A Grace Story

Last Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing baby Jordan. His baby hair was sticking up and he paid rapt attention to everything I said, at least my voice. Now I baptize many babies and each is special. I look forward to each one, but this was different and goes back several years when I did the wedding for Erica and Todd. Todd was an Aggie preparing for his commissioning into the Army. After the wedding he became an Army Second Lieutenant and soon after that found himself in a Bradly Fighting vehicle heading into Baghdad. He earned a Bronze Star and returned home to Erica where they lived at Fort Hood. We were all thrilled he came home safe, but soon he made a journey on a Army Helicopter that hit a wire outside of Waco and He was killed. I found myself preaching His funeral service in Killeen just a few days later. His mom and Dad, Erica’s Family, and of course Erica grieved a young life lost so tragically. Capt. Todd Christmas was buried on his families ranch in New Mexico. A couple of years later I got a call, Erica had met Keith and they were going to be married. It was obvious they loved each other and were excited about their life together. They asked me to perform their wedding in Austin. I was honored and did. When it came time for the parents to be seated, Erica’s mom and Dad (Dan and Nancy) were seated, as were Keiths parents. but whenTodd’s mom and dad were honored and seated as parents as well, there wasn’t a dry eye. I had to work at keeping my composure. It was an emotional moment when they came down. Since then Erica and Keith have moved to Mansfield and had baby Jordan. We are all so happy for all this family. Last Sunday when the grandparents walked up for the Baptism, Dan and Nancy came, Keith’s Mom and Dad Were there, and up walked the Christmas’s to stand behind Erica and Keith when Jordan was baptized. This full circle speaks of God’s Amazing Grace revealed in this loving family. I will never forget it.

coming to Jesus

The last week or so has been an inspiring time for me. We have baptized 7 adults and have two more on the calendar for this weekend. For me I always know God is at work when people make the decision to profess faith in Christ and then follow that with adult baptism. I got to baptize a family of 4, their son was home from college and they were ready to join together as a committed Christian family, a young man who began reading The Transformation Journal in January and was ready to begin a new life, another who came up after service with a tear in his eye ready to become a baptized Christian, Sharon Baptized a young lady who is preparing to get married and was ready to make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ to bring a real faith into a new marriage, and we have to teenage boys on the calendar for Baptism this Sunday.  I think of it like this: When Jesus was Baptized God spoke from heaven, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED”.  I think whenever we baptize one of our children or an adult makes a profession at the time of this great act of grace we call baptism, God still says the same thing, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, DAUGHTER, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED….THIS IS MY BELOVED FAMILY IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED…THIS IS MY BELOVED BABY GIRL OR BABY BOY IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED…AND MAYBE…THIS IS MY BELOVED CHURCH IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED. God is at work here….people coming to Him is always the evidence.
Mike

The Invitation

I received an invitation from the Wesley Class to their Friday night get together. I usually attend, they are a fun group, friends of Rhonda and I, our largest class, and the food is always great. But I really misunderstood this particular invitation. The class was more insistent on our coming, even talking to Rhonda separately. I figured out why when we arrived a few minutes late, as they sang happy birthday, put us at the front of the line with my favorite desert, banana pudding, and the gave me a stack of birthday cards. It was more than the usual invitation, it was personal.
When you think about it this is what Jesus is; He is God’s invitation to us. He said, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost”. “Come unto me all you that labor and are heaven laden and I will give you rest”, “How oft I would have had you come to me, but you would not”. “Come follow me”. Jesus is God’s invitation to a new life, a new way of life, and new existence in relationship with Jesus Christ God’s Son. We are invited to walk with Him from Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, the Jericho Road, the City of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Golgotha, the empty tomb, and one day into everlasting life, and even more importantly, right where we are today. Jesus is all about the invitation, He will make no one believe, accept, or follow Him, but for those who accept the invitation: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”, and you “we are new creatures in Christ, the old has passed away, and behold all things have become new.”
I am glad I took the time to respond to the Wesley Class invitation to my own surprise birthday party. We will always be glad when we accept the invitation that God gives in His Son Jesus Christ.
Mike

Thoughts on Blessings

I have been hearing a great deal from folks who are worried about the economy, their jobs, money they have in retirement funds, etc. I have seasons of some anxiety myself. The Methodist Pension fund is in a great deal of trouble as are many others, I have lost a lot. Our Church is beginning to be impacted as well. Even though attendance is up, our giving is less than it needs to be. I wonder what God thinks about all of this. This weekend I had the opportunity to share a message on the Beattitudes. ( you know, the words where Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart, the poor in spirit, the gentle, peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, those who mourn, those who are merciful, and those that are persecuted for righteousness sake). It was a special message because we showed a video of this reading from the Mount of Beattitudes in Israel where I was last week. But as I was preparing the message I saw something new in the Word. God is always willing to forgive, save, and reveal His love for us. But if we want the blessed life the Beattiudes speak of, (seeing God’s kingdom, belonging to God’s kingdom, experiencing satisfaction of soul and life) then we must live a life that God can bless. The best part of this choice of faithfulness is that God gives us the power of His Spirit that enables us to live this “blessed life”. We know when the blessings are moving within us when we experience a change in motives; when faithfulness and righteousness becomes its own reward, when simply walking with Christ becomes our ambition. Maybe God is trying to speak to us, to remind us of what is important, what really matters, and what He really wants for our lives. And yes, God provides, answers prayer, works miracles, just as He fed the 5,000 and in compassion healed the sick and brokenhearted by the Sea of Galilee just before He gave us the Beattitudes. God does care about the our money, jobs, and future. We spend an enourmous amount of energy worrying about the uncertainity of the future, the economy, our health, terrorism and war, what others around us are doing, what we think they should be doing, and so on; I wonder what our lives would be like day by day if we put that same energy into walking with Jesus. He promises a deep peace, but that peace, as Phillippians tells us, is for those that give all their prayers, requests, and supplications to God, with thanksgiving; a peace we are told that “guards” our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Is there a greater BLESSING than this; God save when asked; God blesses the Christian life when it is lived; and God provides because God is God and God is always faithful. There is nothing to fear only the Christ Centered life to live.
Mike

Leaving Israel

Not that many hours ago I was at the Garden Tomb (where some say Jesus rose from the dead and right next door He was crucified at a rock hill that looks very much like a skull). And it does, especially as we remember that Golgotha or Calvary means; the place of the skull. I was able to serve communion to our group while we were there, and just like the early disciples we sang a hymn and departed. A few hours later we took a bus to Tel Aviv and began the 2 hour security check and then the 14 hour flight.
For the rest of our lives we will continue to be influenced by bits and pieces of our journey to Israel. But I believe the photos and souvenirs we brought back are a small part of our adventure together, it is more how we are changed. It is always about the ways God hand changes our lives and that change being reflected in our families, workplace, Church, and world. When we walk with Jesus change always happens. I believe change happened at the Garden tomb for all of us, a change I hope you will be able to experience with us on Easter. Sharing communion a few feet from where Christ was crucifed and giving thanks a few feet from the empty tomb was surely a changing experience. In a world were sin and death too often tell us who we are, Christians know who they are by God’s amazing cross based grace and God’s powerful resurrection based life and everlasting life. Think about it with me, are you defined by amazing grace and eternal life, or sin and death? Join me at the garden tomb and walk with Jesus in journey a of life and grace. It’s the Easter Story.
For the cause of Christ and Shalom from Israel and Texas. In a very real way I feel like I have one foot in both places.

Jerusalem

The last two days have been overwhelming. We have been to the Garden of Gethesemene, walked down the Via Delarosa where Christ carried His cross to Calvary, stepped down to where His trial was held, where Jesus was imprisoned, and where tradition says He was crucifed and buried. On top of this we made our way to Masada where about a 1,000 Jewish Zealots held out against 15,000 Roman Soldiers for more than two years. It has been an amazing two days. How do I feel? In walking the Via Delarosa, spending time at Gesthemene, and walking with groups and people from all over the world and almost every language making their way into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I have it imprinted on me what Jesus, God with us, really did. In this jouirney I see the significance and tragedy of the nature of depth of sin that took such an act of God to redeem us from it, and I also see the amazing Grace and Love of God believing that such an act reveals so clearly the significance of God’s heart turned toward us. The cross is all sufficient to save us. No sin cannot be forgiven by this amazing Act and no life cannot be changed by this Amazing grace, not an intangible idea, bit a tangible cross of God.
for the cause of Christ ans shalom from Israel

Israel today

We recently had an amazing experience; in the midst of all of the inspirational moments we also experienced modern day Israel. The rockets continue from the Palestinian Area in Gaza but we see little evidence of that. But we did see a huge wall built between Bethlehem and Jerusalem (the cities are connected). Bethlehem is made up of mostly Palestinian Christians while Jerusalem has many Jews who live there. Because of past terrorist attacks the Wall was built 5 years ago. When we left Bethlehem we had to go through a check point, get off the bus, walk through a metal detector, and show our pass port. The Palestinians who work in Jerusalem, (our Guide Wasam is a Palestinian Christian) have to do this daily, i(f they can get a pass which few do). he tells us it usually takes 3 hours to get through. Because we are Americans it only took about 30 minutes. It is heartbreaking to see Jerusalem and Israel so divided. Pray for peace; there are no winners here.Tonight we will hear from a Methodist Missionary who is meeting with our group who lives in Bethlehem. He will share with us some of the ways our Church helps the poor in Israel as well as works for peace and Justice in this very divided land. We eperience this everywhere, as we spent time on the West Bank and in Bethlehem, which many groups do not because of the great divide in Israel. We have found both the Jews and the Palestinians very welcoming, though there are obvious injustices here, on both sides. Pray for peace in Jerusalem. If there can be peace in this long broken place, then maybe there can be peace in all the world. Jesus come soon.

Today we go into the hold city of Jerusalem, the Via Delorosa or Road to the Cross. May God bless.

For the cause of Christ and Shalom,
Mike

Jerusalem

We have now made our way into Jerusalem and are staying at a hotel called “The Olive Tree”. It is overwhelming. Yesterday we went to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus prayed, “Not my will but thine be done”, was betrayed, arrested, and taken to trial. As he prays to God and prepares to give His life for us all, He, as we could yesterday, could see the walls of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the gate into the city Jesus entered to begin Holy week. This is all just down from the Mt of Olives where the Garden is located. The olive trees in the garden may be as old as 2,000 years, meaning they might have been there when Jesus was. What an honor it was to pray “Not my will but thine be done” in front of a tree where Jesus might have knelt. We saw the spot He prayed over Jerusalem, the Pool of Bethesda where He healed a lame man, Jericho; the Mount of Ascension where many think Jesus ascended into heaven, and the Mount of Temptation where tradition tells us Jesus faced the Devil before He began His public ministry.

For me the greatest moment was standing on the Mount of Olives and knowing that Jesus saw much the same view when He prayed, “How often I would have had you come tom me and you would not”. Have you come to Jesus yet. “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, Jesus still invites us.

For the Cause of Christ and Shalom from Israel,

Mike