If I had a bucket list this would in the top five, to be in Cambridge, England to experience the Lesson’s and Carols in King’s COllege Chapel in person.
But, even if I have not and may never be there in person (do I really want to wait in THIS QUEUE?), I will be listening live via radio at 10am Eastern this morning.
If you would like to “join me” click here to get the info about this worship experience of Scripture and music. I’ll be listening HERE
Filed under being a disciple, experience
C. S. Lewis said that we should not base our happiness on something we could lose. The subject of “happiness” verses biblical joy is a topic that I find important. Here is an exchange from Fb the other day when a friend posted this: “Is it possible to tell the difference between happiness and joy if things are going well?” I responded with this:
“People are fond of saying “x made me happy,” thus happiness, as it has been said, is a state of mind which is based largely on external circumstances. Biblical joy, as we read the other day, is a fruit of the Spirit. Thus, belief leads to joy, we can rejoice because of God even when we are unhappy. Therefore, the difference is, perhaps, between feeling and being. Your circumstance can affect your emotion and make you happy. Joy is a gift of God as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Hence we be joyful in all circumstances.”
As I have reflected about joy verses happiness today as I have thought about my friend Ron, I realize anew how important having biblical joy as a gift from God is when we deal will sorrow.
Listen, happiness is awesome and my existence has plenty of it because of my family and friends, but lasting joy and being able to rejoice in all things is based on a joy that comes from belief not circumstances.
We can experience sorrow with hope in the fact that our brothers in Christ may have left the Shadowlands but have entered the Real Existence in the very presence of God. Thanks be to God for the work of Jesus whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. He is the true source of joy. Joy lasts when happiness fades. Thanks be to God for lasting joy.
Filed under being a disciple, experience
I was stunned when I looked at my phone this morning, a friend had died early in the morning over in the Heartland.
Ron was just a few years older than I. His health had not been good since I had known him. Walking around was hard for him as he struggled to breathe. But even in his struggles, he always remembered our last conversation and would ask me how my knee was feeling, how my Redskins were doing, and if I was encouraged. We would talk about about our common background in the grocery business and the 70s and about what we were thankful for and what we were struggling with.
He was most thankful for and loved to talk about his family in Szeged. He was so proud of his son Kyle, his daughter-in-law, Odi, and his two grand-daughters. Those two little girls brought him incredible joy. In talking to his son Kyle this morning, we reflected on Ron’s testimony, he had the faith of a child. That’s what Jesus told us we needed, isn’t it.
His son told me that Ron was at church yesterday morning and at a special Christmas gathering last night, I know that this would have brought Ron joy because he loved being at church and, especially hearing Kyle’s teaching, a proud dad he was. In faith, I remember his testimony of trusting in Jesus and believing in God’s mercy. Ron and I would pray together, praying the Lord’s Prayer from the King James as men of our generation remembered it from long ago.
I believe that when Ron left his earthly body, he was present with the Lord. Perhaps he is singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” right now. May God have mercy on his soul. May God bring comfort to all who loved him as a dad, father-in-law, grand-father, brother and friend. I am glad to have been his friend and look forward to seeing him in the presence of the Lord.
May the joy of the Lord make us even more grateful for Christmas today, realizing that we CAN have hope because without the Incarnation there is no salvation. And we have the hope of salvation because of the baby-King whose birth we celebrate.
Here’s how we would pray:
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Thanks be to God for the joy that He gives, even in the midst of sadness and loss. That joy from God is how we can rejoice in all things. Especially today.
I think that I have just connected http://www.kingdomtravelin.com to the folks in my Google+ circles. I will not know unless someone in my Google+ circles lets me know, because, I almost never go to my Google+… will that change? I have no idea. But, if, in fact, this post shows up in the feed (?) to my G+, then cool! Welcome new readers to kingdomtravelin!
Filed under experience
Please pray for the situation in Ukraine…
I’ve added a summary of the overnight events from EuroNews here…
I’ve taken down the live feed.. that was here.
Filed under experience
There is, and I would guess, will be for a few days, a lot being written about the passing of Nelson Mandela. As I scrolled through my Twitter feed this, two things stood out immediately. The first is a post by BuzzFeed that shows the front pages of newspapers and the choices of photos used for those front pages, take a look here. The second is an article posted in The Atlantic by a journalist who moved to South Africa as a kid and remains there today some years later. He shares some experiences and insights that resonated with me from my very limited experience having been to South Africa three times since ’08. You might outta take 5 minutes and read this.
This post is not really about Nelson Mandela. I don’t know enough to write about him. What I know comes second hand and you can do that yourself. On this day when eyes are focused on the man, I thought that I would write and think about my observations from the visits and conversations I have had with South Africans.
South Africa is an incredibly complicated place today.
I remember the first time I ventured out on a walk alone. I was staying with ministry partners who lived in an apartment. I went out into the cold of July for a walk and remember two things vividly. The nice houses had high walls with broken glass embedded on the top of the walls and a sign that warned intruders that an alarm wound bring an “armed response.” On another day I actually saw (as it was pointed out to me) what that armed response looked like, a pickup truck heading down the road with a half dozen guys (mostly black and colored) with rifles (I couldn’t tell if these were automatic weapons or not). In some senses it really felt like the wild west.
The other thing that struck me was that people seemed to have little to do. Large groups of black men would hang around certain street corners and wait for a white man to drive up in his pick up truck, say a few words to them and a couple of them would get in the back of the “buckey,” as it is called there, and go to earn some money as day laborers. The thing that struck me was that they climbed in the back even though there was room in the cab. This was actually normal I was told. Apartheid was over, but racism remain.
If there was a word that I would use to describe South Africa, I think it might be “fear.” It would appear to me (this is just my opinion) that fear of many things is prevalent there. This is why I set the link to the article above, the writer describes it better than I could. Here it is again if you did not look before. The story of the man gathering guns for protection reminded me of stories from Vukovar where people had weapons and grenades buried in oil cloth in the back yard and even under their beds “just in case.”
The last thing I noticed was the wide disparity between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in South Africa. But actually, I am hopeful. Now, granted, I have very little experience there and my hopefulness is based just on my experience, but I am, as I look back from ’08 and ’09 to this last summer when I was last there, I am hopeful.
I spoke in a church that had whites, blacks and coloreds (I am told that “blacks” are tribal peoples and “coloreds” are mixed race folk, hence the terms). This church, mostly white, is led by a pastor who is white. Back in the early summer Mandela was in the hospital and was feared close to death. The pastor may have surprised some in attendance by have a special time of prayer for Mandela and for South Africa. This was pretty significant. Indeed it is significant that this church has opened its doors to all people. I am thankful for this. From this I get hope.
Further, there are things happening at a grass roots level for the poor. And many of these programs being led by whites. And those that I am in touch with are being led by Christians who realize they have a responsibility to work for justice. So they help the poor.
One of those programs that you may have read about here is a program called Growing Hope. One of our ministry partners, Josh Davis, is investing time and money in helping people in townships grow vegetables to improve the diets of their family [learn more here]. Since AIDS is a big problem there, diet is important to help the anti-retro-viral drugs work, so vegetables are a pretty big deal. Once, while Josh was helping a family dig a garden, an older black man was passing by and saw this white man digging in a black family’s garden and said “Now I know Apartheid is over.” These servants of Jesus are bring Growing Hope.
Nelson Mandela never gave up hope. We shouldn’t either. There is hope for South Africa. And Jesus followers are bring that hope.
Do you have hope?
Are you working to bring hope?
Filed under experience, seeking understanding, shifts, travel notes
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