Encouragement from a Hurricane Victim

Posted on September 3, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Our prayers are with the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

This devo was written years ago when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, but the words are encouraging to those suffering today also.

Encouragement from a Hurricane Victim
Pslams 69:1-3; 13-17; 32-35

I received a call from Rusty (my minister) yesterday. He was at the church building and told me about our need to help the hurricane victims lodging at the Motel 6 across the street. He soon found out their immediate needs, they were more logistical than anything else. They needed help moving food and clothes from one location to another. I called my friend Brian to help me do some of the moving. After loading up a couple trucks, Denise, the woman in charge, invited us to an Italian restaurant which had offered free meals. (That was nice!)

It was here that we were enlightened to the real needs of friendship and companionship. We heard the stories of hurt. Renard lamented about yesterday being his birthday and having to spend it as he was. Another mentioned that the hurricane hit New Orleans on his mom’s birthday.  When speaking about Bible passages with one group of folks, Denise told us about the 69th Psalm.  This Psalm is classified as a lament. There is usually hope seen at the end of lament psalms, which is the same in the laments of our own lives…if God is our focus.

The following are portions of this Psalm from the beginning the middle, and the end. Read the words of David:

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.“ (Psalm 69:1-3)

“But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its eyes over me. Answer me, O LORD out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me . Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.” (Psalm 69:13-17)

“The poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live! The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them, for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. ” (Psalm 69:32-35)

I was happy to receive encouragement from Denise. She enlightened me to a passage of scripture which should be encouragement for everyone. The waters David speaks about are not always literal but simply troubles and trials that any of us may go through. The point is that God will deliver us from any kind of trouble which looks like it will engulf us. Please keep Denise and the many other victims we met yesterday in your prayers. They will be applying for permanent housing with FEMA today in downtown Dallas. I saw many people helping with their housing needs and it was wonderful to see. We praise you O God!

Encouragment, Ministry, Struggles

Healing Through Listening

Posted on August 26, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Healing through Listening
Matthew 4:23

“I could feel her listening with all her heart … and it felt good.”   That may be a paraphrase but those or similar words came from the main character in the movie “Because of Winn-Dixie.”

The little girl (sorry, I don’t remember her name) in “Because of Winn-Dixie” was telling a character named Cloe all about her self. She had wanted to tell someone all about herself for a long time and now was her chance. She talked and talked to Cloe and as she emptied her soul to this new friend, she felt good. Read those words again that were spoken as narration during the scene,  “I could feel her listening with all her heart … and it felt good.”

It feels good to have people listening to us. Sometimes just a sincere listen from an interested individual is all it takes to heal. Jesus healed.  As seen in our verse for today, it was part of his three fold mission on earth, teaching, preaching the good news, and healing. While I personally don’t subscribe to the idea that men can miraculously heal others today like televangelists claim; I do believe that others can be healed emotionally and maybe even physically (lower blood pressure, etc) by our care, concern, and our listening ears. Look what listening did for that girl in the movie (please email me the name of that little girl if you know it.) Cloe listened with all her heart. That’s so hard for us to do sometimes.  God gave us ears, but we need a bit more to really listen to others. We need hearts full of love and mercy. I think God loves a really great listener.

If we really think about Jesus’ three fold mission of teaching, preaching the good news, and healing, we as the church (Christians) should be continuing his mission. We most likely never think that we can heal others but we can. Let us all put a little more effort into listening. It will please others and it will please God.

Belonging, Encouragment, Ministry

No, I Do Not Know

Posted on August 20, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

No, I Don’t Know

Proverbs 11:13; 16:28; 18:8; 20:19; 26:20; 26:22

Gossip is a killer. I know I partake in it in some way because, like most people, I don’t know where the fine line between fact and gossip exists. Over the years, people have come up to me and said, “You know about so and so, don’t you?” More often than not, my reply has been, “No, I don’t know.” Now let me make one point clear. The people who have wondered if I’ve heard about so and so aren’t necessarily those who are gossiping. Many of these individuals just assume we’ve heard what they’ve heard.

There’s no telling how many times this has happened to me over the years. These occurrences were not at the workplace or at school; they were at church and concerned church members. Unbelievable huh? You’re shocked aren’t you? You’re not? I didn’t think you would be.

My wife and I have both told people that we don’t know about “so and so” or about a particular situation. We either run with the wrong crowd or we just aren’t overly interested in gossip which also constitutes slander at times.

There are times when church members can’t help themselves. When a negative story floats around about Little Miss Perfect or about the son of Mr. High and Mighty, the temptation to tell someone is often times too great to resist, especially if we don’t like that person.

Well, I declare today that we must resist that temptation. If Christians are going to exhibit real love, then we better start going to the object of every piece of juicy gossip and confront that person instead of talking about them. This gossip could be in the form of personal or theological matters and all points in between.  We need to stop murmuring and mumbling and just go directly to the source.

Unless you yourself are living a mighty exalted Christian life right now, you probably have someone you should confront. I know I do. Let’s do it together this coming week. We can get on our knees this weekend and pray that we have the guts to stop the rumors, gossiping, murmuring, and mumbling, and clothe ourselves with the love God wants us to exhibit to others.

Amen?

Finally, listening is part of the problem. Even if I declare I won’t tell another soul about a piece of juicy gossip, my listening is half the problem. Gossip doesn’t happen unless there is someone to talk and another to listen. Forgive me God for those rare times I listen to gossip and thank you for the strength I’ve had to change the subject when I’ve needed to do so. By the way, some of you receiving this email have seen me listen to gossip and I ask God for forgiveness for those times I’ve been interested in gossip.

A bit of preaching, Christian Graces, Struggles

How do you learn?

Posted on August 5, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

How do you learn?
Acts 17:16-34

I praise God for making us all different. How boring would life be if we were all the same? Unfortunately, our differences make it harder to teach when each person in a group is most likely a different type of learner.

Whether a person is teaching Biology or the Bible, each group of people is made up of different types of learners. There are visual learners who find it easier to take in new information through pictures, diagrams, charts and films. There are auditory learners who like to learn things verbally and specifically like hearing seminars and presentations. Finally there are kinesthetic learners that find it easier to take in new information through copying demonstrations and getting physically involved.

Which one are you? If you’re over 50, you are most likely an auditory learner, someone who likes to take in information via simple presentations and seminars. If you are in your 30s or below, you are most likely a visual learner, preferring video, charts, diagrams, and other pictures. As for kinesthetic learners, let me know who you are.

We seem to have a culture clash of visual vs. auditory learners. Society has a lot to do with these differences in learning styles. Television, DVDs, video games, and computers are changing this world, and especially the way younger generations learn. Is this bad? Is this good? Learning is still going to happen, that’s what matters.

Paul, speaking to the philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:22-34) took lines from pagan poets to get to his teaching about God. It’s amazing that God can take pagan poetry and use it through Paul to reach pagan philosophers. Paul was rejected by the majority, but some men joined him and believed. Paul took what he had to work with. He had pagans in front of him and he used pagan poets to get to his point. We should learn from his example.

In our churches, we shouldn’t force senior citizens to watch videos for Bible lessons, because most likely they are auditory not visual learners. The same can be said for younger individuals, they are most likely visual and more relationship oriented learners. Seminars, simple verbal presentations, and learning in large groups may not be attractive to them. Since God said he wants all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), we should do what we can to reach all the people. However, this won’t happen until we recognize our God-given differences.

Praise God for how we are made! We are made differently. Anyone with more than one child understands that.

Belonging, Evangelism, Ministry