Before You Go - Thank You!

I received an email from a friend this morning, who was one of the hostesses at the servicemen's center (Port O' Call) where I received Jesus Christ as my Savior. It contained a link to a video of pictures and a song called "Before You Go" thanking World War II and Korean War veterans for their service and sacrifice. Click on the title of this post to watch the video and listen to the song. It will stir your heart. Maybe you know someone who you can say "Thank you" to from that generation, before it's too late.

The video also made me think of the sacrifices that the young girls (hostesses) who served at the Port O' Call made to reach young sailors like me with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To all of the young women who served there from 1942 until 1995 I want to say "Thank you!"

But, just in case we lose sight of the present in all of our nostalgia, I want to say a special "Thank you" to all of the brave and wonderful young men and women who are serving in the military today, and the sacrifices they are making right now. The men in the pictures associated with the song were young when they served too. There are thousands of young men and women who are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, who will also carry emotional and physical scars for the rest of their lives. To them, I say "Thank you!" too.

Sunday Activities - June 22

Paulo's wife wanted him to video an American worship service. So I picked up the Brazilian sailors from the Greenhalgh at 10:30am this Sunday. We attended the worship service at Glad Tidings Church (Assemblies of God) in Norfolk. But it turned out that Paulo was the only one who couldn't come. He had duty on the ship and had to work. Daniel did the video taping for him.

Rubem got all dressed up! He had on a black suit, white shirt, and red stripped tie. He looked really good, like a real pastor! He said that is his dream - to be a pastor.

Tiago, Camillo, and Edivaldo, Daniel and Rubem all came to the house after the service. They all relaxed while Yvonne finished dinner and I went to pick up Josue Torres and Joshua Johnson at Little Creek. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and home made wheat bread were on the menu for the day. That was followed by chocolate chip pie with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce, and coffee and tea for dessert.

While we ate we all practiced new Portuguese and English words and phrases. But this week we had a new twist. Josue is from Puerto Rico and speaks Spanish. All of our friends from Brazil understand Puerto Rican Spanish. So Josue translated some of our English into Spanish and then translated some of the Brazilian's Spanish into English. All the while, Josue was also learning some Portuguese. It was a riot! We talked and laughed and had a wonderful time together.

After dinner, for our worship time, I brought out our contemporary chorus books. We found several songs that everyone recognized and we sang, again in Portuguese and English. I think the angels in heaven must have rejoiced. I know we did! Again this week the Lord spoke to us through the Gift of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues.

We watched the video of the 23rd chapter of Matthew (in Spanish with English subtitles) and then discussed it. Jesus really focused on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in this chapter. We applied the point of the chapter to ourselves. It is vital that as Christians we make sure we are not hypocrites! Especially in the military, where we live in such close proximity to one another, on ships and in our ground units. When we call ourselves Christians our shipmates' eyes will be on us to see how we behave. Our witness and our testimonies can be damaged or destroyed by claiming to be Christians and then living sinful lives. Whether other people want to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or not can be impacted by our behavior. If we are going to claim to be disciples of Jesus we need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

The end of our video showed Jesus agonizing and weeping over Jerusalem. His heart was breaking because He wanted them to come to Him, but they refused. We have to be really careful, because we can cause Jesus' heart to break if we live hypocritical lives! Everyone was really quiet at the end of our Bible study. You could really feel Jesus' presence in the room.

Then we went around the room and prayed for each other.

We finished about 5:30pm and then just hung out together for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The Brazilians are becoming more and more confident in their ability to speak English. I keep trying to encourage them, because they really can speak English much better than they think they can. I remember the first time I visited Germany, and had dinner with Yvonne's cousin. He encouraged me in my attempts to speak German, and that encouragement helped me speak more.

I brought out my bird book and asked Rubem if they had Cardinals in Brazil. He didn't know. Later Daniel recognized the picture of a Robin, and said they had Robins in Brazil. I showed them the Robin's nest on the side of our house. Then I showed them a picture of a Carolina Wren, and showed them the Wren's nest in the flower pot on our back porch.

On the porch Daniel saw the Croquet set and said they play Croquet in Brazil too. So we set up a game of Croquet in the back yard. That was fun! Then of course we hammed it up for the camera (Josue played too, but he had to leave before we took the picture).


I drove them all back to the ship at about 10:30pm. I love these guys! They are a great group of men.

Saturday Evening Activities - June 21

Todd Williams came over from Oceana Naval Air Station. And I went to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base and picked up Josue Torres. Josue brought a friend of his - Joshua Johnson, a sailor from one of the ships at Norfolk Naval Station. Our plan was to go bowling at the Little Creek bowling alley, but someone had rented the entire bowling alley for the evening. So we had to be flexible and made a quick change of plans. We all drove to the Pizza Hut on General Booth Blvd and enjoyed their all you can eat pizza buffet. After we ate, we played 18 holes of miniature golf at Lynnhaven Golf Park (Todd won)! And finally, ice cream - Dairy Queen style - was the last stop of the day.

Josue is a new Christian and really excited about his new faith! Everything people tell him, he says he wants to be shown in the Bible. While we ate our ice cream, one of the things we talked about was "church." I explained that what we were doing that evening was church. Church, isn't about a building, sitting in a pew and simply listening to a sermon. The Bible says that where two or three are gathered together in Jesus' Name, He is there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). Church is about us...people, relationships, family...love.

We topped off the evening, while sitting outside at the Dairy Queen table, in front of God and everybody, and prayed together. I must confess, I peeked and saw some people watching us. I hope it was a good witness to them.

Fragata Greenhalgh Visits Norfolk Naval Station

What a fantastic weekend! To watch a slide show with the pictures we took this weekend click on the title of this post.

Friday

Several months ago a young sailor in the Brazilian Navy (Rubem) found our web site and emailed us asking if he could participate in our activities while his ship was in Norfolk. Of course, I said YES! We told him he was welcome to bring his friends too. We maintained contact via email until this past Friday (June 13) when his ship arrived.

The Brazilian ship Fragata Greenhalgh F46 pulled in at 0800 Friday morning. Yvonne and I were pier side to meet it, holding a sign with Rubem's name on it, hoping he would see it. Sure enough, as the ship tied up to the pier Rubem saw us and waved.

After the ship was secured we were brought on board and met Rubem and a friend named Camillo. Rubem only speaks Portuguese. His friend, who spoke a little English, served as our interpreter. Since this was a work day for the crew, we made arrangements to come back at 6:00pm to bring Rubem to the house for dinner. Rubem asked how many people we could accommodate, and we said we've had as many as 15 servicemen and women before. We had also invited Todd Williams (YN2 - Oceana), and Shaun and Wally Clark to join us (Shaun is one of our board members).

My attempts at finding a Portuguese speaking interpreter failed. So Yvonne and I felt we were in for a real adventure! I bought a Portuguese/English dictionary so we could at least look up individual words.

When I came back at 6:00pm Rubem was ready and brought four of his friends - Camillo, Paulo, Edivaldo, and Tiago. None of them spoke very much English. But we made hand gestures, pointed, and laughed a lot. Their spirits were so buoyant and happy that it was easy to communicate even if we didn't know all the words!

I know from experience with my family in Germany and Austria, who also speak no English, that when they speak German slowly I can understand them. But when they speak at their normal rate I have trouble understanding them. So, I tried to speak as slowly as I could to help our new Brazilian friends understand me.

Yvonne was making spaghetti, salad, and apple crisp for dinner. I looked up those words in the Portuguese dictionary, and told the guys what we were having to eat - in Portuguese. They actually understood me! Some of the sailors then said some things in English. Wow, I decided this was going to be fun.

Edivaldo was the first to say that pronouncing English words made him feel like he had a potato in his mouth. That phrase got repeated so often that it became my first Portuguese phrase: "batata na boca". Whenever we said it, we laughed!

Camillo was the translator for the group. But, as time went on, Tiago also began to translate more and more from English to Portuguese. We began to joke every time I reached for the Portuguese/English dictionary that we were going to "the book." Camillo also got called "the book" because of his translating. And, you guessed it, Tiago also got that label. Pretty soon we were saying the dictionary was book one, Camillo was book two, and Tiago was book three. It was fun, and again, it made us laugh.

We ate dinner, talked as much as we could, and enjoyed getting to know each other. I discovered that they could all understand English fairly well. And, as the evening went along, I also discovered that some could speak English better than they professed. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the same thing Yvonne and I go through when we go to Germany. It's hard to get over the initial fear of speaking a foreign language, lest we speak it incorrectly and get laughed at. That's what keeps most people from wanting to talk in a foreign language. So, we tried our best to be helpful and encouraging. They were patient with our attempts at learning Portuguese words too.

During the evening our guests pulled out their laptops and showed us pictures of their wives and children. Yvonne and I learned Portuguese words and they practiced their English. All of them were happy when they learned I have a router on my computer. They quickly went online and called home to their wives.

Paulo is the musician in the group. He saw our guitar and began to play, singing Portuguese praise choruses. When he hit on a familiar melody that we also knew, they would sing in Portuguese and we sang in English. I explained how we take turns praying for one another's needs and everyone joined in during our prayer time. Again, they prayed in Portuguese and we prayed in English.

We wrapped up the evening about midnight and I drove everyone back to the ship. I explained they were "guests" in my home only the first time they come here. If they come back they are part of my "family."

Saturday

Todd volunteered to take the sailors around to different stores in the area to do some shopping on Saturday. So, in the morning he drove over to Norfolk Naval Station, picked them up, and spent the day letting them buy things for their wives and children at different stores in the area. When they took all their purchases back to the ship, they gave Todd a guided tour. They even took him up to the bridge where he sat in the helmsman's seat. He said he had fun with them all day!

Cpl Randy Mayzak, one of "our" Marines in the 2nd Marine Division Band in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina called last week and told us that his band was going to be playing for the pre-show entertainment at the Norfolk Tides Baseball game this week. Randy was an active part of our fellowship while he attended the Navy School of Music at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. So, we decided to go to see him and take the Brazilian sailors to a real American baseball game at the same time.

At 4:30pm Todd brought everyone to the house for our evening activity. Everyone except Rubem; he had duty on Saturday. We ate Sloppy Joes and French Fries, and had Klondike Bars (ice cream) for dessert.

While we were standing in line to purchase tickets for the baseball game I saw the Marine Corps bus in the stadium parking lot. I went over to say "Hi!" to Randy, and took some pictures of him all decked out in his dress blues. He really looked sharp! When they performed on the baseball field they sounded really good too! Randy had to leave on the bus with his band right after their performance. But Nikki (his wife) came over to where we were seated and visited with us for a while.

During the game Paulo asked me to explain what was happening so he could understand the game better. I explained it to him, and then he explained it to the others. This was the first time any of them had ever been to a baseball game! I think everyone had fun. Unfortunately, the game was really lopsided; the Norfolk Tides lost 9 to 0.

After the game, we all went back to the house, and everyone hooked up to the Internet to call home. The guys had us talk to their wives too. It was interesting because the laptops had built-in web cams, so we could see each other as we talked. Granted, they didn't understand us, and we didn't understand them, but it was fun anyway.

Paulo asked us to pray for his wife. She had been to the doctor because she was ill. That is one of the hardest things a serviceman or woman has to face while on deployment; having a loved one back home get sick, not being there, and not being able to do anything about it. But, we serve a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above anything that we can ask or think. Distance is not a limiting factor for Jesus. We all took turns praying for each other, and for Paulo's wife.

We wrapped things up again about midnight and I drove the guys back to the ship.

Before we left the house Daniel translated something Comillo said that he wanted us to know. He said in Brazil Camillo had stopped going to church. But since being here with us he decided to come back to the Lord again. What a blessing that was to know! The way Jesus works in the hearts of people is truly awesome! I simply give Him all of the glory.

Sunday

I went to Norfolk Naval Station and picked everybody up at 12:30. Everyone except Camillo that is; he couldn't come over because he had duty. At the house, some of the guys worked on a puzzle, while others talked to their families back home on their laptops, while Yvonne finished cooking dinner. I loaded pictures from every one's cameras onto my computer to use in our slide show.

Dinner included a pork loin roast, spetzle, peas, and home made bread, and a raspberry creme jello for dessert. While we ate I learned how to say "thank you - obrigado" and "you're welcome - de nada" in Portuguese. Todd chimed up and said, "That just goes to show you that you can teach an old dog new tricks!" We spent the next half hour trying to translate that expression, because it wasn't just translating the words, we had to explain the idiom itself. But when everyone finally got it, they all laughed!

Paulo brought his flute and led us in worship; playing songs that were worship songs known in both countries. It took some time to find songs we all knew, but we did find a few, and sang in English and in Portuguese at the same time. It was a really a neat experience.

We watched the Matthew video of chapter 22:15-46 in Spanish with English sub titles. All of the Brazilian sailors said they understood it. What a blessing that was! After watching the video I explained a passage in English, and one of the other guys would translate. Then they would discuss it among themselves in Portuguese. The Bible study went really well!

As we started our prayer time the Lord spoke to us through a message in tongues and the interpretation of tongues. It was so personal. The Lord said He would protect the sailor's families while they were away from them; and that He would also protect them on their ship, and use them among their shipmates. We closed the service after praying for each other. We specifically prayed for Paulo's wife again. Three of the sailors have small children. I felt led to pray for each of them by name - Carolina, Iago, and Gabriel.

The rest of the afternoon we sat around the house fellowshipping. Everyone was plugged into their laptops talking to their families. It was a awesome time!

Rubem and Tiago talked with me outside for a while, and shared that Tiago had also been away from the Lord in Brazil, and had decided to come back to the Lord since being here this weekend. I believe it was Jesus Christ that brought Rubem to our website in Brazil, and gave him the desire to make contact with us. The Lord orchestrated this whole weekend.

Yvonne then fed everyone again, and about 10:30 I took the sailors back to their ship. As we were getting ready to leave, Paulo said his wife was feeling much better. I could only lift my hands and praise the Lord! Jesus is so faithful!

2007 Army Suicides Highest On Record!

Many of you saw the stories on CNN and Fox News, or read in the newspapers, about the increase in suicides among United States Army personnel in 2007. The stories indicated that suicides have risen to record levels in the Army during the past three years. The story caught my attention while I was working out at the gym on base. But, skeptic that I am, I wanted to read the report for myself if I could. So I downloaded the Army Suicide Event Report (ASER) and read it. I also read other articles and blog entries that were discussing it online. The Army Times article, "Army Suicides Hit Record in 2007" is probably the most balanced presentation of the numbers I read in the ASER.

From my perspective of ministry to young military men and women, the most significant statement made in the executive summary of the ASER, was: "Suicide behaviors were significantly more common for young, Caucasian, unmarried, junior enlisted Soldiers." That hit me like a ton of bricks! This is precisely the military demographic that Yvonne and I focus our ministry toward. I was overwhelmed by the thought that this age group of young men and women (18-25) was at such high risk for suicidal behavior.

My doctoral research revealed, through interviews with young military men and women who had been involved in Open Bible Ministries between 2000 and 2007, in this age group, that the safe comfortable home and family environment, the planned weekend social activities, and the close interpersonal relationships that were developed, helped them avoid unhealthy activities. They also acknowledged that participating in the ministry helped them handle loneliness, isolation, boredom, homesickness, stress, anger, depression, and frustration more positively. Some of these emotional issues were identified in the ASER as the stressors that were motivational in sucidal behavior.

All of this highlights my belief that the Pentecostal church needs to develop a significant, intentional, and sustained outreach to the military community. This includes ministry to military spouses and military families, but also to single military men and women in this age group.

Sunday Activities - June 8

YN2 (how does that look Todd?) Todd Williams and SPC Cheryl Thomas came over on Sunday afternoon. Yvonne made a shrimp quiche, a spinach quiche, and a salad for dinner. And a home made cheese cake for dessert.

After dinner we went into the living room and sang and worshipped. Then we watched Matthew chapter 22 and talked about it. We only discussed the first 14 verses.

This section of Matthew 22 was Jesus' parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding banquet prepared by a king. When the king sent servants to tell those who had been invited to the banquet that everything was ready, they refused to come. They went about their business as usual and couldn't be bothered. They even mistreated and killed the servants. Jesus said the king killed the murderers and destroyed their city. It was not long after this that the city of Jerusalem was actually destroyed.

Then the king sent out other servants to invite anyone who would come to the banquet. And come they did, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. From what Jesus said next it can be inferred that those who came were given wedding garments. We talked about the wedding garments: white, clean, linen garments (Rev 3:5) "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." KJV

Rev 7:9-10 says "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." NIV

Rev 7:13-14 goes on to say, "Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes — who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." NIV

Finally Rev 19:14 says: "The armies of heaven were following him [Jesus], riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean ." NIV

The way a person comes to wear a white robe is by receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. That's what it means by "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

We talked about the passage in Isaiah 1:18 "'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." NIV

Without faith in Jesus Christ our "robes" are as red as crimson because of our sin. Only by believing in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins can we be forgiven and made clean. Clean so that our "robes" are white and clean instead of stained red.

After we talked about this it was interesting to go back to our passage in Matthew 22 and read the verses where Jesus talked about the man who was cast out of the kingdom because he did not have the right wedding garments on.

This whole parable was similar to the parable of the tenants in Matthew 21. In this passage (Matthew 22) Jesus was still addressing the Jewish chief priests and elders of the people as He was in Matthew 21.

Those who had originally been invited to the "banquet" were the Jewish people. But they refused to come to the banquet, to the kingdom of God. They stoned the prophets and killed many. They would be responsible for having Jesus put to death. They refused to believe. Yet the sinners and prostitutes and tax collectors and outcasts of society believed in Him and entered the kingdom.

I think it can safely be inferred that the man without the wedding garment represented the Jewish nation who had rejected Jesus, and yet "claimed" to belong to the kingdom of heaven. They believed that they could get into the kingdom apart from faith in Jesus. That man was cast out into the darkness. This parallels what Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the Jewish people in Matthew 21:41 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

The message is clear: apart from Jesus Christ there is no possibility of getting into the kingdom of God (the kingdom of heaven). It is only through faith in Jesus that we can have our sins forgiven and our "robes" washed clean. There is no other way!

After our study we shared prayer requests and prayed for each other.

Saturday Activities - June 7

With most everyone transferred to other bases, and no new servicemen coming to the house right now it looked like Saturday was going to be a day Yvonne and I were going to simply veg out. Then, about 6:00pm we heard the door bell ring - it was Stanley Laskos!

Stanley's in the Navy and is involved with special ops. So he can never tell us when he's going to be in or not, or when he leaves he can't ever say when he's coming back. Then on most long weekends he is up in Ohio spending time with his little girl, Faith. But, we're always glad to see him when he comes in!

So we shifted gears, and Yvonne fixed sandwiches and baked a batch of cookies for dessert. I am so proud of the way she does that! She NEVER lets a serviceman or woman go away hungry.

We decided to play Uno Attack, but when we got it out we realized there were no batteries in the card shooter. Ooops! So we pulled out a puzzle and began working on it. With temperatures in the mid nineties and above here for the past few days, the snow scene looked pretty good. We talked, and put the puzzle together, and before we realized it, it was 10:00pm! We usually stop our game about 8:30pm. That shows you how engrossed we were in the puzzle.

When we realized what time it was we also realized we were all getting pretty tired. So we went into the living room, shared prayer requests and prayed.

But life is never dull with Stanley. He always has adrenalin rush stories to tell. This last trip home to Ohio, at about 4:00 in the morning he was driving a little too fast, and got pulled over. But when the police officer approached the car she saw what looked like weapons in the back of his vehicle (they were paintball guns). She had him throw his keys out of the window, get out of the car, and handcuffed him. Then she called for "back-up." When the other police officers arrived they searched through everything in his vehicle and patted him down. All they found was the paint ball guns. He heard the very young back-up officers say to each other that they were disappointed; they thought they were in on a big weapons and drug bust.

After getting home he and his daughter and little nephew were sleeping out under the stars, about 50 yards from their house. He woke up when he felt something hard hit his head. When he sat up his dog was barking, Faith was crying, and his nephew was not next to him.

He looked around and saw several deer running away. They had jumped right over the sleeping trio! Stan thinks one of the deer's hooves hit him in the head. He said, "Now who else can say they were kicked in the head by a deer!" About that time his mother, a nurse, came home from work and everyone went inside. His nephew was asleep in the house.

Feeding the Birds

I just came in from having my devotional time in the back yard. In the spring, before it gets too hot and after the cold weather has abated, I love sitting in the hammock swing in the morning to spend time with the Lord. Those of you who know me know I'm an avid bird feeder. I have bird feeders hung all around my yard. And the bird activity is relaxing and fun to watch.

While I sat in the swing this morning, praying and worshipping, I watched and listened to the birds. They were singing and chirping all around me. I've learned to recognize some of their calls. So I know when there is a cardinal coming into the yard to feed. They always announce their arrival. And, sure enough, shortly after I heard him I saw the bright red bird streak past me to one of the feeders.

I have a pair of Carolina Wrens nesting in a flower pot on my back porch. It's amazing how loud the song of that tiny little brown bird is! She was busy darting back and forth around the yard. Stopping on the lattice work around my patio gathering insects.

When I walked out to the swing I almost got run over by a robin that was flying through the yard gathering material for the nest she is building in the elbow of one of the drain pipes on our gutters. I watched her fly back and forth with her beak filled each time with long strands of dried grass she got from the neighbor's yard behind us.

The house finches, four or five of them at a time, sat on the feeders eating, flew into a nearby Crepe Myrtle tree to eat the seeds, letting another group of four or five get to the feeders, and then that group would fly away and the original group would come back.

Finally, there were the little black capped chickadees. They come to the feeder, take one seed, hold it in their claws, and tap tap tap it with their beak until they crack the husk open and get the seed inside. It almost gives me a headache watching them jack hammer the shell with their beaks.

Psalm 84:2-3 says, "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young — a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God." NIV

And I think of Luke 12:6-7 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." NIV

I thought about those of you who have been through our home, and those of you who are in Iraq. And I prayed and sang to the Lord. I thought about sharing this on my blog and wondered if anyone would even care about my talking about my birds. Then the thought occurred to me, what if a soldier in Iraq were to find this post and read it. Perhaps reading about my birds would bring back memories of home, and provide just a little bit of peace in the dessert. So I wrote.

School of Music Graduation

This morning Yvonne and I attended SPC Cheryl Thomas' graduation from the Navy School of Music at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. This was the culmination of six months of intensive study and practice. Cheryl now moves on to Fort Drum in New York and the 10th Mountain Division band. Her mom, sisters, and a "special friend" came for the graduation.

Are You Ready To Pay Your Final Bill?

Credit card debt. Most of us have it. Add that to the mortgage debt we have, the car payments, and the list could go on and on. It all amounts to bills we have to pay...and pay...and pay...

But there's another debt we owe. And it's a debt we have to pay before we die or we will be in a lot of trouble! Often we live our lives as if there were no tomorrow. "Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is the old adage. We have to grab all the gusto from life that we can. We all want to be happy. As a matter of fact, the Dalai Lama says that happiness should be the ultimate aim of man.

However, what is actually happening is that we are living on credit, racking up a huge debt. In Romans 6:23 the Bible says we are earning wages for our lifestyle. The wages we are earning is death. And don't be deceived, we will all get paid! Then we'll pay for our purchases. The bills we racked up. We'll pay...for eternity!

So, after all that gloom and doom, my question is: "Are you ready to pay that final bill?" There is a way that you can. If you're interested in finding out how, read the article on our web site by clicking on the title of this post.

Sunday Afternoon - June 1

Wow! Where has this year gone?

Todd Williams and Josue Torres came over this afternoon. Yvonne made pot roast and carrots and spetzle (a German noodle/dumpling). And, if you're into dessert like I am, she made a Strawberry Whipped Sensation (sort of like home made strawberry ice cream with an Oreo cookie crust topped with cool whip). Are you hungry yet?

After dinner we worshipped together.

We were going to be taking communion, so I talked about the two reasons we take communion, according to 1 Corinthians 11:23-30: (1) to remember what Jesus did on the cross for us to purchase our salvation; and (2) to proclaim that we believe Jesus is coming back to this earth again. We took the communion elements while kneeling together around the coffee table.

While we were around the table praying, the Lord spoke to us through a message in tongues and an interpretation. Two gifts of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, He said He was pleased that we were remembering what He had done for us and that we were looking forward to His return. He said He loved us and that we were His sons and daughter. It was a very encouraging message.

Josue said he had heard a message in tongues and an interpretation before, in a Spanish Pentecostal church he attended once, but he didn't really understand what it was all about. So, I took the time to explain from 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 about the Gift of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. I try my best to help those who participate in our worship times, understand from the Bible what's going on when the gifts of the Spirit are manifested.

We watched the video of Matthew 21 and discussed the various segments of the chapter in context. Let me summarize our study for those of you who might be interested.

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was the first section. We discussed why Jesus, as a king, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Normally, a king would ride into a city on a huge white horse. We tied it back to His teaching on humility and being a servant in Matthew 20. And then we compared it to Revelation 19:11-16 where it talks about Jesus coming back to earth riding on a white horse! His first coming was as a suffering servant, while His second coming will be in triumphant power. This whole discussion tied back into our communion service and the reasons we take communion.

In the next section Jesus went into the temple and overturned the tables of the merchants. The priests and elders had allowed the temple to become a religious shopping mall rather than a place of prayer! He referred to two verses in the Old Testament (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11) where the prophets rebuked the Jewish people and their leaders for their corruption and sin. He was equating what went on hundreds of years before with what was going on in His day.

In the passage in Matthew He referred to the temple as "My" house. Jesus was implying that He was God and that the temple was His house. He then validated His claim by healing the blind and the lame.

We discussed the story of the fig tree that Jesus cursed. The disciples were amazed that the tree withered so quickly. This was another object lesson. The tree looked beautiful outwardly, but bore no fruit. The Jewish religious leaders, and the system they represented, looked beautiful outwardly. But, like the tree, they were bearing no fruit. Jesus' cursing of the fig tree was an indirect judgment of the Jewish religious system and its leaders. By rejecting the salvation Jesus was bringing, they were no longer capable of bearing fruit.

Later, when He was back in the temple the chief priests challenged Jesus about His right to do the things He was doing. They challenged His authority. Jesus' question in reply to the chief priests and elders highlighted their own hypocrisy.

The religious leaders discussed among themselves what their response should be. If they acknowledged that John the Baptist's baptism was from heaven, Jesus would ask them why they didn't believe him. John the Baptist said they should repent, pointed to Jesus as the Savior come from God, and said they should bring forth "fruit" suitable to demonstrate their repentance. They had refused to believe John the Baptist's message.

But the chief priests and elders politically savvy enough to know they couldn't say it was only of human origin because then the people would turned against them. Because the people believed John.

This story was followed by the one about the two sons. The chief priests and elders knew that the son who actually went into the field was the one who did what the father wanted him to do, not the one who "said" he would and then did not go.

Jesus then spaid plainly that John the Baptist came to show the way of righteousness. He came to point to Jesus as the Messiah and the means of Israel's salvation. The outcasts of society believed John, and Jesus said they were getting into the kingdom of God, but the Jewish religious leaders refused to believe, and as a result, were not getting into the kingdom.

Finally, in our study we talked about Jesus' parable of the landowner and the tenants. The landowner was God the Father who entrusted the means of salvation to the Jewish nation and its leaders. The servants that were sent by the landowner were the Old Testament prophets sent by God the Father. The Jewish religious leaders treated the prophets shamefully and killed many. Then the land owner sent his son as God the Father sent His son. Jesus was predicting what they would do to Him.

The chief priests answered correctly when Jesus asked them what the landowner would do to the wicked tenants. It was interesting to note that the passage in Matthew says they also knew Jesus was applying those things to them.

The significance of this parable was in what Jesus said after the chief priests responded. He quoted Psalm 118:22-23 referring to Himself as the stone the builders rejected that would become the capstone. He pronounced the same judgment or curse on the Jewish religious leaders that he pronounced on the fig tree. He said the kingdom of God would be taken away from them, and given to a people who would produce its fruit.

Those people would be the Church that Jesus would build, and that consisted of the people who believed in Him. Jesus' followers were to bear fruit - the fruit of the Spirit according to Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

But let the Church beware! I believe if the leadership of the Christian church becomes corrupt and hypocritical, it too will be judged in the same way the Jewish religious system and its leaders were judged. This is not about Christians versus Jews. It is about receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, having a personal relationship with Him, that reveals itself in the fruit of righteousness.

What do you think?