that would only be a small fraction of the total cost.

I know people who aren’t certain about where their next meal is going to come, if they get one at all.  People for whom the tens of thousands of dollars spent on this cat would go a long way toward helping a good number of them gain a measure of dignity and self-sufficiency.

I know a young man named Josue in Yuscaran, Honduras, probably in his late teens by now, who has a face so hideously deformed that people can barely stand to look at him.

Several words came to mind when I read the article about all the time and money spent on the cat.  Two of them were obscene and opulent.  I can’t put the others in print.

living a dream

There are a lot of reasons why people cannot or do not sleep well at night.  Experts tell us that we need at least 7-8 hours of sound sleep every night.  It takes that much to keep us healthy, they say.

The last few nights I’ve had trouble sleeping.  No, there’s nothing really worrying me or weighing heavily on my mind.  It’s actually the opposite.

For years my philosophy of life and ministry has been based on this:  “find out where God is at work and join Him in His work.”  That philosophy takes away the pressure and stress of having to create stuff to do for God.

Have you ever tried doing that?  Totally?

It isn’t difficult to see God at work all around us.  Jesus said things about planting seeds and how the harvest is plentiful and how we’ll always have the poor (materially and spiritually) with us always.  Opportunities to join God where He is already at work abound.

Jesus also taught us about the value of the ONE, as in leaving the 99 and going in search of the ONE.  That has always been my dream in ministry but the church as an organization actually frowns on that and makes it difficult to do.  Now that my role has changed to a half-time role with the church, I’m having more time to pursue that dream.

It’s hard to sleep when you’re living a dream!

Steeping

Steep:  absorb, engross, engulf, immerse, plunge.   This is what you do to a tea bag in a cup of hot water for about a minute until the bag has released all it’s flavor.

In Matthew’s Gospel, The Message translation, it says, Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions (Mt. 6:33).  The more traditional translations render it, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you…

Steeping is a good theological word–or it should be. Can we really have Jesus Lite?

How far are you away from being absorbed, engrossed, engulfed, immersed, plunged into the life of Jesus?

What would it take for you to begin such a journey?

street kids

“Street kids” doesn’t seem like a proper title for these 13-16 year old boys, who daily roam the streets of French Harbor on the island of Roatan, Honduras.  They do have names and they are of infinitely more value than the “street kids” nomer would denote.

I caught up with some of them a couple of weeks ago while on the island in an ice cream shop.  We proceeded to buy them all a cone of ice cream.  One of them said he was hungry so our next stop was at a nearby Wendy’s.  By this time the number had swelled to seven.

One of the boys got his combo to go and when asked why he said he was taking it home to his mother.  My eyes get a bit moist even as I write about it two weeks later.

The photo is of some of the boys clowning around in the ice cream shop.

Some of the islanders have taken an interest in these boys, seeing that they are in church and meeting with them at other times just to keep them out of trouble and to teach them life skills.  Cross Training Sports Camps, Inc. and our own Live Again Ministries, Inc. are working on a daily lunch program for them and others.  We launch the minsitry as soon as we can work out the details and raise the funds.

Two obscure midwives

The story told in the Old Testament book of Exodus is epic.  It is the story of how a group of people in trouble were rescued by the God who calls Himself “I AM.”

It is a story of salvation, of being set free from slavery in Egypt.  It reminds us that all of humanity is not really free until “I AM” is allowed to do His work of redemption, rescue, and renewal.

A small but awesome part of the story occurs, I think, in Exodus 1:15-16.  The king of Egypt (Pharaoh) gives the decree to all the Hebrew midwives to murder all the boy babies because the population is multiplying too rapidly and the Hebrews by their sheer numbers are becoming a national security threat.

The name of the king isn’t mentioned.  However, two of the midwives who refused to obey the king are.  Their names are Shiphrah and Puah.

Think of it.  Two women from the lowest class of Egyptian society are named and the writer doesn’t even bother to tell us the name of the king.

We may seem small and insignificant by the world’s standards.  Not by God’s.  We can live in relative obscurity and never even have our fifteen minutes of fame.  But God will know our names and remember them long after the world’s kingdoms have fallen and civilizations have vanished.

That’s part of His work of salvation and rescue.  Call it liberty, being set free from the bonds of this earth and to be forever known and remembered by the Eternal “I AM.”

at last

Music has a way of capturing our deepest thoughts and moods and bringing them to life.  Guess that’s why they call it art.

Etta James died today at age 73.  A legend.  Her song At Last is one of my top ten all time favorites.  It has soul.

Tonight is a cold, rainy night where I live.  No better time to download some Etta James and think about God’s gift to the world through her voice.

You smile

You smile

Oh and then the spell was cast

And here we are in heaven

For you are mine at last.

living a dream

I was in a business recently when a young man walked in.  One of the clerks who obviously knew him, called him by name and asked how he was doing.  His reply, “I’m living a dream.”

I heard a 70 year old man say a couple of days ago that this was the best time of his life.  “Being old is not so bad,” he said, but added, “I wish I could just stay right here.”

There was another conversation I had with a man just past mid-life who seemed to be drifting and had given little thought to what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

Truth is, we all have a choice about our attitude toward life.  Maybe circumstances have us hostage for a period of time, but nothing or no one should hinder us from having a good attitude.

Have you ever said or even thought about your life that you are “living a dream?”  I was taken aback by that young man’s reply that day.

The job I previously had for 37 years as a lead pastor was at times a dream job, at times something more akin to a nightmore.  In the final analysis, however, it has been a dream–a wild, joyful, engaging, fulfilling, rewarding dream.

What would it take for you to be able to say, “I’m living a dream?”  What would be the first step toward that goal?

 

 

a bigger house

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house (Matthew 5:15 ESV).

A light in a house gives light to all in the house.  But what about all those outside the house? 

What we need is not a bigger light but a bigger house.  The light we have is not our own.  It comes from the One who lives in us–Jesus, the light of the world.  Thus, it is a reflected light.

What if we are given just enough light to fill the space we are in?  Shrink the space and the light shrinks.  Enlarge the space and the light grows.

Is it possible that your house is too small?  Think past the four walls you have made for yourself.  Jesus said to go into all the world, not just keep the light burning brightly in your own house.

The light of Jesus is expansive, not confining.  Enlarge your house.  Make it a big house.  Your light will increase proportionally.

Balibrea

A community on the slope of a mountain near Siguatepeque, Honduras.  Balibrea.  A mixture of residents:  old and new, impoverished and wealthy, believers and non-believers. 

A pastor and a couple of churches and their leadership with a vision to plant a hope-filled church.  One that can change a community–spiritually, economically, socially, every way.  The whole gospel. 

Property has already been purchased thanks to an unknown donor.   A building will be needed to carry out this new church’s calling and vision.  However, a divine vision cannot be received in one sitting.  Years from now the vision will continue to unfold.  So, think utility, practicality, and flexibility.

A tabernacle not a temple. 

The fields are white with harvest.  Teams and individuals will be needed for the planting and the sowing. 

Who will go?

today in Yuscaran and el Rodeo and Tegucigalpa and Siguatepeque and points in between

We arrived late yesterday in the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa after a three day stay in Roatan.  Tim Hagler picked us up and we drove out to Yuscaran where we spent the night in a small hotel in the ancient Spanish town. 

Early this morning we drove the 45 minutes to el Rodeo where we spent the morning visiting our friends there, took photos of 96 children for a sponsorship project and talked with the sponsorship managers, Jacqueline Rodriguez and Ismenia Rosales.  It was a very productive day for Live Again Ministries as the whole week has been.

At 1:00 we left el Rodeo and headed to Tim’s house in Siguatepeque.  On the way we stopped at a Pizza Hut in Tegucigalpa where we met up with Yessi Rosales and Aurora (Lola) Romero.  Our 3:00 lunch was probably about the best pizza I have had in a while.  We had only eaten some peanut butter crackers and a cinnamon for breakfast.

Ricardo and Tania Venegas also dropped by for a brief visit along with their daughters.  By 5:00 we were on our way to Siguatepeque, arriving around 7:45. We will spend two full days here with Tim and Kathee, visiting their various ministries before heading home on Monday.

Whew!  It’s been a very long day.  Lots of travel and lots of traffic.  I sweated for the first time this calendar year.  The temperature was probably in the mid-80s.  I have a lot of photos but am too lazy and tired tonight to download them and post anywhere. 

Adios and buenas noches.