Urgent Care by Wil Triggs

Nowadays even an emergency requires an appointment. You may go to urgent care if there’s no urgency involved, and you can schedule ahead. Suppose you did wind up in urgent care . . . 

The Visit
The nurse was nice enough. Maybe I was reading too much into the way he looked away, his mask tight on his face covering both mouth and nose, gloves on his hands. 

I bet he’s sick of doing this. He took my temperature, blood pressure, weight, height, all the normal things they’ve always done, but this time the fever thing took on a new layer of meaning.

Before any other treatment could be pursued, he explained, they had to run the test.

I knew it. 

It’s ok, I said, reassuringly. My wife really insisted that I come and get checked out.

It must be hard with this pandemic, I commented and then I thanked him.

No problem, he said. It’s not just us. It's happening in other parts of the world. Have you seen what’s happening in Brazil?

I guess so, I said. I mean, not really. I guess I haven’t been keeping up with any news, good or bad. For some reason I didn’t reveal to the nurse what my wife had dubbed my obsession with the news—on the lookout especially for good news about this global condition. I didn’t want to appear naive or ignorant about life.

Lots of bad news all round these days, he said, but I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or himself, so I didn’t reply.

He took a blood sample and told me it would be awhile before anyone would come back and left the room. 

So, I waited.

Bored, I looked at the poster on the wall: Symptoms to watch out for.

I didn’t really want to read them, so I averted my eyes. But after another five minutes, well, I had enough. No one was coming back any time soon. I stood up and walked over to the poster. I had to admit that I was more than a little curious. Did I have it? I figured a self-check was in order.

Symptoms to watch out for 
Inaudibly talking to a person or a force you cannot see.

Thinking of others as more significant than yourself.

Believing that you don’t have the final say in most things.

Believing that your life has started over, new, fresh, changed.

Gathering with people you don't know that well. Revealing things about yourself to them. Asking for help.

An alarming tendency to give away things to people who need help—money, food, clothing, sometimes in extreme cases, cars or even homes. Some even give their lives.

The list went on…

Beware: symptomatic or asymptomatic people may find themselves acting out in unorthodox ways

Allowing spit and dirt mixed into mud to be applied to blind eyes.

Casting your net on the other side of the boat.

Touching the hem of his garment.

Reading the same book over and over for years and expecting it to change you.

Selling everything and following him anywhere.

Laying down your life for your friends.

Believing that there’s nothing you can do to make yourself better.

Receiving atoning blood to cover your sin-stained soul.

Attempting to spread this sort of virus to others no matter the consequences.

By the time I was done reading the warnings, my heart was racing. What if this was happening to me?

The Diagnosis
Finally, the nurse came back into the room.

I was fine. The test came back negative. He seemed relieved. The doctors are busy treating others, he explained. And since you’re in the clear, you won’t even need to see one. We don’t want to waste their time.

You’re sure, I asked. Everything is fine?

It’s a pretty accurate test. Don’t feel bad. Your wife was right to send you in. It’s always a good idea to get checked. You don’t want to mess around with this stuff.

Okay, I said. We both stood up and he actually handed me the paperwork, which under the circumstances, surprised me.

There's a list of symptoms with your paperwork. Keep an eye out. Come back anytime for another test. Just because you're negative today doesn't mean you can't be infected tomorrow. So be careful.

You’re free to go, he said, and then thanked me for coming in and wished me a good day. Obviously, we did not shake hands.

From Voice of the Martyrs (actual reports from 6/18/2020)
Authorities in Wuhan seized the pastor of the Nanjing Road Church on Saturday, May 30, during an online Christian gathering. The day-long event, which was dedicated to church planting and evangelism, was being held online because of the pandemic. Police arrived at the church around noon and detained Pastor Luo, who was interrogated for more than four hours before being released. During the interrogation, Luo told the officials how Christians have been serving their communities in Wuhan during the pandemic.

Christian workers in Turkey report that restrictions and changes caused by the global pandemic have hit Iranian refugees hard. Many of the Iranians lost everything when they fled their country because of persecution for their Christian faith. And now, many have lost the low-paying jobs they had obtained in Turkey and are struggling to feed their families. In addition, they have little access to health care because the basic medical care provided to refugees has been stopped. “Some of our students who are unwell have avoided seeking medical treatment and are now in a critical situation,” a Christian worker wrote.

In central Asia, when a young boy got extremely sick, a front-line worker in the village accompanied him and his family to a hospital. While in the waiting room, the 10-year-old began to cry at the thought that he might be permanently confined to a wheelchair. The front-line worker then prayed for his healing, and within minutes the boy was able to walk again, surprising the front-line worker. But when the boy told his Muslim father that Jesus had healed him, he grew angry. “Never say that again,” his father told him. “It was Allah and his prophet, Muhammad, who healed you!” The boy’s father is afraid their relatives will shame them, but the boy is determined to tell everyone what happened to him. 

God, give me this fever. Please may I never be cured. To live this day. To point others to you. To serve you till my very last breath.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:2, 6) 

What is one good thing someone has done for you since COVID-19 has hit?

Susan Zimmerman: Our daughter has gone above and beyond to make sure that my husband and I maintained contact with our grandchildren, ages 2 and 4 months. I know countless grandparents have stayed in touch through technology, but what I loved was the way she shared these interactions. No staging, no Instagram worthy photos, no waiting for the kids to be on their best behavior. Our frequent FaceTime sessions with her and her little ones were live movies of unvarnished life with an unpredictable toddler and seemingly always hungry infant. We listened to the ABC song and tantrums, watched first smiles and crying meltdowns. I will always be grateful to our daughter and son-in-law, who were also teaching high school online for these past months, for taking time out of their hectic days to share real family time with us. 

Wanda Poor: Both of my children are calling me every day. What an encouragement. 

Judy Sattler: My 5-year-old grandson told me he didn’t want me to go to heaven and die because he would miss me. There are all sorts of ways to tell someone you love them and that was the best. 

Esther Nixon: Bring me coffee in bed🤩 

Robert Mullins: My newer neighbor, a young mother, made cookies and put a few in ziplock sandwich baggies and left them at my door and the door of other near neighbors. She wrote in black wide marker on the bag in joyous scroll, “Robert, A little something to brighten your day! (Heart shape) The Cikowskis”  

I’ve kept this bag hanging on my kitchen cabinet near the fridge as a daily reminder of joy, giving, and sharing that joy by giving, in ways I can for others. 

Kathy Antione: Two sweet friends have picked up groceries for me when they went shopping and dropped off at my house.  

Linda Murphy: A faithful member of the church staff laid soaker hoses throughout the front church flower beds; thereby easing the watering load during the dry summer months & keeping our grounds beautiful.

Faith Haddock: Our still-working daughter has shopped for us: groceries, pharmacy items, and even garden plants and other items.

Firm in Heaven

A lot of words have been spoken, written, recorded, tweeted, retweeted, posted, shared or deleted of late. God's Word—that eternal Word that stands in heaven—was what prompted the question we asked last week: What's one particular Scripture that has hit home for you during this crazy time?

Be encouraged as you read today's musing.

What a great question! I am thankful that the Lord's mercies are new every morning, just for today. Tomorrow the Lord will give me new mercies according to that day. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Karen Bagge

Memorizing Psalm 19. On January 5, Pastor Ben Panner shared that Psalm 19 is two books, verses 1-9 focus on God's glory in creation, and verses 7-11 on truths of God's Word. The prayer of verses 12-14 gives legs to my daily walk with Jesus these days. Amazing grace and love.
Mary Miller

Good time to revisit my very first favorite verse the night I came into God's family: Hebrews 5:13b (Amplified Bible): "for he, himself has said, 'I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor relax my hold you.'" Currently, the passage I'm looking to is 1 King 8:41-43. Believers need to repent and turn back to God so that the foreigners in our midst can see God and turn to him. 
Linda Murphy

The message of Amos. Thinking about what J.A. Motyer says about Amos 5:14-15: "This is no 'fugitive and cloistered virtue' interior to the heart or wrought out solely in a one-to-one relationship between the individual and God. Its outflow is in terms of a society founded and run on principles of justice backed by sanctions for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of them that do well. . . What a call this constitutes to Bible Christians to rediscover the moral and social teaching of Holy Scripture! How often our contributions on social and socio-ethical questions are small, insignificant, inhibited because we simply have not laboured to acquire biblical definitions of the issues involved! If we do not labour to 'establish justice in the gate', we shall be accused from this passage in Amos of a one-sided morality stopping short of the biblical concern for society, we shall be exposed, according to Amos 3:9-4:5, of playing around with a useless religion while society rots, and we shall find, according to Amos 6:3, that, while we have been unconcerned, other and sinister forces have been at work to enthrone violence and disorder."
Praying that we, the church, would repent for our sins of omission and its effect on the black community and persons of color. How do we commit sins of omission by not actively hating evil, loving good and establishing justice in the courts?  “A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” (John Stuart Mill
Karen Selking

Romans 12:12 (NIV) has been a good reminder for each day: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." 
John Maust

Proverbs 4:18 (NKJV): "The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day." What a beautiful promise for an 84-year-old who knows the Lord. No matter what, my life will just get better and better!
Joan Hutcheson

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT): "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." I actually chose this verse in late December 2019 to be one of my memory verses for 2020. It has been a daily encouragement to me.
Debbie VanDerMolen

John 14:6:  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." When I do not see a direction I can go physically, (being on a medication that leaves my immune system compromised,) I do see Jesus and move toward him. Currently I am in a study of the life of Christ to point me to see him, and see how as his follower I can do as he does in relationship with others.
Carole Ehrman

Psalm 33 was part of my daily reading on March 14, and in the 12 weeks that have followed, it has continually reminded me that none of this is a surprise to God, that God is a faithful promise keeper, and that it is only when our hearts trust and hope in him that we are made glad.
Kate Schlickman

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV): “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” My favorite way to remind myself of this is through the song, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." It expresses 1 Peter 5:7 so well.
Sarah Lindquist

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 (NIV)  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." This passage is a wonderful reminder to me that God meets us in our weakness, and this is certainly a time of weakness! His grace is sufficient. Always. His amazing power is made perfect in weakness. Let us not run from weakness, but rest in him.
Mary Manteuffel

Psalm 29:10 (NASB): "The Lord sat as King at the flood. Yes, the Lord sits as King forever."
Ruth Feldmann

Settled truths for our souls.

We Asked: What's Something New You've Tried During the Pandemic? And You Answered.

It's never too late to try something new. Here's what some of us have been up to…

Getting acquainted and making friends with neighbors that I never seemed to have time to visit before. I made meals for an elderly neighbor who lives alone and whose family resides in another state. She is 94, and we have become friends. Also, reading and learning about autism and language delays in toddlers.
Connie Claybough

I put out an Oriole bird feeder for the first time, after noticing that one was feeding at my hummingbird feeder. I have been walking one to three miles most every day since the lockdown, sometimes joined by a friend or two. I have also joined in on church prayer meetings during the week and on Sunday. These have been so encouraging to hear others pray corporately, and have ministered to my soul. I have also written some notes to friends and family to keep in touch and see how they are doing. Early on, my neighbor and I bought groceries for each other, which has helped me to get to know her better. 
Dawn Sadler

Raised bed and patio Grow Box gardening.
Nancy Tally

I have tried grocery shopping for the first time by ordering online and going to the Jewel pick-up parking area as many of you have done during this lockdown. Of course, until COVID-19 there was not a pick-up parking area at Jewel. Last Saturday, I returned home with someone else's order along with mine own. So for the first time since the "shelter in place" orders, I not only drove back to Jewel but also joined the mask wearing shoppers and went INSIDE to return the bags of groceries that were not mine. I returned them to a very thankful pick-up worker who had just been called by the customer who had missed the order I took home. All in all, you cannot solve problems like this without going face to face and mask to mask to get things wrong made right. It was also the first time I entered Jewel' as a masked man. As online and pickup shopping fades, it will not be my last visit to Jewel as a masked man.
Bill Offutt

A month or so ago, Jessica Hundley decided to film herself reading Karen Kingsbury’s Let Me Hold You Longer (ISBN: 978-1-4143-8987-5, Tyndale House Publishers, 2004) to the class of 2020; she couldn’t have imagined what would follow. Hundley, a library media specialist at Hardin County schools in Elizabethtown, KY, read the highly emotive book in an equally poignant way, and it resonated with viewers to the tune of 1.5 million views in the first 48 hours. The video, which has now been viewed more than three million times, is available here.

As a result of that viral distribution, Tyndale House quickly reprinted the book and sold 63,000 copies in the month of May.
Mark Taylor

My four kids and I have watched hours and hours of Ray Vander Laan videos together (all putting the Bible in cultural context, filmed in Israel). My 14-year-old son suddenly became interested in teaching himself piano and has been focusing on practicing one of Beethoven's sonatas this week. My 17-year-old-daughter is teaching herself Korean (my new job is flashcard point person). We are also regularly doing something called "family dinner." (Family dinners are not a new thing to us, exactly, but as a household headed by a busy lawyer, Regular Family Dinner sure is!) Finally, I am about to self-publish a book, although I can't exactly say this is thanks to the pandemic. I started writing it years ago. But it is still a new step, coinciding with these interesting times. 
Amy Ritter

I am always frustrated when I read a Bible passage and come across a word that catches my attention and causes me to wonder why the writer chose that particular word (this from a former English teacher). My usual modus operandi is to consult various translations to see whether they all use the same word, which, it turns out, is rarely the case. Then I'm caught in the conundrum of wondering which of those words most reliably conveys the author intended meaning. I've been chasing my tail like this for years and finally decided it's time to do something different. I mentioned this resolution to my husband, who attended a Bible school in his early adulthood, and we decided we would undertake a study of Biblical Greek so that we could read the primary text ourselves. I say this here so people who know me will hold me accountable for doing the work. Hopefully, by the time I emerge from self-imposed isolation, I'll be able to read the New Testament and know for myself what those attention-grabbing words mean. 
Patricia Edwards

Learning to play guitar and cooking authentic Mexican food. 
Rebecca Wolgemuth

Having a simple, online checklist of routine daily tasks plus seven once-a-week tasks. Once I've checked them off, I spend the rest of the evening relaxing.
Rebecca Fox

Making no-knead rolls. And blintzes. They (the latter) are crepes filled with a ricotta-cream-cheese-egg mixture, and then fried in oil and baked. Perfect lockdown recipe (so many steps, but the folding them up is strangely satisfying). Many of the new things I have tried involved starting to cook earlier, and even cooking more than I needed at the time and freezing some.
Vikki Williams

I took up crocheting again—for the first time since high school! I’ve finished one lap blanket and started on a baby blanket. 
Lyn Newhouse

Bananagrams. Tim and I have never played games together without our kids. Now, after 60+ rounds of Bananagrams, we aren’t content just to win or lose. The real challenge is to come up with words we’ve never used before: harangue, acquit, ziggurat, quixotic, winsomely, Kindergartner... 
Judy Sattler

Our daughter Hannah, a 2019 graduate of the conservatory at Wheaton College (Music Violin and Third World Issues), is living and working (remotely) at home. She is giving me piano lessons! One of my joys is singing (I only make joyful noises), particularly with others. I am not gifted with a voice that inspires but I love to sing hymns....and now I am learning to play them on the piano! One of the "traditions" we have always had is singing the hymns (that we had sung in church Sunday mornings) on the way home in the car. My daughter has a sweet voice and would set the tone, and I would joyfully sing along. Hannah is a wonderful teacher and so encouraging to me. She records my "recitals" after I have learned a piece, and sends it to two of her dearest Wheatie musical friends for my "jury" review. They, too, are encouraging and gracious in their comments. I am so blessed to be sharing music and time with my daughter. 
Christine Appleyard

Trying to find all the Wheaton alumni here at Shell Point. And  Z.....ing with our Life Group from College Church—one of the blessings of this pandemic has been the ability to "see" our Life Group again whom we hadn't seen since Feb 3. Getting carry -out fried oysters from Sanibel Island and bringing them home for dinner. Don't do it. They are soggy by the time you make it back home. 
Jan Barger

Because I can't get out to replenish my stock of copy paper, I've started to risk confusion by printing on the reverse side of previously used print-outs. 
Wallace Alcorn

My roommate and I baked Auntie Anne’s style soft pretzels from scratch (gluten free!) which required using a baking soda bath. They turned out delicious! 
Alison Tews

I have tried online exercise classes and have really enjoyed the daily routine and the at-home convenience! 
Karen Bagge

Congregational Prayer

By Pastor of Discipleship Josh Stringer

As we come to our time of prayer, with mercy on our minds, we have much to pray about. It’s good to turn to the Lord and cry for mercy. With regards to the death of George Floyd and all that is happening in Minneapolis, I spoke with my friend – our friend – Steven Lee and asked him how we could be praying. Many of you will remember Steven. He was a pastor here at College Church for several years and is now pastoring at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Here’s what he said:

“Pray for justice and for the church to shine forth the superior worth of Christ; to minister comfort and the peace of Christ in sadness, grief, pain and fear. For our African American community in their anger, sadness; for first responders, our police and fire fighters as they serve; and for God’s justice to reign in it all. And for him, personally, for wisdom how to shepherd well, to proclaim the truth of God’s Word clearly, and to minister the eternal and life-giving hope of Christ.”

As we pray, I’ll be using Psalm 121 as a guide:

Father, we lift up our eyes to the hills looking for help. From where does it come? Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Father, we give you praise for your active work in us, through us, and in all of your Creation. We worship you as the Creator. You are infinitely greater than all other sources of help and power. Our Creator God – we come to you in our time of need and in our distress.

We confess our own weakness. That’s why we ask for help. We confess that when we look at the hills around us, we become angry, frustrated, anxious, fearful, confused. We look within ourselves for strength and answers, or to other sources of authority. We know that ultimately they will come up temporary at best, and empty at worst. Father, we know that you hear us when we pray and we confess these things to you in our weakness and frailty with open hearts and we cry for mercy.

We ask that you would cause us to be reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, as he cried for mercy on the cross. And it’s because of what he accomplished on the cross that we have indeed received mercy. I pray for anyone listening and watching this morning who hasn’t trusted in Jesus as their Savior, would you mercifully bring new life through saving faith this morning in that person’s heart? For those who have trusted in Christ, we ask for mercy, not to remove condemnation (for we know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!) but mercy from the brokenness we witness around us and the sin that still clings to us from within. In your love, grace, and mercy, bring us closer to Christlikeness, uniting all things in him.

In this, we join with our brothers and sisters in Minneapolis as they gather for worship this morning, we pray for Pastor Steven Lee and other pastors as they preach, that the gospel would be preached in word and deed, across racial lines, across class lines, that the superiority of Jesus would be on display. That beyond the hills, you, Father, the maker of heaven and earth would bring help. That the feet of your people would not be moved – help them to stand firm on the gospel.

We pray for our African American brothers and sisters this morning. Would you meet them in their sadness, grief, anger, and fear? Where earthly justice has failed them so many times, would you draw each heart and mind to your justice and holiness. Where we, their neighbors, have many times failed to love well, would you be their keeper, as the Psalm says? For you are our shade on the right hand. Please, Father, protect each life.

For those of us in the surrounding community, particularly those of us who are white, help us to be loving, good listeners – quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Help us to mourn with those who mourn. Stir in us the love of Christ to actively embrace our black neighbors, friends, family members - brothers and sisters. Soften hard hearts. Bring repentance where the sin of racist action and inaction has abounded. Cause your Church, which made up of all people groups and skin colors, together, to rise up to display and proclaim the unifying, peace-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ in which there is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Father, your Word calls us to trust in you in keeping us from evil and in the keeping of our lives. And so, in your sovereign care of your world, we beg you to bring the peace of Jesus. Through all that has been going on, from the fear and anxiety, angst and anger and loss of life that we’ve experienced from Covid19, and from the killings of Amaud Arbrey, Breonna Taylor, and now George Floyd, keep us from further evil. Protect the lives of those who serve in the line of duty – police and fire fighters. Protect the lives of those who would be harmed because of the color of the skin that you gave them. Preserve the lives of those still fighting and infected by the virus.

As the Psalmist declares, “keep their going out and their coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” These things are bigger than we are and often don’t have the words. We trust you for these things for You are faithful.

We pray, in unity, as you taught us to pray:
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.

All Things New by Wil Triggs

Have you been missing things lately that used to annoy you? When I moved here from California, I remember thinking one thing I would definitely not miss were the six lane freeways filled with cars moving in both directions. Then came the Hillside Strangler and potholes and seasonal road construction. Pretty soon I was missing those toll-free smooth roads.

Living through this pandemic brings its own batch of little things we miss.

But before we go down the road of waxing nostalgic about the busy narthex or parking in the library lot, or those kiddie crafts week after week, or most seriously missed—standing right next to people in line for Sunday morning coffee from Commons Cafe, I want to know: what’s something new you’ve tried during the pandemic?

For a lot of us, the answer might be Zoom. But don’t reply with that. It’s not new anymore.

One new thing we’re trying in an attempt to hear from you is "the question of the week." We can’t see each other. We definitely can't touch each other. but here’s your chance to answer a question. We’ll compile them to share in our church communications. A different question every week.

Here's the first question: What’s something new you’ve tried during the pandemic?

It could be anything. 

A story in The New York Times the other morning, “The Birds Are Not on Lockdown, and More People Are Watching Them,” provides one answer.

“Bird-watching has surged in popularity this year” the article reports. “According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, birders set a world record on May 9 for Global Big Day, an annual bird-spotting event. Participants using the lab’s eBird platform reported more than two million observations—the most bird sightings documented in a single day—and recorded 6,479 species.”

While it may not be new for him, I've been enjoying the photographs Marr Miller has been posting of the wildflowers he and Mary are seeing on their walks on the trails. That's Marr's photograph of a Prairie Trillium.

In my small group last night, I asked if anyone had been baking bread. I've read that many are curious about it. One person raised her virtual hand and told about a four-ingredient recipe she's using to bake her own bread in her instant pot.

So what about you?

For Mark Caldwell and Dickson Valley Camp a day-camp-only summer is a new thing. “We’ve done overnight camps for many years, but only recently have we done day camps. This year, it’s the only thing we can do. We have had volunteers build hand-washing stations [a pretty creative station as you can see below] and a hand-washing song kids can sing as they wash their hands. The hand-washing song is John 3:16 to the tune of 'Row, row, row your boat.' Our program was already decentralized so we have small family groups for activities. We’ve grown the camp through a network of families. We have a high number of non-church-attending families bringing their kids. People appreciate the Christian focus as opposed to other alternatives. We have a hundred new families a year. For those families, day camp is their new thing. As we get closer and closer to the start of this year’s day camps, questions are coming especially from the new families. The parents are entrusting us and the other families that we are taking the proper precautions.

“Everything the counselors say and do can show that we have a foundation that is beyond the shifting sands of society. We have a firm foundation beyond that. Camps are needed as part of the healing process as we move forward. From the kids’ perspective, just getting out, connecting with other kids and counselors, even with all the restrictions, could be a tremendous opportunity and so much better than what they’ve known these past weeks.”

Let’s pray for the ministry of Dickson Valley’s day camps—for the ministry to children and their parents.

Pastor Moody asked us in last Sunday’s sermon to pray and share the gospel with one person this week. How’s that going? Maybe your attempt is a new approach. We invite you to share that. 

And if you feel like a failure in that department, take heart. We’re all just little pieces of the gospel chain, interconnected in ways that only God can do. Be encouraged by this video of a USC Trojan football player's multiple attempts at sharing his faith. They all seemed like one big fail after the other. Watch his story here on RightNow Media.

Remember that for some people, the “something new” might be God. Imagine that. Pray. Maybe God can use us to help point people to Jesus.

My Hidden Hoarder by Lorraine Triggs

It didn't take this pandemnic to expose my hidden hoarder. That distinction belongs to a low-wattage bare light bulb that hung in the hallway of our apartment in Moscow when we were there in 1993.

The first time it went missing, I assumed it had burnt out and maintenance would replace it. A couple of days later, the bulb was gone, burnt out again? Or more likely removed by another apartment dweller for his entryway, my husband pointed out.

Every evening when we returned from a full day of ministry, I stepped off the elevator, turned down the hall and either breathed a sigh of relief—the light bulb was still there or grumbled because it was gone again.

Strangely enough, I wanted to hoard light bulbs. Why? Well, I never knew night by night whether of not there would be a light bulb there. And by the time we got home, I was tired and didn't want to be missionary flexible. I wanted the light bulb in the socket and shining bright.

It got to the point where I needed a stack of them right inside our apartment door, ready to give one to the woman who zealously guarded the entrance to the apartment building, and apparently, our light bulb as well. We overhead her agruing with someone about the Americans one day, and after that, our bare light bulb stayed put. I guess no one messed with that Babushka. So my hoarder when back into hiding.

But here we are in the middle of this pandemic.

And I find that my hidden hoarder is fond of hoarding more than light bulbs or flour. Under normal cicumstances, two dozen eggs would seem like a lot, but these days, well, you never know, do you? 

And as I think back to the light bulbs on the other side of the world, I realize that there are other kinds of hoarding. I can easily hoard my time, somehow making "me-time" sound spiritual instead of selfish. I turn my focus inward. Well, I self-justifiy, I don't want to burnout or run out of energy, money, light bulbs.

To make things last longer, I tend to fall into a mindset of rationing. Don't use too much of whatever...

If I use less, what I have will last longer. A little goes a long way. Why did I throw out my More with Less Cookbook from the Mennonite Central Committee?

But God doesn't work that way.

A portion of one of the prayers in Wendell Hawley's book A Pastor Prays for His People says: 

Praise be to God, we are never placed on some “quota” system—
You have never said to any of your beloved,
“That’s all the grace you get, lest I run out.”
No, never . . . never!

From his overflowing kindness and abounding grace and mercy, God invites my not-so-hidden hoarder to a feast.

Come to the table and dine. Taste the immeasurable riches of his grace. And that inner hoarder of my mine dwindles under the lavish goodness of God. Goodness that knows no bounds and can't be stopped by any germ or my miserly approach to light bulbs or kindness. When soaking in the light, you don't really need a light bulb anyway.

In this feast, in this light, I am renewed, refreshed and restored.

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place

By H. E. Singley, organist

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

(II Corinthians 5:7, ESV)

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6, NLT)

My faith has found a resting place, from guilt my soul is freed;
I trust the ever-living One, his wounds for me shall plead. 

Refrain:
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
it is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me. 

 Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt;
a sinful soul I come to him, he’ll never cast me out. [Refrain] 

My heart is leaning on the Word, the written Word of God:
salvation by my Savior’s name, salvation thro' his blood. [Refrain] 

My great Physician heals the sick, the lost he came to save;
for me his precious blood he shed, for me his life he gave. [Refrain]

You may well be thinking that there is something different about the second phrase of the poem as it appears here. It is different from how I first learned it. The editors of the Trinity Hymnal made a slight adjustment in the text from the original, “My faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed,” to “My faith has found a resting place, from guilt my soul is freed.” This subtle but important change reconciles the important role that the historic creeds have in the Church with the compelling positiveness of this Gospel-rich poetry. 

To be certain, the faith we have in Christ supersedes any axiom or premise of human origin. Yet, the historic creeds are succinct summaries of Scripturally founded declarations regarding our faith and its core beliefs. We join Christian believers through many centuries—and each other—when we affirm the sinews of what we together hold to be true.

What’s more, “from guilt my soul is freed” reminds us of Isaiah 6:7—"He touched my lips with it and said, ‘See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven’” (NLT). Also, Acts 13:39, “And by him [Jesus] everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (ESV).

This hymn by Lidie H. Edmunds, a nom de plume used by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt*, centers on the Gospel. There are several references to Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sin, along with an emphasis on God’s Word (cf. stanza three, “leaning on the written Word of God”). I would like to focus this short essay primarily on the opening phrase, “My faith has found a resting place.”

Faith “shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT). In one of the most uplifting chapters in all of Scripture, Hebrews 11 describes the faith of several notables about whom we know from vivid narratives elsewhere in God’s Word. There are three summaries of these extraordinary individuals in the chapter:

By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. . . . They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.

(Hebrews 11:33-34a, b, 35b) 

Another compelling synopsis is in verses 13 and 16.

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. . . . they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

Then notice toward the end of the chapter in verse 39: 

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith yet none of them received all that God had promised. 

It is always beneficial to remind ourselves of our innate human tendency to put our faith in that which we can touch, feel, see or control in some way—with a confident assumption that things are going to proceed smoothly with minimal interruption and a perpetual predictability. The coronavirus pandemic is a stark reminder of misplaced reliance on ourselves or any human institution to “manage” life, to keep our routines as dependable, safe and risk-free as possible.

There is an alternative to the incontrovertibly unknown and ultimately ungovernable human pilgrimage. Henry David Thoreau is not necessarily someone we would hear quoted in church very often; but he did say something that is worth considering when, for instance, we envision a technological fix of some sort to that which otherwise seems beyond solution.

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.

They are but improved means to an unimproved end . . . . 

The alternative is the “resting place”—the rest—that we can find by living every moment of every day with our faith placed in the “ever-living One,” the One who decidedly offers a very improved end—eternal life in His presence! Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Hebrews 4:3a says, “For only we who believe can enter his rest.” Most who will read this have, I’m sure, believed in Christ for salvation. Concurrently, because we’ve trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and an eternal relationship with God, we are confident about what lies beyond this life.

But, what about now, the “not yet?” Can we find rest by intentionally, constantly trusting Him? 

“Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them. But you are always the same; you will live forever. The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”

(Psalm 102:25-28, NLT)

 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

(Matthew 24:35, NLT)

IDEAS FOR LISTENING

• Listen for the melody of the hymn-tune throughout.

• There are three stanzas of in music plus one refrain. As you listen, perhaps think of stanzas one, two and three. But, definitely read and think about stanza four!

• Sing the hymn–words AND music–even if you’re by yourself!

____________________________

*Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was a life-long Philadelphian, a Presbyterian, a Sunday School teacher and a writer of poems, several of which were set to music (e.g., “When We All Get to Heaven”). The hymn-tune, Landås, is the name of a neighborhood in Bergen, Norway and is adapted by William J. Kirkpatrick from an operatic melody.