MY FATHER

     Mr. Phipps stood with a clip board in his hand and his trademark sincere-servant smile on his face as a weathered old car rolled into the service bay of his oil-change company. It was the day before Christmas eve and the last day he and his employees would work until January 4. He stepped to the driver's window of the car as the driver rolled down the window.

    "How may we help you, sir?"

     The man smiled back at Mr. Phipps the same warm and sincere smile he was being given. "The car needs an oil and filter change." He stared at Mr. Phipps intently awaiting a reply.

     "Yes, Sir. Here is what we offer..."

     The man interrupted, "Before I waste your time, I must tell you that I have no money to offer."

     Mr. Phipps was taken aback by the comment and hesitated before saying, "Well - it is difficult to pay the overhead without..."

     Once again, the man interrupted, " As I said, I have no money to pay for your products and services with, but - I offer Something more valuable which, when received, will make you rich beyond anything this world can offer." And the man stared with a most unworldly stare.

     Now, Mr. Phipps would never be mistaken for anything other than a good and humble servant of his Lord, and he showed it as his employees stopped whatever they were doing so that they might capture every word being spoken by the two men. "I have already received that gift, and I am truly rich beyond anything this world has to offer. Let us take care of your car while you wait in the lounge through that door, my friend."

     As the man walked into the waiting lounge, he saw the only other occupant, a young and well-dressed man, sitting and impatiently leafing through a magazine. He sat down beside the young man.

     The young man turned to him immediately saying, " See that Mercedes in there? That's my Dad's car. It cost more than a lot of people make in three or four years. We're rich. You think that is something, you should see our house. It's what's called a mansion. Know what that is? It's bigger than the Governor's mansion - a lot bigger. He let's me drive his car when he gets it serviced, cause he doesn't trust anyone else. I have friends that aren't rich,  and they understand why I can't let them come over to my house. We have all the expensive artwork and stuff. You know?"

     The young man talked for several minutes as the man looked at him with a kindly smile. In fact, he participated in this one-sided conversation until Mr. Phipps appeared at the lounge door to tell the man his car was ready.

     The man, still smiling, looked at the young man who had finally stopped talking when Mr. Phipps had entered the doorway and spoke to him, "Indeed, you and your father are fortunate to possess such riches. However, I think you should know that my Father built the earth that your father's mansion sits upon and that he offers you riches far beyond what you currently have or can imagine just for the asking - and these riches will never be taken from you - even as you pass from this earthly life." And he walked toward Mr. Phipps and the exit.

     The young man was left with a most perplexed look and speechless. Mr. Phipps and all his employees were left with a warm heart and a feeling of what the true meaning of Christmas surely is - giving with love for all mankind as God gave his only son to us.

     The world will miss you Mr. Phipps.

ELLIE

     Ellie is my sister's granddaughter, a twin. I do not know why God places such heavy burdens on some that are so innocent and just beginning life. However,  I do know from examples that he places the greatest burdens on his most beloved. If it were me, I wouldn't trust those precious burdens  to anyone else. When we cry out, why me, we must remember that he lays these worldly burdens upon us out of love, not out of hate. If we understood all that God does, we would be God and not human. This does not mean that we just accept things as they are and walk forward in futility. We need to pray to God to give the family stronger backs, for the guidance and wisdom for their family and the doctors to make the right choices and for them to leave no doors unopened, and always to lean heavily on God as he desires. This knowledge doesn't take away the pain, but, if the creator of all is on your side, nobody can stand against you and you are never without an empathetic shoulder to cry on. Always include prayers in your giving.        

ELLIE         

THANK YOU

     I only asked you for food every day and a bed at night, thank you God. Thank you for spoiling me and making me spiritually rich, but most of all, thank you for walking beside me and loving me through it all. Thank you for your astounding sunrises that woke me each wondrous day. Thank you for your soft breezes that cooled and caressed me on those skin-searing days of summer. Thank you for your bread that nourished me when I had squandered my pennies so foolishly. Thank you for serving me when I embarrassed and cursed you. Thank you for giving me hope while I walked blindly through this world's darkness. Thank you for serving me like a king while I served you so conditionally and at my convenience. Though I constantly fall short each day, you stay beside me and lift me up when I fall and give me hope and encouragement. God, thank you for dying on that miserable cross for me who has done so little to deserve your saving grace which came with that divine act. 

JUST ANOTHER DAY

    If today or any other day for that matter is just another day and we call ourselves Christians, then we need to re-examine our faith, my brothers and sisters.

And so He is.

LIVING WATER

Let us choose living water

John 4:13-14

     Jesus answered (talking to a Samaritan woman at a well in Sychar, Samaria), "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:25-26

     The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

     Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you - I am he."  (do these words not send chills up your spine with their authority and power - and hope?)

 

THE GOOD NEWS

So what are you waiting for? Spread it!

THE WORLD APPEARS TO BE COMING APART AT THE SEAMS

     The world appears to be coming apart at the seams according to media reports. People are worried - stressed. Christians see and feel John's Book of Revelations opened before them. Perhaps, or perhaps not. Why should we worry? The answer is we should not worry about end-times. As disciples of Christ, we should keep our focus on spreading the Good News and serving. In Matthew 24:44, Jesus tells the disciples when asked how they will know when the end-times and His second coming are near, "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 

     Always be about the Lord's business and you will never have to worry about the end-times and the exact time of His second coming. For if you are about His business, you will live in Him and for those of you doing those things, He has already come. Why would a living-loving God harm or frighten a goodly disciple living in love and serving others through their faith in Him? Always our Lord and his angels say, do not fear when they speak or appear to anyone. One living in our Father's loving Word should have no fear. I suppose if you must fear someone or something then fear Him, God of all and creator of all. But, from my experience, He is always loving and gentle. 

     So - be about our Father's business and do not fear nor stress for God, himself, is watching over us, and who or what can stand against God? You must have faith that, if man tears the world apart at the seams,Our God can rebuild that which He, himself with his own hands, built if that is his will and protect us from harm. Bless his holy name.

OUR CHILDREN

We must teach the children of the world by word and by example how important, loving, and powerful a life of faith in Jesus Christ is. We must not fail in this mission. We must teach the children to dance life's dance with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our children are our future for without our children there can be no future.

SEARCHING FOR A MAGIC MOMENT

     Are you searching for a magic moment in your humdrum existence? You don't need to depend on magic when you follow Jesus Christ with whom every moment, every hour, every day seems as if filled with magic due to his overpowering love. Life with Christ is filled with that otherworldly-mystical feeling one receives from the simple yet life-changing act of putting others before one's self and serving others.

It just seems like magic due to its simplicity - serving one another just as he taught us by example.

PERSECUTION

     Not sure I need to add anything to this image. Pray for our Brothers and Sisters needing strength to endure persecution. Keep them uppermost in our thoughts and prayers daily.

THE GIFT OF HOPE

     According to Merriam Webster, the definition of hope: to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.

     What did our God, our Father do to give all of us what should be life-altering, ground-shaking, head-turning, eye-popping hope?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)

     Then he added another earth and heaven shaking event to put an exclamation mark on that hope - just as was foretold in Scripture.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all apostles, last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (NIV)

     Say it: I have hope and faith with that hope that it all happened just as Paul states. Also, have faith that the gift of hope God offers to us gives us confidence in Jesus' resurrection which remains paramount to our faith. Then go forth spreading the Good News and God's infinite love.

LOVE IN ITS PUREST, MOST-POWERFUL FORM

Love in its purest, most-powerful form is loving your enemies. And how can they be your enemies if you love them? Whoever puts a gun to your head - love them- love them like God himself commanded it- and he did.Hate is what created your enemies. Love is what changes those enemies into brothers. Pray and while many of mankind hate, you love. God is going to change this imperfect world by his love and forgiveness, and by his love and forgiveness we have been changed.

Matthew 5:44

But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 

Matthew 5:46-48

If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. 

Shouldn't we as Christians look different from the rest of this world? We cannot over stress nor over use love...just love and love some more. God will overcome.

Pray!

HEART FOR LEBANON

     I highly recommend this Christian Mission Group as worthy of all of our support. This group under the direction of Camille Melki, whom I have met personally along with his family, aids refugees, Christian and Muslim, from warn-torn Syria, especially the children, and works through education programs to educate the people against radicalism.

     Heart for Lebanon  operates a mobile education unit that travels to refugee camps and villages to educate the people against potential radicalization.

How Do We Overcome Fanaticism?

Or more specifically, how do we do whatever it takes in our power to mitigate and counteract the factors that lead to fanaticism?

I don’t pretend to be an expert on political issues affecting the world we live in, nor am I a counter-terrorism analyst. But on my flight back home from a week long mission’s conference, that was the question that kept dogging me: how do we stop fanaticism, and overcome this “excessive and unreasonable zeal?” To my mind, it’s going to take political will and cultural shifts, an abundance of education and those of us who are believers.

During the conference, that question, that thought, that concern came up again and again as I chatted with others. When you participate in a conference with 400 other representatives from around the globe, you find yourself discussing everything from food provisions to the depths of your faith, but the overarching conversation I had at this particular conference was around this topic. Can fanaticism be overcome, and if so, how? How do we do it? What does the effort look like? Where do we begin?

A quick digression and reminder, compliments of Webster’s Dictionary:
The word fan is one we use to describe people who love sports teams, celebrities, writers, movie genres and food groups. It’s a simple and benign word describing excitement. Fans are enthusiasts; they are devotees.
Next, there’s the fanatic, where the zeal for something, usually political or religious, heads to the “extreme.”

Finally, there’s fanaticism. And here’s the dictionary definition “wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication, or enthusiasm.” And this is what worries us all when it describes religion or politics when used to overreach and abuse, … threaten instead of lift up.

As someone born and raised in the Middle East, I have often seen marginalized and rejected communities become subject to radicalized, fanatical influences. They’re easy targets. The most vulnerable will clutch to easy answers that can lead to a way out, a way up or some relief. The most vulnerable are the poor and, of those, the children, who are easily influenced, swayed and guided to beliefs that will not ultimately serve them. Unless children are given hope for a better future, unless children are granted the freedom to dream of a better tomorrow, fanatic and radical teachers will always have the upper hand in brainwashing and indoctrinating the young and fragile generation of this region. I feel certain that the faith-based community is called to invest heavily in the lives of young children who live in total despair.

Heart for Lebanon fights against fanaticism and for the hearts and minds of children through our Hope on Wheels program (HOW), through our Hope School of Music, and through our 3 H.O.P.E. schools in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and Southern Lebanon. In each one of our programs, the dignity and innocence of children is being restored, strengthened and reclaimed for Christ.

At our H.O.P.E. schools, we help overcome poverty through education. We’ve all heard knowledge is power, but it’s also a gateway to self-knowledge and self-worth. We want the children and families we serve to see the value in themselves, their families, their lives and to see their God-given potential.

We incorporate Biblical character traits in our curriculum. Children are taught forgiveness, humility, love, and respect. They are also taught to accept one another and to value diversity and ethnic differences. Students are encouraged and rewarded when the exemplify positive leadership and are recognized and praised when they show acts of kindness towards others and live out Biblical principles.

At Heart for Lebanon, we exist to see lives changed and communities transformed and we reach out practically (through transactional relief), relationally (through community building and one-on-one care for families) and transformationally, when we can share our faith with those we serve. More succinctly, this means that we are called to move people from despair to hope, and in particular, the at-risk children we serve.

Part of irradiating fanaticism is modeling anti-fanatic, Biblically-based faith and hope. We cannot touch every life, but we can start with the children. It isn’t just strategic, it’s what Christ asks us to do in His name.

– Camille Melki

     I would like to add to Mr. Melki's comments with the comment that God is proclaiming his power and glory by sending the Muslims of Syria and other middle eastern countries fleeing from the violence of the Islamic radicals in their countries to give us, his servants, the opportunity to spread the GOOD NEWS and its loving message to them. Let's not waste this glorious opportunity that our Father set's before us.