Please permit me one more blog involving the visit with my Haitian friends: it appropriately involves thanksgiving. I am thankful that the snow that fell Monday night into Tuesday came then instead of four days earlier! 

We had a few inches of snow last week, but it didn’t prevent our getting to the memorial service on time, and Fort Collins, our destination, got hardly any. Not so this week when both Monument where I live and Fort Collins got 16+ inches.  

When my son Matt was a freshman in college, I flew him home to help judge the Math Olympiad I’ve written about before. It’s the only time in the history of the event that we had to postpone because of snow! So Matt missed it, and, contrary to the popular Colorado adage, “Don’t let the weather interfere with your plans,” sometimes it does.

So I am thankful for the good weather we had last week enabling us not only to get to the memorial service but also to visit Glen Eyrie, The Navigators’ Conference Center on Saturday, and our church on Sunday.

In everything give thanks… (1 Thessalonians 5.18)

He says to the snow, “Fall on the earth…” (Job 37.6, NIV)

He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. (Psalm 147.17, NIV)

Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding. (Psalm 148.8, NIV)

Last Sunday, the day before my friends Vilmer and Lucner returned to Haiti, we were able to give them a few minutes to share during our Sunday morning service. Lucner did a brief version of the story of the Lord’s conquering the Voodoo village, that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

Then, Vilmer and I shared this exchange:

• Bob: In addition to being the pastor of a church, Vilmer runs a school because he believes deeply in the importance of Christian education. Vilmer, how many students do you have in your school?
• Vilmer: 1,087
• Bob: 1,087! Wow. But tell me, what is it like for you, living in a place like Haiti, to visit the United States?
• Vilmer: The U.S. is a wonderful place. I am U.S. educated. I would love to stay here. It would be better for my family and me to stay here. Living in Haiti is difficult. But the Lord has not called me here. He has called me to stay in Haiti. What would happen to my 600 church members and the 1,087 children in my school and their families if I stayed here? Jesus left heaven to come to earth not because it was easy but in order to save us. I can’t think about what is better for the six members of my family when there are thousands depending on me in Haiti. It’s a matter of what’s best for the Kingdom.

At this, the congregation, not given to spontaneous outbursts, broke into applause! They knew they were witnessing something significant.

After the service, there was a steady stream of people wanting to interact with them.

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith. (Philippians 1.20 – 25, ESV, emphasis mine)

Last week I had the privilege of attending the memorial service for Dr. Bill Cooper, who founded the Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, that my friends Vilmer and Lucner attended.

Dr. Bill was in the Salvation Army early in his ministry career, and therefore was entitled to the tradition of this banner at his memorial:

I just want to add one thing: Bill died suddenly. He was 90, and he was recovering from some health issues. But the day of his “promotion” he was getting dressed when he fell and hit his head. No one knows whether he had a stroke or an embolism that caused the fall or the other way around. No matter, as his widow, Ruth, said, “We just have to be ready to go anytime.”

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4.16 – 18, ESV)

For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less. (2 Corinthians 5.1 – 5, MSG)

Our pastor told a story Sunday about a couple taking a balloon ride in which the pilot just a few weeks before had been an unemployed surfer. Gives one pause… Can you trust your pilot?

I had an unnerving experience Friday, picking up one of my Haitian friends at the Denver airport so we could get to Dr. Bill Cooper’s memorial service in Fort Collins (100 miles north of where I live). It was snowing, and the Interstate was a parking lot, so I took Colorado 83, which is actually the way I often go. It was working great until the GPS (which I had on just to keep up with my time of arrival) told me to turn way earlier than I expected. And the next turn was onto a road I had never heard of. As were the next four turns.

I’m out in the middle of nowhere, in the snow, with a deadline…

Do I trust the GPS? Yes, and it got me to the Denver airport only 30 minutes later than if the weather had been perfect with no traffic. We made the memorial service with plenty of time to spare. Praise the Lord!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3.5, 6, NKJV)

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30.21, NKJV)

I’ve written before about the ineffectiveness of spectacular events, and the importance of hearing from God in the ordinary places of life. We see both points in the closing conversation between Abraham and the rich man in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19 – 31). It closes:

But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” And he [the rich man] said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16.29 – 31, ESV)

The text says, essentially, “If they won’t receive God’s truth in the ordinary (reading the scripture), they won’t receive it in the spectacular (someone coming back from the dead) either.” And this fact is confirmed clearly after Jesus causes (another) Lazarus to rise from the dead. (That story is in John 11.) Note the response of the religious leaders as recorded in John 12:

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. (John 12.9 – 11, ESV)

So the spectacular won’t do it. An atheist friend of mine said to me, “If Jesus appeared in front of me right now and said he was God, I wouldn’t believe it.”

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3.17 – 19, NIV)

I’ve mentioned Zacchaeus a couple of times: one referring to Jesus’ relaxed attitude toward time and another, more recently, about meeting God in ordinary places.

Henry Brown, my friend and faithful reader of this blog, recently returned from a trip to the Middle East sent me this picture of “Zacchaeus’ Tree.”

To be sure, since this tree is only a couple hundred years old, Zacchaeus wouldn’t have been in this tree! But he was in a tree like this and not far from where this tree is. We are reminded that events described in the Bible are about real people in real places, and, mostly NOT in church!

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (2 Peter 1.16, NKJV)

I wrote last week about forgiveness, about Jesus not condemning the woman taken in adultery and perhaps writing her accusers’ sins in the sand, so even they could be erased. My son Mark sent me this quote from a book he’s reading that speaks to the subject quite eloquently:

There were a few people in the African American community whose support of Walter was muted, not because they thought he was guilty but because he had had an extramarital affair and wasn’t active in the church. At the church meeting, I spoke mostly about Walter’s case, but I also reminded people that when the woman accused of adultery was brought to Jesus, he told the accusers who wanted to stone her to death, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The woman’s accusers retreated, and Jesus forgave her and urged her to sin no more. But today, our self-righteousness, our fear, and our anger have caused even the Christians to hurl stones at the people who fall down, even when we know we should forgive or show compassion. I told the congregation that we can’t simply watch that happen. I told them we have to be stonecatchers. -From Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Jesus was clear in his teaching on what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” and immediately after:

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6.12, 14, 15, NIV)

I read two blogs daily: One is Seth Godin, a marketing guru, at least a third of whose posts relate to ministry in some way. The other is Heather Holleman, a writing professor at Penn State, also on staff with CRU. Her posts could contain only a photo of something in nature or a recipe, but they often contain profound insights on a variety of subjects including writing tips, parenting, and discipleship.

Her blog on November 20 was a winner: Promoting Peace Rather Than Stirring Up Controversy. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. It’s something I’ve written on from time to time, that outrage seems to be our favorite sport right now. Here’s her opening paragraph:

Most of what I read online thrives on controversy, on mockery, and on riling others up into a froth. Young people today, I’m noticing, live in this world where the most offended wins, where the mocker wins, and where every conversation begins with the drama of the day. Controversy and quarrels gain followers and attention. Mockery and cynicism give a seat at the table on most social media platforms. But is it productive? Is it good? Does it change anyone’s mind?

She goes on to pull wisdom from Proverbs. Again, I encourage you to read her whole blog. She closes with:

I’ve won a thousand arguments as a national debater, orator, and generally logical person, but I’ve rarely changed someone’s mind through my sarcasm, mockery, or ability to create controversy. Winning arguments isn’t the same thing as persuading someone. I’d rather persuade than win.

Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger…Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. (Proverbs 29.8, 11, NIV)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5.9, NIV)

My friend Josh Good, who is with the international youth ministry organization Christian Endeavor told me that at a large youth conference they will be displaying a banner that reads:

Less like hippos, more like honeybees

I give up! What does it mean, you say? Glad you asked. I did, too. Hippos consume; honeybees create. A hippo eats 100 pounds of vegetation every day, or, as Christian Endeavor likes to say, a hippo eats the weight of the average seventh-grader every day! On the other hand, honeybees create: they work hard; they work together; they create something useful.

Christian Endeavor believes (and I agree!) that we don’t need youth programs that simply make consumers out of the youth (in the same way many of their parents are consuming church programs). Hugh Halter, author and one of the leaders in the missional church movement, likes to say, “Disciples are not consumers, and consumers are not disciples.”

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15.8, NIV)