Stop the Chariot!

 Last Friday Delores and I were privileged to complete a journey that began a year ago but was prematurely interrupted by sickness (no, not Covid related). In October of 2019, we were concluding a long road trip which included Washington, D.C., Cooperstown, NY, and Niagara Falls. Our final stop was the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky. We purchased the combo ticket. After that day at the museum, I was sick. Delores drove us home the next day. Fortunately the ticket would be honored for the next year. After enjoying the Ark Encounter this past week, we didn't head straight home.

Our detour took us to Mitchell, IN, to visit our son Daniel and his family. While there we got to celebrate a birthday and the baptism of a grandson. That Sunday we got to hear an excellent preacher present a dramatic lesson that included the story of the Ethiopian eunuch from Acts 8. It tells of Phillip's conversation with and conversion of this high official as he was returning home from worshiping in Jerusalem. As his chariot was driven leisurely south, the eunuch was reading from Isaiah. Phillip was explaining a passage about Jesus.

The travelers happened upon some water, and the eunuch asked, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” Phillip immediately exclaimed, "Stop the chariot!" [While the sermon was about baptism, this blog is not...so let's move on.) Two thoughts came to my mind as the minister continued his sermon.

The first was how busy we all are especially in a year as crazy as 2020 has been. Even though our lives sometimes move along at a calm pace as with the eunoch reading on his long journey home, there are other days when the tempo approaches frantic. We just need someone to call a timeout and holler "Stop the chariot!"

The second related thought was concerning the most famous chariot driver in the Bible. Jehu was aboard his turbo-charged chariot kicking up a dust cloud in the desert. The evil queen Jezebel's son Joram was king. He spied the speeding chariot and asked his lookout who it was. The man stated, "The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.” (2 Kings 9:20, NIV)  The KJV states that Jehu driveth furiously. Although Jehu needed to stop, let the dust settle, and smell the roses...there really weren't any flowers blooming in proximity. Jehu was in a hurry to squelch the evil of the queen and her son.

photo from padfield.com

The point of this rambling blog is that there are occasions to put the peddle to the metal and rev up your chariot to do God's work. Other times you just need to rest and refresh with the Word. When these latter daze are not so apparent, we can all use a friend or mentor who can step up beside us in our chariots and command, "STOP THE CHARIOT!"

Discovery

 Just finished putting the "final" touches on a major road trip plan that is almost nine months away. It involves meeting all our kids and grandkids in Yellowstone National Park in June and thereby celebrating our 50th anniversary. Yellowstone is a great locale for rediscovering the beauty of God's creation and the loving chaos of family.

That trip plan involves three days travel on each end plus reserving a place close to the park big enough to house 19 people for four nights. Success! It's done; but because of Covid uncertainties, everything includes the right to cancel with full refunds up to just a few days out...peace of mind. Those of you who know us well probably remember our anniversary is actually in January; but that isn't the greatest month for road tripping to a place like Yellowstone especially at our age.

With that task completed Delores and I decided to have a one-hour adventure looking for wildlife in Maury County Park and some the meadows around the industrial areas close to our house. We were also spying out places for a small group of church friends to get together for a picnic lunch this Sunday that includes lawn chairs, blankets, and BYOF (bring your own food). Laughter and fellowship sure to be present in large quantities. We've all been cooped up way too long during this pandemic. We're ready to paint the park red.

photo by Einar Storsul
on unsplash.com

The weather is supposed to be sunny with temps in the low to mid 70s hinting about the advent of fall. We "trust" the meteorologists to get it right this time. We were told to expect rain from Sally as she moved inland earlier this week, so we rushed to mow our lawn before that could happen. Alas, the yard is nicely shortened, but there was no precip from Sal.

On our short trip yesterday, we located several beautiful spots on the greenery of Maury County Park that will be perfect for our post-worship meal. Additionally we discovered 18 deer, one ground hog, and lots of squirrels. Fortunately there was not an ant in sight. We are anticipating a great time with friends this Sunday. Isn't discovery a blast!

Anyone who reads this and can find us is welcome to join us. Just remember to come with a spirit of joy, a smile, a chair, and BYOF!

Stressed

This morning my wife and I had the privilege to worship twice. Both were online. First we worshiped with our congregation in Columbia, TN, and then with our son's church in Mitchell, IN. Both were occasions to rejoice and extol God's praiseworthiness and majesty. When listening to Phillip's sermon in Columbia, the idea for this blog formed in my stressed-out brain.

I have had bloggers block for several days and have not published. Phillip's lesson was on the stress in Jesus' life. I won't repeat his points. Please refer to the online feed of that  sermon for an excellent 6-point message (West Seventh church of Christ).

Of course we all know that stressed backwards is desserts. We think of stress as negative and dessert as very, very, very positive, if possibly somewhat unhealthy. I was given a timely example about stress while waiting for the worship to go live.

I tried numerous times to add a comment or join the audience...all to no avail. Those minutes were increasingly stressful. Have I mentioned I don't do well with stress, and that patience is not my strong suit? That was not my finest moment. Then the sound didn't work. That took the tech folks at the building awhile to figure out. Finally the songs they posted had an echo issue just as they had the previous week. I know how hard and long this week they worked to solve that issue. I'm guessing Satan was active in all those stress points to discourage us. It worked but only briefly. Everything was made right and the worship was inspiring.

This morning's frustrations and this blog took me back to a decade ago. It was toward the end of a two week road trip out west with a colleague. We had concluded several days in Yellowstone National Park. As we were leaving the park via the East Entrance, I hydroplaned my Nissan Sentra on some black ice. The skid occurred as we approached a sharp curb at Cub Creek. It was perhaps the most stressful and terrifying moment of my life. We ended up off road down about 10 feet in a snowdrift. For all the details too numerous to mention here, I refer you to my blog of May 27, 2010. After that episode I started believing more than ever in guardian angels and God's intervention in our lives. His miracles have not ceased!

off road at Cub Creek in YNP

When things don't go as expected, I need to remember WHO is really in charge. Let go and let God. Turn to HIM and all is well. Reflect upon Matthew 6:34 (MSG)...Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Thank you, Lord!

Hind Sight

Hindsight is generally 20/20. Coaches and armchair quarterbacks find it so when they evaluate a team's weekend performance on Monday. Pharaoh discovered that truth as his army drowned in the Red Sea.

We have the details of the first time Moses and Aaron appeared before the King of Egypt to deliver their divine message. At that point all they sought was the aristocrat's permission to take a three-day trek into the wilderness to sacrifice to their God. Without the benefit of foreknowledge, Pharaoh's response was a vehement "NO!" Exodus 5:2 (MSG) records his exact words: "And who is God that I should listen to him and send Israel off? I know nothing of this so-called 'God' and I'm certainly not going to send Israel off." He could've/should've left his reply at a simple "no." He was all-to-correct when he stated that he knew nothing of this God.

His stubbornness lasted from the bloody waters to the plagues of frogs, lice/gnats, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness, all the way to the death of the firstborn. When Pharaoh lost his son, it knocked him for a loop. I'm guessing his mind wandered back to the moment he first viewed the blood-red Nile. If he had just listened then, none of these horrific events would have happened. Perhaps his wife's sorrowful nagging added to his temporary distress. He couldn't get rid of the Israelites fast enough.

It didn't take long for Pharaoh to regret his weakness. He summoned his chariots, pursued Moses, and caught him at the Red Sea. He could've/should've waved a last farewell and returned to the palace with his army intact. Alas, this dictator is a few spears below the learning curve. He sent his entire militia into the parted sea to kill or recapture the multitude of escaping slaves. The bad guys all died mired down in mud as the waters reclosed over their heads.

This story doesn't prove the step brother is always smarter than the true heir to the inheritance. It does, however, confirm that hindsight is 20/20.

My Mission Lazarus Story: Day 2

Day 2, Sunday, June 6. After catching up on the previous night’s lost sleep by going to bed at 7:30 p.m. and hearing Tommy state that he was setting his alarm for 5 or 5:30 a.m., I mistakenly correlated Ron’s phone “ringing” at 4 a.m. with Tommy’s alarm for later. Without looking at my watch, I arose quietly and went to shower. Upon returning to my bed and discovering it was only 4:15 a.m., I went back to my pillow. I got up about 5 a.m., dressed, and exited the cabin to enjoy the cool breeze and sunrise.I walked up to Ron’s rock to take some photos then sat in a rocker by the fireplace and read my Power for Today devo I had brought for morning meditation. Breakfast was French toast, bacon, and fresh pineapple.We went to Choluteca for worship with the local Hispanic congregation and “Taco.” We also met the interns there that morning.

The singing was amazing! It was truly a time of praising God form the heart with passion and enthusiasm. The local song leader would lead the congregation in a contemporary praise and worship song in Spanish and then I led the English speakers in the same song. For the offering we went to the front and deposited our contribution in the plate. Allen helped preside over that and the Lord Supper. Some of our young men helped pass the communion emblems with the cup immediately following the bread. Then came the surprise. We had a 30 minute time of fellowship in which we shared Pepsi and sandwiches and talked. Then came the preaching service with Randy delivering an “inspired” message and Taco translating. Some of Randy’s wit and humor was lost on all but the Americans.We went to the coastal beach and ate lunch at a fish shack on the ocean in sight of several other Central American countries to the north and south. I enjoyed the fried coconut and even the whole fish that glared back at me through glassy eyes.Next we visited one of several Mission Lazarus medical clinics. As with everywhere we went, the children flocked to us. At this clinic an “every man for himself” soccer “game” broke out. This was a literal “warm-up” for the real game between the Hispanic Christians and the American Christians (us and the interns) on an “enclosed” field about the size of that used for indoor soccer. I believe some of our “older” players would not have survived if the match had been on a regulation-size field. Sweating was the order of the say – even among those of us who only stood and cheered.We returned to Mission Lazarus at 7:30 p.m. for supper, sharing, and a 10 p.m. bedtime. It had been a long, hot, but very gratifying day...