2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Friends,
Today, the Lord directs me to continue our discussion of RO 12 and other Scriptures dealing with His view of what our congregations should be. Although I cited RO 12: 13 yesterday, I didn’t get the chance to talk about the second part of it. “Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.” Let me relate a personal experience about opening our home to strangers. In today’s world, this is not easily done, but I do believe there are times when the Lord prompts us to do this for His reasons.
I became acquainted with Les and Iris Feldick over the telephone. I had called the phone number given on his program, “Through the Bible,” when I was having trouble finding it at the usual time it was shown. Les is a great Bible teacher, and I recommend his 30 min. program which comes on 6 days a week to you. I had become hooked on it after finding it by accident [not really-better said, by God’s will! ] while channel surfing. I fully expected my call would be answered by a secretary working in his ministry office and was hoping this person would tell me how to continue getting Les’ wonderful lessons. I began my request by saying how much I respected Les’ knowledge of the Bible and his skill in conveying God’s Word. The voice on the other end of the phone commented, “it’s nice to know that, but you are going to give me a swelled head!” It dawned on me that I was actually speaking to Les, himself, and I was floored. He went on to say that the phone number goes right to his kitchen phone at his ranch in Kinta, OK! God was leading me to a man of great humility. He answered my question by saying that his program was going to be on a different channel and that he appreciated my interest in it. Then, he took the time to ask me about myself. That amazed me, and told him that I am a Jewish believer who likes to offer Bible classes in my own congregation. Our conversation ended with me saying that I wished he would teach a class in our area sometime and that he could stay with us if he ever did that. My invitation was genuine, but I never thought I would ever hear from him again.
Several months went by. One Sunday afternoon, the phone rang, and it was Les! He was coming up to offer a seminar in the Twin Cities and wanted to know if he could take me up on my invitation for him and Iris to stay with us for two days. When I told Pete, he nodded his head in the affirmative, and that was the beginning of what has been a long and very wonderful friendship. Les and Iris have stayed with us many times, and I don’t say that to brag. I relate this story so that we can see that God’s Biblical directives are not just idle suggestions. We can truly be blessed in a very special way when we open our homes to those who share our faith.
RO 12: 14-16 sheds more light on God’s desires for how we should interact within our congregations. “Ask God to bless those who persecute you-yes, ask Him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.” These commands are sometimes hard to obey; yet, they are very important to our spiritual growth. Humans have foibles, and sometimes the most spiritual people may disappoint us. We have a tendency to put certain people on pedestals and to discount the importance of others. That’s not God’s way; it’s man’s way. I received a wonderful story from a friend by e-mail today that illustrates part of this point. A Navy pilot had been shot down while serving during the war in Viet Nam. He survived the ordeal, because his parachute opened properly. Years later, he was giving a motivational speech at a dinner and related the story of his adventure. After the dinner was over, a man who had been listening came up to him to thank him for the speech he had given. As the conversation continued, the speaker asked his guest about himself. It was then that the guest said, “I am the sailor who packed your parachute.” It was the speaker’s turn to say thank you. That night, the former Navy pilot had trouble sleeping, because he began to realize how many people who we never think about, like this lowly sailor packing parachutes, are responsible for saving lives. Are there some people like that in your life? I know there are in mine. We should take the time to think about them and pray for them.
Christ in MT 5: 43-48 tells us to love our enemies. RO 12: 14 is giving us the same message through Paul. When someone has frustrated or disappointed us, it is not God’s way for us to retaliate in kind or to turn our backs on that person. If we are truly obedient , then we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is real power in our prayers offered in Christ’s name. While we might express our anger initially, it is important that we understand that it is never Godly or productive to hold a grudge. No one is ever well-served by grudge-holding, not the one holding the grudge, not the object of his anger, and not the other people around them. Let me give you an extraordinary example of the power that forgiveness can have. In 1994, F. W. DeKlerk released Nelson Mandela from prison after holding this beloved black leader for 28 years. During that time, apartheid, a horribly repressive and evil system of social order had been the order of the day in South Africa. Many blacks were murdered or subjected to terrible injustices during that era. If God’s hand hadn’t have been on the situation through people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others of faith, South Africa would have erupted into the worst blood bath one could have imagined. Instead, the Truth and Reconciliation Council was established, and an orderly transfer of government from the white minority to the black majority took place. How this remarkable demonstration of putting God’s teachings into practice took place is outlined in Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book, “No Future Without Forgiveness,” one I hope you will take the time to read.
I see that I’m not going to finish RO 12 today. This is such a rich chapter that I just don’t want to rush through it. So, bear with me, Dear Ones, and I will go on with more tomorrow. In the meanwhile, join me in this prayer:
PRAYER: O Lord, You have asked us to open our homes to strangers, bless those who persecute us, and show equal concern for everyone-commands that often go against our nature to obey. It is because You love us so much that You ask us to take these narrow and often difficult paths. Help us to keep in mind Your larger purpose which is to edify and unify the Body of Christ. Thank You for sacrificing Your Son on the cross for us and for making your teachings available to us. We dedicate ourselves to obeying You and to interacting with love and caring with the others in our congregations. We will keep in mind the unconditional love You have demonstrated toward each of us as a model for how we should behave toward the others around us. In Christ’s name, amen.
I hope you will feel the warmth of our Abba’s loving embrace today and that your lives will be richly blessed by His presence in them. Peter and I also send you our love.
Grace, Peace, and His Love Be With You,
Lynn