Category: stories

It is always exciting to go to new places, but, in my opinion, it is even more exciting to make return trips. Last year, you may recall, we took a December mission trip to Natal, Brazil. (Natal is the Portuguese word for ‘Christmas’.) Many good things happened as we worked with precious brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord willing, next week we will fly again to Natal to celebrate Christmas… and something else.

On December 27, Renata from Brazil will marry Pete from the United States. Parents spend a lot of time praying for God to bring just the right mate to their son or daughter. Who can predict how God will answer such prayers? We are excited to witness Him bring these two young people together for His glory. Jesus loves weddings!

Though the prophets had foretold, few anticipated the way the Savior would come into the world. A King born in a stable? A peasant virgin giving birth to God in the flesh? A heavenly host bringing glad tidings to shepherds in a field? Wise men from the East following a new star to worship a Jewish child? God must take great delight in bringing about His will through creative and mysterious ways. And don’t you marvel at His tendency to allow normal people to participate in His story? Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon, shepherds, star-gazers…

So since His story is ongoing, we should not be surprised to see God continue to bring about His will through creative and mysterious ways. By His grace, He still allows normal people, from all over the world, to participate with Him. May Christmas be a time we remember Mary’s child-like trust and present ourselves to the King for His glory.

“Lord, you are all I need! I praise you for life and love. I am your servant. May it be unto me as you desire.”

Merry Christmas!!!

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

So… do I want to know God so I can do mighty exploits which would allow me to tell exciting tales? Selfishness and pride are always lurking to poison motives and taint fruit. Even the apostles fell into the trap of wanting to ‘be the greatest.’ Jesus does not invite followers (or churches) to compete with one another, but he does give a secret: “He who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”

The motive of ‘knowing God’ is not to be better than someone else but to be more like Jesus. Am I willing to become the least? Am I willing to become of no reputation? To better know God requires getting rid of ‘self’ and allowing the Holy Spirit to have his way in correcting, teaching, and molding me into the image of the Son. And my journey will not be alone. Jesus has a beautiful understanding of community. The Son prayed for unity – “that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me.” Wow.

The mighty exploits are the works of Jesus. He said, “You shall do even greater things!” When our son Taylor was in Cambodia, one of the team members was physically touched in a miraculous way. A leg that was shorter than the other from birth literally grew as friends prayed in faith. The miracle was the work of Jesus, but believers participated in God’s mighty work by believing and praying. As you might imagine, there was a great celebration as a young man jumped for joy with an improved body.

“So why didn’t God heal you instantly of your cancer? Do you have to go to Cambodia to witness such exploits?” God knows the answer to these types of questions; I don’t. I can tell you of exploits though. People brought food, sent cards, encouraged my family, visited me in the hospital, and prayed fervently. A sister in Christ drove six or seven hours one way just to see me in person. While in town, she served and loved my wife and children. She also sang in my hospital room with her beautiful voice and encouraged me in faith. To me, these actions were mighty exploits. No friend boasts that he was my greatest supporter and no one should feel guilty, saying he did not do enough. God brought about what was needed… and he received glory.

Jesus loves to bring his Father glory and we have the wonderful honor of joining him. Read afresh the story in the first ten verses of Luke 7. A Gentile centurion grieved because his loyal servant was sick and about to die. When he heard Jesus, the healer, was in town he sent some people get him. The ones who went to Jesus were Jewish elders! Though very different from their friend, these Jews loved the centurion saying he was a deserving man who had built the town’s synagogue. Jesus agreed to follow them, but before they arrived, the centurion sent other friends to give Jesus a message. “I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. I know what it is like to receive orders and to give orders. If you just say the word, sir, I know my servant will be healed.” Jesus was amazed at the soldier’s faith and encouraged the crowd to take note. Jesus then spoke the word and the sick man was healed. What a tale! One guy had great faith, one group went to get Jesus, another group delivered a humble message, the crowd received instruction, and (my favorite) the sick man was healed! I’ll bet everyone celebrated!

Our principal, Scott Harsh, has recently been diagnosed with lymphoma and started treatment this week. Lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma are the three main blood cancers, so I know a little about Scott’s struggle. I also know this: brothers and sisters in Christ will love, serve, and encourage the whole family through this trial. There will be fervent prayer and much burden-bearing. Scott and his family will feel God’s strength and in those times when little is ‘felt’ or understood, God will still be with them. Though mighty exploits may not occur in the exact way we desire, faith, hope, and love will shine forth and God will receive glory. Please pray for the Harsh family.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

This summer, a good friend told his family that I was scheduled for another stem cell transplant to fight cancer. That night his oldest child prayed: “And God, help Mr. Dana with what he’s going through. May he live to tell the tale.”

Five-year-old John prayed in church this past Sunday and thanked God for answering his most frequent request. “God, thank you that Dana’s mustache has come back and help him get all the way better.”

Tuesday we met with the doctor at Emory and learned that the cancer count in my blood is now zero! We praise God and thank the youngest to the oldest for all the prayers offered on our behalf. My parents were in town Tuesday to pick up my youngest brother and his family who were flying in from Africa for their missionary furlough. They all got to celebrate with us. A father and mother’s love never dwindles… no matter how old the child…

So I’m trying to figure out what ‘tale to tell.’ What does God want to do with us? The cool possibility is that ‘our tale’ can be ‘His tale.’ Will I give Him full invitation? Will I present myself to Him with no restriction? “Here I am. I have come to do Your will.” These were Jesus’ words to His Father as He came to earth. A perfect attitude led the Son to make “Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Oh to be like Him…

Oswald Chambers wrote: “As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world.”

His tales are grander than anything we can even dream about… so let’s see what the future holds.

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:24-25

We met with the doctor at Emory yesterday, signed consents, and got our schedules. Friday, July 17, preliminary procedures begin. Monday, July 20, the rough stuff starts. I’ll be admitted to the hospital that day and will be in a couple of weeks. We appreciate all your prayers and words of encouragement.

A friend, who seems a little closer in age now than when I first met him, loves to invite Taylor and me to his neighborhood lake, a haven for large mouth bass. I first came to know David when I was a first-year teacher and coach. He was in the seventh grade and was one of my basketball guys. I guess we were only eight years apart then, which now in our forties does not seem too big a difference. David does not offer a place to fish without expectations. He calls for updates and asks us to make frequent contacts to report fish activity, catches, weights, and misses. We had been fishing about two hours one afternoon in the sweltering heat and things were not going well. I had caught two, which was pretty good for me, but Taylor had only caught two and had missed about six big fish. David called and listened to our sad report. It is not like Taylor to miss so many fish and I made a comment that maybe this fishing expedition was about “more than catching fish.” David laughed and said to call him later. I asked, “Do you want us to call even if we have no good news?” David gave a classic fisherman’s answer: “Of course! Good fishermen love to hear the frustrations of others!”

“So, Dad, what did you mean when you said this day may be about more than catching fish?” “Well, Taylor, maybe it is simply about a father spending time with his son… and maybe it’s about a son spending time with his dad.” Years ago Taylor would have been a little confused by such words, but he was in full agreement. “You’re right… just being together is most important.” Funny thing… within four minutes of David’s phone call and our forty-five second conversation, we caught three fish. The bass started biting and I ended up having to put my rod down because I was getting sore from all the action. Taylor must have caught twenty-five bass and one blue gill in the next hour. I felt like I was watching ‘the fishing channel’ up close and personal. I called David with an excellent report and he gladly came to meet us at the shore to hear the details. I still think the day was about “more than fish.”

Here’s what God treasures: Fellowship. Jesus loved fellowship as he walked the earth. He enjoyed a meal at Simon the Leper’s house and was just as comfortable as a friend could be. I’ll bet Jesus invited himself to the house of Zacchaeus with the biggest smile on his face. I picture him taking a nap on Mary and Martha’s sofa after a filling dinner. I think he loved simple conversation and I think he wants us to know that fellowship with him and God’s children is one of the things we ought to cherish most on this earth.

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” We know Jesus said this before the Last Supper, but why did he eagerly await this meal? He knew he was going to enter a horrible time of suffering and he wanted to spend time with those with whom he shared life. Jesus loved those guys. He loved to eat with them, laugh with them, sing with them, talk about important things with them, and to simply rest with them… fellowship.

God loves having fellowship with us… peaceful, restful, Father-child fellowship. Taylor and I did not solve all the world’s problems as we sat fishless and sweating on a boat. We did laugh. We did talk about God’s faithfulness. We did talk about goals for the future. We did talk about faith. But all of this was unplanned… it was the natural conversation of a father and son. If we simply enter a place of fellowship with our Father in Heaven, I think we receive similar blessings. We may laugh. We may recount the many times God has rescued us. We’ll thank him for who he is and for all he has accomplished for us. We may pray about the future and conclude it would be best if God’s will be done. We may ask important questions and get some important answers. We may receive correction and discipline… all rooted in love. We won’t understand all things, but we can determine to continue to walk by faith. And at the end of the time of fellowship we may say to God what He constantly says to us: “I love you.”

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:24-26

“And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:3-7

A friend in our neighborhood told us that her sister lived in London so we arranged to go to church with Peggy and Andrew on Palm Sunday. It would take quite a while to share the journey Susan and I took on the red double-decker buses to get to the right section of London – which we discovered to be a huge city. Then, after sitting through a service, God sent a special servant to reveal we were in the wrong church. She gladly escorted us a few blocks to the correct location and we made a happy connection with new friends.

After a wonderful English meal at their home, Andrew shared a bit about their lives. Andrew’s family was Jewish and moved to London from Hungary when he was a boy. As a teenager in the late 60’s, Andrew was interested in Christianity but wanted to find out if it worked. “I decided I would give a church a period of time to determine if this Christianity made a visible difference in lives. I would go to the same church several months before making a decision. Sadly, I found no notable difference that made me say, ‘That’s the life I want! I’m going to become a Christian!’ I remember attending one church for nine months. The preaching was great and the singing was great, but never once, in all nine months, did a single person speak to me. I heard about a place in Switzerland and said to myself, ‘If I don’t find something real there, I’m ending my investigation of Christianity.’”

At the same time, Peggy, a child of American missionaries in Iran, was on her own quest. “I just had tons of questions. And though my parents were strong Christians, I could not get satisfactory answers. I was not alone in my generation. We wanted real answers… not rhetoric. So I joined scores of other young people who went to this haven in the Swiss Alps to seek truth.”

This haven was called L’Abri, which means ‘the shelter’, and a family named Schaeffer simply opened up their home to young people seeking answers. Andrew said, “You’ve got to realize that many of these kids were rebellious youth impacted by the revolutionary thinking and living of the hippie movement. But Mr. Schaeffer would let a kid say anything and ask any question. Often, the beginning of the dialogue was anti-God, anti-establishment, and full of disrespect. But once Mr. Schaeffer started talking, the hardest of hearts would melt at the simple truths that speak to our deepest needs. Francis and Edith Schaffer were patient, kind, and loving. And he was a great teacher.”

“So,” I asked, “Was it the teaching of Francis Schaeffer that made you want to become a Christian?” “Oh no,” Andrew replied, “I heard good teaching in many of the churches I attended. I was searching for something that worked in a person’s life. What influenced me the three months I lived at L’Abri were the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer and their children. This family lived out what Jesus was all about. They opened their homes, they lived sacrificially, and they laid down their lives for people they didn’t even know. That’s what influenced me.”

That was also what influenced Peggy, who found Christians unafraid to tackle her toughest questions. Andrew and Peggy met at L’Abri, married a short time later, and for almost forty years have lived out the same type of lives in London that they witnessed in Switzerland. Their home is always open for brothers and sisters in Christ and for seekers of truth. Another couple also joined us for lunch on Palm Sunday. Connie is a science teacher from the West African country of Ghana. She had recently been baptized as a result of studying the Bible in a group led by Peggy. Her husband, Richard, is a graduate of the prestigious Oxford University, but is not a Christian. Maybe one day he’ll also find Jesus to be the answer we’re all searching for.

How beautiful is the Body of Christ!

“Let us live up to what we’ve already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Philippians 3:16-17