Quick Travel Update

We saw our little girl off this morning about 9:30 at the Cleveland Airport. I think that there were just about the right amount of tears shed. Some wonderful hugs and even a huge smile. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us ... don't stop now! She took off a few minutes after 11:00 and as I write this, the web site FlightAware.com says she is right over top one of her most favorite places on earth ... Beulah Beach. He friend, Janna is waiting at O'Hara airport for her to arrive and the two of them will get on a flight headed for Singapore. How thankful we are that Rachel has a such a good friend going to Jakarta with her.

My LIttle Girl Is Ready to Fly

The picture above was taken 21 years ago at the Pittsburgh airport as Dinita’s and my family said good-bye to us as we headed to Thailand. The little 15 month girl between me and my dad is Rachel. Things have changed quite a bit at airports since 1992 so we’ll not be walking to the gate … but we will be dropping Rachel off at the Cleveland airport as she leaves for Jakarta, Indonesia and I’m just now getting the flood of emotions and pain that my mom and dad must have gone through that August morning so long ago.

I can’t imagine a more bitter-sweet moment. (Although the day that I walk her up the isle will likely top this one!)

There is incredible joy and thanksgiving to God for the abundance of His grace in her life. How many young people have great dreams in their early years but the dream so often fades or gets sidetracked? We have watched as God continued to foster in Rachel’s heart and mind a vision and dream of teaching children of many different cultures. In about 8^th grade when most kids are studying the Toys-R-Us catalogue in November, Rachel had a catalogue from Global Adventures posting all the different short term missions trips. She didn’t want Christmas gifts ... she wanted money to go on a missions trip. She ended up going to Costa Rica for two weeks. Since then she has become a seasoned world traveler and sometimes she seems more at home in foreign cultures than she does in Fairlawn. She easily engages people of different cultures and has a way of building bridges with them with just her smile and laugh. Those at IWU who were her mentors and instructors talk in glowing terms of how she was able to so naturally embrace education principles for a broad variety of cultural backgrounds. Those who worked with her during her student teaching in Sheng Yong, China told her after a couple of weeks that it was like she had always been a part of the school. She just fit in perfectly.

During a visit with Rachel’s principal adviser for education I thanked him for all he and IWU did to help her grow into such a godly woman. His response was that they are able to do only so much, it really is a matter of what students bring with them to school, and then he added, “She brought a lot with her.”

I remember the first time that Rachel played an offertory at church. I got up and almost couldn’t go on I was so incredibly proud. I feel that way to the 10^th power today. And I have only the Lord to thank and praise for the way he has blessed her and us through the years. It’s his grace and goodness that has brought this joy and pride into our lives!

But then, there is tomorrow morning.(July 17)

I can very easily recall the emotions that I had the day that we put her on the plane to go to Costa Rica for two weeks. I can’t imagine what I’ll be feeling like, 24 hours from now.

Thankfully, now there is email, Facebook, instant messaging, Facetime and Skype. The world has gotten smaller with the technology. But these past few weeks of having her at home and traveling through Thailand together are going to be cherished memories. Her warmth and joy will be missed. I might even come to the point of missing those early morning fog horn nose blowing sessions. She is fun! And her leaving will mean a “fun” deficit of sorts.

This morning I was in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15a: But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.(NLT) 

I’m going to miss that “Christ-like” fragrance that Rachel has brought to our lives, family and our church. But He has led her as His captive to Indonesia where she will spread the knowledge of Christ like sweet perfume.

I love you Rachel and my prayer is that His grace would continue to flow through you and touch lives for His glory just as he has used you to bless us for these past 22 years.

Grace, Peace, Joy and His Unfathomable Love to you!

Dad 

Vacationing in Cha-Am, Thailand in June

Dealing with Moral Failure

My wife and I watched the video recorded at the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana’s Wednesday night service as the Deacons reported on the dismissal of their pastor, Jack Schaap for inappropriate behavior with a minor. I’ve read that a Deacon picked up the pastor’s cell phone from the pulpit and noticed a picture of the pastor and a young teen kissing. That lead him and others to investigate and it turned out that last Monday night the Deacons met with the Pastor to confront him with the evidence to which the head Deacon indicated he made full confession.

That’s a church of some 15,000 members. The spiritual damage is incredible. And sneer of the unbelieving world grows towards the whole Body of Christ.

As I’ve served on our district denomination’s discipline committee, I can resonate with the pain and heartache that the Deacon Board and church is feeling. My own church suffered the loss of some precious ministers because of inappropriate relationships. And so as I watched that video, there were a lot of emotions that resurfaced. It’s caused me to think again about how God would have us handle and deal with sin like this.

I applaud the Deacon board for the swiftness with which they dealt with the issue. The rumor mill didn’t get a chance to get turned on. I hope that they did their homework and their decision was not based on hearsay or conjecture. I also hope that behind the scenes there is a lot of love and concern being poured out to the Pastor Schaap and his family as well as the affected teen and her family.

That is one aspect that I would have like to have seen more of. Those who spoke in the video talked a great deal about how their actions were all about their love for and concern for the church. But there was a missing element of their love for the Pastor and his family. It wasn’t quite that “throw him under the bus” feeling, but I would have appreciated a bit of humility and brokenness from the leaders for their now former pastor.

This morning in my devotional readings I was in Psalm 143. Verse 2 says, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” One of the things that I’ve come to expect when I’ve been involved in a discipline case or just hear about horrendous happenings like this is that I begin to examine my own heart, mind and life. When I went running and was mediating on the verse I thought about Jesus’ words in the sermon on the mount … “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28.

And then with the woman caught in adultery Jesus challenges the throngs that the person who is without sin can cast the first stone. To which they all turn away.

The ramifications of a pastor’s moral failure are especially devastating and Paul admonishes Timothy: “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. ²⁰ Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. 1 Timothy 5:19-20. So the actions of the First Baptist Church’s Deacons is appropriate.

Dr Schaap should be embracing a long season of repentance to deal with all that led him to this sin. But may we always rebuke in love and not wrath.

Dealing with the Devil

I made the statement in the message this morning that “the Devil hates you and has a terrible plan for your life.” But in retrospect I wonder if that statement gives the Devil more credit than he deserves. Does he really have a “plan” or does he just take what he gets and ad-libs.

I’m wondering if he looks for any opportunity for temptation. As life happens, he’s there to try and make it more difficult tempting us to take a short cut that would take us away from our pure devotion to Christ.

Even in Jesus’ case, the Devil prompts his temptation when things are tough for Jesus. He’s hungry, feeling a little powerless, and may have been wrestling with the Father’s will as he did right up through the scene of his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when Jesus rebuffs the temptation of the Devil Luke records, “When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13)

Let’s not give this diabolical creature more credence than he deserves!

Pride and it's impact on mercy

In preparing for last Sunday’s message I stumbled onto a reality that I don’t think I ever had considered before.  I got to thinking about pride and repentance in connection with mercy. Here’s the reality … “God’s mercy has absolutely no significance in the presence of pride.”

I really don’t see any need for mercy if I consider myself pretty well put together. The humble person is the one who really really really appreciates God’s infinite mercy.

He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.

Luke 1:50 (NLT) 

Too much on "suffering?"

I’ve been wondering if this series on 1 Peter isn’t a little morbid. We’ve been stuck on suffering for quite a long while. The whole purpose of the book is helping people be ready for times of intense persecution and suffering, just for being Christ-followers.

My bother-in-law, Ralph Trainer is the director of Beulah Beach near Vermillion, Last we he told me that his son, Joel had decided last spring that he wanted to study the book of 1 Peter during the staff worship and devotional times during the summer. What’s with a 20-something wanting to dive into the subject of preparing to suffer? Is God pointing his church to these critical passages to study as a means of readying us for some difficult days ahead? I’ve found a number of preachers and themes related to this issue of dealing with trials, suffering and afflictions.

Here is video excerpt of Tullian Tchividjian (grandson of Billy Graham speaking about suffering. His basic thesis is that suffering itself doesn’t rob us of joy. It’s when suffering begins to take away from us things that were more valuable than God. Idolatry he states is in reality what robs us of joy and peace.  Check it out:

  

Graduation Day

We watched Lyndsay graduate from Copley High School yesterday ... So what do you say when your youngest throws her cap into the air? Dinita and I just got done watching the video that Rachel made for Lyndsay's graduation. I know it is a cliche, but "Time doesn't stand still" is way too true.
I pulled the photo album that my mother put together for me and I saw it there as well. As she documented all my "last" events in High School. I read through mom's album differently.

A couple of months ago I was in a discussion group with two other young couples who both had kids under one year of age. They were still a bit frazzled trying to make the adjustment from being a couple to being a family and a little bit of intimidation of raising kids in this day and age. They asked me what Dinita's and my secret was. I didn't have to think for a second. It is all of God's Grace. I'm sure that I did more to harm than help. But God's grace was incredible.

When I watched that video an hour or so ago, it was like, every clip was a glimpse into God's incredible unmerited favor and love. If I were to say what is the most prominent way that God has shown himself and character to me in the last 21 years ... I would say that it is in my precious two daughters. Thank you Lyndsay and Rachel for being what God has made you to be!