Category Archives: Life

The Source of Our Courage

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Everyone probably struggles with fear in one form or another. I’m not really speaking of a serious phobia nor suggesting anything like paranoid behavior. I’m only pointing to the nervousness, doubt or hesitation that holds us back from that which we know deep down to be good. It can be revealed in our unwillingness to take the next step to advance our career, our reluctance to introduce ourselves to the new guy at work, or our inability to share an important struggle with a close friend who most likely would be happy to help us bear the burden.

We can learn a vital lesson from the life of Moses. Here was a man – a confessed murderer, no less – who fled from Egypt 40 years before. He then returned as a wilderness shepherd, staff in hand, and had the chutzpah to demand that Pharaoh release into his custody a large chunk of the Egyptian labor force. Courage exemplified.

So where did he get it? Was he just that kind of a guy – the kind of person I am not? Not hardly. If we journey to Exodus 3 to spy him at the moment God revealed this great calling upon his life, we find him just as fearful or hesitant as we might be – drowning, it seems, in a tank of inadequacy:

… Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” – Exodus 3:11 (NKJV)

But he was the guy to do it. So the Lord responded with:

… “I will certainly be with you…” – Exodus 3:12 (NKJV)

And that made all the difference. Moses, doubt intact, still did what he had to do. Later, Joshua received a similar command/promise:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (NKJV)

And what was true for them is true for us as Christians:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. – Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)

 

Remaining Watchful

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Yesterday morning at 3:00 AM the church’s burglar alarm went off. The alarm company called me – and I missed the call. Alas, I had set my phone to “silent”. When I finally woke up at 4:30 (no I don’t always rise that early) I noticed it, so I called the alarm company back.

Sigh of relief. They had been able to contact Debbie, who told them not to call the police. Good thing she lives right around the corner. I decided to spare Debbie the grief of another call that early (on a day off, no less, with the preschool closed) so I waited until later to ask her about the incident. If she said the police were unnecessary, then everything must be OK.

When the alarm people called, Debbie took a look at the place from her privileged vantage point and everything seemed calm and in order. A key detail is that only one “alarm zone” went off – in an isolated stairway/entrance. If someone was in there with evil intentions, there would be more alarm activity: motion in an office, opening of a crucial door, an attempt to disarm or disable the alarm system. Perhaps it was an animal. We’ve had both birds and bats in times past.

When I got there later, I noticed no living creature, but another interesting fact. A window in one of the classrooms was open. Wide open. That particular window is among the most accessible from the outside and it was open wide enough for a person to climb in or out. Flying creatures have normally entered through open windows upstairs. Moreover, it’s hard to imagine it was left open by accident on Sunday. It’s late December and Jake and I checked all the thermostats, doors, etc., as usual. Not likely the gaping window would have escaped our notice, but it may not have been latched securely.

There is no apparent damage to the place and nothing seems to have been taken. Perhaps fear gripped the prowler after he made entry and he fled. Maybe the sound of the alarm scared the intruder away. There are some real lessons here, mostly regarding watchfulness:

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4:5 (NKJV)

  1. Be watchful all things.
  2. Always check all doors and windows to make sure they’re tightly closed.
  3. Keep the alarm set when no one is in the building.
  4. Thank Debbie for answering her phone at 3:00 AM.

Family Traditions

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I waver in the area of traditions, unsure whether I like them or not. My problem is that traditions and ruts are close relatives – the first being good, the second an evil twin – and I have trouble telling the difference. And once the purpose is lost the first can transmogrify into the other.

Our family has a very good Christmas Eve tradition. We spend Christmas Eve with the Barnabys – three generations of us and of them. We’ve done this now for several years and it’s a tradition we intend to continue. Family traditions are good when they bring families together.

What brought us together at first was the Polish emphasis on Christmas Eve and the Barnabys’ willingness to do something with us. Poland has serious traditions surrounding this particular evening. We’ve watered them down considerably, but enjoy what we do as we do it.

For example, an authentic Polish Christmas Eve meal must have twelve different items. We didn’t actually count and no doubt fell short, but since we were all ready to explode anyway, we didn’t care. My apologies to Polish purists, but we left out the carp completely, a Christmas Eve essential. No sense exploding over an overly bony fish that would be hard to find in Indianapolis anyway.

And we sang a few Christmas carols. And we enjoyed just being with the Barnabys. Family traditions are good when they bring families together.

Eliza i Kuba BarnabowieWigilia2007 Wigilia2007

Day One – The Title

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Palmer St. is the address of our beloved Old School #18, the 100+ year-old building owned by our church. It’s where so much of our ministry happens.

Parentheses are qualifying or amplifying words, phrases, or sentences. They can also be asides or tangents or irrelevancies.

I hope the things I write here won’t be irrelevant. If successful, these will be “amplifying sentences”. Certainly, they won’t be the main thing. Jesus Christ will always be that. If anything I post here can cause someone to think about Him, then these little asides will have accomplished something worthwhile.

OK, so I’m just starting at this, but eager to learn. Expect more in the near future. For right now, though, there are a few pages to view on the right, including two with notes and mp3s from Sunday mornings.