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I often write about our privilege and responsibility to participate in God’s great Adventure, the story that started in Genesis 1 and is ongoing today. I don’t often write about the cost of such participation, but I couldn’t help but noticing cost in a recent reading of Psalm 105.

Psalm 105 is one of those chapters in the Bible you can read if you don’t have time to read the whole thing! Other such chapters are Acts 7 and Hebrews 11. Early in the Psalm, God promises the land:

He said to them, “I will give you all the land of Canaan as your inheritance.” They were very few in number when God gave them that promise, and they were all foreigners to that land. (Psalm 105.11, 12, Passion Translation)

Then the Psalmist begins to recount some significant events and after finding out about a famine, we read:

But he had already sent a man ahead of his people to Egypt; it was Joseph, who was sold as a slave. (Psalm 105.17, Passion Translation)

“He had sent a man ahead…” How did he send him? As a slave! Joseph served as a slave and also in prison from age 17 to age 30. It took 13 years for him to become an “overnight success” as recorded in Genesis chapters, 37, 39 – 41. Later, when Joseph is reunited with his brothers and they are ashamed(!) at selling him and afraid he will take retribution on them, he responds:

Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50.19, 20, ESV)

Joseph was a hero of the story of establishing the nation Israel; God used him in a significant way, but it came at a cost. 

I continue to call all of us to God’s great Adventure! And just like playing for a winning team, there’s great joy in the victory, but the victory comes with the cost of countless hours of cost in preparation and self-denial. 

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14.27 – 33, ESV)

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Ringo Starr, famous drummer for the Beatles, still performs at age 79. When asked why, he responds, “That’s what I do. I’m not an electrician.” (Parade Magazine, July 7, 2019). 

I like it. Work is a good thing. I’m a speaker, writer, data analyst, and I invest in men. When the Lord calls me home, I hope to have engagements on the calendar and data on the computer! 

But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon…Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. (Psalm 92.12, 14, NLT)

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I wrote yesterday about Krulak’s Law: The closer you get to the front, the more power you have over the brand. Krulak was a Commandant of the US Marine Corps and saw the law in action as Marines interacted with people in foreign countries. 

If we in the church took this principle seriously, would we be more intentional about training? If we recognized that church is not supposed to be a “Performance at a Place with Programs run by Professionals” (as David Platt characterizes most churches in his excellent little book A Radical Idea), would we use the church’s gathered time to equip the folks for their scattered time?

I wrote back in 2014, when my grandson graduated from Marine boot camp, that Marines know what they’re about: they make Marines and win battles. Boot camp is the first transformation that a young Marine experiences. “Every Marine is a rifleman” is another mantra I heard then.

Marines are intentional about making Marines who will win battles.

May we in the church be as intentional!

And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach… (Mark 3.14, ESV)

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11, 12, ESV)

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Seth Godin wrote on July 9 about an airport gate agent he observed handling a variety of issues in a very personable and professional manner. Seth concluded that the agent is worth far more to the airline than he’s being paid! And he cited former Marine Corps Commandant General Charles Krulak who wrote, “In many cases, the individual Marine will be the most conspicuous symbol of American foreign policy and will potentially influence not only the immediate tactical situation, but the operational and strategic levels as well.” Seth’s version of “Krulak’s Law” is: “The future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field, not the generals back home.” Others in the business world say it this way:

The closer you get to the front, the more power you have over the brand.

Is this not true of Jesus’ church? People form their opinions of Christianity not only from their observations of highly visible leaders: the Pope, pastors of large churches, etc., but also from their everyday interactions with ordinary people who identify as Christian. 

I will write more about this tomorrow, but for today, if Krulak’s Law is true, and I think it is, we all should be generating all the Holy Moments we can! How we live before a watching world matters.

[Jesus said, ] “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5.14 – 16, NKJV)

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2.14, 15 (NKJV)

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At the risk of overusing the space theme, please permit me one more story about Buzz Aldrin, a personal one.

I was doing some work for the US Space Foundation in the 90s, and one of their clients was a brand new elementary school in Reston, VA, that was going to name itself after Buzz Aldrin. We were providing them space-related education materials.

The school opened in September 1994 and was formally dedicated April 25, 1995. I was there for the dedication. As part of the dedication ceremonies, Buzz Aldrin, who was 65 years old at the time, was to pose for a picture with every class as is shown in this newspaper article:

The plan was that each class would position itself around Buzz on the risers, the picture would be taken, and then the next class would come in. But that’s not quite what happened. After the picture, Buzz shook hands with every kid. Every kid in every class. 600+ kids. They still talk about that on their web site. I am moved every time I think about it.

Today I would call that a Holy Moment. He didn’t have to do that.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. (Matthew 18.1 – 5, ESV)

Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. (Matthew 20.26, 27, ESV)

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing where Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” The second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin said, “Magnificent desolation.”

Buzz’s first action on the moon’s surface was to take Holy Communion. This is not well known because of some flack NASA took when the astronauts read Genesis 1 during Apollo 8. Buzz describes his actions in his recent book No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon, chapter 12. Here are some of his words.

Once we had landed safely on the Moon, our schedule included time to eat a meal and to rest. As a gesture of my thankfulness, I planned to participate in a personal spiritual experience by celebrating Holy Communion as one of my first actions on the lunar surface.

…So a few weeks before our launch date, I asked my friend and pastor Dean Woodruff, minister at Webster Presbyterian Church where I attended when I was home in Houston, to help me. Dean provided some Communion wafers and a tiny chalice that I could take with me to the Moon.

…Once Neil and I had shut down the engines and completed our checklist, from my position in the Eagle, now located on the Sea of Tranquility, I radioed Mission Control. “I would like to request a few moments of silence,” I said, “and invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way.” 

My way was with a symbolic wafer and thimbleful of wine that I had packed in my personal belongings pouch. We had little room for extras on board the Eagle, but the Communion elements didn’t take up much space, and this was something special that I wanted to do, not just for myself but as a symbolic act of gratefulness for all mankind. 

I pulled out a three-by-five card on which I had written the words of Jesus: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.” During the few moments of silence, I read the words on the card quietly, to myself. Then I pulled out the Communion wafer and the sealed plastic container of wine and poured it into the chalice Dean had given to me from our church.

Although it was a spiritual moment, I was still a scientist, so I couldn’t help noticing that in the Moon’s gravity—only one-sixth of that on Earth—the wine curled ever so slowly and gracefully up the side of the chalice before finally settling after a few moments. I slipped the wafer into my mouth and then drank the wine. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing, and Neil looked on respectfully and silently as well. I offered a silent prayer of thanks and for the work yet to be done. Neither NASA nor anyone else in the U.S. government ever let on what I had done during the moments of silence on the Moon.

That’s something to think about when we remember the moon landing!

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! (Psalm 139.7, 8, ESV)

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22.19, 20, ESV)

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23 – 26, ESV)

Today we remember the 50th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8.3, 4, ESV)

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As I wrote yesterday, with the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing coming up, we’ve been watching Chasing the Moon, a 3-part PBS documentary on American Experience. June and I were born in 1946 so we lived through the excitement of the early space age, beginning with the USSR’s launch of Sputnik in 1957.

In episode 2 of Chasing the Moon, in addition to the astronauts of Apollo 8 reading Genesis 1 while orbiting the moon, the tragic story was told of the on-the-ground deaths of the three Apollo 1 astronauts, January 27, 1967. I remember that event, too. It’s astounding in retrospect that only 2 1/2 years after that accident, Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon and returned them to earth safely with the third astronaut, Michael Collins, just as President Kennedy had predicted.

Part of the reason for the program’s continuing had to be the fierce determination of the astronauts themselves and the willingness of Americans in those days to assume risk. In a day when safety seems to be predominant in the minds of many folks, Walter Cronkite, the legendary news anchor and huge enthusiast of the space program said:

This is a time for sadness for the loss of our friends and a time for national sadness. However, this is also a time for courage. And if you don’t like “courage,” then “guts.” This is a test program. There are risks in a test program. People die.

I wrote before that contrary to what’s on the back of some trucks, safety can’t be our goal. Thankfully, NASA has had very few tragedies in the history of spaceflight. But if safety were the goal, there wouldn’t be a space program.

The early believers didn’t play it safe from Stephen in Acts 7 on. Tradition has it that 10 of the 11 original apostles were martyred. Jim Elliot, the American missionary killed in the jungles of Ecuador in 1956, said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And today, 2019, Christians are being killed or imprisoned for their faith. I’ll leave it to you to look up and determine the number.

The point is, God has never promised us safety, either from disease or persecution. Our job, as Walter Cronkite said, is to have courage. Or, as the Bible says, “Fear not!” (Some say this appears 365 times in the Bible, one for every day.)

While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21.10 – 13, ESV)

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41.10)

Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. (Acts 27.22 – 25, ESV)

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With the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing coming up, we’ve been watching Chasing the Moon, a 3-part PBS documentary on American Experience. June and I were born in 1946 so we lived through the excitement of the early space age, beginning with the USSR’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. I’ll be writing more about this as the July 20 anniversary approaches.

In episode 2 of Chasing the Moon, the profound experience of hearing Genesis 1 read by the first astronauts to orbit the moon, Christmas 1968, was shown. For those of us who are believers, it was quite moving, then and now. Therefore, it was a bit disappointing to hear one of the astronauts interviewed after the fact. He said something like:

They told us to do something appropriate, that hundreds of millions of people from around the world would be watching. We didn’t know what to do, but one of us asked his wife, and she talked with a friend who suggested we read Genesis 1. It was perfect. But we didn’t consider it a particularly religious exercise. After all, all religions teach that God created the heavens and the earth and that God is up there with a super-computer keeping track of our good deeds and bad…

So here is a very bright and courageous guy, physically and mentally fit, well-educated, the best of our country’s warriors, but he was ignorant of the basic message of the Bible. The Bible he actually held in his hand and read from while going around the moon.

I guess the lesson is that we can’t assume that the folks we talk with have rejected the gospel: they may not even know what it is!

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (Romans 3.21 – 24, NLT, emphasis mine)

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2.8, 9, NLT)

“I come in the scroll of the book; it is written of me.” ( Psalm 40.7, ESV, with a change of the location of the semicolon. Jesus comes in the book. Read it. Get to know him. Don’t be an expert in everything except the most important thing!

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Yesterday I learned the difference between massage and therapeutic massage! Around Father’s Day when our youngest son, David, was visiting from Atlanta, our local oldest son, Mark, referred him to Mark’s massage therapist for David’s sciatica. The visit helped. A couple days ago, as I was getting over a cold with its accompanying aches, June said, “Why don’t you go see Mark’s massage therapist. You’ll feel better. She was wrong. It’s the next morning, and I’m still hurting.

Massage therapist Dave (not to be confused with my son of the same name!) doesn’t want you to feel better while he’s doing the massage. He wants you to be better. “Stick with me for four sessions, and I’ll fix these problems with your neck muscles. You can’t look over your shoulder, can you? Would you like to?” If yes, then be prepared for pain.

He worked on my neck for an hour, and none of it was pleasant! The second hour he worked on everything else. “I’m just going to work you; I’m not going to hurt you,” he said about the second hour. 15 minutes in I said, “If your objective is not to hurt me, you’re not succeeding.” He replied, “You think I’m a pain in the neck don’t you?” I said, “Yes!” He said, “Thank you.”

As I said, Dave wants you to be better. He’s into transformation. Now I have to do the neck exercises he’s given me, and we have the next appointment on the calendar, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

But I get it. I’m a Navigator. Old school Navigators were known for being somewhat hard on each other. They liked such verses as:

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. Proverbs 27.5 – 7, ESV)

The idea was that your friend will tell you what you need to hear. If you’re hungry to grow, then “bitter” words of constructive criticism will be sweet.

I didn’t even know there was anything wrong with my neck! But Dave is intent on fixing it because “That’s what I do.” 

About a year ago, a new friend opened our conversation with the complaint that his in-laws don’t respect him. He didn’t know that the problem was in his relationship with God. If he felt loved by God, it wouldn’t matter if someone respected him or not. So I helped him fix that because “That’s what I do.” 

Transformation hurts! I had my right knee replaced last year, and there are two phases to that drill. Phase 1: why did I let them do that to me? Phase 2: why didn’t I have that done sooner? I’m happily in phase 2 now, but there was a rough 4 weeks post surgery! There will be a minimum of a rough four sessions with Dave, but when it doesn’t hurt as much, I will have made progress! I’m looking forward to that.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12.11, ESV)