Looking for a follower of Jesus

Looking for a follower of Jesus
(a traveler’s short story)

One day a visitor walked into a village and asked if there were any followers of Jesus living in the village. Eventually he was directed to the village chief among the elders of the village. Again the visitor asked if there were any followers of Jesus living in that village. The chief replied, “There are three men in this village who claim to know a man named Jesus. I do not know this Jesus, but I will send you to these men and let you decide for yourself if they know this Jesus.” The visitor gladly wrote down directions to the three men’s homes who claimed to know someone named Jesus. Taking his leave of the chief and the village elders, he went in search of the three men.

When the visitor came to the first home, he found a sunburned man lounging in a pool of water that had been created by damming up the little creek that ran through his property. The visitor greeted the man and asked if he could have a drink of water and was told that he could have a bottle of water for his shirt. The visitor was very thirsty, so he gave the man his shirt in exchange for the bottle of water. Then the visitor continued on his way.

When the visitor came to the second home, he found a man who was sitting down and caring for his blistered feet near a table piled high with food. The visitor greeted the man and asked if he could have something to eat and was told that the man would give him a bag of food in exchange for his socks and shoes. The visitor was very hungry, so he gave the man his socks and shoes in exchange for the bag of food. Then the visitor continued on his way once more, taking his bottle of water and his bag of food to find the home of the third man who claimed to know Jesus.

As the visitor was on his way to the home of the third man, now sunburned and with sore feet, a servant came pulling a rickshaw that had a top to provide shade and gave the visitor a ride the rest of the way to the third man’s home. It was quite a ways up a hill to the third man’s home and so the visitor asked the servant to pull over in the shade of some trees where he offered to share his bottle of water and bag of food with the servant in a small picnic meal. Before the servant would eat, though, he found an aloe plant and broke open the leaves and squeezed out some aloe oil on the visitor’s sunburned shoulders and sore feet. Then they shared their small picnic together and continued to the third man’s home. When they arrived, the visitor was stunned when the servant turned and welcomed him to his home, bringing him an ‘I Love Jesus’ T-shirt and a pair of sandals for his feet. Then he asked the visitor if he would consent to stay over for the evening and enjoy his hospitality. Until they went to sleep, they spoke together about Jesus and the visitor told the man how good it was to find someone who knew Jesus as he was traveling. And so the visitor stayed at the third man’s home and prayed for God’s blessing on the man and his home before leaving the next morning to return to the village.

Being now well rested and well fed and no longer thirsty, and wearing his new shirt and sandals, the trip down the hill and back to the village seemed to take only a fraction of the time it had taken to visit the three men’s homes. There the visitor was greeted by the village chief and the elders and was asked if he had found a follower of Jesus. The visitor said, “Yes, I found one follower of Jesus.” The chief and elders congratulated the visitor on completing his quest, and then they asked how the visitor knew that only one of the men who claimed to know Jesus was actually a follower of Jesus, and also how he could tell which one it was.

The visitor said, “When the first man saw I was thirsty, he would only give me water in exchange for my shirt. When the second man saw I was hungry, he would only give me food in exchange for my socks and shoes. But when the third man saw me coming along the path, he gave me a ride up the hill and aloe oil for my sunburn and he gave me these sandals and this ‘I Love Jesus’ T-shirt and a place to stay for the night.” Then the visitor took out his Bible and read these verses to the chief and the elders:

“John 13:34-35
(Jesus said) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

1 John 3:16-18
(Jesus’ apostle, John, wrote) By this we know love: that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

The visitor closed his Bible and looked at the chief and the elders and continued his explanation. “I knew him by his love. And when he gave me this T-shirt and these sandals, I knew why he loved a stranger traveling on the road. You should ask him about Jesus. I am sure he would enjoy telling you about our Lord.” And so the visitor went on his way and continued his travels.

Why I Love Him

(Adapted by Glenn Ziegler from Why I Love Her by John Mitchum)

You ask me why I love Him? Well, give me time and I’ll explain.
Have you seen the Father’s glory in the sunset or the rain?
Have you felt the Spirit’s presence as you walk the narrow way?
Have you heard the Savior weeping just outside Lazarus’ grave?

Have you seen the boat full of disciples in the storm - and heard them whine?
Have you seen the Master walking cross the water to their side?
Do the Beatitudes inspire you as you sit at Jesus’ feet?
Have you traveled days to see Him, just hoping to hear Him speak?

Has your life been changed forever by the One who built God’s kingdom on the rock?
Do you think of Him as you pass a homeless person who only has one sock?
Have you seen the way He treats sinners? Have you heard our Savior sigh …
As He watches us ignore the lost, have you heard Him softly cry?

Did you sing Hosanna to heaven as He rode into the city?
Did you feel the Father’s disappointment as He cleared the Temple street?
Have you eaten the bread He blessed, remembering the body of our Lord?
Have you sipped the cup He offered, considering the blood that He outpoured?

Have you felt the disciples’ loneliness as they hid themselves away?
Felt the shame of their self-protection as He gave His life that day?
And were you as doubtful as was Thomas until you saw His hands and feet?
Have you longed to fall as he did confessing his love at Jesus’ feet?

Every day in every place we go, there is someone feeling pain.
Do you seek to share their burden just to help them ease the strain?
Is it the Master’s steps you follow? Is He your reason? Is He your ‘why’?
My Jesus is my greatest love, the One who for us died.

25 random things

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

Tim Archer tagged me, and now I’ve tagged you. So be a sport and share…

1. I am 6 feet 7 inches tall

2. I am almost that round...(not really)

3. I like not shaving, but I sometimes hate having a beard (but I have a skin condition that pretty much mandates me keeping it)

4. I love basketball, but can't play it as much as I'd like because of weak knees and a fat belly

5. Golf is a substitute for basketball, but a very expensive one

6. All my old dreams of living in a commune have been crushed out of me by living in a 3 BR 1.5 Bath home with 7 other people

7. In kindergarten a little girl from 1st grade tried to kiss me...but I resisted b/c she had cooties

8. That didn't happen again until 6th grade, when a girl named Pam kissed me...and I found out that if that's what cooties are like, then I like cooties

9. I love reading and exploring, but I miss playing sports more often and watching less

10. Having another birthday isn't the same as getting older, b/c you get love on your birthday and you get aches and pains and stuff when you get old-er

11. I love ‘schooling’ younger players who are in better shape than I am – in any game at all – just for the fun of it

12. I find it easier to work to help others achieve their dreams that it is to just work on my own

13. We are all statistics in somebody’s study, but only some of us are statistics in the divorce column…and it isn’t one anyone wants to be part of

14. Marriage may not last forever, but the affects of the divorce will

15. Some of my hair is still so dark brown it is almost black, but the majority is now white and gaining ground

16. I don’t like politics because there are few absolutes and fewer people who value the absolutes that remain in the political arena

17. A day spent doing something to help someone else to walk closer to God is better than any other day

18. A full quiver of arrows is expensive…in many ways…and sometimes makes you look like a target

19. My wife loves dressing me up, but hates having to wear something dressy (almost makes me wonder if she’s planning my funeral…LOLOLOLOL )

20. When I look in the mirror I wonder where the athlete I used to be went to and why he doesn’t come around much anymore

21. When I look at my treadmill and weights and ab-lounger, I think about moving all the stuff that is stacked on top of them…and it makes me want to go and lounge in my La-Z-boy recline-a-rocker

22. I drink tea and soda pop and Gatorade more, but I love water for the way it makes me feel

23. I married ‘up’ when I married my wife of almost 10 years now

24. She thinks she married ‘up’ too…go figure

25. Jesus is my best friend and my first love…period

And whether all else works or fails you, everything will be better when you fix your sights on Jesus and never give up walking with Him.

Life Notes - Relational Thing (2)

Christianity is a relational thing.

A friend on a forum where I take part in the discussions recently wrote:

"If I could sing praises to God with the instrument alone in my home, then I could do it in a church building with others. Worship is worship is worship. If I'm home doing it and NOT worshiping, then what am I doing? Pretending to be worshiping?"

So I wrote her a note back to share how my own thinking about instrumental music and Christian worship got started with a similar question. Here's what I wrote to my friends on that forum, many of whom, like me, have questioned the fact that where we grew up going to church, we never used instruments to accompany the vocal singing. We never used them at all, except for the occasional pitch pipe for the first note of a song or a hymn. We sang a cappella style. Why? I wondered. Here's a few more of my thoughts on the subject of music and questions we ought to ask ourselves...

I grew up asking that very same question! I asked a lot of questions then, and still do, I guess. And I agree with your answer, as far as it goes. Would you mind if I share some more questions? If you do, then stop reading...because I have a few I'd like to ask anyone who never sings a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song to the accompaniment of musical instruments. I ask to learn.

Please note that I am not seeking to accuse anyone with these questions, but rather am seeking to get us all to focus in on the influence that music has in our lives...even subliminally.

Here goes:

1) Do you only listen to a cappella music, or do you sometimes listen to Contemporary Christian music and just not sing along - even in your heart? Also, do you ever listen to Rock'n'Roll or Country or Metal or Classical or Jazz or R&B or other genres of music? And do you know any of the lyrics to Garth Brooks' song Unanswered Prayers? or the Kentucky Headhunters' version of Spirit In The Sky? or Cat Stevens' Peace Train or Morning Has Broken? or any of dozens of other poular tunes of almost every genre that express the faith of the writers? How are those songs okay to hum or sing along to if we should never use IM in praise to God?

2) IF you listen to other types of music than just a cappella, do you pay attention to the words to keep your mind and heart pure and undefiled by the messages of songs that do not seek to glorify God at all, but rather quite the opposite? (Why allow subliminal messages that promote acceptance of sinful thinking?)

3) IF you only listen to non-verbal instrumental music - or at least, non-vocal - do you seek to find out whether the composer wrote that song in appreciation to the Lord? Would it matter to you if a song using IM was written to lift the soul and open the heart to the very Spirit of God? (And do you ever feel so lifted when you heard a song played with IM accompanying?)

4) Do you believe "secular" music to be sinful, since it does not focus on bringing glory to God? Do you listen to such music on the radio? What do you do when someone else turns on such music in your presence, or when an elevator has Musak playing softly as you ride in it?

5) How do you feel about music that links nationalistic patriotism with faith in God - the way God Bless America or America the Beautiful does? And what do you do with John Denver's Thank God I'm A Country Boy? or even a song like Barry Manilow's Oh Mandy that speaks of someone who came and gave without taking? Do you quickly shut off the radio when such a song with IM stirs you to think about Jesus or God in some way?

These are all good questions, some admittedly more valid for some people than for others. And I have wrestled with every one of them many times over, as one who grew up in the non-IM churches of Christ. I wrestled with them when my Dad played a song from the hymnal in our living room on the organ or piano. I wrestled with them when I first heard The Imperials perform Water Grave. I wrestled with them while I was in a very conservative preaching school and listening to Amy Grant and Ray Boltz and The Imperials on my compact tape player as I worked at my Grounds Maintenance Chief job that helped to get us through those lean years.

But I was never satisfied to just accept the music, even when in High School as a part of the Chorus we had Christmas and Easter programs that included the Hallelujah Chorus(?) and Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee and even Handel's Messiah. I searched the scriptures and read all I could find on why we didn't use IM in worship and what the words meant in the pertinent passages and what the messages of those passages were. I read as widely and as exhaustively as my reading skills and eager mind could find and allow. And I sought to expand my reading as I expanded my skills in reading languages. I spoke with brethren privately who taught me and whom I respected as students of the Word to ask what they taught and why. I studied and memorized all the arguments for and against that I could get my greedy little hands on. I did not just accept that we live in a world moved by music and have not enough control over all that we hear. For a while I even took to using the stairs, no matter how high the climb, to avoid the Musak - so I know what it means to be serious about this.

You know the conclusions I've reached so far. I have not made any of them secret at all. I have poured out my heart here. Would you share with me what you struggle with about IM as well? I hope so - so that I can continue to grow and so encourage you...because I have studied long and hard and have not arrived at perfect knowledge. I live what I know and I trust in grace all along the way. So...will you journey beside me in this study? We may not agree, but I, for one, will be richer for the time spent sharing the journey...and maybe you will, too.

Life Notes - Relational Thing (1)

Christianity is a relational thing.

I am basically an adequate guitar player, nothing special. I have the guitar my Dad used for most of the time I can rememeber him playing, both at home and occasionally in public performances. Dad was better than me at it. But I have his Alvarez flat-top guit-box with the special leather strap my brother made for him. And I have an Ibanez 12-string that my wife bought for me a few years back. It is as awesome as I thought it would be for all those years I dreamed of having one. And the last guitar I have is a hand-made (one of four like it) original that my Dad crafted from home-made forms and store-bought wood and home crafted tools that look and function just like the ones in the book on guitar-building he read. Dad's craftsmanship rendered a rich, full-bodied classical guitar with a capital Z carved into the end of the keyboard. My Mom has one, my sister another, and my brother has the last of the four. In truth, my brother finished the work that my Dad began but could not finish on my guitar, due to the lung cancer that claimed his physical tent.

I shared all of that to give a glimpse of the kind of musical influences of my family as I was growing up. Still, we attended only non-IM churches of Christ all the time I was growing up. Dad never had a problem with playing hymns and singing them together as a family at home, because it came from the heart as Paul said to do, so maybe that was a good influence that helped me to see things the way I do. We had organs and pianos and guitars and bongos and tambourines and morracas and chimes and even a xither. And my Dad built a harp during the time he was beginning to make guitars, too.

So I finally picked up a guitar in college, 28 years ago, and never - until this last Christmas season - had ever played an instrument in an assembly of the saints. At our Sunday assembly we sang music celebrating the coming of the Word that was made flesh and I preached about the Savior and we closed the service with the congregation singing Silent Night as our sound man and I played guitars and one of our elders played the piano. It was a wonderful time of encouragement and praise and fellowship. And it was the first time I played in an assembly of saints...but probably not the last, Lord willing.

Now I know there are some who will mark me for doing this, perhaps even here, but I do not stand or fall before any of these. I seek only the blessing of my Father in heaven, for He is the only One who can make me to stand in His presence. My heart and my voice accompanied by my guitar and Tim's guitar and Ken's piano and the voices of the congregation with their hearts sang the melody together. Some may struggle to understand this, but I must say that it was one of the most spiritual moments for me. Finally I offered the gift of my Dad and of my own heart to the Lord. No one asked me to give another gift because it wasn't the right one or because it wasn't their gift. No one asked me to offer a different gift at all. All who were there understood that we all offered our gifts to the Lord, and we all took time to encourage one another further before we left that assembly.

And so I wonder ... how many others, like my Dad, have longed to offer the gift they had to the Lord but were told it wasn't the right gift? (Like my Dad was told when he was asked to lead singing but told them he only sang lead when he played his guitar, due to insecurities about his voice.) My Dad's voice was a wonderful, rich baritone voice trained by singing and performing country music whenever he could and wherever he could. And I remember well those times he would play the organ and accompany us as we would sing the songs we had sung that week at church. I remember him calling out the chords as they changed, so I could strum along on his guitar. And I remember wondering if the saints we assembled with had any idea what they were missing when they told my Dad it wasn't acceptable for him to play his guitar in an assembly, or even at a fellowship in someone's home. Dad accepted it with grace, but declined to lead singing without his guitar, because he really never learned how to do that - and no one offered to teach him, either. I barely struggle through leading songs and still do not have the skills to teach someone how to lead a song well - so I could not teach him.

Well, now Dad is asleep in the Lord, waiting to waken to the trumpet's call and rise to live with the Lord forever. And I look forward to the day when Dad and I will pick up guitars together in heaven and sing for Jesus as He listens face to face. What a day that will be!

That's a part of what I mean when I say, "It is a relational thing."

Tagged and Bagged!

Aaarrgghhh !! I've been tagged! If you want to know something deep and dark about me though, you'll have to wait. My wife just reminded me that tonight is Trash Night, so I have to go for now ...

But if you want to know why Bobby sent you here (for those who clicked to this site from little sorrel's blog), read the other posts I have here so far ... and keep watching for my answers to this tagging.

Thanks for playing with us ... and if you would like to be in on these fun and games, leave me a comment with a link to YOUR blogsite and I'll tag you when I'm done.

Gotta run for now. Tagged by Bobby and my wife on the same night! What a wonderful day!