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!’