Unlikely Guides

Have you ever considered the prospect of someone pointing the way to Christ for you but they themselves were not a follower of Him? 

Over 25 years ago I had a lengthy conversation one summer afternoon with a very close friend who was a mentor to me in a trade I was learning.   He was externalizing some deep grief and personal doubt in God.  As the conversation progressed it became evident that he was angry because he had friends that not too long prior, had lost a child to cancer.  It was said that the child died in his mother’s arms crying that he did not want to die. 

My friend had the classic attitude, “if there were a loving God, He would not have let this happen.”  And who would want to deny him the right to express such genuine feelings in a season of sorrow?  I think because of this, and other things he was exposed to in life, he easily bought into and was, at the time, a proponent of The Passover Plot: a theory popular among activists against Christianity that Christ’s death and resurrection were a hoax.

I was in my early thirties back then and not too strong in my study of scripture.  The conversation that day rocked my boat as far as having my beliefs challenged so starkly and maybe for the first time in my life hearing someone so angry at God. The exposure to the Passover plot theory and such anger and doubt in God, led me to study scriptures more rather than less.  This encounter with skepticism, over the years, led me to affirm my beliefs and strengthen my conviction.

Over the years, my friend continued to teach me some incredible knowledge about anatomy, physics, and the study of locomotion.   This information eventually weighed heavily on my own journey to shape and form my beliefs about intelligent design and belief that our origins are in God’s creativity and not evolution.  The science and knowledge passed on to me continued over and over to affirm that the wonder of all living things is far too complex to be the collective outcome of happenchance / random evolutionary changes that leave us with the interwoven, interdependent life chain that we know. 

Now how strange is that, that a person who professed not to be a follower of Christ and believer in a creative God be one of the strongest influences to lead me to strengthen my faith?

Well to tie us in with God’s Word, consider if you would the experiences of the Magi when they were looking for the Christ.  Matthew Chapter 2

The Visit of the Magi

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Look at that passage closely.  Was King Herod a follower of Christ?  Hardly!  He eventually was looking to kill Him as potential competition!   Were the chief priests and teachers of the law believers in the Messiah who had been born in recent months?  Extremely doubtful.  They were intimately familiar with the prophetic road signs that pointed towards the entrance of the Christ child, but if they even knew or heard of this world changing event happening right under their very noses, they certainly hadn’t pick it up on their spiritual radar as such. 

But God in his omnipotence and omnipresence, did use their ulterior motives and ignorance to be a part of the Magi’s road to finding Christ!  Only a Real Creative Interactive God would orchestrate such opposing influences to be involved in His plan.  That is the evidence of a Sovereign God who moves in our interest, as our Advocate, for our Salvation.  He takes the improbable and uses it for his glory!

So I ask you again, after pondering these things, have you ever considered the prospect of someone pointing the way to Christ for you, but they themselves were not a follower of Him? 

(Oh and that friend who rocked my boat over 25 years ago?  He’s still my friend, love him like a big brother, not sure he has ever changed his position or his beliefs, and I’m waiting to be able to revisit the topic someday at his invitation.)

Anticipatory Joy!

Often in ministry to the dying, and to the families of the dying, we use a phrase to describe the emotions that people go through because there is a painful awareness that a moment of departure is looming heavily in the not too distant future. It's called "anticipatory grief." It was a real "duh!" moment for me when I first heard it. In our humanness we anticipate the upcoming death of a love one and we begin the grieving process before the event takes place. As quickly as it sounded new and foreign to me it made total sense. I immediately felt right at home using it as part of my working vocabulary as a hospice chaplain.

There is another human emotion I have begun to realize exists that also looks forward to the same event but with such an "out of this world" different perspective. It is called anticipatory joy. It springs from the well of knowing in one's heart that life here on earth is our temporary home. That it's not where we belong. That it's just windows and rooms that we're passing through (Yes I did steal/borrow some lyrics here).

A couple of weeks ago I left a Pt's home feeling like I had somehow upset the natural order of things, I found myself leaving the PT feeling like I left with more than I had brought. It was because of anticipatory joy. As I reflect back my experience, I cannot help but remember one of the smirks that john Belushi was so noted for with his raised eye brow. When I was finished visiting with the Pt I asked how I could pray for him. With such sincerity and humility this man who had little voice left asked, "pray that Jesus comes for me soon, . . . very soon!" And with that he threw one of those, you just had to be there, John Belushi looks at me followed by a smirk and a smile. You couldn't help but want to burst out laughing about it as you heard the words and saw him do it. I was so blessed to be in the presence of someone who loved Jesus so much he felt the freedom to joke about his own imminent death.

How courageous and peace filled are those who have such a faith in the promises of God received through Jesus. They are the ones who face the end of life knowing that they are not defined by having had a body of flesh but rather by being a permanent spiritual individual created with a unique identity all intended for eternity with God. They know they are made in the image of God and are reconciled to him by faith in Christ. They know the deeper their intimacy and love for Christ the more prepared and anxious they are to be in a fuller presence of Him. They are ready for the metamorphosis!

Yes they are ready for death because it has been conquered for them by Jesus on their behalf. They face their last breath with a fearless expectancy of what lays ahead: an end to their struggles and sufferings, a threshold to step through, a continuation and further manifestation of what they became the hour they first believed: a new creation in Christ They truly know understand and trust that to be absent from the flesh assures them to be in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Anticipatory Joy! It is a contagion of the redeemed!

God's Love for us

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)


A meditation to share.  Sorry, I do not know the origin of this as to who might be the author.

For: Because

God: The greatest lover

So loved: The greatest degree

The world: The greatest company

That He gave: The greatest act

His only begotten Son: The greatest gift

That whosoever: The greatest opportunity

Believes: The greatest simplicity

In Him: The greatest attraction

Should not perish: The greatest promise

But: The greatest difference

Have: The greatest certainty

Everlasting life: The greatest possession.

Help me understand this . . .

So there was this guy who said he believed in the "teachings of Jesus but, not the miracles," and that "there is no heaven or hell."  Now that makes my head hurt!

If there is no heaven or hell, and there are no miracles connected with Him to affirm His authority and divinity, why subscribe to His "teachings"? What gives them any credence?

If we remove anything that is connected with a miracle in the gospels, And take out the references to heaven and hell, what do we have left?  It looks pretty dismal and hopeless.  It becomes a chain stitch that has no end to unraveling.

Examples:

 If Jesus teaches, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up again in 3 days." what does that mean? That He's a liar? Then why believe in His teachings?

If Jesus teaches, "I go to prepare a place for you," where is that? Heaven? Or someplace else? Or was he talking about the local hostel house?

If he teaches He is the only way and the Truth, then, dude! without the miracles to back it up, He's a lunatic!

And if there are no valid miracles, then there was no being conceived by the Holy Spirit, there was no being fully God, fully human.  And there was no resurrection. (even though its documented that over 500 people saw the resurrected Christ)

And what about the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount . . a great source of counsel for better living, but, there's a promise for a miracle or two in there:

Matthew 5:

     3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Great advice but oops, gotta cut that one out because it promise one of them "thar" miraculous places.

     8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Circular file for that one . . It would be a miracle if someone could see God!

     9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Nice idea. .. but really, a child of God? Too far fetched so, chuck that one too.

     10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Looks like there is no place for martyrs. no reason to stand up for something fake like heaven. no promises guaranteed here either . . too miraculous to promise that "heaven thing" again.


We could go on and on. One more "teaching" to look at: Jesus taught that God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whoever would be believing in Him would have eternal life. But if there were no miracles then God could not offer His only son nor could there be something as ludicrous as eternal life, nor could there be something even more ludicrous as eternal life being a gift that can't be earned.  So that pretty much makes the teachings of Jesus a lie, right?

So am I missing something here? What's left? the faith of a mustard seed? Out! What would give Jesus any credibility to have teachings worth following without the miracles? This same Jesus who was a mere carpenter? A Nazarene? Gimme a break!

Perhaps a more critical question to be answered would be this: if the miracles of Jesus are deemed "invalid" or "fabricated." where does the evidence come from that proves they are fake?

Wow, I'm trying to follow the logic of "the miracles of Jesus were lies yet his teachings are worthy of being followed" . . it's not working for me,  . . and you?

"but I have nothing like that to give."

There are some people I run into who are so ready, so at peace, so sure of what they believe and just can't wait for the moment that their sovereign God causes them to take their last breath because they know it will mean stepping across a threshold of eternal bliss.

And then there are others like this woman. Eighty some year old individual raised by what she called a "Christian" family. Raised her family in what she considered a "Christian home" as well, taking her children to church on Sunday. At end of life she finds herself worrying about if she can get into heaven.

I just continue not to get it. How? How can that be? What was she getting fed? What was she paying attention to? Makes me want to go out and do a survey of exclusively "churched" people and ask: How do you think people get to heaven? These are statements made by folks professing to be Christians. I can understand doubts and fears coming from unbelievers.

I have heard one individual say in recent times,"I'd really like to see my kids start going to church and come to know the Lord." When I asked her what it meant to "know the Lord," she replied, "I don't really know." that was followed by a profoundly sorrowful look; like the ferry just pulled away and she was left on the dock.

Another person recently said, " I tried my best to raise my kids to believe in church." Believe in church? Ehhh?

This most recent one though was priceless. After hearing the very familiar words of John 3:16 her response was, ""but I have nothing like that to give." She thought she had to "ante up" in order to be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven! I am bewildered. Where does that kind of theology come from?  One could argue for the fact that some of those who I end up talking with have delusional influences on their present state of mind which may be the root of their bungled theology. That might be the case in some instances but it can't be so in every single case.

Is it no wonder that we are a post Christian Culture when these kinds of things are racing through the minds of people who wear the label "Christian" ?

Questions beg to be asked to get at the root of how so many people, self proclaimed Christians, can be so ill equipped at end of life. Does the responsibility fall to the individual or to the church? or both? Has the Church done its job in the last 100 years? Where has it's focus been? What has the church collectively taught the world around it by word or deed? What can we look back on and see as it's major accomplishments in the United States? Has the culture sufficiently permeated the church that the message of the gospel has gotten lost in the archives?

I wonder how many people who have been a confessing Christian for a year or more are ready and prepared to give an explanation of the faith and hope they believe in?

So, talk to me: "what's in your wallet" so to speak? Do you believe in Christ? Do you know why you believe in Him? Do you believe in heaven? do you believe what scripture teaches arbour entry into heaven/eternal life?

Just words . . . .

A couple days ago I met someone who made all the empty moments of doing ministry shrink away into obscurity. I met a man who was hopelessly disabled and most likely terminally ill. A middle aged man who never had the opportunity to lead the kind of life most of us take for granted.

But first let me back up to earlier in the day. Someone came to me and asked me if I knew what the Hebrew word Shammah meant. (unfortunately, right after completing Hebrew language courses at seminary about 7 years ago, I accidentally forgot to transfer all that data from brain's "ram" (or was it cram) to my brain's hard drive. I think I lost most of it in a power outage to my head.) It wasn't too hard to find it on the Internet. It means "to be present." Jehovah Shammah "The Lord is there." It comes from the closing statement of Ezekiel (48:35). Can you imagine what heaven is going to be like someday? Jehovah Shammah! As one of the other chaplain's stated, "You just can't capture the depth of that statement with the English language."

Back to my story, I was doing this visit with Shelly, my co-worker who is the social worker on the team I serve with. She too is a Christian. We often do initial visits together because the information we are assessing for has a few areas of overlap. As a chaplain one of my responsibilities is to report a brief summary of a spiritual background/beliefs on our incoming patients. I try to get to know people a little and let them warm up to me before I go to the deeper questions. I never ask presumptive questions at the onset like, "What church do you belong to?" I first listen to the person talk about who they are and where the journey in life has taken them. As I listen I try to be alert for language that gives me a hint or a glimpse of that person's world view. I also look for clues in the home like wall decorations, literature, music they are listening to, even TV they might be watching.
With this new gentleman, (I'll just call him Mike, not his real name), I was already beginning to come to some conclusions before I asked him about his beliefs. I heard him use the word "blessed" several times and . I heard instrumental Hymns of the Christian faith on his CD player.

When I got to where I was ready to broach the subject of spiritual beliefs, I said, "Tell me about your spiritual beliefs, Mike." Not a whole lot of people come right out and say, "I am a Christian." Most say they believe in God or that they believe they are going to heaven or that they are a member of such and such church. Mike went right to the heart of his beliefs.

He replied, "I believe that Jesus was born into this world to save me. I believe He is the Son of God who died to pay for my sins and I believe that after he was buried He rose from the dead. I believe I'll be in heaven someday because I believe in Him." This said with the most humble, sincere, meek attitude and yet with such faith and conviction.

Mike then went on to talk about the different congregations he has fellowshipped with over the years. As well, Mike also talked about the challenges of having a disability all his life and the tragedies he has experienced especially over the past couple of years. In summary of it all he said, "In spite of it all, I really feel like God has blessed me and my family all my life." Not one drop of bitterness towards God or his own lot in life. I was in the presence of a man whose heart, mind, and soul were totally surrendered to the sovereignty of God.

As we talked, I was choking back the tears. Oh that I could have this man's testimony of faith on a video or CD so that other's would see how small there problems are in comparison to this man's. And even more importantly to see how trusting and rock solid his faith in Christ is! If only the lady around the corner from his room could hear what this man has been through and what he believes!

AS we talked more he shared that about a year ago a sudden event in his personal health almost took his life. His life was spared and now the only spiritual issue in life was that he felt totally inadequate: unable to serve the Lord and physically be able do something to glorify God. "I feel like God brought me back from that for a reason but I just don't seem to know why."

In an instant I truly felt God leading to use the moment to teach this gentle spirit how valuable he still was to God. 'MIke, hang with me for a moment, I think I can help you with this. How was this universe created?"

God spoke it into existence." he replied.

"Correct", I said. "And the Gospel of John, first chapter: 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' Everything was created through 'the Word' and 'the Word became flesh' just like you stated a while ago, right?" He responded with an affirmative nod of his head. "Mike, you don't have much left in life, but what is it that you still have an unlimited supply of?"

After a few moments, you could see his face change with that "ah ha" look that a person gets when they get it, "Words", he responded quietly.

"Mike, for the last 20 minutes you have been blessing Shelly and I with your testimony. Do you understand how powerful your words are?"

Oh Wow, you could see the looks coming across his face! Relief! Excitement! Revelation! Empowerment! Mike suddenly found meaning and purpose for this season of his life.  Shelly asked him to consider making a video of his faith and testimony. WE offer this service to anyone who wants to make any kind or recording for any reason for their family and friends. Mike said he would think about it.

After I prayed with him and left the room, I looked back. I wanted to remember what God had done in there that day. It was, in every sense of the word, a "Jehovah Shammah" experience.


(Psalms 34:18-19 NKJV) The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.