YGT: The Boy in the Hood (Trayvon's Resurrection)

If you have been watching the news over the last week, you are aware of the tragic murdering of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year-old child who was killed by a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida.  The details of the story, including the 911 calls made by the shooter and witnesses are chilling.  Due to this, many black churches are observing "Hoodie Sunday" today to stand in solidarity with the family of Trayvon.  


When gripping news stories like this happen, it's easy to become annoyed.  The media just won't leave it alone and everyone has an opinion.  Why continue to have rally's, articles, and petitions?  Why do we need to keep this child's death on our minds?  Why not just let it die?...


Earlier this week, I read about the resurrection of the Shunammite woman's son in II Kings 4.  This is the story where the prophet Elisha raises the woman's son back to life after he has died suddenly.  When I stopped there, it was clear, this was a narrative of hope and resurrection.  God can bring back those who have died.


However, after reading further, there was another purpose for the Shunammite's son's resurrection.  From II Kings 8 -   


3 At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 As he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”



The woman was being wrongfully denied the land and home that was hers (check out the first couple verses below).  Her son's death and resurrection became her testimony against injustice.  She was able to point to her son as a symbol of God's faithfulness to her.  After this, the king restored to her what she was rightfully owed.


Hoodie Sunday and the many actions to come are attempts to keep Trayvon's memory alive.  Not for his own sake, but for ours.  There are racial, socio-economic, and institutional terrors that are perpetrated everyday on innocent people.  We resurrect the story of the boy in the hood so we can remind the world of the daily injustices perpetuated against God's people.

Lord, we thank You for the power of resurrection.  Thank You that there is life after death.  While we join in mourning with the Martin family, we are grateful they have offered their child as a martyr for injustice.  Lord, where there is darkness, please send light.  Where there is confusion, peace.  Please forgive us for not speaking up.  We stand as a people shaped in iniquity and yet shaded by the hood of your love.  Our hope is not lost, it is waiting to be revived.  In the name of Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son, Amen.






Lifting,
j.a.g.












*Just curious - can you remember the name of the black inmate who was killed on death row last year?  There was a lot of news coverage around the event.  Admittedly, I had trouble remembering his name.  Seems like we need to keep resurrecting those we lose.  Long live Trayon.




------------------------------------------------------------------
II Kings 8:1-2

1 Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.”
2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

YGT: Does Church get in the way of Living like Jesus?

This week, I wanted to share a testimony of former pastor Edward G. Dobson.  The video describes his journey from being the pastor of a thriving church to his diagnosis with Lou Gehrig's disease.


At the 5:20 minute mark, Dobson shares that being so active in the church actually challenged his ability to live like Jesus.  This reminded me of an interpretation of the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 below).  When a man asked Jesus who was his neighbor, Jesus told him a story about a man who was hurting on the side of the road and people who passed him by.  The first person to pass was a priest.  The second, a Levite.  These two were each religious leaders in the Jewish community.  As the interpretation goes (the one here is by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), perhaps they didn't help the man because they were on their way to a religious meeting.  Being part of a religious community was actually preventing them from seeing their neighbors.  


Not surprisingly, Dobson is also good at recognizing his neighbor.  From an insightful article on his life...


The scraggly guy stood at Ed Dobson’s door, asking for money. He said he was a Vietnam vet and needed bus fare for a medical appointment in Lansing.

Problem: It was the same story the same guy told three months earlier, when Dobson gave him $15. Dobson figured he probably blew that on booze and would again.

Problem No. 2: Jesus said, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”This time, Dobson gave him $20.

I wonder if he would have been as giving if he was pastoring...


Check out his book - The Year of Living Like Jesus.  Haven't read it, but looking forward to soon.  In the meantime, I'll try to follow what Jesus has shown us in scripture. Ed Dobson reminds us that it's not about how much you know, it's about how much you know that you're willing to act on.  Praise God for his witness.






Lord, please forgive us for desiring to be in church more than we desire to be in You.  Have mercy on us.  We look to Christ as our Savior, teacher, and intercessor.  In His matchless name, Amen.


Freed,
j.a.g.






*Btw, if you can, check out the article linked above.  Discusses why Dobson voted for Obama during his year of living like Jesus.  Hmmm... A compelling figure indeed.


------------------------------------------------------
Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

YGT: Administration Idol

Critiquing administration in a church is a lot like judging American Idol - anyone can do it.  You don't have to be a great singer to hear another person sing and immediately know "They CAN'T sing".  Likewise, we don't have to be good at administration to know when others aren't good at it.  When we attend church, we know immediately whether the administration is good or not.  We observe the orderliness of the ushers, the organization of the service, and even the parking situation!  We cast our vote immediately for whether a church can "sing" or not.  


It's helpful to observe Acts 2 to see what administration for the first church must have looked like.  They had lots of administrative headaches and yet they completed them with gladness, sincerity, grace, wisdom, and the Spirit.

• There was the exchanging of money between the rich and poor (someone had to be counting the money and distributing it) - v. 45 and Acts 4:33-37
• Lots of people were being fed everyday (someone was cooking and others were serving) - v. 46 and Acts 6:2-3
• There were people being added to the church daily (perhaps through baptism and/or teaching) - v. 47 and Acts 6:1

To be completely honest, I've often overlooked administration.  I would rather idealize, create, and do.  But over time, I've come to realize that effective administration is crucial to ministry.  It was critical for the first church to succeed and it's even more critical today.  Some of the worst testimonies of the church are from poor administration.  Almost everybody knows of a church that has experienced financial mismanagement, grumpy servants, or unorganized teaching.  


This is not an indictment on any particular church, but a calling to see administration as a spiritual gift.  If we are indeed a body, administration can be compared to the muscles.  They're usually never seen (and when they are, that means there's a serious problem).  However, the better the muscle is, the more that can be accomplished by the leg, arm, waist ... or voice.  When that happens, we can all readily agree, "That church can sing!"

Lord, please forgive me for overlooking administrative tasks.  Please help me to be better at responding to emails, meeting deadlines, and organizing my life.  Thank you for the people you have given to the church to help disciple your people.  For every trustee, usher, and secretary, thank You.  Please grant them each the grace, wisdom, and love that they may administer in Your Spirit.  Let all things be done decently and in order.  In Christ's name, Amen.  

Repenting,

j.a.g.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. 

Acts 4:33-37
33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all
34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),
37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.


Acts 6:1-3
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them

YGT: The Chronicles of Naptime

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep; but we will all be changed... I Corinthians 15:51

Naptime has definitely made my prayer life stronger. Each time we put our dear Jocelyn down for her nap, I find myself praying she will stay in the bed.  (She used to nap so well.)

Yesterday when I noticed she was up again (thank goodness for video monitors), I went to see where she had gone. To my surprise, I found her standing in our room and examining a Bible. Out of curiosity I stayed at the bedroom door to watch her.

She picked the Bible up and began to turn pages carefully. She noticed the book was backwards so she turned it around and turned a few more pages. She began going through and taking out leaflets, notes, and a church envelope. Then she noticed me standing there and we walked back to her room for her to sleep.

Jocelyn's naptime adventure got me wondering about how God must view our journey with the Bible...

We wake up from our nap (birth), then stumble into the Word (usually from our parents). Even though we hold God's Word we are unable to completely understand it. We hold it backwards and we can't even read fully yet. As soon as we realize how to hold it (not what's inside, just how to hold it), we notice God has been graciously watching our feeble attempts all along.  Sometimes, we take out the things inside that we feel don't belong.  As soon as we recognize how close God has been, it is time to go back to sleep (death).

I'm grateful for yesterday and for Gods mercy in allowing us to fumble through His Word. Let's pray God enters the room with us as we study, interpret, and obey the sacred text we hold.


Lord please forgive us handling your Word as if we knew how to read it. Forgive us for times we approach You pridefully. Remind us that we are but children, scrambling to make meaning of the scriptures You've given us before you call us back home. Until that day, we'll be careful to give You the praise.


Learning,
j.a.g.