My Blog

"THE PAINBEARER"

Our motto of "No pain, please"
Most of us spent most of our life running from pain. Or at least, if not running from pain, trying to numb the pain. Trying to take some pain killers, or anything, so we would not have to deal with the pain that can come to us without notice. We live in a society of numbing the pain, of taking painkillers, of looking the other way. Anything, just ‘Please no pain!’ In our world, there is a lot of pain. Most of us just try to get as far away from it as we can.
Some say, "The way to deal with my pain is to give myself more pain; then it will get my mind off of the real pain." Numbing the pain, giving each other more pain in trying not to think about and trying to escape from the real pain.
My friends you don’t have to numb the pain and you don’t have to run from pain. I want you to know there is a Painbearer. There is someone that understands what you are going through. Whatever your pain is - physical or emotional, psychological or spiritual - whatever it is, there is someone who says, "I understand where you’re coming from. I know what you’re dealing with." You don’t have to numb the pain. You don’t have to run from pain. Pain is okay.
If there is real pain in your life, there is a Painbearer, today, saying, "I understand, I want to know what you’re going through. I want to have a relationship with you. It is okay." Some of you might be saying, "A Painbearer? Who is out there that understands my pain? You don’t understand my pain.You don’t understand what I’m going through. Hey, I can’t even describe to you what my pain is, so how are you going to know my pain? How are you going to bear my pain if I can’t even describe it to you or put a finger on exactly what my pain is? I just know that I’m going through something!" no matter what you are dealing with, what you are going through, what you are trying to run from or numb or ignore or pretend it is not there, there is a Painbearer saying, "I’m here, let’s go through it together." 
In Matthew, starting chapter 27, Here we get to meet the Painbearer.
Matthew 27:27 Verse 34 says that just before they were ready to put the nails into Jesus hands and feet and bring more pain to him, they offered him wine mixed with gall to drink. What is gall? Gall was a painkiller. The wine is there to make it taste good. I guess it is like the cherry flavoring in cough syrup. If the cherry flavor wasn’t there, you wouldn’t want it because it wouldn’t taste good. So the gall is the painkiller, it eases the pain, takes the pain away. And this is what I just can’t understand. It says when Jesus tasted it, he would not take it!   
And In Verse 28 it tells us they stripped him and exposed him to the world. That is painful, to be stripped and exposed to the whole world. They took a crown of thorns and pushed it on his head. That sounds painful as well. They mocked him. Being mocked can be painful. They spat on him, another area of pain. Then they struck him on the head over and over again. Look at all this physical, spiritual and emotional pain. Then before they brought on more pain, they offered him a painkiller, but Jesus said, "No thank you, I’ll bear the pain. I’ll take on the pain of humanity because there is a greater good on the other side; there is a bigger healing in store for me if I can just bear this pain. I don’t want a painkiller."
That is someone that is a true Painbearer. Someone who has taken it all. So, no matter what you are going through, I want you to know that you are not alone. You are not by yourself. There is One who has experienced all kinds of pain. He is there for you in whatever you are going through, whatever you are dealing with, whatever you can’t understand, whatever you can’t quite put your finger on, whatever is stressful in your life, whatever is running you around in circles, whatever is giving you a headache. You don’t have to numb it or run away from it anymore, because there is a Painbearer that is here and says, "I’m with you. You don’t have to run. You are not alone in your pain."
See what the relationship is with the Painbearer? You can embrace the pain. Instead of numbing or running from pain, you can embrace it. You can say, "Okay, with the Painbearer, I can handle this." 
Matthew 16:21 says, "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering or pain. That he would be killed, but raised up on the third day." He was going to go through this pain, but there was a bigger healing on the other side.
Verse 22 says that Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid it, Lord. This must never happen." Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get behind me. You represent the enemy. You don’t understand the greater healing, that pain is okay." How can pain be okay? Pain reminds us that we are still alive. Pain, for some of us, can be a warning signal. Pain can be like the alarm clock going off in our souls. Pain doesn’t have to be that bad if you’re with the Painbearer. Again, you don’t have to live this life saying, "Bring on the pain. I love pain. Hurt me." But we live in a very real world with very real pain and struggles and burdens. There is a Painbearer that is there for you.
James 1:2 says, "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete." There can be healing and maturity and endurance in pain if you would be willing not to bear the pain alone. If you are willing to have a relationship of intimacy with the Painbearer, Jesus Christ, the one who went to the cross and took on all our burdens.
Whatever you are struggling with, Jesus takes it on. Whatever your stress is, Jesus takes it on. Whatever the burden, whatever the issue, Jesus takes it on. Through life with the Painbearer, you can find great healing and can be more mature. Every time pain comes, you get stronger because you are with the Painbearer. Every time you get attacked, whether it is on your job or in your marriage or with your kids or just trying to juggle the issues of life, there is a Painbearer who loves you, who cares about you, who says "I’m in your corner. I’m cheering for you. We can get through this thing together." That is good news!
God uses pain to heal us. God uses pain to make us better, to make us wiser, to make us stronger. We get closer to God in times of pain. But this is a great mystery. It doesn’t make sense. How can there be healing in pain? How can pain be good for me? The Painbearer, who takes it on for you through a relationship with him, wants to explore all the areas of your life. Sometimes pain is a great opportunity to give God one hundred percent. Maybe pain shows us an area that we haven’t given to God yet. An area that you thought you had given to God, but the reason you’re still feeling pain is that you’ve been trying to take this issue and solve it all by yourself.
If right now there is a real pain in your life, an issue, a stress, a burden. Give it completely over to the Painbearer, to God through Jesus Christ.
Reflect on the Painbearer, the one who understands, the one who says you’re not alone, the one that says I want to help you, I want to be with you, I want to love you, I want to coach you, I want to affirm you. And through this pain there is great healing, there is great strength.
How many people will be honest and say there is pain in my life, there are some things that I’ve been trying to deal with on my own, all by myself. Things I’ve been struggling through. It could be physical, it could be spiritual, it could be emotional and it could be something that you can’t even put your finger on. Jesus Christ stands before you, saying that you are not alone. Together we can be healed, together we can grow stronger, together we can be healthy, together we can search for real answers to real issues.
God uses pain to heal us personally. God heals us and uses us to heal the world.
Let us Pray: "God I give you my pain, I give you my issues. Your yoke is easy, your burden is light. Let’s deal with it together." Be with us and heal us, Lord. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Remember there are people who have more pains, more burdens and more sufferings than you have, but still these people continued their lives, rise up again and reach out to GOD, to love GOD even more. Everything that GOD allows to come our way is with a purpose…GOD uses even the greatest error and the deepest hurt to mold us into a person of worth and value. "THE DEEPEST LEVEL OF WORSHIP IS PRAISING GOD IN SPITE OF PAIN, THANKING GOD DURING A TRIAL, TRUSTING HIM WHEN TEMPTED, SURRENDERING WHILE SUFFERING, AND LOVING HIM WHEN HE SEEMS DISTANT." Be strong and have a strong Faith in GOD. Trust in GOD’s Will. LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS.
GODBLESS&PRAYALWAYS

"THE PAINBEARER"

Our motto of "No pain, please"
Most of us spent most of our life running from pain. Or at least, if not running from pain, trying to numb the pain. Trying to take some pain killers, or anything, so we would not have to deal with the pain that can come to us without notice. We live in a society of numbing the pain, of taking painkillers, of looking the other way. Anything, just ‘Please no pain!’ In our world, there is a lot of pain. Most of us just try to get as far away from it as we can.
Some say, "The way to deal with my pain is to give myself more pain; then it will get my mind off of the real pain." Numbing the pain, giving each other more pain in trying not to think about and trying to escape from the real pain.
My friends you don’t have to numb the pain and you don’t have to run from pain. I want you to know there is a Painbearer. There is someone that understands what you are going through. Whatever your pain is - physical or emotional, psychological or spiritual - whatever it is, there is someone who says, "I understand where you’re coming from. I know what you’re dealing with." You don’t have to numb the pain. You don’t have to run from pain. Pain is okay.
If there is real pain in your life, there is a Painbearer, today, saying, "I understand, I want to know what you’re going through. I want to have a relationship with you. It is okay." Some of you might be saying, "A Painbearer? Who is out there that understands my pain? You don’t understand my pain.You don’t understand what I’m going through. Hey, I can’t even describe to you what my pain is, so how are you going to know my pain? How are you going to bear my pain if I can’t even describe it to you or put a finger on exactly what my pain is? I just know that I’m going through something!" no matter what you are dealing with, what you are going through, what you are trying to run from or numb or ignore or pretend it is not there, there is a Painbearer saying, "I’m here, let’s go through it together." 
In Matthew, starting chapter 27, Here we get to meet the Painbearer.
Matthew 27:27 Verse 34 says that just before they were ready to put the nails into Jesus hands and feet and bring more pain to him, they offered him wine mixed with gall to drink. What is gall? Gall was a painkiller. The wine is there to make it taste good. I guess it is like the cherry flavoring in cough syrup. If the cherry flavor wasn’t there, you wouldn’t want it because it wouldn’t taste good. So the gall is the painkiller, it eases the pain, takes the pain away. And this is what I just can’t understand. It says when Jesus tasted it, he would not take it!   
And In Verse 28 it tells us they stripped him and exposed him to the world. That is painful, to be stripped and exposed to the whole world. They took a crown of thorns and pushed it on his head. That sounds painful as well. They mocked him. Being mocked can be painful. They spat on him, another area of pain. Then they struck him on the head over and over again. Look at all this physical, spiritual and emotional pain. Then before they brought on more pain, they offered him a painkiller, but Jesus said, "No thank you, I’ll bear the pain. I’ll take on the pain of humanity because there is a greater good on the other side; there is a bigger healing in store for me if I can just bear this pain. I don’t want a painkiller."
That is someone that is a true Painbearer. Someone who has taken it all. So, no matter what you are going through, I want you to know that you are not alone. You are not by yourself. There is One who has experienced all kinds of pain. He is there for you in whatever you are going through, whatever you are dealing with, whatever you can’t understand, whatever you can’t quite put your finger on, whatever is stressful in your life, whatever is running you around in circles, whatever is giving you a headache. You don’t have to numb it or run away from it anymore, because there is a Painbearer that is here and says, "I’m with you. You don’t have to run. You are not alone in your pain."
See what the relationship is with the Painbearer? You can embrace the pain. Instead of numbing or running from pain, you can embrace it. You can say, "Okay, with the Painbearer, I can handle this." 
Matthew 16:21 says, "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering or pain. That he would be killed, but raised up on the third day." He was going to go through this pain, but there was a bigger healing on the other side.
Verse 22 says that Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid it, Lord. This must never happen." Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get behind me. You represent the enemy. You don’t understand the greater healing, that pain is okay." How can pain be okay? Pain reminds us that we are still alive. Pain, for some of us, can be a warning signal. Pain can be like the alarm clock going off in our souls. Pain doesn’t have to be that bad if you’re with the Painbearer. Again, you don’t have to live this life saying, "Bring on the pain. I love pain. Hurt me." But we live in a very real world with very real pain and struggles and burdens. There is a Painbearer that is there for you.
James 1:2 says, "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete." There can be healing and maturity and endurance in pain if you would be willing not to bear the pain alone. If you are willing to have a relationship of intimacy with the Painbearer, Jesus Christ, the one who went to the cross and took on all our burdens.
Whatever you are struggling with, Jesus takes it on. Whatever your stress is, Jesus takes it on. Whatever the burden, whatever the issue, Jesus takes it on. Through life with the Painbearer, you can find great healing and can be more mature. Every time pain comes, you get stronger because you are with the Painbearer. Every time you get attacked, whether it is on your job or in your marriage or with your kids or just trying to juggle the issues of life, there is a Painbearer who loves you, who cares about you, who says "I’m in your corner. I’m cheering for you. We can get through this thing together." That is good news!
God uses pain to heal us. God uses pain to make us better, to make us wiser, to make us stronger. We get closer to God in times of pain. But this is a great mystery. It doesn’t make sense. How can there be healing in pain? How can pain be good for me? The Painbearer, who takes it on for you through a relationship with him, wants to explore all the areas of your life. Sometimes pain is a great opportunity to give God one hundred percent. Maybe pain shows us an area that we haven’t given to God yet. An area that you thought you had given to God, but the reason you’re still feeling pain is that you’ve been trying to take this issue and solve it all by yourself.
If right now there is a real pain in your life, an issue, a stress, a burden. Give it completely over to the Painbearer, to God through Jesus Christ.
Reflect on the Painbearer, the one who understands, the one who says you’re not alone, the one that says I want to help you, I want to be with you, I want to love you, I want to coach you, I want to affirm you. And through this pain there is great healing, there is great strength.
How many people will be honest and say there is pain in my life, there are some things that I’ve been trying to deal with on my own, all by myself. Things I’ve been struggling through. It could be physical, it could be spiritual, it could be emotional and it could be something that you can’t even put your finger on. Jesus Christ stands before you, saying that you are not alone. Together we can be healed, together we can grow stronger, together we can be healthy, together we can search for real answers to real issues.
God uses pain to heal us personally. God heals us and uses us to heal the world.
Let us Pray: "God I give you my pain, I give you my issues. Your yoke is easy, your burden is light. Let’s deal with it together." Be with us and heal us, Lord. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Remember there are people who have more pains, more burdens and more sufferings than you have, but still these people continued their lives, rise up again and reach out to GOD, to love GOD even more. Everything that GOD allows to come our way is with a purpose…GOD uses even the greatest error and the deepest hurt to mold us into a person of worth and value. "THE DEEPEST LEVEL OF WORSHIP IS PRAISING GOD IN SPITE OF PAIN, THANKING GOD DURING A TRIAL, TRUSTING HIM WHEN TEMPTED, SURRENDERING WHILE SUFFERING, AND LOVING HIM WHEN HE SEEMS DISTANT." Be strong and have a strong Faith in GOD. LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS.
GODBLESS&PRAYALWAYS

On the firing line

by John Fischer

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul has to correct a false assumption. “I have written in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10 NIV) His assumption – that of course followers of Christ will be associating with immoral people – is not a commonly held assumption in most Christian circles where avoiding people like this is the more usual practice. But his argument is basic common sense. The only way to avoid immoral people would be to “leave this world,” because, well, the world is pretty much populated with people like this. In other words, there is a shortage of morally upright, kind, generous, God-fearing people in the world. If those are the only people you are going to allow yourself to associate with, you might find yourself in very limited company. (And I would have to add, from experience, you would most likely end up in the company of people who are morally upright in their own minds only, and not in their heart of hearts.) This should actually be welcoming news for most of us who know that there isn’t much that separates us as followers of Christ from anyone else, but the grace of God – a grace that is extended to anyone and everyone without exception or distinction. I offer, for your reflection along these lines, a quote from the “Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous” passed on to me by a fellow Christian who is a recovering alcoholic. Why sit with a long face in places where there is drinking, sighing about the good old days. If it is a happy occasion, try to increase the pleasure of those there; if a business occasion, go and attend to your business enthusiastically. If you are with a person who wants to eat in a bar, by all means go along. Let your friends know they are not to change their habits on your account. At a proper time and place explain to all your friends why alcohol disagrees with you. If you do this thoroughly, few people will ask you to drink. While you were drinking, you were withdrawing from life little by little. Now you are getting back into the social life of this world. Don’t start to withdraw again just because your friends drink liquor. Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful. You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on earth on such an errand. Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you unharmed. Now that’s someone with a purpose!

That first Easter morning
by John Fischer

(Part III of a three-part series of historical fiction around the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.)

The sun rose that first Easter morning on an entirely different world than the one that had existed hours earlier. For most people, to be sure, it was the same. Birds twittered as they usually did in their pre-dawn revelry. Lazy dogs barked at the sound of the first early risers. In his penthouse in downtown Jerusalem, Pilate rolled over in bed and moaned at the mockingbird making a racket on his veranda. He could feel his wife’s stiffness next to him. He didn’t even have to look to see her wide, sleepless eyes locked on a crack in the ceiling for fear of the dreams that might come back if she closed them.

In the nearby barracks, a soldier snored on in thick oblivion. Soon his comrades would wake up to wicked hangovers, a usual Sunday morning experience. Things were always quiet on the Jewish Sabbath, so Saturdays became party time for the Roman soldiers.

Out in the courtyard, roosters crowed, and Peter, curled up next to a stone wall, was sure he heard every last one of them. He hadn’t been sleeping, either. All those great plans and dreams for himself and his nation had vanished with three denials and two rooster crows. Roosters had been rattling and cackling in his brain for two nights. They wouldn’t let him sleep, and they wouldn’t let him forget that look on the Savior’s face that left him frozen in his betrayal.

On the edge of town, three women made their way quietly through abandoned narrow streets, clutching vials of sweet-smelling perfume. In the hazy light of early morning, they were headed for Joseph’s garden, where the remains of the man they pinned their hopes on as the Son of God laid without proper respect. There had been no time on Friday to anoint the funeral wrappings, and such activity was forbidden on the Sabbath. Nicodemus and Joseph had done a credible job with limited time and little preparation, but it fell to the women to complete the burial requirements – as much for their own sake as for the sake of the custom.

Just when they started to wonder who might help them move the huge stone over the face of the tomb, they found, lo and behold, that the stone had already been moved away. The soldiers guarding it shifted on the ground in a deep sleep; the wrappings that should have been around the body lay limply on the rocky shelf inside. And an angelic being, bright and glorious, asked a question that would change them and the world forever: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

May your Easter celebrations be filled with the same joy and wonder these women experienced on that first Easter morning!

A war hero without a gun
by John Fischer

He didn’t carry a gun, but he received the Medal of Honor for his action in World War II. He never pulled a trigger or threw a grenade, but he received the Bronze Star for his valor in the midst of heavy enemy fire. He personally objected to killing, but he was willing to serve the greater war effort, and he did so by saving lives instead of taking them. His name is Desmond T. Doss and he was recently celebrated, in his passing, by stories about his unique service in the United States Army.

Desmond was a devout believer who refused to carry a gun because of his personal conviction not to kill anyone for any reason. (The closest he got to a gun was an M-1 rifle stock he used to splint his own shattered arm while he tended to the wounded.) He served as a medic and once rescued 75 men in one operation amidst heavy enemy fire. He endured ridicule from fellow soldiers until, in the heat of battle, they saw what he was made of. And when his entire company fought in extraordinarily close quarters with the enemy and not one of them was killed, they, to a man, credited their success and safety to Desmond’s prayers. Here was a man who found a way to serve a war effort dedicated to killing while serving his own convictions not to kill at the same time.

Often we find ourselves in situations that are less than morally pristine. And yet we are called to serve the Kingdom of God. How do we do that? Desmond T. Doss found a way to do both. He even made up a term for himself: conscientious cooperator.

Believers serving in political office have to deal with the slippery slope of compromise all the time. Believers in the entertainment industry have to use their talents for less than ideal stories, or portray moral ambiguity in their acting. And believers often work for employers with questionable ethics. The lines are not always drawn in the sand. There are times when the right thing is to conscientiously object. But there are also times when the right thing is to conscientiously cooperate by finding that which we can accomplish for the Kingdom of God in the midst of lesser things.

This is not a perfect world. Everything you do, buy, or earn has been touched with impure hands somewhere along the line of getting to you. Like Desmond, we have to find out what we can do to serve God here.

One picture that should work for all of us is to see ourselves ducking under enemy fire to rescue the wounded and bring them to Christ for healing. Whatever else we are doing, that’s our real job.

‘The Great Donut Rip-off’ by John Fischer

Nathan, one of our regular readers, sent me a story about an experience he had recently in the airport returning home from a busy week of business meetings. Passing a donut stand, he thought it would be a great idea to bring a few home as a treat for his family, so he purchased four donuts. Walking away from the counter, he thought of getting four more for his brother’s family, so he got back in line. While he was waiting, he noticed a special on a dozen donuts for only $16. Wow, for $8 more he could get eight more donuts. That’s four free! But when he got to the counter there was nothing doing. They refused to take $8 more and count it as the $16 deal. This was a new transaction. He had walked away from his first one. He had lost his chance. He would have to come up with $16 more to qualify for the special deal. Furious, he paid $8 for four more donuts and sat down fuming. All he could think about were those four free donuts he felt he was entitled to. I understand his reaction, but then again, this was an airport, and no one cares about return customers. Just a steady stream of nameless faces. So while Nathan was sitting there with his two little bags of donuts, going over all this in his mind, (it was probably therapeutic for him to have nothing but donuts to fuss over, but he wouldn’t have noticed that then) he suddenly became aware of a conversation behind him. A child was talking in elated tones about riding on the back of Dad’s four-wheel motorbike. The kid’s enthusiasm was contagious and Nathan couldn’t help but glance over there and see a girl in a wheelchair about 6 years old, full of smiles, laughter, and life. “Suddenly, I felt very embarrassed and foolish for getting angry over some stupid donuts that cost a little extra money,” Nathan said. “Here was a girl vibrant with life, in a wheelchair, teaching me that small things don’t matter. After that, I was praising God for his infinite wisdom in showing me the foolishness of my anger.” In my own experience, I’ve noticed that when I find myself getting worked up over insignificant stuff like this, it’s usually because there are other, far more important things that I should be doing. It’s not donuts I’m mad about; it’s a host of other things I am avoiding. “The Great Donut Rip-off” just gives me an excuse to put it all on something other than myself. And then there’s this child with so much more reason to be angry, and she’s simply enjoying the life God gave her. Good lesson, Nathan. It’s all about perspective, isn’t it? If you find yourself blowing up today about something that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, stop and ask God to show you what does.

Putting the ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional
by John Fischer

I have a friend who wrote me about a fridge magnet she put on display for her family. It reads: "Let’s put the ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional."

Now, I happen to know this lady is separated from her husband and trading kids back and forth between them, so when she says “dysfunctional,” you have the idea she knows what she’s talking about.

Well, what could possibly be fun about her situation? Not much, maybe, but I hope she can find something, because it would be awful to be so enslaved by your circumstances that it is impossible to find any “fun” in your “dysfunction.”

Right now I am dealing with a particular piece of bad news that is threatening to get a grip around my heart and render it incapable of believing. Some of you woke up depressed this morning. What could be fun about that? I happen to know that one of our readers is shuttling devotionals to prisoners on death row through contacts she maintained from her own incarceration. Can you possibly imagine what these men and women wake up to every morning? Point is: If God can’t meet us in the middle of whatever bad news we are in, then he can’t meet most of us, and we are all in big trouble.

So here is some “fun” you might want to put in the middle of your “dysfunctional” life:

There is nothing too big for God to handle. (Matthew 19:26)
There is nothing too bad for him to forgive. (1 John 1:9)

The forces that threaten to steal your life and your future are puny compared to his awesome power. (Romans 8:38-39)

He could change your fortunes in a day if he wanted to. (Daniel 2:21)

If he doesn’t, there’s a good reason why. (Proverbs 16:9)

He not only loves you, he is delighted with you despite all your dysfunctions, and revels in every moment you spend with him. (Song of Solomon 2:10-13)

He knows your sorrow. He remembers that you are dust, and collects all your tears in a bottle. (Psalm 103:14; Psalm 56:8)

He will give you strength and courage for whatever you may yet have to go through. (Romans 8:31)

Someday, from your mansion in heaven, you will look back on this day and smile, because you will realize that your light and momentary troubles were achieving for you an eternal glory that far outweighs them all in comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

There. Think you can manage a smile? This “fun” stuff isn’t just wishful thinking. It is real, and it exists in spite of everything around us. Kind of like the “fun” in dysfunctional that I bet you didn’t even know was there until now.

Jesus, in the company of friends
by John Fischer

"If I could, I’d return to early Christianity, before it became a state religion under Constantine … when it was a company of friends whose inspired leader once said that the one without sin should pick up the first stone."

I love this quote by Nora Gallagher. It was in the Los Angeles Times today (March 24) as the last sentence of an article, “Cutting at Christianity,” in which the writer states her opinion that the reason the secular world dislikes Christianity so much is that, by and large, they’ve got the wrong one in mind. To correct this, she offers Jesus, in the company of friends. I think she’s right about what will change perceptions and change the world.

Pretty good definition of the Church come to think of it: Jesus, in the company of friends. At least if you go to church, that’s what you should find. And not just people who are friends with each other, but people who are eager to be your friend, too, no matter who you are or what you’ve done. Robert Farrar Capon once defined the Church as “a community of astonished hearts, proclaiming the end of religion in Jesus.” There you have it: Jesus, in the company of friends.

Many people are confused about Christianity these days. You could almost say there is too much Christianity – enough that you have to at least wonder sometimes if you have the real thing. But I think I know where to find the real thing. Look for Jesus, in the company of friends. If you come to Saddleback Church – to any church for that matter – and don’t find Jesus, in the company of friends, you have my permission to go somewhere else. (As if my permission meant anything, but it sounded really good!)

And if you are fortunate enough to be in a small group of believers and/or seekers, what you really have is Jesus, in the company of friends. Jesus claimed that when as few as two or three gather in his name, he is there. So the biggest church and the smallest group hopefully come down to the same thing – you guessed it: Jesus, in the company of friends.

Kind of cuts through all that red tape and worship wars and petty infighting and separatist isolationism doesn’t it? And it even captures what is beautiful and lasting about this online network that has sprung up around the banner of Purpose Driven Life and all of you who have signed up for these daily messages – regardless of how big our numbers get or how long this thing lasts. Bottom line is, we’re just friends, in the company of Jesus.

All I can say is, it’s nice to be with Jesus, and it’s nice to be with you. Glad you’re with us!

Following Instructions

Everyone knows that most toys and electronic gizmos come complete with accompanying instructions, and my wife and I are at opposite ends of the pole regarding what to do with these. She thinks they belong in the bottom of the box. I, on the other hand, obsess over instructions. I especially like the ones that give you an inventory of parts before you begin so you can be sure everything is there. I lay all the pieces out and notice if there are two sizes of the same thing like screws or dowels. Just because something fits doesn’t mean it’s the only thing that goes there. Then I take it step by step. I check and recheck the pictures as I go. I have to have total concentration when I do this, because sometimes deciphering these instructions is like reading another language. I actually enjoy this. My wife and son do not. “Papa! Why are you taking so long?” This usually elicits a reaction from my wife who believes that I didn’t involve my older children enough in projects like this when they were little, and now is my chance to make that up by letting Chandler help me so that we do this thing together. She would undoubtedly believe that if I let him help me and he ruined the whole thing in the process, it was worth it for what he learned by trying and what we built by working together. What is she thinking? The worst is when she decides she and Chandler are going to put something together without me, and I have to watch the two of them guess at the pieces with the instructions in the bottom of the box. This is when I usually leave the room (I can’t take the suspense) and return to her gloating looks as they roll out the finished product. Marti doesn’t care about getting it right as much as she cares about spending time with her son. I have to admit that I now believe Marti’s choices are better. God has given us his Word, which includes a lot of instructions for living that we are prone to miss sometimes. But I don’t think that getting us to live right is his ultimate goal. His goal is to have a relationship with us. We can try and put our lives together, even study the Bible diligently, and get so stuck in the instructions that we miss the whole point altogether. Making life work is not the only thing that is important. Doing it with someone else is just as important, and ultimately, knowing God is the point of the whole thing. Come to think of it, loving God with everything we have is the only instruction he really cares about.

Loving that person with ‘special needs’
by John Fischer

Donna is a contributing reader who provides some insight today about connecting to those around us with special needs, which, in her mind, would be just about everybody.

Donna writes: “I keep getting people who, when I tell them I work on the Special Ed. bus, get all serious and very solemnly say, ‘It takes a special person to work with those kids.’ To me they are really saying, ‘Special needs people make me uncomfortable and since I don’t have the ‘gift’ to work with them, I’m glad you do.’"

“I met a man in a bookstore once who said that if he could sit down face to face with God, he would ask him why he let some people be born with handicaps. I got to thinking about that. Who’s to say that ’special needs’ people are inadequate? Is he saying their lives are not as valuable as his? Of course if God would heal them that would be wonderful, but if he doesn’t, that doesn’t mean they can’t have meaningful lives. Maybe they are here to teach the rest of us. If we say they aren’t valuable and have no purpose then it’s a very short step from there to lots of horrible things.”

Donna’s reasoning as to why this is wrong is what makes her comments so insightful. She believes this kind of thinking is wrong because, in reality, we all have special needs, and we all need the same thing: someone to see the real person that we are and love us for that.

Donna continues: “I’ve learned to see people with handicaps as real people with some special need. And when it comes down to it, don’t we all have some special need? Don’t we all have an uncle that we don’t dare bring up politics to because of his reaction? Don’t we all walk on pins and needles around women in the family who are ‘PMS-ing?’ Don’t our spouses have buttons we don’t want to push?”

“So I think we should all give special needs people a break and look beyond the dribbling, the wheelchair, the funny speech, the shriveled hand, and find a new friend.”

It occurs to me that it’s going to take someone willing to get over my own dribbling, shriveled-up nature to be my friend, and if for some reason they can’t, I have to wonder if I have a friend at all.

Anyone want to love a person with special needs? I hope so; otherwise, no one is going to get any love here.