A Prayer and a Miss

A Prayer And A Miss
Psalm 126:5,6

Have you ever prayed for something only to miss the answer? This morning after reading Psalm 126:56, “He who continually goes… bearing seed… shall come again with rejoicing…”. In response to that I asked the Lord to allow me to talk to someone about Jesus today. I did not know what would happen –all bets are off here at the office. Well, a bit later in the day, a half-gangly (tall but not thin) man came tromping in just as I chomping on some diet-watching lettuce made for testing self-control in food services. I did not feel so bad as his lettuce had not been a cuisine for a good while. He began deliberating his particular plight which required both cash and convincing on my part. I did not have either. As he left I pulled out my wallet to insure I was right about my statement of “on empty” and a blank fold of black frowned at me.

I wished I could have helped him. Really. Just then I remembered that I had some change in the car. I ran and pulled out loose, car-washing coins, and gave them away to hard, calloused hands which I hoped did not reveal the same description of his heart. I retreated and sunk into my chair with the sudden realization that I had missed my prayer. God had brought the chance but I had not borne my seed and so I did not rejoice. The prayer was heard in heaven but it did not resound on earth, at least not with my ears. I learned…

“Vision of Provision is too often in Retrovision.”

Why are we so dull to providential provisions? What I needed was a plaque on his chest saying, “Sow seed stupid, signed The Sovereign”. Or better why not have him say, “I am the Ground. God sent me to answer your prayer. So I am waiting, start casting!” The Seed was in the bag, but the hand was not. I have begun to believe that the lack of “sheaves-rejoicing” is not ground-less but is sight-less. We just don’t see the need. The motivation for “sheaves-sowing” is “sheaves-foreseeing”.

Now my car will not be washed but I hope that his heart will be by a quick grace throw. God can take the miss and make the mint. The wealth of eternity is invested by even futile, amateur casting. My heart is bothered, as it ought to be, but my hand is learning and for that I am thankful.

A patient, providential God knows He works with feeble, forgetful, yet prayerful children. “Lord of Harvest, keep bringing the ground. Our hands are learning.”

Running Around In Circles

Hello Everyone, for you

Matthew 28:20, “Go” and make… circles?

Last night as I came home from the office, I saw my sons standing out in the driveway in a circle talking with several boys from their high school. These boys have been coming over every Wednesday night for a couple of years for pizza (one night, 192 pieces eaten by 15 teens), fun, and talk. It started in an unusual way but that will be another day’s ponder.

I noticed that as they talked between the cars, old and new depending on their family financial fixture, they stood in a circle. Every one of them faced each other, listening intently, laughing constantly, and living momentarily in that circle. As I parked our family financially fixed car, the thought of that soon dispersed circle pervaded my mind and then my heart. Graduation, college, vocation, marriage, family, and location will quickly and surely separate the tightly enjoyable wheel of friendship. They don’t know it, neither did I.

In twenty-five years though they will come back to a high school reunion and learn what has happened to their circle. It will be a shock for them to see how far and wide that time-limited wheel is divided. Differing philosophies, beliefs, life-styles, financials, families, and scars will silently amaze them taking them home pensively. How did that happen? How could he…? Why did she…? It will be head-shaking. Each will go back to their lives only to divide more until another reunion again shows that their “un-unionized” circle has increased. But for right now, they ignorantly but wisely enjoy it.

We all go through several circles in our lives, some stay and some leave. The hope is that those most dear and delightful will not end, although that is not always the case, sadly. It is part of our human “beings” to be together and then not. This harsh realization can make us cynical or skeptical of pouring effort and love into a temporal relationship knowing it will not usually last. Unwise at best.

Christ told His three-year disciples to “Go”. Incumbent in that command is a divided circle. The apostles did not stay together, could not. The Kingdom did not allow it. Jesus told them to leave each other, break their circle and go to the ends of the earth and age, and make new ones. Most likely they never saw each other till heaven. But it was in those circles that God shined. We have a responsibility to run around in both saved and unsaved circles for the Kingdom’s sake. Yes, both will hurt and help, and God determines the circle. Be bold. “Go” enjoy and establish circles for God’s kingdom! So,

Who’s in your circle?


Will

A Note Remembered

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much”, were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that him. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded, "yes." Then he said, "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his
pocket "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary"

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists"

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

Pleasing and HO!

“Ho! And Please…”

Isaiah 55:1, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters…”

Yesterday was dry, to rain. The Sovereign Lord chose to stay the “storm warnings with a possibility of hail at 4pm” and give waters at 6pm of a different kind for Medina. That was grand but there was more refreshment for my soul than the weather. It was a picture of “Ho!” and “Please”.

As we walked through the hot and humid parade line, bottles of water from The Fountain were yelled for, clapped for, “Thank you”ed for, even some demanded for. It was a great time to say to a community, “We want to refresh you in name of Jesus Christ” (which is on the label of our bottles). 3000 times the community was reminded of Christ and His “Come to the waters”. That was immeasurable in itself, but the imagery and parable was profound.

But at one small moment as I walked (really ran to keep up with the water trailer driven by a beautiful speedster with blue mischievous eyes) toward the crowd that was sitting, seeing, and sweating, I locked eyes with a small 3 year old girl with her tiny palm stretched out softly saying, “Please, please can I have some waad’r”. I bent and knelt down to her level, which was only a few inches for me, and put a cold bottle of water into her hands. She smiled sweetly, as only small children can, and said a parent prodded, “Thank you”. Her eyes twinkled as she offered unprompted shyness for her quick unguarded request for refreshment.

Immediately I was stirred to enjoy of the joy of giving water to a hot, thirsty little person who had a simple but bold need. She had impulsively asked without even thinking for the abundant offer of simple refreshment. Simple needs, simple solutions. But I quickly thought, “Providentially God had provided the weather, time, and day to produce the want for waters.”

People come to Christ when they have a need. I cannot produce the need but I can provide the offer. God does the rest. We are the “water-offerers”, that’s all. We are the “Ho!”. God orchestrates the thirst and the waters. So the obvious question is, are we “Ho”ing? Are we placing ourselves in the position and preparation to “Ho!”?

Interestingly, some said “No” to the offer, as they were not hot or needy. Others said “No” because they already had one but had not opened it yet.

Little and big hearts wait with a “Please…”, maybe even unknown to them. So go ”HO!”

Dry and Happy

Will

Raining and Smelling

Ever heard the statements, “Don’t rain on my Parade” and “Smell the roses”?

Well one of them is exactly what is forecasted for Medina tomorrow. We are to “enjoy” rain the entire day and maybe even some thunderstorms. Of course God could change the weather for us, if that is His desire, which I hope it is. Medina County will have the annual July 4th parade in which The Fountain, our church, chooses to give 3,000 bottles of water to hot and humid people screaming for relief from the burning heat. This is the 3rd time we have placed our hope on a hot summer day for the parade by a through preparation, including 40 minutes of putting our church labels on all of those bottles.

As I look outside I see a sunny, bright, and good-looking day. “Lord, can we have a 24 hour reprieve? Just 24 hours! Look at our diligence and effort in putting in all the needed preparation. Please!” Have you ever felt like the rain is coming and there is nothing to do about it? Try smelling the roses.

God looks at things from a different perspective in most things. For the first two outings of water giving, His will was to give beautiful days – streets lined with over 5000 people (we gave 3000 bottles and didn’t even come close to all that wanted them). The intense preparation made sense in the refreshing success. It is this idea, “Do your part and the end will be assured”. But there is faulty theology in that, even if it is a normal, constant assumption.

We tend to view the end as the goal. But the path or formulation is also in God’s goal. For another example, I have thought that preaching a marvelous sermon is the result of strong and insightful study. Not necessarily so. Some of the most impacting sermons have been after a week of relentless demands which denied study. And in the opposite way, I have spent most of the week in study and then preached a “dead dog”. Some of you know exactly what I mean. You have spent hours only to watch it get wet in the proverbial rain.

So how does smelling the roses connect with this? Well in God’s world, smelling and raining are needed. The “rain on the parade” may be exactly what God needs to grow the roses and the fragrance for you to enjoy. Both smelling the roses and raining on the parade have their part. We need them. They reveal God to us. Remember Job taught this when he said, “He gives and He takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Are you smelling during the raining? Hope so. It makes the parades in life fragrant, wet or dry.

Wet or Dry, hopefully the latter,

Will

Our Scrambled World - Os Guinness

"The modern world has scrambled things so badly that today we worship our work, we work at our play, and we play at our worship."