Shadows

I couldn’t help but laugh at a clever cartoon, which depicted a very nervous chicken walking in front of a Kentucky Fried Restaurant.  The caption read, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

Psalm 23:4 captures my attention every time I read this beloved Psalm.  As a hospice chaplain, I quote this verse often when dealing with those close to death.  

Shadows have always intrigued me.  When the electricity went out, my siblings and I created shadow animals in the glow of candlelight.  My brothers and I would also shadowbox.  No matter how hard I punched my shadow, I never knocked him out! 

While walking home toward dusk, large maple trees cast shadows on the road and I imagined them to be aliens from another world.  My feet could not get me home fast enough!

And perhaps you remember the late 1960’s afternoon television soap entitled “Dark Shadows, which featured a vampire named Barnabas Collins.  The Collins family lived in Collinsport, Maine, and the show depicted the lives, loves and tribulations of this family, which dabbled in supernatural phenomenon.  This scary, neck-biting drama aired every weekday right after we got home from school.  The name depicted the dark shadows of life in Collinsport.

Did you ever lie in a dark bedroom, convinced that the boogeyman was standing by the closet door?  Minimal light from a full moon cast a shadow and made a coat hanging on the edge of the door appear to be a “monster.” Such fear was intense.  Thank God, as long as my head was buried under the blanket, I was protected from this shadowy illusion!

Ashtabula County is home for 19 covered bridges.  These historic reminders of travel in simpler days feature hand-hewed lumber.  My wife and I enjoy the unique design of each one.  (Just a side note:  Jefferson, Ohio is host to the Annual Covered Bridge Festival in October, which draws people from across the nation.)

Not long ago, we took an afternoon drive on a beautiful sunny Sunday.  My eyes had, of course, acclimated to the bright sun when I entered a particular favorite bridge.  Suddenly, everything went dark and my eyesight was compromised.  I slowed down, unable to see my way.  Then, just as quick, we drove back out into the sunlight. 

At that moment Psalm 23:4 took on new meaning.  Driving through a covered bridge provided a sermon illustration!  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Death is a shadow.  It cannot harm the believer in Christ.  When the entrance to that covered bridge yielded darkness, shadows unnerved us until our eyes refocused in the sunlight.  Likewise, the shadow of death cannot hurt us.  Temporary darkness gives way to permanent light – for all eternity!  The light is Jesus!  He will guide us safely over, past the shadow of death, into eternal light! 

During a sunny day in Ashtabula County, plan a covered bridge itinerary and experience for yourself the truth of Psalm 23:4.  Each bridge will provide a wonderful illustration of this principle.

And how wonderful to know when our time comes, the Lord will be with us!  He will guide us beyond the shadow of death into His glorious presence!

What are We Trying to Say?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Once in a while verses in the Bible like the one above are partially misquoted or interpreted.  For the most part, such quoting renders harmless the original writer’s intentions, but still, we who handle the Word of God need to strive toward biblical accuracy. 

Another verse that we often quote wrongly proves my point as well.  Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” 

Most preaching suggests that children who are raised in the ways of the Lord never depart from their faith.  However, this application does not remain time tested.  Many who have been raised to love and serve the Lord stray from their original teachings in adulthood.  Such an application leaves godly parents bewildered and wondering, “Where did I go wrong?” Much guilt associated with childrearing proves unfounded.  Sometimes partial truth frustrates the work of God!

What was the wise preacher really suggesting?  According to Jewish thought, children were born with innate “bents,” or strengths.  Parents are given the responsibility to help shape those gifts and to direct each child toward their God-given paths.  This frequently quoted verse encourages parents to teach their children good decision making processes.  “Train” means to direct; it is not an ironclad promise that children will follow their parents’ role model.

So, what about our first mentioned verse?

    

1 Corinthians 2:9, often quoted at funerals, sounds like Paul is referring strictly to heaven. However, if you look at the verses before and after you discover an earthly intent.  The Apostle discusses the blessings that godly wisdom and Spirit-filled living bring to us in this life.  Our faith journey is one of exciting opportunities to experience God’s never-ending love and provision in this life.  We don’t have to wait for heaven to experience His abundant blessings. We who are indwelled by His Spirit have the privilege to participate in His provision on this side of eternity!

Again, no one commits the unpardonable sin when verses like the above two are misapplied, but it behooves all who handle the Word to “Study to show themselves approved…rightfully dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Dream the Impossible Dream!

Calling all dreamers!

An obscure verse found in Genesis 37:5 says, “And Joseph had a dream.”  This full color, ambiguous, two-part dream launched him toward his life’s work.  His dream provides a backdrop for dreamers today.  It has the makings of a made-for-television movie!  Before I continue, however, let me define the word “dream,” as seen in Joseph’s life.  A “dream” is an assignment from the Throne of God.  It may or may not occur in your sleep!

Dreamers “see” before they see!  Disneyland Park is the first of two Walt Disney theme parks built in the United States.  Located in Anaheim, California, Disneyland Park opened July 17, 1955 and is the only theme park directly built under the supervision of Walt Disney. 

Today, millions travel annually to his second American theme park located just outside of Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney passed away in 1968, before his second park was constructed. Mrs. Walt Disney was present at the grand opening of the Florida Park.  Someone said to her, “I sure wish Walt had been able to see this day.”  Walt’s widow replied, “He did!”

Dreamers are visionaries.  They first see in their mind’s eye and subsequently, with their physical eyes.  The world needs more dreamers!  Every company, business, restaurant, supermarket, bank, theme park, church, or whatever is the result of someone’s dream. 

“Joseph dreamed a dream.”  His was a two-part dream that launched him on a thirteen-year all expense paid trip to the pit, to Potiphar’s house, to prison and finally to the palace.  He suffered betrayal, false accusations, lonely days, family dysfunction and more – plenty of reasons to abort his dream.  However, he continued to push forward.  He refused to be victimized by life’s drama.

Don’t think for a minute that dreaming is easy.  All God-given dreams come with a price.  Time will tell if a given dream was initiated by God or by bad pizza the night before!  Dreamers must expect setbacks, critics, misunderstandings, financial challenges, inconveniences, and a host of other difficulties.  Having dreams is commendable, but I think we need to quit glorifying them at the expense of denying reality.  The fulfillment of any dream exacts a toll – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc., but the end results make it worthwhile!  We enjoy Disneyland because Walt and countless others paid the ultimate price to bring it into existence.

The difference between dreaming and daydreaming is that one pushes through and the other never gets off the ground.  Most dreams are shelved at the first hint of struggle and inconvenience.  After all, who relishes pain that more often than not accompanies progress?  Not me!  God-given dreams begin by showing us the end result, not what we may have to endure to see them come to pass.  In the meantime, faith often is taken to inexplicable depths.  Ask Joseph.

When God gives us a dream or a prophetic word, He does not give us a play by play. In Joseph’s case He showed him (generally speaking) his future capacity as a ruler over his brothers; but I don’t think Joseph ever understood the full extent of his dream until he actually arrived at the palace of Pharaoh as Prime Minister. 

First, he was required to endure the pit, Potiphar and prison.  And because of his internal drive, literally thousands of people escaped death by famine.  His food distribution program made his thirteen-year trek to the palace worth all the pain, sacrifices and struggles.

Dreamers cannot be cowards.  They dare not faint in the day of adversity.  They have to possess the tenacity of a bulldog – holding on to their dream with a grip that cannot be pried off.

What dream has God given you?  Pursue it with passion. Remember, you may have a burden to do something, but dreamers need not only to possess a burden.  They need unstoppable passion!

Almost 45 years ago God gave me a dream to plant a church in my hometown.  I’m not a martyr, but in retrospect, nothing has come easy.  Hope Community Church, located at 573 Goodale Road, south of the village of Jefferson, Ohio, stands as a fulfillment of my dream.  People who are far from God are finding new life in Christ.

Every time someone comes to faith in Christ, I am reminded that although the dream came with sacrifice, it has been worth it all to know that this God-given dream is fulfilling its purpose.  And the best is yet to come!

The dream inside you will be time tested.  Hold on!  Time and the faithfulness of God, along with your ability to “hold firm” will keep you on track during the difficult days.  Your dream will surely come to pass according to God’s timetable.  Along the way, He will fine-tune it, using circumstances to make you more like Jesus, so that in the end, your dream will stand as a testimony of His grace and provision. 

Joseph received his two-part dream at age 17 and walked through the palace doors at age 30.  That thirteen-year interlude at times took him to his breaking point, but in the end his famine relief program saved entire nations from perishing.  Remember, dreams are not given to build monuments to our greatness, but as a means to expand God’s plan and purpose on the earth.   

One "Whale" of a Story!

Imagine sitting on a Mediterranean beach sometime around 766 B.C.  Suddenly, as you’re watching the waves pounding the shore, a whale comes within close sight and projectile vomits out “something.”  Later, you discover it’s “someone” – a seaweed-covered, wrinkled man.  It’s a disgusting spectacle, but one for the books.

Jonah and the whale is one of my favorite Old Testament stories.  As a boy, I marveled at the run-away preacher who got swallowed by a great fish.  As an adult, I marvel at the imagery and suspense of the whole story.

These four chapters are fast moving and action packed.  Many who renounce the literal interpretation of the Bible struggle with the idea that a man could possibly survive in the belly of a great fish (whale) for three days.  However, our Savior recognized Jonah as an actual historical figure, so that’s good enough for me.  If Jesus confirmed the story, it has to be true!

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).   

Entire volumes have been written about the book of Jonah but generally speaking, it tells the story of an evangelist, who because of personal biases and attitudes, decided to run from his God-given assignment.  However, the deeper issues in this story are often overlooked for more surface discussions. 

I love preaching that confronts root issues. The intrigue of the book often skims the real meaning; and in typical Old Testament fashion cries out for the reader to explore the “story behind the story.”  One preacher dubbed this account, “The Gospel According to Jonah.”  Allow me to summarize the four chapters of Jonah by using the following recap:   

Chapter one  -- In a Fix

Chapter two – In a Fish

Chapter three – In a Revival

Chapter four – In a Rage

In a Fix

Chapter one sets the stage for the entire drama.  Jonah received his marching orders but refused to comply.  “Go to Nineveh,” the Lord said.  Instead Jonah boarded a vessel headed for Tarshish, located in what is now Spain.  But because the Lord is more concerned about WHO we are than WHAT we do, He caused a severe storm, which threatened the lives of the entire crew; and Jonah, per his request, was cast into the sea.  God had prearranged a whale to temporarily house the wayward preacher!

In a Fish

Chapter two describes incidents inside the whale’s belly, and records the only prayer meeting of its kind in history.  Jonah is taken deep below the surface, where seaweed (and whatever else) surrounded him.  You talk about cramped quarters! He did what you and I would do – he prayed.  You think! “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord…” (verse 7).

While in the depths of the sea, Jonah experienced an attitude change.  He said, “I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you.  What I have vowed I will make good.  Salvation comes from the Lord” (verse 9). The Lord had his full attention but still, root issues inside him became exposed in chapter 4. First, let’s summarize chapter 3.

In a Revival

In this chapter Jonah fulfills his mission.  He goes to Nineveh, a city of about 120,000 people who needed to repent for their military atrocities. The Ninevites were a warrior people, who had a reputation for plunder and violence.  Jonah’s message was direct:  “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned” (verse 4). Then something both phenomenal and of course, supernatural happened!  Conviction seized the masses – including the king – and they repented immediately.  The king issued a decree (verses 7-10):  “Let everyone call urgently on God.  Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows?  God may relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger…” 

What a great revival!  A crowd the size of many of Billy Graham’s crusade audiences totally repented.  Any preacher today would give his left arm for such preaching results!  Ashtabula County boasts a population of 98,632 (as of 2015), so that puts Jonah’s results into a cool perspective.

In a Rage

Then we read chapter four.  The preacher shows his real motivation.  Ironically, it made him mad when the entire city repented of their evil ways.  Yes, you read this right.  He got angry!  He pouted outside the city.  In the heat of the day, God used a fast-growing vine to temporarily shade the contorted evangelist.  Subsequently, God sent a worm to destroy the vine and expose the preacher’s heart.  What an incredible object lesson!

Jonah secretly hated the Ninevites and was surprised when they responded positively to his message.  His deeper issue was called into question.  God asked Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”  Jonah replied, “I do.  I am angry enough to die” (verse 9).

And like usual, God had the final word:  “Jonah, you have been more concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow...But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.  Should I not be concerned about that great city” (verse 10)?

Root issues in the book of Jonah beckon us to search our heart and ask the hard questions:

1.  What motivations drive our actions?

2.  Do we love people like we truly should?

3.  Are we happy when others, perhaps totally different from us, experience the blessings of God?

4.  Do we secretly hold anger and hard feelings toward people God has called us to serve?

5.  And many more…

The “Gospel According to Jonah” bids us to search our hearts and make sure our motivations line up with the heart of God!