Love

I like to stand on the shore, the breezes filling my nostrils and coaxing me to inhale the salt-laden air.

The eternal washing and pounding of the surf quiets my soul and my heart clasps thoughts of peace.

My eyes follow the foaming breakers while my mind soars with the gulls as I contemplate the majesty of creation.

The Master-Designer is the focus of my mediation and I stand in awe of Him, self fading into insignificance.

Out there beyond the reach of my hand, my eyes measure the horizon where sky meets and melts into the sea.

By my standard it is so vast, yet by God's measure it is miniscule: a mere comma in the galaxies.

Comparing myself to all this, I continue to fade into obscurity. I am not the center of the universe.

I reaffirm that God is all and in all. It is by the power of His hand that the worlds are held together.

Transcending time and space His love wings its way into my soul -- the personal God reaches into my life.

Love that reaches beyond the boundaries of Heaven and fills all of space, touching every man, comes to me.

It approaches me in the person of Jesus Christ who loves me above all the rivers and mountains, stars and seas.

Entering my life is the Savior against whom I have rebelled and whose love my actions so often deny.

What an unworthy piece of clay I am to receive the greatest gift that the God of Eternity has to offer!

Within this shell of humanity is no merit to gain for me even one glimpse into the face of the Creator.

Were I to own all the gold of Africa, all the Emeralds of the tropics, all the jade of the East -- I could not buy it.

Should my life span a thousand years and be filled with acts of charity, I could not earn it.

Had I access to the wisdom of all philosophers and sages in a million worlds such as ours, I'd not understand it.

What no riches could buy -- That which no merit could gain and no wisdom could comprehend came freely through LOVE.

(Undated but written in my young adulthood.)

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O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
      Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

From Psalm 8

You Never, Ever Know

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
(From Romans 12)

We Christians are called to live differently. It is unacceptable to live for ourselves and our own interests with little or no regard for others. Rather, we are to be caring and compassionate people who are always ready to help the lonely, the needy, the hungry, the homeless, those who mourn. We are called to serve God by serving others.

There is an old song we used to sing at Church when I was a child. Its message was very strong and compelling to me. Perhaps you have heard it: "Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do, Do not wait to shed your light afar, To the many duties ever near you now be true, Brighten the corner where you are."

It really is a good thing to see a need and be able to lend a helping hand or an encouraging word. But the thing that thrills my heart the most is to see God do His work while I have the privilege of just being more or less an eye witness. It is the times when I plan nothing, but God does His work while I look on. Let me tell you about one.

It was a nice, sunny day and there were a few free minutes before it was time to cook supper, so I decided to take a walk. Our children were playing in the yard as I set out. They were to play nicely and Mom would be right back. Along the way I passed a home where new neighbors had very recently arrived. It would be good to stop and welcome them, my mind said. But I told myself, "not today. There is too much to do. Tomorrow I will bake a loaf of bread and stop at their door for a minute to welcome them here." But the nagging thought came back: stop now! 

I couldn't shake the idea that the visit should be now and not tomorrow, so I back-tracked and walked up to the door. I knocked. A woman opened the door, smiled broadly, and said, "YOU are a Christian, aren't you?" Then she went on to tell me that just as I knocked she was on her knees praying that God would send her a Christian friend. That short visit made her day and it taught me an unforgettable lesson. It taught me to simply be available, to follow the Lord's prompting, and to leave the outcome to Him.  

 


 
 

Memory From A Cavern

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." --From I John, chapter one

Sometimes I wish we would plan ahead for the inconvenient things that can happen. For example, when the power goes out in our house at night we are usually scurrying to find a light source. Probably most of you know exactly where to reach a flash light or some matches and a lamp or a candle when that happens. Not us!

No, indeed! One recent evening it began to rain. Thunder rumbled and our lights went out just as a loud crash almost shook the house. It was easy to find a candle holder and place it on the bar in the kitchen. Earlier in the day a box of matches stood nearby. I blindly felt along the counter for that box, but it was nowhere to be found. "Oh, no", I thought, "what if the electricity is off all night long like it was the last time?" What a pain! It is hard to stumble through the house in the dark. But it wasn't pitch black. There was enough light for us to see our windows, but that was about it.

This incident reminded me of the time we had experienced total darkness in a cavern in Virginia. As the tour guide explained the wonders we saw and heard, he stopped and said that he was going to turn off the lights so that we could experience total darkness. When the light went off, the ensuing blackness was almost palpable. People were awestruck. Nobody spoke. I wondered if anyone could breathe.

Then the guide said that he wanted us to see the effect of a little bit of light in a totally dark place. And he struck a match. It was amazing! There were probably twenty-five or more people in our group and we were spaced quite a distance apart. But the light of that single match was enough for us to see one another quite clearly. Everyone was astounded.

I will never forget that day. It reminded me that Jesus called us lights in the world. It is our place to reflect the light of the Gospel so that others may see and know. When we are discouraged and feel that our light is too dim, we need to remember that is not true. This world is a very dark place. And the more darkness there is, the greater influence our light will have.

God is calling us to be faithful. He will be in charge of the results. Remember what Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before [others] that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in Heaven."

Lesson From Children's Play

Behind our house at the edge of the forest stands this work of a troupe of our grandchildren. All it took to produce this was some boys with active imaginations, a piece of tarp, some rocks, a fallen tree, scraps of metal, muscle, sweat, ingenuity and teamwork.

It has been there for more than a year now, gracing the back edge of our lawn but we do not have the heart to take it down. Why do we keep it? It is their handiwork and they are our grandchildren. This "what-ever-it-is" stays!

I suppose the boys who built this were convinced it would be a great retreat for them. Maybe they planned to take their sleeping bags, some snacks, and a bottle of water and be pioneers or explorers of a new, wonderful land. Maybe they planned to solve a mystery or make friends with aliens. I don't think anyone slays dragons anymore, but maybe they were going to do some other heroic deed. Whatever their plan, this was good, clean fun in the fresh air.

To our minds, it is cute for children to live out their fantasies. Pouring their energy into such a project helps prepare them for bigger and better things. After all, someone has said that "play is the work of childhood." We really do expect that as they mature they will put their time and energy into something with more stability than this creation out back. We hope they will continue to grow, improve, and make worthwhile contributions in their spheres of influence. 

What about us? As Christians, what are WE building? Are we diligent about it? Are we willing to give time and energy to becoming stronger in grace and faith? Do we read our Bible? Do we pray? Do we meditate on the things of God? Do we spend time in worship and fellowship with other Christians? Do we repent when we sin and ask God's forgiveness? Are we on God's team?

We know that God is at work in the lives of all of us who have trusted in Him. He is molding us, shaping us, and making us more and more like the Lord Jesus. But we must cooperate with God. We must yield to His work in us. We must trust Him and obey Him. We must understand that He really IS making "something beautiful of our lives." 

Let us BE the persons God created us to be. II Peter chapter one says, ". . .giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,  to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,  to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.   For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."




 

A Half Truth Is A Whole Lie (Yiddish Proverb)

Brenda and Kevin Buza, or is it?

In American court rooms, witnesses who take the stand are generally asked this question or one similar:  "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
Apparently, this question is designed to allow one and all to understand the importance of telling the truth and refraining from giving a false impression to the judge, the jurors, the attorneys, and anyone listening. To do otherwise is perjury, a crime. But this is how it looks to me: the prosecution wants to present only the damning evidence about the accused. The defense wants to suppress the damning evidence. The judge decides what evidence can be accepted in the court and what is not allowed. So what happened to "the WHOLE truth?" Sorry, I don't get it.

Family and friends, we have problems with the truth these days! Someone has said, "believe none of what you hear and half of what you see." Who said it? When I Goggled that quote, I found it attributed to Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, and Winston Churchill. I stopped there. See? We cannot even agree on who made that statement in the first place!

The issue becomes even more complicated when we realize that we no longer agree on what the truth is! In John 18, at His trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus stated His purpose for being in this world: "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." I personally believe Pilate's reaction to Jesus was very sarcastic: "What is truth?" Little did Pilate know that he was looking into the face of truth and didn't even recognize it. Jesus had told His disciples, as recorded in John 14, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me."

Most have rejected Christ and His message. I think one of the most tragic verses in the Bible is, "He came unto His own and His own received Him not." Is there any wonder that we have a problem with the truth in this world of today? In essence, humanity is not really interested in the Truth after all. In today's culture, truth is relative. You have YOUR truth and I have mine. What is true to you is true. And what is true to me is also true, even if it is the very opposite. Explain the logic in that, please.

Why am I even on this soap box? It is because I am personally finding it difficult to take anything at face value. In the news, on facebook, and in our personal conversations we are being fed twisted versions of events. People are being misquoted, taken out of context, and the bits and pieces of the truth we receive often bring with them false impressions. It is awful to feel that you have to check Snopes on just about everything (and I don't trust them, either).

Is this a "sign of the times"? II Timothy 4 speaks of a time such as this: ". . . the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,  and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Is that where we are? Maybe so. We tend to believe people who tell it the way we think it is, rather than gleaning the facts and applying logic to them. And we tend to dislike people who do not agree with us. Be careful! 

 Note: The picture above is less than half true. The heads are of our son Kevin and me. I have no idea who the bodies belonged to originally. This picture was to be an incentive for the two of us to embrace a healthy life style and become fit! It wasn't meant to deceive anyone, so I hope it didn't.

Do Angels Change Tires?

Did Heather Meet An Angel?

I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.                  (From Ps 116)

The Lord continually amazes me! Every day He shows us that He cares about every detail of our lives. In our joy, in our sorrow, in our pleasure, and in our pain the Lord makes His presence known. He gives us His peace and His comfort.

Sometimes God is looking out for us in really little ways and if we aren't paying attention, we take His mercies for granted. We saw just yesterday that He cares about things as little as a flat tire. May I tell you the story?

Yesterday I was looking for Heather to arrive here about 3:30 in the afternoon. She left Houlton around noon, headed for the University in Orono to take a CLEP test in College Composition. Whenever she has taken CLEPs before, her time limit has been 90 minutes. She finishes in about one hour and arrives here soon after. Yesterday at 4:20, there had been no word from her and we began to wonder if she was ok. I called her cell phone. No answer. Her grandfather and I were concerned after we called Stephen and Jeannie. They had heard nothing, either!

I tend to panic if people are not where they are expected to be. So I began to pace (in my mind). Thankfully, the telephone rang. "Grammie?" she said. "You called?" I told her I had called because it was getting late. Well, she did have a little problem. She was at a store around a mile from our house and had a flat tire. After letting people know she was ok, I set out to rescue her. Grampie is slowly healing from a problem with his leg, but he thought he could ride along and talk Heather through the process of changing the tire.

What a sight we must have been at the back parking lot: one incompetent old woman, an inexperienced young woman in a long skirt, and a man with one bright red leg. He was finding it difficult to figure out how to help Heather loosen the lug nuts -- he managed, but with too much effort on his part. The next question was how to place Heather's jack. "This is too tough for Gramp", I thought.

Just as I was about to suggest that we call Stephen for help, a pleasant voice said, "is everything ok here?" I turned around to see a young man standing there. I told him that Wayne had a bad leg and that Heather had never changed a tire. He offered to help. In no time the tire was changed. Our helper refused any compensation and I said to him, "I am going to pray that the Lord rewards you for your kindness to us today." He gave me a surprised look and said, "YES! Yes, I will have my reward in Heaven. Amen!"

On the way home, we talked about this young man. Is he a Christian? Maybe he is an angel. In any event the Lord sent him along to help when we had a real need. Isn't that the way God is? He saw our need and He helped us in our distress by sending someone along at just the right time.

SEQUEL: Heather went  back north today and called me when she arrived at my mother's. "Gram? I just wanted to tell you that wasn't an angel yesterday. He is just a human being." I asked her if she had seen him and she said she had. I was astonished. "When I got to the rotary turning onto Stillwater Avenue, I was stopped by the road crewman. I was the first car in the line and a white pickup came around the rotary in my direction. It was him! I never would have recognized him, but he saw me, leaned out his window, and gave me a wave."

To answer the initial question, I don't know if angels change tires. But people with kind hearts do. I hope that young man realizes that he was a real blessing to our family yesterday. And I hope that we, likewise, remember the impact of yesterday's kindness when we see another person in need of help.  

Be Careful How You Live

Rachel At The Window

EVERY word we say, every action we take, every decision we make, and whatever we do will have an impact on others. In a moment of time, we can easily bless others and we can just as easily hurt others.

"So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,  singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." From Ephesians 5 (NLT)

Think of our granddaughter at the window of the camp. When I snapped this photo, she was looking intently at her grandfather, her uncle, and two of her brothers outside on the staging. She could see every move they made and she could hear every word they said as they nailed siding onto our building. They may not have realized that she was even standing there. But there she stood -- fascinated, interested, and impressionable. In those moments, those four guys were in a place where they would validate her admiration and trust or wound her heart by the way they talked and behaved.

It is sobering to me that God has given me great opportunities and continuing responsibilities to represent Him before every person that crosses my path, lives in our home, or comes into contact with me anywhere and at any time. He has given me a tall order to be very careful how I live. He is going to hold me accountable for every word, every deed, and every decision. (You, too).

Family and friends, He is asking us to do the impossible. We are sinners. We can mess things up big time, can't we? We can find ourselves repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness time and again. The only way we can avoid living like fools is to rely totally on the Lord for the wisdom and strength to be the people that He created us to be.

Let's think about this: the next time one of us is tempted to do or say something foolish, what if we think of the young girl in the window? What if we consider the impact we will make on someone like her -- or on another loved one or a friend or neighbor? And even more than that, let's turn our hearts to the Lord and ask HIM to help us do and say the right thing for His name's sake. 

Yes! Let's be careful how we live.