We wrote yesterday about Storming the Gates of Hell as presented powerfully in The Chosen, Season 4, Episode 2. I hope you’ve been watching from the beginning. I’ve found that the carefully crafted back stories enliven events in the life of Jesus, enhancing my understanding of stories I’ve heard my whole life.

The second half of Season 4, Episode 2, brings to life this simple exchange:

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18.21, ESV)

Peter has hated Matthew from the beginning. When Jesus called Matthew as presented in The Chosen, Season 1, Episode 7, we have this exchange:

Simon: “I don’t get it.”
Jesus: “You didn’t get it when I chose you either.”
Simon: “That was different. I’m not a tax collector.”
Jesus: “Get used to different.” (Text from The Chosen, Volume 1 by Jerry Jenkins, the novelized version of the video series)

Peter still carries resentment from Matthew’s days as a tax collector and Peter’s days as a fisherman trying to pay his taxes. Peter has made life difficult for Matthew, and therefore Matthew, in Season 4, Episode 2, is having a hard time accepting that Jesus might be elevating Peter to a position of responsibility: “The Rock.”

Jesus explains to Matthew that he must confess his specific actions against Peter in the past and ask for forgiveness. Matthew does, but Peter doesn’t want to forgive. Hence the conversation with Jesus. It’s not a hypothetical; it’s real. Matthew has sinned against Peter (in the past) at least seven times.

At the end of the episode, Peter embraces Matthew in front of everyone:

I forgive you. It’s over.

I’m reminded of someone who had offended me in our early days with The Navigators, back in 1969. Several years later, this guy has no idea I’m carrying this resentment. Another Navigator counseled me to forgive him, and I said, “I don’t even know what that means! He doesn’t know he offended me, and I’m not even around him anymore.” The answer:

It means you no longer hold him accountable.

Bingo. It’s what Peter had to do with Matthew’s past transgressions, and it’s what I had to do. In the text, following Peter’s “7 times?” question, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant (see Matthew 18.23 – 35) and ends it this way:

And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. (Matthew 18.33 – 35, ESV)

I was profoundly impacted by The Chosen‘s presentation of Peter’s confession (Season 4, Episode 2):

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16.13 – 18, ESV)

This fits with our readings in 2 Kings. Caesarea Philippi is not far from the city of Dan where Jeroboam set up the golden calves. Here are excerpts from That the World May Know website, which The Chosen episode depicted exactly.

Caesarea Philippi, which stood in a lush area near the foot of Mount Hermon, was a city dominated by immoral activities and pagan worship. Caesarea Philippi stood only twenty-five miles from the religious communities of Galilee. But the city’s religious practices were vastly different from those of the nearby Jewish towns.

In Old Testament times, the northeastern area of Israel became a center for Baal worship. In the nearby city of Dan, Israelite king Jeroboam built the high place that angered God and eventually led the Israelites to worship false gods. Eventually, worship of the Baals was replaced with worship of Greek fertility gods...Years later, when Romans conquered the territory, Herod Philip rebuilt the city and named it after himself. But Caesarea Philippi continued to focus on worship of Greek gods. In the cliff that stood above the city, local people built shrines and temples to Pan.

Here’s an artist’s rendition, very similar to what I saw on The Chosen:

Picture from Caesarea Philippi: The Gates of Hell Will Not Prevail by Donna Gawell. Another good article saying essentially the same thing as Ray Vander Laan, whose article continues:

Interestingly, Jesus chose to deliver a sort of “graduation speech” to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi. In that pagan setting, he encouraged his disciples to build a church that would overcome the worst evils…

The pagans of Jesus’ day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through caves. To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. They believed that their city was literally at the gates of the underworld: the gates of hell...

When Jesus brought his disciples to the area, they must have been shocked. Caesarea Philippi was like a red-light district in their world and devout Jews would have avoided any contact with the despicable acts committed there...

Jesus presented a clear challenge with his words at Caesarea Philippi: He didn’t want his followers hiding from evil: He wanted them to storm the gates of hell...

Jesus continued, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16.18, ESV)

I wrote back in 2022 that we get this verse backwards, especially the part about “the gates of Hell not overcoming the church.” The church isn’t huddled up on defense against the attacks of Hell. It’s the other way around.

I’m not alone: here’s how the Ray Vander Laan concludes:

But Jesus challenged his followers to be on the offense: to proclaim the truth without shame.

Our schools and churches should become staging areas rather than fortresses; places that equip God’s people to confront a sinful world instead of hiding from it. Jesus knows that the pagan world will resist, but he challenges us to go there anyway, and to build his church in those very places that are most morally decayed. – Ray Vander Laan, The Gates of Hell, emphasis mine. I recommend the article in its entirety.

Yesterday, as we all know, there was an assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump, campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania. A few observations:

• God is in control. It appears to me that if Former President Trump had not looked to his right, the shot might have gone right through his temple.

It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. – Donald Trump

• Secret Service agents on the ground were phenomenal and largely worked with little verbal coordination. They knew what to do and how to do it together. This is my favorite scene, which I shot from broadcast video. You can’t see Mr. Trump. He is behind the female agent, and the agent to her left has raised his arm to cover Mr. Trump’s face. Incredible teamwork and self-sacrifice.

• I’m a bit concerned that the building from which the shot came was not cleared. I was at Offutt Air Force Base (near Omaha, Nebraska) when President Ford came to town in 1975 or 1976. NO ONE was permitted on the second floor or higher of any of the buildings near where the president would be. What happened yesterday?
• Both parties are guilty of inflammatory rhetoric. Maybe a version of Wesley’s Rules for Voting needs to be in effect all the time. Something like:
  • Support the person you think most worthy.
  • Don’t run down the other guy.
  • Don’t run down people who support the other guy.

The nation’s civic debate, now casually referred to as political combat, has driven the country to new levels of partisan distrust, with nearly two-thirds in each party believing those in the other party are immoral, dishonest and close-minded, the Pew Research Center has found. – A Nation on Edge…, WSJ, July 14, 2024

The best word may come from Chuck Blakely, a 60-year-old tile installer from Butler, PA, where the shooting occurred. Blakely was interviewed for the article cited above, which closes with:

Blakeley, the tile installer, said that what gave him hope in this fraught moment is the fact that he believes Americans are the most resilient people on earth. “Tomorrow’s another day,” he said. “And come Monday, I will still be putting tile in.”

Just go out and put in tile…

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. (Psalm 131.1, NLT)

Two stories from the sports world with the same lesson. See what you think.

The first comes from the US Men’s National Soccer Team, competing in the Copa America a couple of weeks ago. Tim Weah hit a Panama player with his fist in the back of the head off the ball. Here’s the video and a fuzzy photo.

He was not only ejected from that game, forcing his team to play a man short, he was suspended for the next two games, resulting in the US being eliminated from the tournament.

What I find incredible is this statement, typical of this kind of story:

I think I’m getting painted to be like a violent person which I’m not. – Timothy Weah, after deliberately striking an opponent with his fist.

Not a violent person? Yes you are. We have it on video!

Then just a couple of days ago, a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, frustrated over a bad outing, punched the wall of the dugout and broke his hand. He’ll be out for six weeks.

Again, the same statement, this time from the manager:

It’s not who he is, but it’s a mistake that he made. – Cubs Manager Craig Counsell

I appreciate the manager’s attempt to support his player, but I’m not sure that what he said was true.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12.33, ESV)

The good news for believers is that even if we are violent or given to violent outbursts, there is hope.

…be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12.2, ESV)

…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4.22 – 24, ESV)

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit… (Titus 3.3 – 5, ESV)

In the midst of all the God-ordained mayhem in Israel where Jehu slaughters the descendants of Ahab, someone else attempts the same thing in Judah. Athaliah was the queen mother in Judah, but she was a granddaughter of Omri, father of Ahab. (See 2 Kings 8.16 – 27.) She wants the kingdom for herself:

Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. (2 Kings 11.1, MSG)

But she can’t “massacre the entire royal family.” God promised that David would always have a son on the throne…

But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and kidnapped him from among the king’s sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. He didn’t get killed. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of GOD. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country. (2 Kings 11.2 – 3, MSG)

Jehosheba rescued Joash, not allowing the royal line of David to die out. She was the wife of Jehoida the priest who eventually installed Joash as rightful king.

In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of the bodyguards and the Palace Security Force. They met him in The Temple of GOD. He made a covenant with them, swore them to secrecy, and only then showed them the young prince. Then he commanded them, “These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of GOD, are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going.” 2 Kings 11.4 – 8, MSG)

The guards execute the plan.

Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God’s covenant, and made him king. As they anointed him, everyone applauded and shouted, “Long live the king!” (2 Kings 11.12, MSG)

When Athaliah hears the commotion, she runs to the temple yelling “Treason! Treason!” She is taken out and executed. (See 2 Kings 11.13 – 21.)

Joash is crowned king and given “the scroll of God’s covenant.” This sounds like a reference to Deuteronomy 17, instructions about future kings.

And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17.18 – 20, ESV)

Maybe this is the one instance (I know of no other) where the king, a young boy, mentored by Jehoida the priest, actually copied the law by hand. The power of mentoring. We’ll consider Joash in more detail when we get to 2 Chronicles, but here’s a sneak peek:

Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased GOD throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime. (2 Chronicles 24.2, ESV)

Good counsel for life: stay in the Word and surround yourself with people who will help keep you on track.

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15.31 – 33, ESV)

I wrote after the debate that God is in control. These days, in the United States, to change rulers, God has to control an election. All those millions of votes! In the old days, it was a bit easier. To get rid of a king and his family, you just had to anoint someone from a different family:

One day Elisha the prophet ordered a member of the guild of prophets, “Get yourself ready, take a flask of oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi. When you find him, get him away from his companions and take him to a back room. Take your flask of oil and pour it over his head and say, ‘GOD’s word: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and get out of there as fast as you can. Don’t wait around.”

The young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. On arrival he found the army officers all sitting around. He said, “I have a matter of business with you, officer.” Jehu said, “Which one of us?” “With you, officer.” He got up and went inside the building. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “GOD’s word, the God of Israel: I’ve anointed you to be king over the people of GOD, over Israel. Your assignment is to attack the regime of Ahab your master. I am avenging the massacre of my servants the prophets—yes, the Jezebel-massacre of all the prophets of GOD. The entire line of Ahab is doomed. I’m wiping out the entire bunch of that sad lot. I’ll see to it that the family of Ahab experiences the same fate as the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, the dogs will eat her carcass in the open fields of Jezreel. No burial for her!” Then he opened the door and made a run for it. (2 Kings 9.1 – 10, MSG)

And Jehu gets after it:

Then Jehu mounted a chariot and rode to Jezreel, where Joram was in bed, resting. King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram. A sentry standing duty on the watchtower in Jezreel saw the company of Jehu arrive. He said, “I see a band of men.” Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him out to meet them and inquire, ‘Is anything wrong?'” …The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning.” The king then sent a second horseman….The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning. The driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi—crazy!” (2 Kings 9.16 – 20, MSG)

King Joram of Israel goes out to meet Jehu, realizes Jehu means to kill him, and attempts to flee:

Jehu pulled on his bow and released an arrow; it hit Joram between the shoulder blades and went right through his heart. He slumped to his knees in his chariot. (2 Kings 9.24, MSG)

Ahaziah, king of Judah, was visiting Joram, and Jehu had him killed, too. That’s material for the next story. Meanwhile, Jezebel, wife of Ahab is still around, but not for long:

When Jezebel heard that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she made herself up—put on eyeshadow and arranged her hair—and posed seductively at the window. When Jehu came through the city gate, she called down, “So, how are things, ‘Zimri,’ you dashing king-killer?” Jehu looked up at the window and called, “Is there anybody up there on my side?” Two or three palace eunuchs looked out. He ordered, “Throw her down!” They threw her out the window. Her blood spattered the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her under his horse’s hooves. Then Jehu went inside and ate his lunch. (2 Kings 9.30 – 34, MSG)

During lunch(?!) Jehu orders Jezebel buried, but they can’t find her per the word of Elijah:

They went out to bury her, but there was nothing left of her but skull, feet, and hands. They came back and told Jehu. He said, “It’s GOD’s word, the word spoken by Elijah the Tishbite: In the field of Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel; The body of Jezebel will be like dog-droppings on the ground in Jezreel. Old friends and lovers will say, ‘I wonder, is this Jezebel?'” (2 Kings 9.35 – 37, MSG)

Nasty stuff, and in 2 Kings 10, Jehu kills all 70 of Ahab’s sons and all the remaining prophets of Baal. Mercy! Among other things, it’s a picture of being a bit more ruthless with our own sin than we are used to:

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8.13, ESV)

When I wrote about Naaman in 2 Kings 5, I focused on Humility and Flexibility, just mentioning the oft-used salvation by faith allegory.

Today, we’re in the story that starts at 2 Kings 6.24, continuing through chapter 7:

At a later time, this: Ben-Hadad king of Aram pulled together his troops and launched a siege on Samaria. This brought on a terrible famine, so bad that food prices soared astronomically. Eighty shekels for a donkey’s head! Five shekels for a bowl of field greens! (2 Kings 6.24, 25, MSG)

It’s a good story in its own right, but the application to evangelism or “witnessing” is unmistakable.

There’s a siege and a famine, and it’s ugly. (See 2 Kings 6.24 – 31)The king of Israel blames Elisha(?!) who proclaims boldly:

Elisha said, “Listen! GOD’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing.” (2 Kings 7.1, MSG)

How will such a thing happen? Answer: through four lepers who have nothing to lose.

It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, “What are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.” (2 Kings 7.3, 4, MSG)

They go to the camp of Aram and find it deserted.

The Master had made the army of Aram hear the sound of horses and a mighty army on the march. They told one another, “The king of Israel hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!” Panicked, they ran for their lives through the darkness, abandoning tents, horses, donkeys—the whole camp just as it was—running for dear life. (2 Kings 7.6, 7, MSG)

The lepers raid the camp, eating, drinking, and hiding looted gold and silver…until they come to their senses:

Finally they said to one another, “We shouldn’t be doing this! This is a day of good news and we’re making it into a private party! If we wait around until morning we’ll get caught and punished. Come on! Let’s go tell the news to the king’s palace!” (2 Kings 7.9, MSG)

Isn’t that a great picture of our call to spread the word? “This is a day of good news and we’re making into a private party…Come on! Let’s go tell…” It’s been said that sharing the gospel is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.

Forced to leave home base, the Christians all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus. (Acts 8.4, MSG)

Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. (Mark 16.15, MSG)

PS Elisha’s prophecy comes true to the letter down to the part I didn’t share that the king’s assistant who doubted would see it but not eat it. Read the whole story in 2 Kings 7.

Back to the adventures of Elisha, 2 Kings 6 opens with another quick miracle. The “guild of prophets” needed a bigger building, and while one of them was cutting down a tree…

As one of them was felling a timber, his axhead flew off and sank in the river. “Oh no, master!” he cried out. “And it was borrowed!” The Holy Man said, “Where did it sink?” The man showed him the place. He cut off a branch and tossed it at the spot. The axhead floated up. (2 Kings 6.5, 6, MSG)

God is real. God is here.

Then Elisha has a “word of knowledge” about the plans of the king of Aram. Every time he planned an ambush, Elisha would send a message to the king of Israel. “This kind of thing happened all the time.” (verse 10)

The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, “Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?” But one of his men said, “No, my master, dear king. It’s not any of us. It’s Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6.11, 12, MSG)

So the king sends horses and chariots to surround Dothan, where Elisha is. But no problem…

Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, “Oh, master! What shall we do?” He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.” Then Elisha prayed, “O GOD, open his eyes and let him see.” The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha! (2 Kings 6.15 – 17, MSG)

The apostle John wrote:

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4.4, ESV)

We don’t know why God doesn’t always deliver his people from harm (for example, the young couple who was recently killed in Haiti), but know it’s not because he can’t.

Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26.50 – 53, ESV)

I’m pleased to report that on July 4 I finished a giant Lego project – a model of the Cathedral of Notre Dame! I started on Tuesday, June 18, so it took just over two weeks and just under the 20 hours I had predicted.

All the observations I made in my Lessons from Legos blog of June 23 apply. Here are some additional lessons learning:

• The first thing they give you is a tool to correct mistakes. I won’t need that, will I? I’m going to be very careful. Yep, I needed it. 1 John 1.8 – 10.

• It was hard to get away from the image Paul laid out in Ephesians 2:

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2.21 – 22, NIV)

• “Rises to become a holy temple.” The Cathedral didn’t get built all at once. The real one started with the east side so that they could hold services there while the rest of it was being built. That first stage was constructed from 1163 to 1182. I reached that stage after bag 9 of 34 bags.

• We are being built together to become a dwelling… And we’re not finished yet!
• 1 Corinthians 12 enters in as well. “For the body does not consist of one member but of many…” Some parts are larger and will be seen in the finished product. Some are small. EVERY part has a specific function, and if it’s not there, the building might not even get built.
• Therefore, I have new appreciation for the parable of the lost sheep. You have 99 sheep left! Why go after the one? I’ll never forget the first time I dropped a piece. It’s amazing how far and in which unpredictable direction the pieces bounce! I pulled out my phone’s flashlight and searched until I found it. But you have 4,382 other pieces! Do you have to find that one? Yes. Absolutely.
• I am impressed with Lego’s quality control. EVERY part is perfect. Tolerances are perfect. Every part fits exactly the way it is supposed to. The part doesn’t have a say in its design nor where it is placed. Legos decided that.
• Every believer is perfectly designed:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2.10, NIV)

• A perfectly built Legos piece in the wrong place won’t advance the mission of building the cathedral. I wonder how much better the Kingdom would advance if we all listened to the direction of the Lord of the Church and served in the roles we were designed for. For example, many dedicated believers think the ultimate service is in full-time, paid Christian employment. I address this fallacy in my book The Disciple’s Work. Also, many gifted and called people are counseled to go into pastoral ministry when they might be better suited for a pioneering or specialized ministry outside the local church. Sam Metcalf speaks to this issue eloquently in his book, Beyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements Can Change the World.
• I had to trust the process. I didn’t have to know what was going to happen two steps away, and I intentionally did not look ahead. “A long obedience in the same direction.” And I intentionally didn’t rush. “Things take as long as they take.”

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

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! (2 Chronicles 6.18, NKJV)

Photo by Mark Ewell: the cathedral with the instruction book. Over my left shoulder you can see the Willie Mays jersey I mentioned on June 19.

About a month ago, I wrote about Navigator Heidi Gleghorn, and her heart for the poor. If you missed it, it’s worth the read. Right after I published that blog, her husband, Rob, wrote a touching tribute, Married to a Modern-Day Mother Theresa.

Rob and Heidi Gleghorn

The article tells their whole story, but I want to highlight the parts about her ministry to the poor – nothing glamorous about it. (I:58, from Isaiah 58.10, 11, is The Navigators’ ministry to the poor.) Her husband writes:

In the last few years, Heidi finally found her God-given niche within I:58 and has coined a new idea she is calling, “Helping Oppressed People Everywhere (HOPE).” As she is fond of saying, “Everyone is worthy because everyone has worth, even the least of these.” Heidi has no problem literally scrubbing the lice off homeless people, caring for those with severe frostbite, holding the hands of those about to pass, or hauling all the urine-stained bedding to washing machines. She doesn’t just talk about compassion, and she doesn’t just memorize verses on mercy. She actually does dirty work. And I mean really dirty.

Heidi cares for a homeless person suffering from frostbite.

Heidi has been working in Colorado Springs with the homeless for the last five years now. She volunteers at The Sanctuary Church in Old Colorado City serving hot meals, running showers, giving out clothing, distributing food from their pantry, and taking random calls for help at the front desk. She has also worked at the Springs Rescue Mission as a volunteer to bring art into the program. Heidi also helps with Hope COS, volunteering at the warming shelters during freezing storms to help over 400 people simply stay alive. In addition, she started going down to several of the local parks, bringing food and warmth to even more people in need. Wears me out just writing about it! Recently, Heidi has begun to introduce college students from differing states to opportunities to love and serve our under-resourced population in a practical, hands-on way. As a result, she is currently building an I:58 team in Colorado Springs under the HOPE banner.

“She doesn’t just talk about compassion, and she doesn’t just memorize verses on mercy. She actually does dirty work.” It’s a worthy ministry, and if you have margin in your missions budget, you might consider supporting Heidi’s ministry. I do.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25.34 – 40, ESV)