A good word

Exodus 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;


Last night this verse came to mind, particularly, [I] have heard their cry. I meditated on that for much of the night. Actually, I put together a sermon on this passage. Pretty good message too, full of comfort, encouragement, and hope.

Last night I thought this would be a good message/sermon for the brethren. And it would be. But tonight the thought came to me, Perhaps this was a word for me, and all that I conceived as comfort, encouragement, and hope for the brethren was instead, or first, a good word for me.

And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;  8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; Exodus 3:7-8

Amen.

Once upon a time

A church council was examining a candidate for membership. One of the questions they asked him was, "What part of the Bible do you like best?" "I like the New Testament best," he replied. "What book in the New Testament?" "The book of Parables." "Would you kindly relate one of those parables to us?" So the uncertain candidate bluffed as follows:

"Once upon a time, a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, and the thorns grew up and choked him.

And he went on and met the Queen of Sheba, and she gave him a thousand talents of gold and silver, and a hundred changes of rainment. And he got in his chariot and drove furiously. And when he was driving along under a tree his hair got caught in a limb and left him hanging there.

And he hung there many days and many nights, and ravens brought him food to eat and drink. And one night while he was hanging there asleep, his wife, Delilah, came and cut off his hair, and he dropped and fell on the stony ground; and it began to rain and it rained forty days and forty nights, and he hid himself in a cave.

And he went on and met a man who said, "Come in and take supper with me," but he said, "I cannot come, for I have married a wife." And the man went out into the highways and byways and compelled him to come.

He went on and came to Jerusalem and he saw Queen Jezebel sitting high up in a window. When she saw him she laughed. And he said, "Throw her down out of there," and they threw her down. And he said, "Throw her down again," and they threw her down seventy times seven times, and of the fragments they then picked up twelve baskets full. Now whose wife will she be in the day of judgment?"

There was no one in the council who felt qualified to question the candidate further for each council member suspected that his own unorganized Bible knowledge was as sketchy as that of the candidate. The man was voted into the church.

Random acts of kindness

A man came in last night. He’s a frequent customer and we often talk a little bit. After he paid for his purchase another man came to the register. He told the second man, “Put your stuff on the counter and I’ll pay for it for you. I’m a ‘pay it forward kind of guy’. Just be sure to do this for someone else. And it doesn’t have to be involve money.”

That was a nice thing to do. That’s the pay it forward philosophy, which, seems to me, is a part of the random acts of kindness philosophy. Both are very nice. I have a friend who was out to eat with her family and, unbeknownst to them, an old family friend paid their check. Very nice. In what I’m about to say, I don’t mean to criticize or find fault with either one. What the man did last night was nice. What the family friend did was nice. But as followers of Jesus we need to beware of thinking it is Christian.

It is a nice philosophy but it’s not the Christian worldview. The Christian worldview is not random acts of kindness, but intentional acts of kindness. We are not to do our alms every once in a while, ie randomly, but as a part of our lifestyle. And in the Christian worldview, as Jesus said it, “Freely you have received, freely give.” Further, as James tells us, “God gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” So we don’t do a nice thing for somebody and then expect them to do the same for someone else because we just did a nice thing for them, ie pay it forward.

As believers we are to be full of good works, helping folks, giving to those in need. “Do good unto all men, especially to the household of faith.” It’s nice to occasionally pay for somebody’s coffee or meal, but Jesus teaches us to help the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the orphan, the widow, and to visit the sick and imprisoned.

I was serious when I said there was no criticism meant for those who do random acts of kindness, such as pay it forward. I’m not faulting anybody. I'm challenging myself to be intentional in my good works and alms. I give alms, that is, help folks financially, but I confess, it is most often “skimming off the top.” That is, I’m giving out of my abundance: If I have a little extra, sure I can help you out. And that is biblical: I have a little extra, you are a little short; I share with you from my extra and now there is an equality. But Paul called it a work of grace when the Corinthians gave out of their poverty - they really couldn’t afford to give, but donated anyway. That’s the grace and love of God.

I need to abound in that.

Oh the thoughts you think in the middle of the night!

Saint Patrick

St. Patrick 340-440

I still remember when I “discovered” St. Patrick. Oh, growing up an O’Rourke I knew about the day: you wear green or get pinched, and I heard the story of how he chased all the snakes out of Ireland. But that was pretty much it.

Then I read up on the man. I was blessed and amazed by what I learned! He was a true-blue believer (duh, Saint Patrick, but the day seemed to be just about green beer), he was a missionary, he was the apostle to Ireland, and the conversion of Ireland under his ministry had a profound impact on western Europe for years to come (both spiritually and in learning).

When I was a Pastor I used to emphasize St. Patrick’s Day. I published articles in the newsletter, we would sing the song he wrote, and eventually we used an adapted form of the Celtic Liturgy for our communion service.

In the early days in York we had a wonderful brother named Stan. Great guy. His wife was Catholic and attended the Catholic church. Once, when the newsletter came out with the usual story about Patrick, she asked Stan, “Doesn't he know he was Catholic?” I sent word back to her that I did. I have no problem with Patrick. Consider his faith (below) and his ministry. God was with that man!

Here is the short version of his life: he was born into a Christian home in Roman controlled Britain (it was still Celtic, the Anglo-Saxons had not come yet). His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. When he was a teenager he was captured by Irish raiders and taken back to Ireland where he was a slave for 6 years. While there he was genuinely converted to Christ and, through several dreams he was led to escape. A few years after he escaped he had another vision (not an uncommon part of his spiritual life):

“…in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Hibernia [his name for Ireland] with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: "The Voice of the Hibernians", and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: "We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us." And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.”

After much effort he was commissioned and sent to Ireland to preach the Gospel. He did and won the island to Christ!

“I am greatly God's debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: 'To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.' And again: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.'
So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men' …So it behooved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people….And in Hosea he says: 'Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called Sons of the living God.'
So, how is it that in Hibernia, where they never had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and unclean things, they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called children of God; the sons of the Scotti * and the daughters of the chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.”

Amen! Isn’t that awesome? Why is March 17 his day? Because that is his birthday, that is, the day he died (that was your birthday in the early church). 

I mentioned earlier his confession of faith. Here it is:

“For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.
And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘On the day of judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter.’ So it is that I should mightily fear, with terror and trembling, this judgment on the day when no one shall be able to steal away or hide, but each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins before the judgment seat of Christ the Lord.”

Again I say, Amen! So, this St Patrick’s Day, as you enjoy your corn beef, cooked cabbage and Irish soda bread, remember: this is not what this day is about, or green beer and certainly not drunken festivities. It is about a man who brought the gospel to Ireland!

Go here to read Patrick's Confession. It's not very long but it is very good

* Irish; Scotland was named after the Scotti, an Irish tribe who migrated there

Éirinn do Chríost

What are you going to do in Hawaii?

The other night I was talking to Tiernan and mentioned again that we are going to Hawai’i. He asked, “What are you going to do in Hawaii?”

I confess, I was nonplussed. How do you explain to a twelve year old, “It’s Hawai’i. That’s what I’m doing – I’m going to Hawai’i” ?

So what are we going to do???

go to the beach

see things we just can’t see here

go places I’ve never been 

swim in that Pacific sea

hike

eat stuff you just can’t eat here

blue skies and tropical seas

rest

kayak in the pacific ocean

the beautiful beach

enjoy going home


Stuff li’ dat !!

“You can take the boy from the island,

But not the island from the boy.

'Cause the island stays in your heart

And I'll never forget where I'm from.”

For an amazing song that captures it all, click here