introductions

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Dana

img_9525Susan and I drove to Foley, Alabama this past weekend to visit John’s family and to watch him play football. This is the second year he has lived with his mom Terri, her husband Daniel, and his younger sister Leesa. We speak with him regularly and he seems to have adjusted well to small town life near the Gulf coast.

Saturday we planned to take John to breakfast before we headed back to Atlanta. He asked if his friend Isaiah could join us, as he spent the night with John after the game. Of course we agreed and marveled at the appetites of two high school boys.

img_1414I smiled as John introduced me to his friend: “Dana was a coach… He coached Sherill Baker; she played basketball for the University of Georgia and in the WNBA. Dana is also a pastor…”

Susan thought John might have been warning his friend to be on good behavior, but I didn’t think so. Isaiah seemed like the type of companion you want your kids to have. He is on the quiet side, very respectful, and extremely kind. I think John has a fine friend.

“We have found the One the prophets spoke about… you’ve got to meet Him!” Introductions can be important. Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus and Philip introduced a friend. Their lives were never the same.

Perhaps we can do the same… “Jesus has done miracles in my life. He walks with me day by day and teaches me to be like Him. He is the Answer to the chaos in this world and soon every person will acknowledge Him as King. I hope you’ll get to know Him as Savior, Lord, and Friend. When you see how much He loves you… you’ll want to love Him back.”

“The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathaniel and told him, ‘We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can any good come from there?’ Nathaniel asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.” John 1:41-46

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future

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Dana

img_1409Just recently I realized the picture hanging by my parents’ front door is the very snapshot of the three fish caught after children’s prayers many years ago. My dad was one year older than I am now. This was also one of the summers our family of five joined the Woodward family of five for a week of vacation.

img_1286A few days ago we had a reunion at an Atlanta Braves baseball game. Twenty-five years after the fish picture, everyone looks different… and the children of our children play together. What will be the picture twenty-five years from now?

We may have a hard time imagining the future, but God sees it plainly. Throughout Scripture, He speaks or lets His servants speak about the future. Sometimes words of prophecy bring hope and comfort for the days ahead; other times prophecies bring consternation.

Walking with Jesus, the apostles admired and praised the beautiful Temple Herod had improved in Jerusalem. Their Teacher spoke about things to come: “I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2)

This prediction did not come to pass until 70 AD, around forty years later. The Roman general Titus led a ruthless army to conquer Jerusalem. The Temple was totally destroyed and the precious articles inside were marched out of the city.

When Jesus’ words were fulfilled, many of the apostles had already given their lives for the Gospel. If most were not even going to be alive during the destruction of the Temple, why did Jesus reveal the future? Perhaps He wanted to remind them to shift their eyes from the ‘seen to the unseen.’ “This world is going to pass away; but My Kingdom will last forever. So seek My Kingdom first.”

The Second Coming is closer now than ever, but Jesus claimed even He did not know the exact time. He instructs us to watch and pray. “Though you do not know the day… be alert, be sober minded, and don’t be caught off guard. Stay close to Me and learn to shift your eyes from the seen to the unseen.”

Jesus teaches us to ask for daily bread while living in the light of eternity. He lived this way… while healing the sick, casting out demons, befriending the outcast, and pointing to His perfect Father in Heaven. “Lord, help us do the same…”

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man… Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.” Matthew 24:36-44

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” II Corinthians 4:8

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chapel

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Dana

I think God enjoys revealing His presence in our daily lives. A timely song on the radio, an unexpected encounter, a phone call at just the right moment, a Scripture that speaks to an exact situation… I probably miss more of God’s activity than I recognize.

In the home of our new friends in Nazareth, Susan volunteered me to speak in chapel where our host served as school chaplain. “What do I say, Lord?” I silently prayed as Mrs. Haddad agreed to Susan’s offering.

img_7944It looked like the opportunity would pass me by as our friend Hunter picked us up a little late the next morning and we got stuck in the busy traffic of Jesus’ hometown. As we entered the auditorium and sat on the back row, Mrs. Haddad was speaking to a couple of hundred middle school students. I had no idea what she was saying as Arabic was the language spoken, but at the conclusion of the talk she led a familiar song in English.

Good Good Father was written by Pat Barrett, who grew up and attended a high school not far from our house. Chris Tomlin recorded the song and many listeners have taken comfort in the important message we all need to hear: And I’m loved by You…

I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You’re pleased
And that I’m never alone

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching
For answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Because You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us

Hunter leaned toward me and whispered, “I taught them this song last school year.” I really thought chapel was over, but Mrs. Haddad announced she wanted their friend Hunter to introduce someone from America who wanted to share a brief message. As we walked down the aisle, I couldn’t help but smile… realizing the two stories I planned to tell reflected the song we had just sung.

“We have a good, good Father! The first time we visited your country, my son was your age. We went to the Sea of Galilee (they call it Lake Tiberius) and he saw a boy fishing from the shore with his father. ‘Dad, I want to catch a fish,’ Taylor said as he pointed. ‘Go ask the father,’ I replied. My son, who is twenty years older now and still loves to fish, would have never caught a fish in your country had he not asked a kind father… who extended his pole and watched a young foreigner pull in a catch. Our good Father wants us to ask.”

Mrs. Haddad translated and the students smiled – kids everywhere love stories. I’ve written about the second fish story I told… which contains a message of faith. Our good Father desires young and old to truly believe in His Son. He is perfect in all of His ways…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and the one who knocks, the door will be opened… If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11

“Then they asked Him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.’” John 6:28-29

Good, Good Father ©2014 worshiptogether.com songs

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seed

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Dana

Friends from Tennessee are coming to visit and attend an Atlanta Braves baseball game this weekend. With the three young Woodwards and the three Davis kids being close to the same age, we have gotten together every summer for years. As the children got older, the visits were less frequent, but we always picked up where we left off with friendship and fun.

Timmy Woodward was one of my best friends in college. Four or five of us played on the same intramural sports team each season. We also competed against each other constantly… including playing cards almost every night. When I think of college, these are my memories. Though none of us would admit it, we all knew Timmy was the best at everything… and the funniest guy we knew. Post college, Timmy became the best husband and father… while keeping his sense of humor.

On July 29, 2019, without warning, Timmy had a heart attack in a suburb of Nashville, an hour’s drive from his home in Smithville. Paramedics arrived within five minutes and started CPR, but it did no good. Timmy died 43 days before his 60th birthday.

In Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen explains that as God’s children we bless others in life AND in death. He writes:

We may be little, insignificant servants in the eyes of a world motivated by efficiency, control, and success. But when we realize that God has chosen us from all eternity, sent us into the world as the blessed ones, handed us over to suffering, can’t we, then, also trust that our little lives will multiply themselves and be able to fulfill the needs of countless people? This might sound pompous and self-aggrandizing, but, in truth, the trust in one’s fruitfulness emerges from a humble spirit. It is the humble spirit of Hannah who exclaimed in gratitude for the new life born in her: ‘My spirit exults in God my savior – he has looked upon his lowly handmaid – and done great things for me… from this day forward all generations will call me blessed.’

The fruitfulness of our little life, once we recognize it and live it as the life of the Beloved, is beyond anything we ourselves can imagine. One of the greatest acts of faith is to believe that the few years we live on earth are like a little seed planted in a very rich soil. For this seed to bear fruit, it must die. We often see or feel only the dying, but the harvest will be abundant even when we ourselves are not the harvesters.

How different would our life be were we truly able to trust that it multiplied in being given away! How different would our life be if we could but believe that every little act of faithfulness, every gesture of love, every word of forgiveness, every little bit of joy and peace will multiply and multiply as long as there are people to receive it…

img_1400We’ll all be constantly thinking of Timmy as our families reunite this weekend, but his life lives on. Printed on the announcement issued at the funeral home was a handwritten note found in Timmy’s Bible. If we could hear his voice from heaven, he would repeat the same message: “Stay focused! Keep priorities straight! Seek first the kingdom of God!”

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24

Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen; ©1992 The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, NY; pp 122-123

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bless

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Dana

Our friends started calling me Clark Griswold during this past summer’s trip to Israel. Chevy Chase played the character in the old Vacation movies, but surely I’m not in his category…

It is true though: if you make one or two mistakes along the way, you gain a reputation. Directions are not my strength and quick decisions sometimes get me in trouble. On our second day in Israel, searching for a lunch spot during a drive from Tel Aviv to Caesarea, I made an improper turn that resulted in us going the wrong direction on a one-way curve. Four ladies in the first car we met pointed and yelled unintelligible words as I tried to pull the car as far to the right of the road as possible.

Unable to retreat, I continued slowly around the curve and met a Barbara Streisand look-alike driving an expensive car. As she braked and started to shout, I lowered my window and mouthed: “I’m sorry…” The kind lady smiled, put her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, bowed her head slightly, and blessed me.

Thankfully, I found a way off the road… but the damage to my image as a good driver was done. The Wilsons laughed uncontrollably in the back seat, but Susan was not amused. We quickly found a place to eat and I tried to change the subject.

Why did Jesus teach us to bless rather than curse (even the ones who deserved cursing)? He wants us all to reflect our Father… who constantly blesses. On the road, I was in the wrong and deserved to be reprimanded (or even arrested), but the kind blessing of a stranger administered forgiveness. “I did not come to condemn the world, but to save it,” our humble Savior said.

In a world full of lawsuits, retaliation, cursing, and violence, Jesus says: “Show the Father. He is patient and kind and full of mercy. Bless those who don’t deserve it; smile at those who scowl; love those who hate; be like the One who can set the prisoners free.”

“Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you… Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:27-36

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another before yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Romans 12:9-15

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