Pray for Luke

I asked Mike Jones at church last Sunday to forward me this photo of Steve and Chuck in their colorful threads to post on the blog here as a "funny." (Mike suggested the caption, "So who's the real "cool" church?" But now the photo of Steve comes with a real prayer request attached.

On Monday the Johnson family were at Annette's grandparent's home in Thatcher, and while playing near the fire pit in the back yard, Luke fell into some hot coals and burned his hand pretty badly. The emergency room in Thatcher decided to send him to the Burn Center in Phoenix, giving him pain killers to sustain him for the trip. Annette says he did well on the trip and the nurses at the Burn Center all commented on his brave behavior. All his fingers were blistered, but the thumb,palm,and forefinger were most severe. As of Annette's Facebook posting on Tuesday, they were being held over at the center on Tuesday night and surgery was being discussed.

Here are a few sentences from Annette's story (if you're on Facebook, you can read the whole story from Steve's page, under "Notes.")

"We are praying that no surgery will be necessary. Thank you all so much for the prayers. Our continued prayer request would be that he not require surgery and that he not get any kind of infection.

Thank you so much to everyone for your help and prayers. We can definitely see God's hand in all of this. Luke's injury could have been much worse, but because of the quick reaction by all my family they were not. Sherri has been a lifesaver by watching Andrew in the waiting room for hours while we tended to Luke and opening her home to us as a homebase. My mom and aunt/uncle/cousin kept Hannah for us. My in-laws have gotten the city of Tucson praying and are picking Hannah up in Clifton tonight. My mom is coming to help us with Andrew in the morning. My grandparents sent us off with some money for the expenses. Friends are offering left and right to help. We are truly blessed in so many ways. Thank you all so much."

Psalm 62

Back on August 5 I commented in this blog on the good song selections on the part of the Dove Mountain worship team. I included the words for Psalm 62, below. When my sons were home for Christmas they showed me how to embed you tube videos instead of merely providing a link to them, so here is my first attempt. Enjoy!

Psalm 62

My soul finds rest in God alone
My rock and my salvation
A fortress strong against my foes
And I will not be shaken
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse
And lies like arrows pierce me
I'll fix my heart on righteousness
I'll look to Him who hears me

Find rest my soul in God alone
Amid the world's temptations
When evil seeks to take a hold
I'll cling to my salvation
Though riches come and riches go
Don't set your heart upon them
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven

(And) O praise Him hallelujah
My Delight and my Reward
Everlasting never failing
My Redeemer my God

I'll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely
With ev'ry day pour out my soul
And He will prove His mercy
Though life is but a fleeting breath
A sigh too deep to measure
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever

O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah hallelujah
O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah Hallelujah
O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah hallelujah

Thoughts from the Waiting Room

I spent parts of yesterday in three different waiting rooms: auto repair shop, insurance office, and the Department of Motor Vehicles. It seems that many people have given some thought to making waiting rooms accommodating and pleasant. I normally carry a book with me to pass the time, but without one, I had plenty of time to study the surroundings.

The most comfortable and aesthetically pleasing was the insurance office. A couple of displays provided me with some knowledge of that company's history and some of the sort of trivia I enjoy knowing (a 1925 Cadillac retailed at $3100, but careful buyers could get one as low as $1450). The only magazine offerings were People and Rachel Ray. I opted for food and read several delicious-sounding recipes from Rachel.

The most technologically advanced room was the DMV. There, a flat screen on nearly every wall offers a running menu of news headlines, safety tips, health warnings, and celebrity gossip. Each item stays on the screen about ten seconds, which matches most people's attention span, I suppose. There were no print offerings to read, but I did see one man reading his well-worn Bible.

In the tiny auto shop waiting room was a collection of toy cars, a television tuned to an inspirational station, and a rack full of gospel tracts (twelve titles to choose from). The room was tiny and not particularly comfortable, but the people behind the counter all had smiles, and there was pleasant conversation.

These waiting areas tell me that Americans are a mixed bag. We are interested in things glittery, carnal, and transitory, but feel obligated to pay attention to temporal welfare concerns and current events(even though I'm sure most of the people staring at the screen in the DMV could not locate the countries in the news clips on a globe). Most of us are afraid of offending by putting out reading matter that would appear to be sectarian, and we all ascribe enormous authority (with implied wisdom) to the state. Some of us would be horrified to see a Bible verse intermingled with the Tiger Woods and Tyra Banks stories, but no one seems to mind seeing gospel tracts in a humble room on a back street in the dirty part of town. And, apparently, very few are expected to do serious reading or thinking.

Those of us who have seen the light of the gospel need to ask ourselves how we are to speak redemptively into the marketplaces of our world. The marketplace reveals the lost and mindless condition of our world.

And thank God for Christian mechanics like Dave Williams!

Another (almost) movie recommendation

At least Pastor Allen didn't recommend that we NOT watch this one (and I do!). Used to illustrate spiritual blindness, we have an American newsman blind to the fact that he is consorting wiht a princess, and a princess who has been blind to the wonders of the world around her until it is seen through the the eyes of the American newsman. Great fun!

Simeon's Song

Today Pastor Allen preached on Simeon's recognition of the Messiah when Jesus was brought to the temple for circumcision. There are many choral versions of his prayer, but my favorite is by Michael Card, which you can listen to here.

And here are the lyrics:

That old man in the temple
Waiting in the court
Waiting for the answer to a promise
And all at once he sees them
In the morning sunshine
A couple come and carry in a baby...

Chorus

Now that I've held Him in my arms
My life can come to an end
Let Your servant now depart in peace
Cause I've seen Your salvation
He's the Light of the Gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel!

Mary and the baby come
And in her hand five shekels
The price to redeem her baby boy
The baby softly cooing
Nestled in her arms
Simeon takes the boy and starts to sing:

Chorus

Now's the time to take Him in your arms
Your life will never come to an end
He's the only way that you'll find peace
He'll give you salvation cause
He's the Light of the Gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel!

Happy Boxing Day!

Because Pastor Allen spent part of his childhood in Australia, it seems fitting to recognize Boxing Day here on Dove Mountaineers. I was also exposed to this uniquely British holiday when I lived in the Crown Colony of Hong Kong.

Boxing Day was traditionally a day when gifts were given by the upper class to members of the lower class on the day after Christmas. By the twentieth century, the custom was extended to all classes giving gifts of cash to those in service occupations: milkman, paper carrier, sanitation workers, and so on.

Somewhat lesser known is that December 26th is also St. Stephen's Day. You may remember from Acts 6 that Stephen was a deacon in the early church, as well as the first Christian martyr. Stephen's stoning was overseen by Saul of Tarsus before Christ met him on the Jericho road, transforming him into the Apostle Paul.

The song "Good King Wenceslas" mentions the "Feast of Stephen." Although this is always thought of as a "Christmas" carol, it really refers to the day after Christmas. And now you know...the rest of the story!

Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.

"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither."
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.

"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Bells
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

It's Christmas Eve!

Long time ago in Bethlehem, so the Holy Bible say
Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day.

Hark now, hear the angels sing: A king was born today!
And man will live for evermore, because of Christmas Day.
Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day.

While shepherds watch their flocks by night,
they see a bright new shining star,
they hear a choir sing a song, the music seemed to come from afar.

Hark now, hear the angels sing: A king was born today!
And man will live for evermore, because of Christmas Day.

Now Joseph and his wife, Mary, came to Bethlehem that night;
they found no place to bear her child, not a single room was in sight.

And then they found a little nook in a stable all forlorn,
and in a manger cold and dark, Mary's little boy was born.

Hark now, hear the angels sing: A king was born today!
And man will live for evermore, because of Christmas Day.
Mary's boy child Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day.

Oh my Lord...
You sent your son to save us
Oh my Lord...
Your very self you gave us
Oh my Lord...
That sin may not enslave us
and love may reign once more!

Marlene is coming!

For those who may not have heard, our Marlene Luartes will be back for Christmas! I agree with a recent posting on her blog that the time has flown by since we sent her off to Africa in September!

Her last event in Africa was a safari with some folks from Samaritan's Purse. Let's hope she shares some photos of that experience!

Not a movie recommendation...

...but still a great sermon illustration. Pastor Allen was quick to add after his use of this movie to illustrate the state of searching he was in before he came to Christ, that he does not endorse the whole movie (maybe he has noticed that I pass on all of his movie comments in this blog!).

Subtitled "The Story of One Man's Search for Himself," the movie was based on the Somset Maugham book of the same title. The first movie version was made in 1946, starring Tyrone Power. The version Pastor Allen saw, starring Bill Murray, was released in 1984.

In the book, Maugham takes the universal theme of "search for meaning," which Pastor Allen discussed at length in the message, and shows one man's search ending in the spirituality of Hinduism. Unfortunately, the only Christian he met during his search was a Benedictine monk, who did not persuade the lead character, Larry, to embrace that answer for man's search for meaning.

It should not discourage us that great writers like Somerset Maugham have not seen the answer that we have found in Christ. The simplicity and profundity of the cross has often escaped sophisticated and worldly minds. Nevertheless, we should be fully persuaded by the gospel we have received, that man's serch for meaning should lead directly to Calvary.

1 Corinthians 1:23
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
2 Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

More re-connections

An unexpected e mail came into my box last week, and the photo above was attached.

In the fall of 1971 I was stationed at Fort Hamilton, NY for three months for training as a chaplain's assistant. The first Sunday there, I took the subway to Chinatown and wandered the streets until I heard a hymn I recognized, went up the the second floor flat from whence the sounds came, and instantly was welcomed into the fellowship of the Chinese Conservative Baptist Church of New York City.

I immediately became a regular attender, not only of the Sunday services but also the youth meetings for both their English youth group and the Cantonese youth group. The English group called themselves the JYP (Junior Young People), and the above photo was taken at one of their week end retreats in upstate New York. The gentleman in the white shirt on the right is Pastor Wong. I am on the back row.

A few years ago I wondered what had become of some of these young people, so I left a message on the church's web site. My message was eventually forwarded to one of the young men, King Louie (second from the right, arms crossed, in the back). The message was forwarded by Dexter Yee (far right, white shirt, black rimmed glasses). Both of these young men are actively serving the Lord in other Chinese churches in the NYC area. Of those in the photo, five are still attending the original church.

A day after receiving this photo, I also go an e mail from one of he girls in the photo, Barbara (Lee) Herron (middle of second row, glasses). She is now on faculty at Northland University, a Christian College in Wisconsin.

To look at this photo again after all these years is not only good for my "nostalgia" bone, but refreshment to my soul: to know that so many are still faithful to the Lord.

Proverbs 25:25
As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Watchword for the Week

God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.
Luke 1:52

He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives of the needy he
will save. Psalm 72:13 (NASB)

Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of
the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? James 2:5

Keep us sensitive, O loving One, to the plight of our brothers and sisters who
suffer because of tangible needs. Use us to feed them with the bread of life.
Amen.

Randy Alcorn on heaven

Some of those great quotes in Pastor Allen's sermons just zip by so fast that I like to reprint them, so we can reread and meditate on them during the week. This is one form this past Sunday's sermon. It comes from Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven. Alcorn is pictured above with his grandchildren.

"We will see God's face - we will look into God's eyes and we will see what we've always longed to see: the person who made us and for whom we were made. We will see him in the place he made for us, and for which we were made. Seeing God will be like seeing everything else for the first time. We will discover that seeing God is our greatest joy, and life itself. Every other joy of Heaven will be derivative, flowing from the fountain of our relationship with God."

What can I give Him?

As soon as Pastor Allen began the phrase "What can I give Him?" is his message Sunday, my dear kindergarten teacher wife began reciting along with him under her breath. This poem has long been a favorite of Christians everywhere, but nowhere is it memorized more often than in Christian schools!

I thought you might like to read the full text of the poem here:

In the Bleak Midwinter - Christina Rosetti, 1872.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshiped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

Happy birthday, Ethan!

Today is my oldest son's birthday. It has been a joy to watch him grow up into manhood. He has always fit Kevin Leman's descrition of the "highly responsible first-born." His love language is "acts of service;" he loves helping others and making them happy. One of his spiritual convictions is that one should tithe time as well as money, and he has done that consistently throughout his life.

When Linda and I became Dove Mountaineers, Ethan remained at Catalina Foothills Church, where he now works in the audio ministry as well as serving as night security person. His hobby has always been Egyptology (and science fiction), and the above photo was taken last year when he was in Dallas visiting his brother Michael, and had the opportunity to see the traveling King Tut display.

Linda and I give thanks to God for Ethan!

The doomed canoe trip

What a colorful life Pastor Allen has had, to keep coming up with all these great sermon illustrations. "The doomed canoe trip" will always be one of my favorites! There's got to be another message here, about mistaking a farmer's drainage ditch for the Mississippi River!

But the real message, that of the gracious farmer's wife and her hospitality, reminded me a a phrase from one of Pastor Allen's other favorite sources, Tolkien: "the last homely house" of Tom Bombadil (illustration on right, above)!

Pastor Allen's twelve day challenge

For those who may have missed it, Pastor Allen issued a challenge at the end of Sunday's sermon for Dove Mountain members to live each of the days between now and the Sunday after Christmas (December 27) as though they are our last days. On that Sunday he will give a time for sharing insights God may have given us through this experience.

Since Pastor Allen quoted Jonathan Edwards in his message Sunday, I thought it might be good to provide a couple of his quotes here to bolster this challenge:

"Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life."
— Jonathan Edwards

"Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die."
— Jonathan Edwards

Become a fan of International Dental Ministries

I hope you enjoyed Jill Hauschildt's report about the recent dental mission trip to Peru as much as I did. I especially liked her proposal that Dove Mountain become a long term partner with the pastors' group among the Quechua!

You can see more photos of their recent trip by becoming a "fan" on the International Dental Minsitries page on Facebook. I did!

Psalm 133:1

Recently I had the privilege of having lunch with Pastor Mark Roessler of Catalina Foothills Church, the mother church of Dove Mountain. We had a delightful time of catching up about Catalina Foothills, Dove Mountain, issues of interest to both churches, and issues of interest to the larger Christian world. Of course, there was some mention of football, as well.

During the course of the conversation I mentioned the Dove Mountaineers blog, and he suggested I refer to our luncheon in a future blog posting. Impulsively, I snapped a photo of him right there with my cell phone. Pastor Mark, if you're reading this, the lesson from this is that not all cell phone photos are able to be enhanced well enough to look great, no matter how good looking the subject matter is or was!

Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!

I'm back, sort of...

Actually, I've been back for over a week, but it's been hard to get "back in the groove" of writing for the blog. In fact, I may be publishing less frequently than I have in the past; hence the "sort of.." in the title above.

In the photo, I am standing at the door of one of the classrooms I taught in during my two years in Hong Kong, 1968-1970. Many times in the intervening years I wondered if I would ever have the opportunity to ever see this place again. Now that the "ice has been broken," I hold out hope that I may be blessed to visit again in this lifetime.

I have always appreciated the emphasis we have on missions at Dove Mountain, as illustrated with the report on the Peru dental mission we heard in yesterday's service. While I could say much about my trip to Hong Kong, all I will say here is that the persistence of this school, founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in Canton in 1889, is a wonderful testimony to the faithfulness of God. It has responded to many upheavals and political changes with amazing resilience, and continues to be a light for the gospel in east Asia. Soli Deo Gloria!