Posted in News, Scripture on January 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Gospel of Mark is a great book of the Bible (of course, they all are!). And Max Mclean provides a wonderful, dramatic interpretation in this series that is available for viewing for free online.
Thank you to Justin Taylor who pointed to this on his blog on Thursday.
Here is a taste of that presentation from Mark 2, the healing of the paralytic:
Posted in Scripture on January 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I enjoy much that a new year represents (except for resetting the health insurance deductible!).
There is something fresh about it, even if it is only in my own head. After all, this morning I still live in the same house with the same people, driving the same car and wearing the same clothes. On Monday, Lord willing, I’ll go to the same work.
My son still lives with his disabilities; my wife with her cancer.
So if a new year brings for some people a sense of a fresh start, when everything else is the same, what will we experience when everything really is new!
“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.” Isaiah 65:17-19
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5
All things! I can’t even imagine it. But I know it will happen!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Posted in Scripture on December 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »
He came sent by the Father.
Those who live with disabilities (and those who don’t) are assured he will act.
He is the fulfillment of scripture:
And (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:16-21
Posted in Scripture on December 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
Posted in Quotes, Scripture on December 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
“Mama, shall we pray?”
Paul never talks like that, using the appropriate pronoun in context. He has little language. He had Dianne’s full attention on Wednesday.
“What shall we pray, Paulie?”
His reply, “Dear Jesus. Thank you for Paulie.”
I know that sounds self-serving, his thanking God for himself. But it isn’t at all. When he wants something, he says, “do YOU want a drink?” And that means he wants a drink.
So in Paul’s unusual speech, I believe what he was saying was, ‘I thank you, dear Jesus.’
It was a very good prayer.
If you are imagining tears of broken-hearted gratitude, you are correct.
Yes, Lord, thank you for Paulie. Thank you for letting this praise come from his lips. Thank you for the many unusual words that have come from this boy these past, hard months. He is all gift.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
May you all experience such a blessing from the hand of God this season. Merry Christmas!
Posted in Helpful things, Scripture on December 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
On Christmas eve, sometime after 11pm, my ten-year-old son will take the podium at Bethlehem and read this:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14
Pastor Chuck, full of his usual exuberance, instructed my Daniel to read that passage with life and energy and joy! “The glory of the Lord shone around them!” With each reader who was proclaiming good news for us, Chuck kept coming back to joy – we should ‘rejoice exceedingly’ (Matthew 2:10) at this news!
I love this type of instruction, because it is not just for the sake of the audience having an entertaining evening. This really is good news! Proclaim! Rejoice!
These are the building blocks that lead to authentic expressions of confidence in God during the hardest of times.
If this story of the coming of God himself is simply a routine, boring, obligatory, ‘nice’ annual program put on for the children and their grandparents, then what will people have to hang on to when the hurricane winds of suffering and sorrow show up?
Pastors, help your people rejoice! This is the story of God conquering sin and death. The God-man, the central actor in the central act of all history, has arrived. The one the prophets foretold. The one who would heal every disease (Matthew 4:23-24), tell a paralytic to walk, instruct a blind man to wash, call a dead man to come forth! The one who would rise from the dead!
He is the Lion of Judah:
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:1-5
He is the one who conquers every sorrow and wipes away every tear:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4
This is the story of the God who will help us through every trial, will supply every need, and will work all things together for good. No disability, no disease, no calamity can ever separate those he has called from their God.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
From the hymn, It Is Well with my Soul, by Horatio Gates Spafford
Thank you, Pastor Chuck, for taking every opportunity, even a rehearsal, to remind us to REJOICE!
Posted in Quotes, Scripture on December 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Weariness. It seems to be a theme of disability. The unrelenting nature of disability wears us out.
And the systems designed to ‘help’ frequently add to the burden – meetings and tests and consultations and more tests and new therapies and changes in diets and ‘make sure everything is done on time in order to exact specifications.’ And don’t forget about the other children.
Weary, confused, discouraged. Gather any group of parents who have children with disabilities and you will hear those thoughts spoken over and over.
This quote in an essay on prayer written in the 1700s by a preacher I had never heard of stuck in a strange book sitting on my shelf came as a huge encouragement to me:
That He inspects the whole and every part of His universe every moment, and orders it according to the counsels of His infinite wisdom and goodness, by His omnipotent will; whose thought is power; and His acts ten thousand times quicker than the light; unconfused in a multiplicity exceeding number, and unwearied through eternity!
How much comfort and encouragement to all good and devout persons are contained in this thought! That almighty God, as he hath His eye continually upon them, so He is employed in directing, or doing what is best for them. Thus may they be sure, indeed, that “all things work together for their good.” They may have the comfort of understanding all the promises of God’s protection, in their natural, full, and perfect sense, not spoiled by that philosophy which is vain deceit. The Lord is truly their Shepherd; not leaving them to chance or fate, but watching over them Himself, and therefore can they lack nothing.
Dr. Samuel Ogden, On Prayer, in Half-Hours with the Best Authors by Charles Knight, 1888, pp. 135-136.
Is that biblical? Consider Psalm 121:
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Posted in Quotes, Scripture on December 15, 2010| 2 Comments »
We’re still trying to figure out Paul’s ‘episodes’ that look like seizures but aren’t. On Tuesday he had an MRI.
These visits never go quite according to plan. We had about a 90 minute delay to get a question answered before they could proceed. And his primary nurse just wasn’t as skilled as she seemed to think she was.
In other words, lots of room for a grumbling heart.
In the middle of our waiting, Dianne mentioned a devotional she had heard based on Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening that had encouraged her. So I pulled out my phone and looked it up. Tuesday’s devotional was on Psalm 84:7 and included this paragraph:
Those with anxious spirits trouble themselves about the future. “Oh!” they say, “we seem to go from affliction to affliction.” Very true, O you of little faith; but don’t forget that you also go from strength to strength. You will never find a bundle of affliction that doesn’t have God’s sufficient grace at the very center.
The desire to fight my sin was re-engaged. And gratitude to God for his Word and for a faithful wife commenced.
Posted in Scripture on December 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »
We had a little snow fall in the Twin Cities on Saturday – more than foot as a I write this.
No surprise to God; he brought it:
Elihu speaking to Job: God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour (Job 37:5-6).
Let us remember the awesome power and glory of God, infinitely greater than any wind or snow or anything else he has created. And we should celebrate how remarkable it is that he remembers we are dust, eager to show us compassion (Psalm 103:13-14).
The Works of God 
What if you don’t know how to give good gifts to your children?
Posted in commentary, Scripture on December 13, 2010| 1 Comment »
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13
Years ago a mother of young children commented to Dianne, “you are so fortunate your son doesn’t beg for everything he sees at the store!” It was one of those statements that I’m sure that mother regrets saying. I know I regret her saying it.
It was also kinda true. Paul only asks for things he knows; he isn’t enticed by advertisements, store displays or fliers. And that isn’t all bad.
But sometimes it would be nice if he could ask for and anticipate receiving a gift from his family.
We include Paul in everything we can in our family, even things we probably shouldn’t for the sake of other people. Opening presents is one of those things we enjoy doing together. But Paul literally doesn’t ask for anything he doesn’t already have. And of the things he has, he really only asks for a small subset of those things.
So, every year every member of the family, including extended family, has to think especially hard about Paul. And we have to be prepared that the gifts he receives may not ever be appreciated or used. Actually that’s a good thing: freely we love our Paul and want to give him good gifts. His response shouldn’t (and doesn’t) change that.
I know, of course, that he is given the daily gifts of a loving family, inclusive church, and access to health care – all of which make him a very rich young man.
But I take even greater comfort that God knows what Paul really needs – and will enjoy – even when I have no clue.
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