THIS WAS NOT THE WILL OF GOD!

Words from William Barclay [1907-1978] resonate deeply within me this morning. As a pastor, I have frequently been in situations such as he describes - and always felt the same as he did!

He speaks of a 24-year-old daughter who died in a bizarre accident with no possible explanation. The chief investigator described it as so impossible that it could only be described as "an act of God".

Barclay sees this as a blasphemous phrase!

"What kind of God can people believe in when they attribute the accidental death of a girl of twenty-four years of age to an act of God? How can anyone who is left possibly pray to a God who would do a thing like that?"

[Barclay continues] "During my own parish ministry I was never able to go into a house where there had been an untimely and tragic death or sorrow and say, 'It is the will of God.' When a child or young person dies too soon, when there is a fatal accident, maybe due to someone's mistake or misjudgment, that is not "an act of God", neither is it the will of God. It is, in fact, the precise opposite of the will of God. It is against the will of God, and God is just as grieved about it as we are."

I have made this very same statement repeatedly over the years to parishioners in the face of terrible pain and loss!

[Barclay continues] "If a terrible and an incurable disease strikes someone, if a child is run down and killed by a motor car, driven as it may be by a reckless or drunken driver, if there is a disaster in the air or at sea or on the railway or on the roads, that is not the will of God. It is exactly and precisely what God did not will. It is due not to God's will, but to some human failure or to some human mistake."

He ends with the following:
"God gave men free will because there could neither be goodness nor love without free will and exactly for that reason the action of men can run right counter to the will of God."

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The image of God grieving with us is a POWERFUL one!

It reminds me of a few closing lines to James Weldon Johnson's poem, The Creation:

This great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in is his own image...

Jesus wept at the death of His friend, Lazarus!

Imagine! A god who weeps! A God who acknowledges in His Word to us that "There is a time to cry...and a time to be sad" [Ecclesiastes 3:4].

A God who included in His Book a section titled: Lamentations! [A lamentation is an expression of sorrow or mourning.]

A God who sent to His people a prophet who became known as the weeping prophet - Jeremiah!

A God who responsively reached out to an inconsolable Mary on the morning of His resurrection. Jesus immediately removed the barrier to her recognition so that He could comfort and encourage her!

I remember a story told by United Methodist Bishop, Earl Hunt, while I was a young student at Asbury Theological Seminary.

He told of being a young pastor appointed to follow a pastor who had been in place for many years.

Upon hearing of the death of a child in one of his families, young Pastor Hunt went immediately to the home. Upon arriving, he shared a scripture of hope with the family and prayed with them.

At that point, the former pastor arrived at the door. Upon entering, he opened his arms and the family fell into his embrace as he wept with them and prayed over them.

The young pastor Hunt was struck immediately - not with anger or jealousy - but with an increased sense of understanding about what it meant to be a pastor!

Part of the role of a pastor has traditionally been to walk with those who are hurting and, in doing so, give them an increased understanding that God is hurting and grieving with them! 

But the CEO role that has been thrust upon maturing pastors in recent decades doesn't encourage or model this level of caring. I had a conversation recently with a younger person who is active in their church. When I shared about Pastor Jerry Dodds [Bethel EPC] coming to visit Debbie while she was in the ER a while back, he simply commented that he couldn't even imagine his pastor doing something like that! 

It struck me: could this be one of the reasons that we are seeing such a decline in church attendance in America? Perhaps that's a topic for the next blog?

AN INTERVENTION OF GOD?

In watching the news over the last several days, I've been motivated to write today about another possibility.  We've just emerged from a time of major crisis!  We were at a point where war was imminent!   If the Iran missiles had taken lives, then President Trump's response would have been very different.  It's likely that we would be in a full-fledged conflagration with Iran right now.

First of all:  thanks be to God!  No one wants war!

I've heard two prominent explanations for the fact that no lives were lost as a result of the Iranian retribution launch.  First, some say that they deliberately launched with no intent to take American lives.  The evidence for this is supported by the fact that via Iraq, they notified the American forces BEFORE the launch.  The destruction of property has been catalogued, but no loss of life was documented.

However, there's a second view that has been put forward by the Presidents' Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley.  He suggested that the Iranians did target with the intention of killing American troops.  This implies either incompetence [rather than intention] or faulty equipment as the reason that no lives were lost.  Hmmm...who is right?

I would suggest another alternative - one that I hope someone brings to the attention of our president. In my humble opinion, it is the most likely scenario.

On the evening of the Iranian threats and launch, thousands of military families were thrown into alarm.  Their family members (sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers) were in the midst of the crisis.  Their response?  PRAYER!

However, not only those military families prayed;  tens of thousands of Christians across this country (maybe even more) began to cry out to God for protection over our troops!  The throne of God was assaulted with a barrage of prayers seeking protection for our forces in harm's way!  It's impossible to gauge this response or even imagine how many were calling on God's mercy and power.

And I believe God responded by diverting these missiles away from our hunkered down troops!  I don't know if God used angels to alter the direction of these missiles or if God used a finger to do so. Or perhaps the great God Almighty simply willed them to their fruitless destinations.  But the end result was clear:  there was NO LOSS OF LIFE!

To those who may agree with this assessment, please join me in praying that someone will alert President Trump to this third possibility.  He needs to have a greater understanding of the power of God.  He needs to be given the opportunity to at least consider that we are not at war today because GOD INTERVENED in response to the united prayers of His people!

THANKS BE TO GOD!  

Let's also lift our prayers to God for the grieving families who lost loved ones in the Ukrainian jet that was mistakenly shot down a few hours after the missile launch!  In an unimaginable and ironic twist, they are suffering the loss that was intended for the Americans.

God, comfort the grieving in their anger and pain.  Awaken Iran and its leaders to Your awesome power and love!  For the Kingdom's sake.  Amen.

PLAN B IS PLAN A

Debbie and I plan on going to Guiyang, China to teach English in August.  We have been accepted as VISA (Volunteers In Service Abroad) missionaries by the Free Methodist Church.  However, now we must be accepted by the Chinese government and granted 'work visas' to allow us to come there and be employed by the university.

Unfortunately, at present, China prefers younger applicants.  All we can do is submit our application, pray, and wait!  Today, I will send the last of my information to the VISA department.  By Friday it will be forwarded to our Asia Director to be submitted to the Chinese officials.

I am retiring from the pastoral ministry in June.  We hope to leave for Guiyang in mid-August.  This is our Plan A.  Our Plan B involves me opening a counseling office and would take about two years to put into place.

As of June 7th, we will be homeless.  At the end of June, we will be living without an income.  We plan to travel, visit family, and attend the Tri-State Family Camp.  Then the last weeks will be filled with preparations for being away for nine months.  We feel very much in stride with God in all of this.

However, what if...

What if we are not accepted by the Chinese government?  What if we are not allowed to follow through with our plans?

We've thought about this a great deal.  We've come to the realization that if our Plan A doesn't materialize, then we'll go to our 'slow-burn' Plan B.  We'll also keep our eyes and ears open for God's leading in other directions.  In doing so, we'll realize that our Plan B was always God's Plan A.

We've simply made up our minds ahead of time that we want what God wants! 

Proverbs 3:6  (NASB)
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Same verse from The Message:
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;  He's the one who will keep you on track.

OH YEAH!
[For those who don't know me well, that's my version of 'Amen!']

KEEPING BALANCE - MOVING FORWARD

Debbie and I are in a season of transition.

If we think about what and who we are leaving, we become terribly sad!  We've lived in New Middletown for nine years.  We love the village and we especially love the people of Free Methodist Community Church!  Thoughts of leaving them bring sorrow!

However, at the same time, we're anticipating (the possibility of) going to China to teach English for a year.  We've already begun to correspond with a younger couple already serving there:  Jason and Wendi.  The adventure of living "on the other side of the world" raises tremendous excitement in us!

When we think of leaving - sorrow!

When we think of our future - excitement!

A big part of our lives right now is keeping our minds focused - finding a balance! 

We'll be turning the care of this congregation over to new leadership soon.  This is God's will.  God loves our people more than we do!  God has carefully provided for their care and continued growth!  We have absolute trust in this fact. 

We love God and desire to continue to serve Him faithfully until He brings us Home!  Our journey, at present, seems to be leading us to China.  We're thrilled to continue in partnership with such an incredible God! 

In sorting, I came across a list of goals Debbie and I had made fifteens years ago.  Goal #4 was:  "...live overseas for six months to one year."  God was apparently leading us that far back toward our present situation!

We know that wherever He leads us is where we want to be! 

For now, our lives are split between two loves.  We're trying to keep our balance. 

But, like the Apostle Paul, "...there's one thing I am doing:  I'm leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission.  I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts:  to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God's call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed."  Philippians 3:13-14 (the VOICE)

2012

What's a new year hold?

I expect 2012 to be an interesting year.

My son Troy (and his fiance, Missy) are to be married on February 25th.  That's HUGE!  Much of our focus for the next two months will be on making that a joyous day of genuine celebration!

Then, my focus will shift to getting ready to hike the Appalachian Trail - a nearly 2200-mile backpacking experience.  It should take five to six months!  I expect it to be the adventure of a lifetime.

But what else will happen that I don't have an inkling about?

James 4:13-16 (the VOICE)
Listen carefully, those of you who make your plans and say, "We are travelling to this city in the next few days.  We'll stay there for one year while our business explodes and revenue is up."  The reality is you have no idea where your life will take you tomorrow.  You are like a mist that appears one moment and then vanishes another.  It would be best to say, "If it is the Lord's will and we live long enough, we hope to do this project or pursue that dream."  But your current speech indicates an arrogance that does not acknowledge the One who controls the universe, and this kind of big talking is the epitome of evil.

Lord,

I've made a few plans, but I know that my plans are as though written in the sand on a beach. 

I also know that You are already in my future!  You know with certainty what is coming and how it will affect me.

Help me not to be a fool - it comes so easily to me! 

Rather, help me to walk through this year - and every year - with my hand tightly and securely in Yours! 

This I pray in the name of the One who made the world, left Heaven to come to earth, laid down His life as payment for my sin, and paved the way for me to get to Heaven - in JESUS' NAME.

Amen.