God seeks to be reunited with his children.

A couple years ago, I read a book (The Radio Signal) by a German-American - Friedhelm Radandt.  Friedhelm Radandt was a child in Germany during Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s.  His father refused to enroll him and his older brother in the Nazi school for teenage boys, and because of that, his father lost his job, & their family had to move.  Friedhelm also had 2 older sisters.

In the early part of WW 2, Friedhelm's older brother enlisted in the Nazi program for teenage officers, against his parents' wishes.  Shortly after that, he disappeared on the motorcycle the Nazis provided for teenage officers.  Friedhelm was about 7-8 years old when he too became separated from his family because an approaching army, but was reunited a day or two later.  His sister was a children's nanny for another family when they had to flee a quickly approaching army.  His siblings were separated from his parents because of the war, as many families were separated in Europe during WW 2.

At the end of the war, Friedhelm and his parents were living just West of Germany.  Like many fathers who had been separated from his children, his father wanted to see his young adult children back in his home again.  So he began writing letters to any government official in any place that any of his children might be.  He wrote letter after letter after letter after letter.  When a returning letter informed him of where one of his children were, he traveled to that place to rescue his child and bring him home again.  After months and months of this, Friedhelm's 2 sisters were reunited with his family.

Then they learned that Friedhelm's brother was being held in prison along with other German soldiers just East of Germany, in an area occupied by the Soviet army.  His father traveled across the area held by Allied forces, to just across a river from the prison.  The river along the prison was the line between the Allied forces and the area held by the Soviet army.  Friedhelm's father sent a secret message to his son who snuck out of the prison during the night & managed to escape across the river without being seen, to be reunited with his father, & together they traveled back to join the rest of their family.

The point is that Friedhelm's father went through many steps, some of which were costly & risky, to be reunited with all his children after the war.  In a similar way, God went through many steps to be reunited with his children.  Sending his Son to be born in humble circumstances was the costliest & riskiest thing that God did, to rescue his children & be reunited with them.

We're separated from God by our sin which is like cancer; it's awful, painful & destructive.  Prior to Christ, in the latter part of the Old Testament, it became clear that the old Jewish system of sacrifices, was not enough to restore God's people to Him.  That system had become abused by selfish people who took advantage of the poor & gave special privileges to the wealthy.

In the journey of life, sometimes one reaches the point where one wishes to be reunited with lost family members.  Would you like to be reunited with your spiritual family?  Would you like to develop a relationship with your heavenly Father?

If you've come to the point in your life where you can see your need for help to overcome your problems & sins, you can be reunited with your heavenly Parent through the help of Jesus.  Admit your sins and weaknesses, to be reunited with God, and trust in his Spirit to help you.  If you want to learn more, read the Gospel of John in the New Testament in the Bible.

A Special Birthday Party

Last Sunday, I was privileged to see something special.  It was at a small church in a small town.  There was a family in which the mother & grandmother both had drug problems.  About a month ago, the 27-year-old mother overdosed.  Her 3-year-old daughter was left alone; so her great-grandmother started taking care of her.  Some members of a small church in that small town, heard about this family and decided to do something about it. 

So this small Sunday school class decided to adopt the 3-year-old child & do what they could to make her feel loved & wanted.  They helped the great-grandmother.  When they found out that the girl's birthday was coming up, they all chipped in to plan to a birthday party at the church for her.  They brought a colorful tablecloth, a beautiful cake, candles, & some presents.  When the girl arrived, she hugged the loving people there.  When they brought the girl into the room w/ the party decorations, her eyes got wide.  Her eyes took it all in, & she looked around the room at the people who prepared it.  She smiled wide.  The group sang "Happy Birthday."   The 4 candles were put on the cake, and she blew them all out with one big breath. 

Then they cut the cake, and started passing the gifts to her.

I'm not sure who was blessed more - the young girl or those who planned the party. 

Jesus said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

The Good News in a Nutshell

By Dave Vander Laan   Jan., 2015

The day is over, you are driving home. You tune in your radio. You hear a little blurb about a little village in India where some villagers have died suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been seen before. Its not influenza, but three of four people are dead, and its kind of interesting, and they are sending some doctors over there to investigate it. You don't think much about it, but on Sunday, coming home from church, you hear another radio spot. Only they say its not three villagers, it's 30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of India, and it's on TV that night. CNN runs a little blurb; people are heading there from the disease center in Atlanta because this disease strain has never been seen before.

By Monday morning when you get up, it's the lead story. For its not just India; it's Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran; and before you know it, you're hearing this story everywhere and they have coined it now as "the mystery flu." The President has made some comment that he and everyone are praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But everyone is wondering, "How are we going to contain it?"

That's when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders. No flights from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing has been seen. And that's why that night you are watching a little bit of CNN before going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is translated from a French news program into English; There's a man lying in a hospital in Paris dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe.

Panic strikes. As best they can tell, once you get it you have it for a week before you know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms. And then you die. Britain closes its borders, but it's too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton. And it's Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement: "Due to a national security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing."

Within four days our nation has been plunged into an unbelievable fear. People are talking about "What if it comes to this country"? And preachers on Tuesday are saying it's the scourge of God. It's Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and yells, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!" And while the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made. Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from the mystery flu. Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country.People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working...California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, and Massachusetts. It's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders.

And then all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly and safely, to the hospitals.

Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, here is a long line and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your spouse and your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "wait here in the parking lot and if we call your name you can be dismissed and go home."
You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the World. Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me." Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy.

"Wait a minute. Hold on!" And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the right type." Five tense minutes later, but come the doctors and nurses crying and hugging one another-some are even laughing. It's the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. It's clean, it's pure, and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying. But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need.....we need you to sign a consent form." You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.

"H-h-h-ow many pints?" And that is when the old doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be a little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!"

"But-but...I don't understand. He's my only son!"

"We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We-We need it all!"

"But can't you give him a transfusion?"

"If we had clean blood we would. Please, will you please sign?" In numb silence you do. Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?"

Could you walk back? Could you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Could you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?" And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry, we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying." Could you leave? Could you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why ... why have you forsaken me?"

And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even bother to come because they have better things to do, and some folks come with just a pretentious smile and just pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and say, "EXCUSE ME! MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU EVEN CARE? DOES IT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"

I wonder, is that what God wants to say? MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DOES IT MEAN NOTHING? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?"

Father, seeing it from your eyes should break our hearts. Maybe now we can begin to comprehend the great love you have for us. So that's the gospel in a nutshell.

Shine God's Light and Love

I was recently blessed with the opportunity to spend time with a bright young boy, while visiting his grandparents.  When he said he wanted to play a game, I offered to play one with him. His Grandma accidentally brought out a chess game, thinking it was checkers; he said, No, this is the game I wanted.  I was stunned that this boy, only 6-years-old, could play chess, and asked, "Do you know how to play chess?"  He nodded and said, Yeah.  

  

He then showed me how to set the different pieces on the board.  He said he wanted white pieces; so he got to move first.  As we played, I observed that he knew how to move each of the 6 pieces, that all have different rules on how they can move differently. He understood the basic rules of chess.  After my moves, He examined possible consequences of how my move might affect his.  As the game went on, I encouraged him to consider all his options on his possible moves and tried to coach him a bit.  I was impressed with this child's understanding of this complex game.  After we finished, and I visited and prayed with with him and his grandparents, he politely offered me a piece of chocolate.  I left amazed at his potential, which renewed my hope for the younger generation.

After reflecting on this, every heart and mind has unlimited potential, as that young child does.  God looks past the outward appearance, to see the heart.  God sees whether we love Him with all our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:27), or just halfheartedly, or ignore or reject Him.  It's tempting for us to show a good side to others only when we want something from the other person, while ignoring God's Word and Christ's command to love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18, Galatians 5:13-15)   But those who truly love God express their love for others.  They shine as lights in a dark world, as the Master directs us in Matthew 5:14-16.  So often Christians are known for our judgmental attitudes, but it’s more Christ-like to shine God’s love and light.  To God be the glory for all his light in this dark world!

Preppers for Jesus

Have you heard of the preppers?  Preppers are preparing for a disaster, or as some say, for “The End of The World as We Know It.”  They gather large quantities of food, water, and other supplies.  They learn skills to become more self-sufficient.  They prepare for a long period of time without the electrical grid.  Most have guns to protect themselves in case law enforcement cannot help them.  You can learn more about preppers at www.survivalblog.com/ or americanpreppersnetwork.com.  Some see prepping as a wise plan, while others see it as unnecessary or strange.

I believe that some preparation is wise.  Since 9/11, FEMA has recommended that you store one gallon of water per person, per day, so that you can survive 3 days in your home, and enough food to last 3 days.  Life brings unexpected disasters.  What would you do if a tornado hit your home?  How well were you prepared for this recession?  If your electricity was cut off in an ice storm, how many days could you survive without electricity?  Does your family have a plan on how to deal with a fire in your home?

In Genesis 41, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream that Egypt would have 7 years of abundant crops followed 7 years of famine.  So Joseph was put in charge of saving up extra food supplies during the 7 years of abundant crops, to prepare for the 7 years of drought and famine.  That lead Pharaoh and Joseph to wisely use the abundant years to prepare for the lean years of hardship.  The decision lead to the saving of the Egyptian people, and to the survival of the Israelites when Joseph’s family came to Egypt to receive food from him.  Maybe Joseph and Pharaoh were the original preppers.

Have you ever considered spiritual preparedness?

Are you trusting Christ’s mercy for the ultimate day of judgment in Revelation 20: 11-15?  Do you regularly confess your sins?  Or do you, like the Pharisee in the temple, give thanks to God that you’re not like those “sinners?”  (Luke 18:9-14)

Have you ever learned to read the Bible for your own spiritual nurture?  What if you were in a situation where you did not have access to a good Bible-teaching church or pastor?  (Those who have lived away from the Bible-Belt may have experienced this.)  Would your faith decline or deteriorate in your new world?  Or would you be able to sustain your faith? 

If you’re a parent or grandparent, are you training your children or grandchildren in the ways of faith, hope, and love in Christ?  Relying on your church to train your children is not enough to prepare your child for life in today’s world.  Imagine a rope that is 168 inches long.  There are 168 hours in a week.  If your child is taught by a church for 2-3 hours per week, that leaves huge segments of time when you child will be influenced by others.  Consider your child’s daycare workers or school teacher.  Are they influencing your child for good or for worldly ways? 

Can you devote a few hours every week, or say 20 minutes a day, to reading the Bible to your young child?  Or talking to your older child about what the Bible means?  When you watch TV or a movie with your child, do you point out good or bad things in the show and bring up what Scripture teaches about those things?  Do you know what your child is looking at online?  There are software programs that monitor children online.  Do you pray with your child at mealtime or bedtime?  How much are you influencing your child or grandchild for God?  Is your child being prepared for a life of faith in Christ?

I’m not affirming all aspects of the prepper life, but I believe that the Christian life includes getting prepared for some things.  You can become a prepper for Jesus.