communication

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Dana

A few of us teachers were talking about dreams during a meal the other day. Some pretty cool stories were told, so I shared something that happened several years ago.

My family was in Chattanooga and spent the night at Susan’s mom’s house planning to attend the church where Susan grew up the next morning. I woke up that Sunday morning with a vivid dream still in mind, but didn’t say anything to Susan about it. In Bible class, I listened to the lesson with the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Finally it hit me… the lesson, in fact, the entire class was a replay of my dream the night before. Amazed and a bit perplexed, I leaned over to Susan and whispered, “I dreamed this exact thing last night.” She glanced at me with a puzzled look and we both continued to listen as the topic of God communicating with his people was discussed. I probably would have remained silent had not an old friend sitting in the back of the classroom raised his hand to make a comment. “I hear there are people down in Atlanta who say that God speaks to them.”

These are the testing moments. As far as I knew, Susan and I were the only visitors from Atlanta that morning. I had been sitting through the whole class wondering what to make of a re-run of a dream. With a little hesitation I raised my hand and the teacher called on me. “I’m not saying this because I live in Atlanta, but I want to share that God does speak to his children today; at least He wants to. Just last night I had a dream of what has been discussed in this class. I think God was communicating to me… why… I’m not exactly sure, but I think there must be a thousand ways He speaks to us.”

Of course, as a visitor, I felt quite awkward sharing this, but I felt even more awkward for the teacher who didn’t really know how to reply. A person sitting in front of us, an old friend of Susan’s, chimed in and said, “It’s true! I heard Dana whisper this to Susan a few minutes ago.” Thankfully, a bell rang at that very moment and the class was dismissed.

The most remarkable part of the morning was the number of people who came up to me and Susan after class. No one wanted to argue. Some had similar stories and all seemed to have a tender expression of gratitude that our God cares enough about us to communicate. One sister had tears in her eyes. “What is man that you are mindful of him?” the psalmist wrote and we ask the same question today. Why does the Creator of the universe care enough about me and my family to share his heart or give direction? This love of the Father holds us close and reaches out to a hurting world.

But this love also requires warning. Jesus said there will be little difference when He returns from when God destroyed the earth with a flood. That generation heeded no warning, though Peter called Noah a ‘preacher of righteousness.’ In a day when it is so easy to be consumed with the stock market or weather reports or political debate or athletic standings, Jesus says, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” May we keep our eyes on the Savior and our ears open to his voice. “Watch and pray.”

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:15, 21

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wobbly

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Dana

I still get tickled thinking of my dad and his cows. He’s like a ‘good shepherd’ with his small herd. He knows the temperament of each, he knows their names, and he talks to each one of them. When he was a school boy in Arkansas, a Sunday school teacher encouraged his class to memorize the genealogy of Jesus. My dad still recites these names quite often as this is the way he names his baby bulls: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, … Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, … Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, … Boaz, Obed, Jesse, and recently born, King David, is the thirty-fourth in line. Labor Day weekend we visited my parents and I got to go on a hike to see the cows. Daddy was pleasantly surprised to discover that a calf had been born that very morning… a baby that could not be named Solomon :-) . The mother was tired from her labor, but you could tell she was happy with her offspring. The little black calf wobbled around trying to learn to walk on her first day out of the womb while my dad explained to me the wonderful features of this curious newborn.

Though my dad was excited about a new calf, he paid more attention to his wobbly son on this summer afternoon. I was at the end of a round of chemo and there is no way I could have negotiated the journey without him. He showed me how to step over the electric fence while offering his shoulder to lean on as I crossed. He told me that he had recently seen a snake so I needed to watch my step. When we came to a creek, Daddy hopped from the bank to a rock in the middle of the stream to the opposite bank like a seventy-five-year-old Olympian. I stood on my side quite sure I was about to end up in the water. Seeing my hesitation, Daddy told me to wait until he found another rock to place in the creek to make the crossing easier. (I still got a little wet, but it could have been worse :-) .) Even four days later I had to call home to ask my dad how to get rid of a tick that had taken up residence on my body. I followed his directions to the best of my ability and I think the problem is gone. When I am around Daddy or even if I just hear his voice, I feel perfectly safe.

Of course you know where I’m going with this story. God is greater than any good father and He wants His children to have solid answers to their questions. Does God know my name? Does He have great joy that I am a part of His family? Does the Good Shepherd communicate with me? When I’m a bit wobbly on this earth (which is always), will He help me avoid messy and dangerous traps? If I have a problem, can He tell me what I need to do? Let these familiar words from Psalm 23, John 10, and Isaiah 43 give us assurance.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me…”

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay my life down for the sheep. I call my own sheep by name and lead them out. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me…”

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you walk through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”

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faithful

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Dana

“Here is a trustworthy saying,
‘If we died with him, we will live with him;
If we endure, we will also reign with him;
If we disown him, he will disown us;
If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself.’” II Timothy 2:11-13

So often I have been a faithless child who looks to a Father who continues to be faithful. When I look back over eight years of dealing with cancer, I marvel at the ways of God. Each one of us has his own journey… a race God has given us to run. We are instructed to keep our eyes fixed on the One who saved us, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Often God chooses not to reveal much of the path ahead so we can learn to walk by faith. Though I know this to be true, I still sometimes express my disagreements:

“Lord, why do I have to deal with all this? Why can’t you just take the problems away?”

“Do you trust me more now than you did eight years ago or do you trust me less? Do you believe that my strength can be seen in your weakness?”

“I trust you more, Lord, but I’m not too sure about the matter of my weakness. I will admit that on every occasion it seems you give me just what I need. I needed energy to run camps again this past summer and you supplied. When I’ve gone to other countries, you’ve always given me great health for the trip. Why can’t those high-energy, healthy times continue year round? Why do I have to deal with the lows?”

“I taught my children in the desert to depend on me for their food each day. Some wanted to gather extra manna to store up for the future, but I always made the surplus rot. I want to teach you the same lesson. Will you trust me each day?”

“I’m trying to learn, Lord, but there’s so much I don’t understand. Why did John die of cancer, Lord? He was just twenty-five years old and had only been married a couple of months. And why has twenty-year-old David had such a rough battle with leukemia? And what about Jane and Henry and Dick and Holly and…”

“Do you really think you can handle the details of the suffering of others? You can’t. But you can share this: God is for his children; He is not against them. Then you can practice what so many have given you… my love. My love is often best understood in the hard times of life. You don’t need to figure everything out, but you can be my hands and feet on the earth.”

So here’s my confession at the beginning of another school year: I don’t want to be faithless, but if I’m honest, sometimes I am. I don’t want to doubt, but sometimes I do. I don’t want to complain, but sometimes I’m pretty much a wimp. The truth is: God is faithful. He rescues, he overcomes, and he gives peace in the storm. He cannot deny himself, and his children are a part of him. Even if it is time to pass from this life to the next, he is with us… for he is our faithful Shepherd.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9

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victory

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Dana

Some thought I was quite humble last week, writing about coaching without sharing that our tennis team won the state championship. Actually, that ‘journey’ was written before we played and got hung up in cyberspace. As we’re in the final week of school, this will probably be my last writing until after summer.

As a coach, I’ve sometimes struggled with the quest to win. Jesus said if you want to be first then you must be last. How does that work in athletics? Paul helps a little by writing: “If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” (II Tim. 2:5) And “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (I Cor. 9:24) Of course, it is evident as you read these verses in context that Paul desires his readers to gain spiritual understanding, but I’ve concluded that in athletics God wants us to do our best, to represent Him, and to keep all things in His hands.

Caedmon’s Call sings this song: “The Lord is a Warrior; the Lord is mighty in battle. The Lord is a Warrior; Lord of Hosts is He.” Is this true? Did Jesus of Nazareth fight? On earth, was He concerned with winning? In Heaven, is Jesus looking for victory? How can the One who teaches us to turn the other cheek be described as a Mighty Warrior?

Jesus came to earth as God’s strategy to win the ultimate victory: “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:55-57) Jesus knew He was in a battle on earth and He knows He will ride the white horse as the victorious King of Kings on the last day, but He only fights with His Father’s weapons… and so must we. Jesus said some harsh things to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in Israel, but He knew his enemy was not flesh and blood. His Father created all human beings; the devil captured all human beings with sin; and Jesus came to set the captives free. Jesus’ words often aimed to jolt a person the Father loved into the Truth that would bring freedom. Only those who have ears to hear and a heart to believe can be brought into the Kingdom of Light.

So Jesus was the greatest Warrior… and He still is. As His followers, we must hear and obey His unusual, but powerful strategies. The enemy hits us with meanness, anger, deceit, slander, and all types of evil. Our human nature says: “Strike back harder! Defend yourself vigorously! Bring out the faults of your accuser…” But these methods only result in Satan’s tighter grip. Man’s ways do not bring God’s victory. Jesus taught: “Love your enemy. Pray for those who do you wrong. Give a gift to someone who steals from you. Be merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful. This will bring the victory that really counts.” It is only the courageous man or woman who is bold enough to live this way. “This meekness seems like weakness! I will look like a fool! What about justice?” All the natural questions arise as we find ourselves in difficult spots, but Jesus simply smiles and says, “Follow Me… I know the true enemy and I know how to win.”

“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues – last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name.” Revelation 15:1-2

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5

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coaching

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Dana

Our tennis team won a big match Tuesday and this weekend we hope to compete for a state championship. The young coaches get on the courts with the players and work them hard. I’m an old coach. I gather the team at practice and say, “OK guys, listen up. Friday we play __________ in the semi-finals. I know our opponent because we’ve faced them in past years. This is what they are going to do: 1 – ____________, 2 – ___________, 3 – ______________ Understand?” I filled in the blanks and gave this speech because I know if we are caught off guard by the things our opponent usually does, we’ll be at a disadvantage.

It should not surprise us that a couple of thousand years ago, God had His apostles write similar encouragements to Christians, knowing full well we would need important warnings and wise council. You’ll want to read the entire passage below, but if you just examine the first four statements and think about the world of sports today, you’ll recognize the power of prophecy. The stakes are much higher than a tennis match…

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud…” II Timothy 3:1-5

“Listen up, friends. The devil is going to hit you with all his might as his time draws to a close. Recognize his tactics! Selfishness, greed, pride… these are a few of his weapons. My Word and My ways defeat the enemy. Remember My teachings: Die to yourself. If you want to be first, choose to be last. Don’t save up treasure on earth… its not going to last. Lay up for yourselves treasure in Heaven! Give… be generous… think of the needs of others. Be humble… as I am humble. Don’t puff up and brag about things you do or what you know. Instead, take up the towel of a servant and be content to wash feet. If I, your Master, lived this way, shouldn’t you?”

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10-11

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