Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • Proverbs

    —

    Dana

    img_2405“Mr. Davis, as Taylor grew older, what were some things you looked forward to doing with him?”

    This was one of several questions I was asked in a seventh grade Bible class at Taylor’s school this week. A while back, I called our son as he was driving back from a game with a fellow coach. We just had a normal conversation, but overhearing it, the coach decided to invite us to his Bible class to be an illustration of ‘generational wisdom.’

    The class has been studying the Proverbs, and while I don’t claim to have a great deal of wisdom, the Scripture is full of it. Solomon often wrote about fathers and sons. “The glory of a young man is his strength; the gray hair of the old is his splendor.” (Proverbs 20:29) As Taylor and I told stories and answered questions, I thanked God for His goodness.

    “Coach Davis, as your children grow older, what are some of the things you look forward to?”

    Our answers to questions were often similar. Many years ago, I enjoyed coming home from work and playing various games with the kids. I enjoyed taking them fishing and going on trips. Wilkes is now at the age where he loves to play and Taylor loves it. Cars, superheroes, ball, rocks, sticks… everything is fun.

    But what is most important for a child? Don’t we as parents want our kids to know our Heavenly Father? However close I feel I am to God, I want my children to be closer. He is our Source of life. He is our fortress. He is our hope.

    “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) As parents, we can pray our children follow this wisdom as we daily put it into practice in our own lives. And God will prove Himself faithful… for He is the perfect Father.

    “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

    “He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

    “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

  • dodger

    —

    Dana

    After singing a few songs and sharing a Bible story with the children in the mountains of Ecuador, we always had some treats to distribute. Anywhere on earth it is wise to have a good strategy in gift-giving to prevent chaos. And there always seems to be a couple of ‘artful dodgers’ who attempt to take advantage.

    IMG_1009My most memorable young friend this past summer sat near the front of two long rows as cookies were distributed to about thirty children. As he held out his hands, I went to hand him a bag and Karlyn said, “He already has some, Dad.” The boy looked at me with sad eyes and continued to hold out his hands. “Are you sure, Karlyn?” I asked. She firmly confirmed her answer and I refrained from giving. A few minutes later, knowing his efforts had failed, the kid stuck his hand in his pocket, pulled out the cookies, and started eating.

    A few minutes later, with the children still sitting on the steps, we began giving gifts – one to every person. I watched my little friend take a toy, put it in his pocket, and nonchalantly walk to the other end of the row. As he stuck out his hands to receive another toy, I walked over and foiled his plan. He looked a little wounded, but I thought I detected a hint of a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

    We closed our time in the village playing outside. We kicked soccer balls, threw Frisbees, played chase, and had a good time. When it was time to leave, I felt a tug on my jacket and noticed the young ’dodger’ at my side. “Dios te bendiga,” he said with a big smile. “God bless you,” are beautiful words in any language.

    Who knows, it might have been a similar child who gave his lunch to Andrew to help Jesus feed the multitude. Jesus took five loaves and two fish and blessed thousands, but a little boy played an important part in the story. Don’t ever sell a kid short.

    “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” John 6:8-11

    “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And He said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me.’” Matthew 18:1-5

  • thirst

    —

    Dana

    Jesus’ encounter with a thirsty woman illustrates human tendency. This story also shows how Jesus has the ability to cut through our shallow comments and thinking to focus on what really matters. (see John 4)

    When we want to make things about race or gender or societal correctness, Jesus makes the conversation personal.

    Woman – “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”
    Jesus – “If you knew the Gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask Him and He would give you Living Water.”

    When we want to interpret things literally, Jesus uses symbols.

    Jesus – “Whoever drinks the Water I will give him will never thirst again. Indeed, the Water I will give him will become in him a spring of Water welling up to eternal life.”
    Woman – “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

    When we want to change the subject… and remain elusive with the parts of our lives we’d like to keep hidden, He makes us face the truth.

    Jesus – “Go, call your husband and come back.”
    Woman – “I have no husband.”
    Jesus – “You are right… The fact is you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is quite true.”

    When we try to shift the conversation to religion, forms of worship, or other differences between groups, Jesus points to His Father… who is above all.

    Woman – “I can see you are a prophet. Our fathers worship on this mountain, but you Jews claim that where we should worship is in Jerusalem.”
    Jesus – “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.”

    When we try to keep things nebulous or symbolic or in the category of knowledge no one clearly understands, Jesus makes Truth literal… “I am.”

    Woman – “I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes He will explain everything to us.”
    Jesus – “I who speak to you am He.”

    Jesus loves the thirsty… and He has the answer for our thirst! He wants us to come to Him, stay with Him, believe in Him, talk to Him, walk with Him, and receive from Him. “Thank You, Lord, for Your Living Water. Please flow through us every day.”

    “’If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of Living Water will flow from within him.’ By this He meant the Spirit, who those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:37-39

  • hunger

    —

    Dana

    “Mr. Davis, don’t you want to complete your meal before you eat your dessert?” I was not aware that Jell-O was dessert, but Mrs. Harris, my fifth grade teacher, viewed it that way. She was determined that we all learn manners while in her class. My friend Tommy asked a question that must have impressed our teacher: “Mrs. Harris, may I retire to the lunch line to retrieve some butter to refresh my potato?” Tommy’s language ability soared far beyond mine.

    Actually, my mom had already taught her children to finish a meal before eating dessert. To this day, I follow the practice, but I’ve realized the reason goes beyond the rules. If I eat sweets, I lose my appetite for nutritional food. I have a friend who always eats dessert first, so all people are not the same, but ‘hunger’ is necessary for me.

    “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) What if one of the devil’s strategies in this world is to feed people with things that eliminate the ‘hunger for righteousness’? I heard an evangelist from South Africa once say he never wanted to speak in the West because there was no hunger for God. In the villages where he preached in the nations of southern Africa, he witnessed an intense desire to hear God’s Word among the multitudes who had never heard the Gospel.

    Do I ever get so ‘filled up’ with sports or politics or work or pleasure that I have no desire for God? It is not that it is wrong to work or to have fun or to play a sport… it is all about where we find our fulfillment. Though I want no person to go through the trials of cancer, ‘life and death’ situations do have a way of clearing the mind of things that don’t really matter. After diagnosis seventeen years ago, I remember thinking: “Why are all these people so consumed with their college team on game day? Don’t they realize one day they are going to die?” But the further I got away from the most critical stages, the more ‘game days’ returned to more of a normal phenomenon.

    We hunger for what we desire. God wants us to hunger for Who we need. The Holy Spirit can produce this longing in any soul, but I think we must learn to see with eternal eyes. A huge bonus only satisfies for a season; a big win is only remembered a little while; the pleasures of life are fleeting. But if we hunger for righteousness and discover that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment, we shall be filled. As He brings about His focus, perhaps we’ll help others realize Who truly satisfies our hunger.

    “It is because of Him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’” I Corinthians 1:30-31

  • presence

    —

    Dana

    “The world is deathly ill. The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world. It is possible for them to do this because they are overcomers. Christians are ambassadors for Christ. They are representatives from Heaven to this dying world. And because of our presence here, things will change.” Corrie ten Boom — 1974

    Even the most toxic environment can be the place where God’s presence shines brightest. If we are to represent Him, we must see Him plainly, let our goals match His, listen to His voice, and do what He tells us. God should not be expected to think like we do; we need to learn to think like He does.

    People constantly attempted to draw Jesus into worldly thinking, using logic that ran counter to God’s heart. He often disappointed them, even once rejecting a plan to make Him king (John 6:15). Jesus knew He was already King, and His purpose was to bring men and women into God’s Kingdom. But the Kingdom of Heaven is unlike the kingdoms of this world. The ways and methods and schemes of man are often opposed to the ‘mind of Christ.’

    God wants us to operate with the attitude, purpose, and practices of the Son. In 1944, after months of courageously hiding Jews in their Dutch home, the ten Boom family was arrested by Nazi occupiers. After an offer to be released if he agreed to stop his ‘disobedience,’ the eighty-four-year-old father, Casper ten Boom, said, “If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks.” He was arrested and died ten days later.

    Two of his daughters, Betsie and Corrie, were first imprisoned in Holland, then were moved to the Ravensbrook concentration camp in Germany. The presence of Christ in these sisters changed the atmosphere of the cold, lice-infected, overcrowded death camp. The Holy Spirit brings God’s priorities. Betsy and Corrie realized that to be messengers of the Gospel, they needed to be followers of the Master. They learned to give thanks in all circumstances, to forgive their enemies, to pray for those who mistreated them, and to remember that every soul is eternal — created by God who loves perfectly. Betsy died in Ravensbrook, but Corrie was ‘accidentally’ released before the end of the war. For nearly forty years following, she was a bold witness who kept declaring that there is no darkness so great that Jesus cannot overcome.

    Here’s an excerpt from “The Hiding Place”:

    As for us, from morning until lights-out, whenever we were not in ranks for roll call, our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the Word of God. ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or peril, or sword?… Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us.’

    I would look around as Betsy read, watching the light leap from face to face. More than conquerors… It was not a wish. It was a fact. We knew it, we experienced it minute by minute – poor, hated, hungry. We are more than conquerors. Not ‘we shall be.’ We are! Life in Ravensbrook took place on two separate levels, mutually impossible. One, the observable, external life, grew every day more horrible. The other, the life we lived with God, grew daily better, truth upon truth, glory upon glory.

    (“The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, A Bantam Book published by arrangement with Fleming H. Revell Company, 1983, pp 194-195)

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