What Kind of a Rose Would You Like?

Without specific knowledge of percentages, I would guess that 75 to 80% of buyers prefer red roses. However, I just read after an author who took two dozen yellow roses to a departed friend's memorial service because she favored yellow.

When my mother, Ida, went to be with the Lord, our neighbors brought us a lovely white rose bush to plant, and their young daughter, Rebecca, asked us if she "could help us bury it," in her sweet, caring words.

There are so many varieties of roses that no person should have or buy a rose he did not like. Basically, however, roses are roses, and are appreciated and loved for their beauty and frangrance.

Uniqueness would be another quality. "A rose by any other name would still be a rose".

Debatably - with a few exceptions - a rose is usually characterized by thorns. For most varieites, their lovliness is accompanied by offensive and injurious thorns.

Relationships are a lot like roses in this regard. You have to watch the thorns! As long as you just look from a distance, the thorns pose no threat, nor do they become personal. But if you want to get close enough to touch, to embrace, to scrutinize, thorns are a part.

Rose thorns are not rational or logical. They do not intentionally choose to cause pain or injury - but they do just because their space is invaded.

To have a rose is to require carefulness, sensitivity, tenderness, and a soft touch. He who tries to brusquely grasp a rose will loose every time. They must be held carefully. Relationships are a lot like this.There are "barbs" in all of us that offend those with whom we realate, and we are unaware of most of them.

Obviously we are different from roses, though, in that we can learn what offends and hurts, and either eliminate, or at least, minimize them. Here is a crusade for us. Blunt the barbs.

God is Jealous?

"We work (labor) for Jesus, that we may be 'accepted' of Him". The entirety of the verse we have been looking at for three weeks now in 2 Corinthians 5:9 is:

"Wherefore we labor (the "fact"), that, (the "nature" of the labor) whether present or absent (the "arena" of the labor), we may be accepted of Him (the "motive" or "reason" for the labor)".

This is the entire goal of a follower of Jesus - to please Him. To be accepted of Him. It is probably the dominant characteristic of all serious Christians I have known - this constant, over-riding, primary, consuming desire to please one's Savior and Lord.

It is the dominant goal of any servant to be approved of his master. A servant's highest achievement is making happy and pleased his master. His constant effort is to gain his master's approval - to see his nod, his smile, any recognition of acceptance.

The Bible gives a name to such a servile motive: "single". In the Greek it means, "steadily directed". Jesus used the term in Matthew 6:22 wheh He taught that "our eye be 'single'", or "steadily directed". Paul used the same term with the instruction to servants in Ephesians 6:5 when he directed "servants to be obedient" to their employers "with singleness of heart".

It is the idea of "exclusivity", and carries the same idea of "jealousy" God required from Old Testament followers (SEE Exodus 20:5 and 34:14). And why not? Even us earthly spouses require such "exclusivity" of our husbands and wives...and rightly so.

The biblical fact is plainly established by Jesus in Matthew 6:24 and in Luke 16:13 when He stated that: "no person can serve two masters". A divided love or loyalty is no love at all, for some things by nature are not divisible. A Christian cannot love Jesus "a little bit", or even mostly!, and he cannot be loyal to Christ "partly".

What means a lot to me personally is that Jesus is worthy of such supreme love and loyalty. Any way we may view Him, He is lovely, and indescribable, and unequaled, and worthy!

Church Work is Heavenly

For two weeks we have been looking at 2 Corinthians 5:9, and particularly the four outstanding points it makes:

"Wherefore we labor (the fact), that, (the "nature" of the labor), whether present or absent, (the "arena" of our labor), we may be accepted (the "motive" of our labor), of Him".

It is repeated that in this brief verse, the Apostle Paul defines his entire ministry and life work. It equally sets down the proper goals of us Christians who work in Christ's church today.

So, the third aspect of a Christian's life work is "the arena" of the labor, as described by the writer as being either "present or absent". Here is a poignant thought. The Holy Spirit impressed Paul to tell us that a Christian's work is only begun when his physical life ends - that there will be work for us to accomplish when we graduate, transfer, transition into the realm of Christ's presence.

Jesus taught - as to responsibilities for His followes in His heavenly kingdom - in Matthew 25, Luke 19, Matthew 20:23, and The Revelation 1:6, that there would certainly be "labors" in the heavenly realm. Paul was certainly persuaded that he would have responsibilities in the world to come as well as in this life, and that he would be accountable to God in the presence of the Lord as much as during his earthly duties.

This truth adds dimension to how we work for the Lord now. It makes a definite connection to our Christian service in the heavenly kingdom to come as much as in Christ's church on earth today. It strongly reminds us that the visible world and the unseen one are both the same in nature, in purpose, and in accountablility.

And this leads us right into the thoughts of next week's topic, which is "the "motive" or "reason" for Christian service.

Smart People Follow the Instructions

We have been looking at 2 Corinthians 5:9: "Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him".

The word "that", reveals THE NATURE of our labors for the Lord. It is such an ordinary, common word, but in analysis tells us so much!

We can be busy and not get anything, or at least, not much, of value accomplished. The idiom that comes to mind is "spinning our wheels", and those of us who live in snow country see it happen every winter. When spinning ones wheels, there is much racket, but no movement or progress.

Many people equate being in a hurry as getting something done - that rushing here and there is somehow speeding up a process. The adage that "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get" impresses our minds, and all of us, at one time or the other, have verified the "haste makes waste" proverb.

The valid point here is that we church workers do well to consider in "what" we invest our lives? Paul did. We do this best by spending time alone with God on our knees and faces to discover what His "agenda" is for us.

It is a matter of constantly going back to "the plan"; the blueprint; the instruction sheet; the schematic; or the manual. I frequently watch my Deloris crochet (how can I help but...?) - with the instruction book or sheet right there in front of her...constantly checking it for the step-by-step instructions. Smart people follow the instructions.

We want our Christian lives to count. We want our building to last. We want our labors to be exactly like the pattern. We want to reap a good harvest. We want to run a worthy race. We want to win the crown. We want to win our battles. We want to ace our tests.

So it is important for us to keep checking with our Lord to make sure that our labors are the kind He has in mind for us. I term this "living in tandem" with God's plans. It is important to work, to labor, in Christ's church, but more important to be engaged in the program that the Holy Spirit has in mind for us.

Where are the "Jacks"?

Words have power. Sometimes the smallest of words have the greatest power. The word "if" is an excellent example. "Or" is another. Look with me at some intensely meaningful words found in 1 Corinthians 5:9, and I quote:

"Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him". KJV

The word "labor" speaks of the fact. The word "that" identifies the nature of the labor. The two words "present or absent" reveals the arena of the labor, while the word "accepted" provides the reason or motive for the labor. The last three modify (or explain) the first. Isn't this a thrill...and all in one verse!

This linguistic exercise just fills my cup to overflowing. The Holy Spirit, through the writer, Paul, actually describes the entire life ministry of the Apostle Paul in a single, brief verse.

To a similar degree (for each Christian equally has a Divinely proscribed job description), this verse tells you and me about our work in the body of Christ.

WE LABOR. We need to see that every Christian has a job to do...a need to fill...a place on the team!

Paul included all of us in the "we". There are no second or third stringers in Christ's church. There are no "subs" on His team. We must see that there is a specific, singular, one-and-only slot in the make up of Christ's church for each of us. There may be only so many positions in the visible church, but there are as many places of service as there are believers in the body of Christ.

Jack (his real name, though he is in heaven now) bought and maintained and drove the "biggest, old vans" he could buy, and filled them with children each Sunday at the Vancouver, Washington Pilgrim Holiness Sunday school. Where are the "Jacks" today?

Mythella at 85 years of age still faithfully and weekly cleans the church and does the church bulletin at the First Church of God in Orofino, Idaho. Where are the "Jacks" today?

Cara Lee Mueller could be counted on to play the organ at the Bartlesville Oklahoma First Wesleyan Church each Lord's Day for 49 years, including the Sunday before being transfered to heaven's anthem chambers the following Tuesday.

The "Jacks", "Mythellas" and "Cara Lees" are much fewer, and harder to find these days. Being counted on is not high on the list of qualifications in the modern church. Being counted on is subservient to "if it is convenient and fits into our plans" for church service in 2008. I know that we live in a different day, but also know something precious and necessary has been lost here.

The church needs workers who they can count on...but the greater need is ours. We individual Christians need the soul satisfaction that only comes from "being counted on".

Christians have all the fun...

...because they do not have to look over their shoulders all the time...wondering...if?It is like keeping the speed limit...or setting the cruise control at the legal limit. You can drive with ease without having to constantly keep an eye scanning the highways for patrolmen. You do not have to look over your shoulder. There is a freedom in always doing the right thing as you best understand it.

Christians are the ones who are having all the fun!! They never experience "mornings after" - those mind-destroying, conscience-plaguing, emotion-damaging, fearful bouts of regrets.

It is like always telling the truth - even if it is embarrassing - even if it costs you - even if it diminishes you in any way. You never have to stop and consider if what you presently are saying matches a previous statement, IF you make it a practice to always tell the truth. You do not have to look over your shoulder.

It is like having "no skeletons in your closet"...that your private life and your public life are the same. There are no worries that a relative or old friend will "spill the beans" on you. You do not have to look over your shoulder.

It is like not cheating at anything. Cheating and lying are twins, and the former is no better than the latter just because it is socially acceptable in many forms in some circles. A Christian has the constant peace that he has been fair and impartial as best as he knows. He never spends time looking over his shoulder.

It is like honestly trying to do ones best day in and day out...and refusing to allow Satan's accusations cause us to measure our best after the fact. We always "can do better" in review, but we can equally do our best at the time. Christians need not look over our shoulders even in review, knowing that if we knew to do better, we would and will!

This is one more plus for following Christ!

Once in a Blue Moon, a Great Truth Arises from the Comic Pages

Today, it is in my mind and heart to remind all married partners who read these lines of the vows they took on their wedding day... and I quote those promises from the traditional ceremony:

"Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her as long as ye both shall live?

"Wilt though have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him as long as ye both shall live?

"I take thee to be my wedded wife (husband); and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be thy loving and faithful husband (wife) in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long we both shall live."

"May I Help You?"

We hear this question regularly - generally from a salesperson. It is such a common query that we do not consider its motive or pause to analyze its content.

We expect a salesperson to ask. They are expected to ask. That is their job - to help customers to select and purchase items. This is what they are paid to do.

Ah! So, this reveals the reason why they smile - why they are so helpful - why they are especially courteous and solicitous - why their entire being and attitude exudes such pleasant and personal attention to other persons.

It is safe to assume that if the contact between the same two persons were anything other than a salesperson/customer one, the entire exchange - if there were one at all - would be completely different.

Wouldn't it be nice - even Christian - if helpfulness and pleasantness were a lifestyle? If we were actually planning to help others throughout our day? If, in the course of doing what we wanted and had to do, we were actually searching for ways we could be of assistance to those around us?

Such an idea carried out would have to indicate a servanthood mentality. Such persons would need to view helping and serving others as their role - their purpose for existence. It is not difficult to serve if we see this as our role, and our Jesus, Himself, clearly stated that His purpose was to serve and to give.

BUT...it is tough if deep down inside we are really wanting others to do the same for us, and resenting it if it does not occur.

Jesus said it like this in Matthew 5:3: "Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit (those who claim and expect nothing): for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".

Expensive Exercise

Many Spirit-filled Christians do not realize that there are five (5) "spiritual senses" which are as active and operative as any of the five physical ones. Allow me to list them.

Body senses: ("soma" Gr.)

• Sight
• Smell
• Hearing
• Taste
• Touch

Soul senses: ("psyche")

• Imagination
• Conscience
• Memory
• Reason
• Affections

Spirit senses: ("pneuma")

• Faith
• Hope
• Reverence
• Prayer
• Worship

Until a person is born again, the spirit part of him/her is dead. (SEE Ephesians 2:1) . After salvation, with the body we (that is, the soul, the real us), touches our physical world. With the spirit we (that is, the soul), touches God and the spiritual world. As we physically exercise by the five physical senses, we spiritually exercise with the five spiritual ones.

In each event, the more we "exercise" any of the senses, the stronger (or weaker, as the case may be) we become. Strong Christians are that way because they spiritually exercise more.

This week's discussion addresses only one of a Christian's spiritual exercises - that of prayer - and especially, intercessory prayer.

According to 1 Timothy 2:1-8, there are four levels of prayer, and anyone interested may have this complete study, "Paul's Recipe For Prayer", gratis by requesting it from: W. L. Boone, P.O. Box 2487, Orofino, ID 83544, or, e-mail: lesboone @ juno.com. [No spaces.]

Intercessory prayer differs from other kinds in that it is in behalf of other persons or interests other than ones own. Intercessory prayer is an expensive exercise, for the cost to God exceeds any human concept of value. Intercessory prayer is at the expense of the sacrificial, intermedial blood of our Jesus.

Each thought, each breath, each heart-cry, each sigh, each tear, and every yearning prayer of intercession draws on the redemptive resources deposited by Jesus at Calvary.

The throne of grace referred to in Hebrews 4:16 widely opened to all believers when the veil of the temple was split from top to bottom, providing constant and instant access through Jesus' death.

When we intercede, we bow on the holiest of heaven's places; we kneel in the most sacred territory of God's realm; we pray in a vaulted aura of hushed, glorified ambiance attended by millions of angelic beings (SEE Daniel 7:9 & 10). Intercessors do what angels cannot! It is a strictly human right and effort!

And angels are awestruck by such incredible authority entrusted - and restricted - to humankind! And they wonder why we waste and misuse it!

Intercessory prayer is the greatest earthly power, and is restricted and assigned to Spirit-filled believers only. Does any reader wonder why it is so severely contested by the powers of darkness? Do we question why Satan will place every barrier and hindrance in our way to keep us from using it?

An intercessor's greatest encouragement comes from our Helper, God's Holy Spirit, Who is the Prompter, the Director, and the Energizer in the art of intercession. "Thank You, Lord!"

"The Rump Lump"

Introductory Comments: I live every day of my life, in all that I do, with one supreme goal, and this is to bring glory to the God of the Bible... in this world and the one to come. I earnestly urge the reader to continually keep this in mind as this true - and lengthy - story unfolds, as the use of the first person is obviously necessary. WLB.

Jesus, or one of his attending angels, was in my bedroom early one recent Saturday morning, and I did not even know that I had been visited by an unearthly Being until about the twelve noon hour.

Some twelve to fifteen years past I noticed an irritation to my behind, about where my wallet rested in the right hip pocket. During long driving, it was necessary to continually keep shifting away from that sore spot to ease the discomfort.

In time this became infected and involved a trip to our dermatologist. He said his necessary "A-has" and "O-hos" and identified it as a large fatty tumor, non-malignant, but badly infected, and made an appointment for me to see a surgeon.

After the rather undignifying prepping by his nurse, and with both of them "Oo-ing" and "Ah-ing" as they viewed the offensive tumor on my right gluteus maximus, he concluded that he could either cut it out or lance it. If he excised it, it would necessitate a surgery at a later date, repeated packing for awhile, and a lengthy healing process. If he lanced it, it could come right back again if I did not protect and care for it.

Upon opting for the immediate lancing, and after a couple of local shots, he proceeded... to which the nurse rather gleefully reported to both of us, "Oh, wow! Just like a volcano!" It appeared they enjoyed the show.

From that day I carefully guarded my "rump lump," following the surgeon's suggestion to stop wearing the wallet in a hip pocket, and protecting it - as best as possible - from serious bumps and irritations. As with many of us with similar "physical irregularities," eventually my "rump lump" became just another part of my body.

This "rump lump" - though generally forgotten and accepted as merely an inconvenience - was an ever-present reminder of something to be protected, and an obvious protrusion each time I showered.

This summer I started experiencing sharp, severe, stabbing current of pain in my right lower abdomen. One surgeon described it as "just above the pelvic bone." They occurred periodically... Thank You, Lord! ...and briefly... Thank You again, Lord! ...but intensely! No comment, Lord. They came so suddenly and intensely that all I could do was double up and grab!

My unprofessional diagnosis: appendicitis, of course. A battery of blood tests disavowed that, along with with a long list of possibilities, finally settling on a pulled groin muscle. I was told to "take it easy for awhile."

These sudden, intense attacks continued in an off-again, on-again manner for 5 or 6 weeks, with days filled by momentarily wondering, "When will the next attack come?" Days and nights this eroded peace of mind for our household, any semblance of normalcy, and all the while chewing away at faith's flickering light.

A crisis occurred on a recent afternoon while I was doubled over seven times in a five hour period. That resulted in a spirited call to a surgeon friend whose immediate advice was to insist on a CT scan at a local ER. All of us "participants" were running out of options, and the scan revealed no kidney stones that "just had to be there." After it appeared that every conceivable test discovered no tangible reason for such intense, stabbing jolts of pain, I drove home through the dark in deep disappointment, wondering before my God, "Lord, what shall I do now?"

I dreaded going to bed... wondering if tonight I will be again suddenly awakened to sharp, stabbing pain?

On September 27, 2008, about 1:30 or 2:00 a.m., sure enough! I was again awakened by three sharp, stabbing jolts of pain, but not in the accustomed bladder area at all! Instead they were on the right side of my behind... gluteous maximus, posterior, whatever. Even in half asleep reason I thought, "What on earth are these (not unpleasant at all!) shocking jolts of pain doing on my behind?" Then I went right back to sleep.

The hour of 4:00 to 5:00 each morning is my scheduled prayer time, and as I prayed, the early morning incident never even penetrated the edge of my mind, but God did help me to place every affected area of my body in His hands, pain or no pain. I felt better, but actually had no more of a sense of Divine touch than at scores of other times over the past number of weeks.

Regular Saturday duties were perfuctorily performed until close to the noon hour. As impossible as it may seem to me now, those early morning jolts of "whatever" to my right bun had completely slipped my mind... until I began to soap myself in the shower.

As I soaped... praying and talking to Jesus about "my lower abdominal pains and what to do now about them?", through my mind flitted the thought about that ever-present lump. I could not feel it as I soaped. I rubbed and felt... and felt and rubbed... and into my mind instantly flooded the early morning puzzling "jolts," out of place on my backside.

Tears sprang into my eyes as the realization that the lump was totally gone!!! Quickly drying and re-drying confirmed the truth. That lump was gone, and no amount of probing or investigating could discover it!

I cannot explain why God does what He does - the way that He does - or the timing or meaning of it all. I came to see the entire, painful groin area as a battleground - as a grueling test to my faith. This was where I was. This was where I had been praying for weeks for His touch. This was where I needed an answer to my flagging faith. This was where I needed help.

But He touched and instantly healed something else - something that I did not ask for or was even thinking of. He wanted me to know that He was aware - that He was involved - that He was in control - that He knew I was at the end of my rope. It made me smile inside, and I had to wonder if He was smiling with me? What a wonderful, gracious Lord!

What the Angels Know

There is but a thin veil between what we can see and what we cannot. What we see is not real, for what we can see is here today and gone tomorrow. What is real is what endures. What is real is what remains when everything else slips from our earthly view. What is real is what stays on our records when earthly recognitions fade, and human memories grope, and reputations dim, and achievements and accolades diminish.

What is real are facts - those actualities that are known only to us... and to our God... and to His ministering spirits, the angels... those incredible beings who are Divinely commissioned to serve and observe the saints while we live and labor here below. Paul goes so far as to state that we are "a spectacle to angels," and our Lord said of His humble servants that "their angels do always behold the face of the Father," and Peter records the fact that "the angels desire to look into" this saving, cleansing and keeping grace.

So, as the Holy Spirit might help us, we ask Him to briefly open our minds as we slip behind the veil of our present, visible lives and reflect upon what the angels know, realizing that what they know is free of distortion and error.

The world we cannot visibly see is the realm of angelic beings commissioned to minister to us, and help us, and enable us as we fight the good fight of faith. They are silent witnesses to our unseen world in which we momentarily pray and ponder and reason and choose.

Though materially unseen, it is nonetheless our world of reality where there is no pretense or supposition or manipulations or coverup or rationalizing. It is an environment of such pure truth that even embellishments and nuances are absent. "Advantages" and "edges" and "inside tracks" are as foreign to the angelic realm as lying - their better known parent.

The serious Christian pulls down such heavenly integrity into his earthly, everyday living with the realization that it is not the standards and values of men that measure us at all. It is not this world's standards that judge us at all, for the saints live by a higher law - the law of grace. Serious Christians spend much of their time and thought endeavoring to reconcile the two, that is, what is important to God compared to human behavior - ours and that of others around us. Serious Christians always place God's Word as the final authority in their minds and souls.

It is here suggested that what the angels know about us should clamor for our attention. While we do not pray to angels, it helps us to know that they are rooting for us, fighting for us, and that eyes that behold the face of God are also watching you and me. Since they are constantly and actively involved in all who we are and do, our conduct in their presence should seek investigation. What do they know about you and me? Among the dozen or so issues that quickly come to mind, we take time for just one - our talking - to other, earthly persons and to our heavenly Father.

Are we known in the unseen realm as a frequent visitor? Is our voice regularly heard among the angels? Is our name commonly confessed there? Are we well known in heaven's throne room? Are we known as someone who stubbornly sits at His feet and keeps knocking at His door? Is our personal presence at the Father's throne of grace so consistent that the angels have heavy duty as we - in company with, and led by, the faithful Holy Spirit - confront the "spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms"? Have the angels come to count on our intercessions? Can they "set their watches" by the time we are on our knees? Years ago I heard the daughter of a godly man say of her father, "Daddy's wick is always lit." I hope that our children and grandchildren and close friends can say that about you and me.

The angels know. They know whether we have been, and are remaining, true to "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." They know if we have kept the faith, and if we are still keeping it. They know whether we are clinging to the unchanging truth as it is left to us in God's Word. They angels know if we have accepted responsibility personally, or if we have left it for someone else to protect and maintain.

Down through the changing, challenging eras of church history, we have the ageless, comforting words of our brother, Paul, "Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Scripture references: Hebrews 1:14, I Peter 1:10-12, I Corinthians 4:9, Matthew 18:10, Ephesians 6:12, Jude 3, I Corinthians 15:58

Will You Quit?

"The boss criticized my work once too often today, so I just told him to write out my time! I was looking for a job when I found this one!"

"I've listened to his last complaint of burnt dinners, undone laundry and unpaid bills! I am suing for a divorce!"

"So the church board does not like my idea! Maybe they can get along without my tithe and membership too!"

Yes, quitting is just that easy and is usually accomplished with about as much reason or possible result. The savored satisfaction of separation from responsibility is just about as momentary and disappointing as the independence of estrangement is solitary and imaginary. The ardent, persistent and dedicated construction of years and tears can be toppled to a ruinous heap in a single sweep of a hasty decision.

The most dangerous desertion is that from Christian faith, for it may occur within and not be outwardly noticeable. A believer can continue to "perform" church functions and have a heart that is cold and dead spiritually.

There are definite reasons why personal faith in God is so severely tested. Primarily it is because of its priceless value, for faith is the single connection and transmission line to God. Faith is the vehicle to eternal life.

A further reason, perhaps more of an enlargement of the primary one, is that there is such great gain or loss involved. Satan will do his worst to destroy, and the Holy Spirit will do His best, to encourage, our faith.

When in the traitored embrace of temptation to quit, be assured if there were nothing to lose, yours and mine would be the pathway of ease. The grueling tests of faith certify the existence of properties that are certain, and far above our greatest imaginations.

We must remember that the fires of testing are meant to refine and not destroy. In His infinte wisdom, God matches the test with the degree of resistence. He knows how much we can bear, and this is so encouraging in the great tests.

On a River Bank

He stood there alone - a desolate portrait of solitude and sorrow. The mocking wind smote his swarthy features with demonic vengeance. Doubts abetted by merciless sun rays probed and lacerated the core of his being like phantom lancets, while the grimy, black mud in his sandals punctuated the gloom and grief of his soul.

A speck of foam elegantly mounted upon the breast of the racing current testified to the vanity and brevity of life while becoming a sacrifice to an unyielding stone.

The combination of death's sullen separation, coupled with the sudden responsibility of the heavy load of leadership, was cause for the noticeable sagging shoulders. The giant of faith who could open and close the heavens - the warrior of Carmel who could call fire from above - was gone.

On a promontory some rods away grouped the skeptics, pessimists and crepe-hangers. "What shall we do now? The days of miracles, powerful praying and holy living are gone! And what great days they were!"

But they did not watch alone. Demons cringed while mighty angels posititioned themselves for immediate departure as the deathless Deity of the ages interestedly observed that lonely, tested soul.

Moving perceptively toward the waters, Elisha placed his right foot on the immovable bastion of God's eternal existence, and his left foot on the continual faithfulness of God, and smote Jordon's waters with His powerful promises. "Where is the God of Elijah?" he cried. The hiss and rip of parting waters answered, "Right here by your side."

Today as in Elisha's day, the mantles of mature and seasoned saints are falling all around us, and we, their successors, are tempted to wonder what will happen to God's work without them? What we have to remember is that it is not the person at all, but the faithfulness of the Lord. The same God of Elijah...and of Elisha...is your God and mine!

The Spider Had a Heart Attack

At least I think he must have! A woman's piercing scream can trepidate the bravest heart!

Over a forty year period of pastoring the Wesleyan Church in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and residing in the fine, but very old, parsonage the good parishoners graciously provided for our family, I was privileged to nearly completely remodel and enlarge it. The project at the time was completely stripping and remodeling the upstairs. Since this was the bedrooms of our three children - as well as that of a dear niece who was living with us while attending our local college - the four of them had been relocated to hastily fixed up bedrooms in the basement.

At that time, the basement was unfinished - bare concrete walls, a very uneven concrete floor and no ceiling on the floor joists. This resulted in the mutual residence of various kinds of critters from time to time.

Our family became rather accustomed to "sharing space with them".

On this occasion I was upstairs mentally and physically completely absorbed in some carpentry procedure when the atmosphere of all three floors of the parsonage was jarringly pierced by not just one scream, but a series of them! I instantly flew down both sets of stairs and witnessed a once in a lifetime scenario of our niece vigorously jumping up and down, all the while screaming, "There's a spider! There's a spider!" The spider was rather uncerimoniously dispatched, and I sternly said to her, "Norma, (not her real name) in this house the only time we scream like this is if there is something wrong".

The point in this story - that is, other than raising the hair on my head and significantly elevating my adrenelin - is that her jumping up and down and screaming accomplished nothing. It was a futile waste of time.

A time waster is a life waster. All of us do this, but when we realize it, wise and thoughtful persons stop it, for we realize just how precious time is. Probably the most significant aspect of the passing of time is that it cannot be recovered once it is spent.

A cheering aspect of time is that God has graciously endowed each individual with equal portions, and places its precious value in each person's control. Every segment of time is like the treasure of a sunset - each one is different, each one can be personally enjoyed and used, and each one is quickly gone forever, never to be visited again.

What's Your CQ?

Measurements are at the same time interesting and frightful. Few of us can pass up any opportunity to see how we rate in skills. We are motivated and fascinated to know whether we are below average, merely average, or (as we generally anticipate) above average.

I think that it is possible to determine character quotient (CQ). We can discovered what kind of stuff we are made of inside--the kind of a person we really are--by answering a few important questions. Here are some of those questions:

1. When you receive undeserving credit, do you usually:
a. accept it and say nothing, NO POINTS
b. correct the false impression, 1 POINT
c. correct it and give the proper credit where it belongs, 3 POINTS

2. Where there is a particularly distasteful or difficult task to be done, do you usually:
a. try to get out of it, NO POINTS
b. do it reluctantly if asked, 1 POINT
c. take "the heavy end of the load," 3 POINTS

3. When something untruthful is being spoken about an absent person, do you usually
a. let it pass, NO POINTS
b. say nothing, but refuse to gossip, 1 POINT
c. correct the falsity and stand up for the absent person, 3 POINTS

4. When you can rightfully retaliate against one who has wronged you, do you generally:
a. think, "It's about time he/she got it" and let fly, NO POINTS
b. don't retaliate, but let your bigness be known, 1 POINT
c. let it pass quietly, 3 POINTS

5. When you are away from home and any aquaintances, do you usually:
a. behave differently and inappropriately, NO POINTS
b. maintain the same moral and ethical standards, 3 POINTS

6. When you can make a buck unfairly and undetected, do you usually:
a. do it, NO POINTS
b. do it, but feel guilty, 1 POINT
c. won't make money unfairly, seen or not, 3 POINTS

7. Treatment of spouse. Do you usually:
a. treat him/her worse than persons outside the home (talking, behaving, conversing with them with much more courtesy and sensitivity than a spouse), NO POINTS
b. care much, but neglect to show it, 1 POINT
c. make constant effort to let him/her know of your concern, love and respect, 3 POINTS

8. Treatment of subordinates. Are you usually:
a. bossy and demanding, distanced and demeaning? NO POINTS
b. friendly, respectful and appreciative of their efforts, 2 POINTS
c. the preceding plus a personal interest in their well-being and development, 4 POINTS

9. Treatment of the disadvantaged (poor, handicapped, sick, illiterate, aged, "abnormals" of any kind). Do you usually:
a. give little thought or attention to them, NO POINTS
b. feel sorry for them but get on with your life, 1 POINT
c. consider them personally equal and make an effort to relate to them, 5 POINTS

10. When do you forgive?
a. not at all or rarely, NO POINTS
b. when you are asked for it, 1 POINT
c. whether it is requested or not, 3 POINTS

0 to 6 POINTS: Poor Character.
7 to 14 POINTS: Average Character.
15 to 33 POINTS: Above Average Character.

The Biggest Goal in My Life

Herein lies an imponderable--just what is one's best? In prospect we always do our best. In retrospect, seldom if ever. What seems best at the time seems begging in review. Much of the answer lies in the probing of our purposes and in the establishing of a pattern.

In this we need a pattern, a measuring method to ascertain ones' best. The most common method is usually a mistake, that is, comparing our progress with the other fellow's. Peer pressure can lead us into endeavors and pursuits that are often considerably or totally incompatible with our gifts or God's will. The sooner we learn to "wear our own armor" and do it with grace, the more fulfilled and effective will be our service.

If the matter of the moment is receiving our best in devotion, attention and endeavor, any retrospection enlisted should only serve to note how better it may be done the next time around. Any failures noted, inadequacies revealed, or weaknesses uncovered should not be allowed to stand in judgment of a past performance. We who operate automobiles with accustomed ease today can recall painful experiences of jumping the clutch, killing the engine, spinning the tires, grinding the gears, and taking corners too fast. The second driving lesson didn't correct all of the initial blunders and some of us still have our problems.

The body of Christ is not all hands, all feet, or all hearts, and much precious time is futilely wasted by body members attempting to locate themselves within the body. The fact is that no man can determine who is what. The "selfsame Spirit" that worketh in all of us is the placement Personality in the body, and the placements are seldom recognizable by the various members of the body. The priority concern should be to function to capacity wherever one is or whatever one does.

Doing one's best is not an impossible dream, an illusive idealism, or an unrealistic and unattainable goal. If we honestly purpose and try to do our best, it is indeed our best, and God sees it so.

The biggest goal in my life may sound unappealing to some, oversimplified to others, and evasive to still others, but it my constant prayer and deepest desire. "Lord, fulfill Thy purposes within and through me. Help me to do this moment and this day what You want done. Help me to be in the fullest measure what You want. I sanctify to Thee even my infirmities, failures, and inabilities. Use all there is of me to perform Thy will. In Jesus name. Amen."

Different Stars

The Bible declares that there are no two stars alike, and since nobody has ever physically and personally made an "on site" inspection to either disprove or corroborate this, Bible believing Christians accept it as fact. Here is how the Amplified Bible writes 1 Corinthians 15:41:

"...the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance".

Roughly a thousand years before this inspired comment by the Apostle Paul, the psalmist wrote in Psalms147:4 that, "(God) counts the number of the stars, and calls them each one by name".

Without arguing with the scientific community that has long insisted that our sun is merely "another star", the Bible seems in both this scripture and in Genesis 1:16 to state that our sun differs from the stars: "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also".

And here in 1 Corinthians 15:41 the Bible says: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars...". The strong inference in both the Old and New Testaments is that the sun was specifically and uniquely created by God to provide light and warmth to the earth, and that it and the moon are the only heavenly bodies like them.

The idea here is how unique and individual each star is - and accordingly, how individualistic and unprecedented each human soul is.

Though there are probably milti-billions of stars, each one is specifically and individually Divinely created and named, so that when our human eyes see a falling star burn out, an observing angel might say, "There goes Spica", or "Look at Alcor go!", or "How beautiful is Procyon as he blazes!".

He is a God abundant in grace Who comes to each human soul and offers an eternal relationship to him or her...a union and a friendship shared with no other human being.

He gives us a lifespan to make up our minds, for every person who loves, follows and serves Him is a volunteer. Every friend of God chooses to be.

Andrew's Duct Tape

Memories of Andrew's (one of our grandsons) duct tape unfailingly bring smiles, and sometimes outright laughter, to those of us who know him.

His duct tape episode occurred some years past, before his entering into the United States Navy where he currently serves aboard the aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson.

Andrew's unflappable, unpretentious demeanor, and his contagious, adventuresome sense of humor, has at the same time endeared him to his family and friends, while establishing him as the one to notice in any group setting without his even trying. Just one of those likable kind of guys.

At this youth camp his sneakers had split open, and this camp was some 70 miles from any shoe store where one could replace them. He said nothing to his mother (our daughter) realizing that there was nothing she could do about it during the camp. Besides, Andrew is one of those "non-whining" young persons.

Duct tape rode to the rescue! Silver sneakers looked so good he did not stop with merely covering the split, but wrapped the entire shoe - sole and all - with duct tape.

Initial laughter by onlookers morphed into admiration (and later into duplication) as he "innocently" displayed his silver shoes in all of the camp services, and became the center of conversation when he gave the same duct tape application to his cowboy boots. As far as I know, he was still wearing his duct tape cowboy boots weeks later when he left for boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. I don't think the Navy let him keep them.

As I say, these memories always elicit pleasant and humorous thoughs of our funny grandson's antics with his ubiquitous rolls of duct tape, but the splits in the sneakers and boots were still there though they were ingeniously covered by strips of duct tape. The "fix" was at best temporary, and eventually re-emerged as bad or worse than ever.

When Jesus fixes our broken and split and torn lives, His restoration is complete and effective. He makes all things new! until not even scars remain!

One Thing You Can Not Say

There are many things that are hard to say. Like, "I'm sorry. It's my fault. Forgive me. I spoke too quickly. I spoke too harshly. It was not just the way I represented it. I volunteer. I'll go." Lots of things like these and similar ones are hard to say.

But this is one thing you or I can not say, and it is as true for believers and unbelievers alike. We find this one thing that we can not say in 1 Corinthians 12:21. None of us can say, "I do not need you." The Bible insisted that this was true centuries before the 1940s or 1950s hit song, "No Man Is An Island." The Bible says it this way in Romans 14:7: "None of us lives to himself (alone) and no one dies to himself (alone)".

However adamantly and forcefully an individual declares his total independence from other persons, it is nothing more than empty rhetoric and illogical silliness. Those who arrogantly declare that they need nobody else starkly reveal their immaturity.

The fact is that we need each other to survive, and the Apostle Paul in the 1 Corinthian scripture alluded to above goes a step further when he overtly asserts that each of us is actually but a single part of a body - a hand, a foot, a mouth, eyes, ears, a leg, etc. None of us is a "total package" as a few boastful persons like to think they are. There are no "number tens" among us, and those few who unwisely think there are - whether themselves, or others who think someone else is - eventally realize that we all need each other, and much of what and who we all are comes from those around us.

This fact is not up for debate according to this definite statement in God's Word. We can not say, "I have no need of you". A whole person is the one who discovers that he is complete in the strengths and assistances of his friend who comes along side of him in his time of need.

We Can "Control" God

Not in the sense that we tell Him what to do... or change His mind... but there are things we can do that guarantee a response from Him.

Moses did. Jonathan did. David did. Daniel did. Elijah did. Hezekiah did. In fact, many, if not all, biblical personages did.

The woman with the issue of blood did when she touched the hem of Jesus' garment. His healing virtue was "on demand" to her trusting request. As best as we can tell from the reading in Matthew 9:20, there was no deciding, Divine permission that occurred in the transfer of healing virtue from Jesus to this woman's need.

I realize that this is poor grammar, but God does not do nothing in a great many, personal ventures into His grace and power. We "control" God when we surrender to Him. We "control" God when we line up our wills with His will. He does not do nothing when we do.

God does something when we yield to Him, and when we obey Him, and when we get on His side of any issue or matter, and when we yearn to see things His way, and when we search and pry into His nature and heart and thoughts and attitudes.

God does something when we love Him, and when we set ourselves to sit at His feet and hear His words.

This is an irrefutable fact as (SEE Luke 10:4) Mary discovered when she chose to sit at Jesus' feet and hear what He had to say. The weeping woman (SEE Mark 14:9) "controlled" Jesus with her contrite brokenness as she lovingly poured her expensive perfume upon His feet. Her love drew a concentrated, personal, immediate, Divine response as others who watched missed it!

For most of my ministry this verse from Isaiah 57:15 has had a prominent place on my study walls: I dwell...with the person who has a contrite and humble spirit...", and another from Isaiah 66:2: "...to this person will I look, even to him who is of a poor (one who claims nothing) and contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word".

There are "automatic" responses from God anytime we enter His presence via His throne of grace. He is there! He is never not there! He is never unreachable, or untouchable, or unavailable. There are no office hours at the throne of grace. Admittance and advocacy are assured through the death of our Savior on His cross of Calvary. If and when we go there, He is there!

Does God Get Jealous?

I was particularly drawn to the "jealous" aspect of God's nature, and some years past was so taken with it that my mind was impressed to dig into it a bit. It just did not fit with my overall understanding of a selfless Being Who would "stoop" to jealousy in the sense that we humans generally see it. The fact is that He does not. The root meaning is more in the sense of His expecting an exclusive right to one's devotion, fidelity, affection and love. It is not so much that He requires it as that we owe it.

God is never so arbitrary about anything as we understand it. He makes no demands or requirements "because He says so", but only because it is appropriate and right. It is like any and all biblical requirements to worship and honor and praise Him. He requires it because He is praiseworthy... and because He is glorious... and because He is honorable. He exists in all of these states because they exhibit the kind of Person He is, and He would be praiseworthy and glorious if no other beings ever praised and honored Him. The Cherubim do not praise and honor Him because He created them to, but they ceaselessly praise and honor and glorify Him because He is worthy of it. My mind is held in wordless wonder as I contemplate that He did not create them to declare His holiness and justice and righteousness, but that their very beings were created by Him to declare such universal integrity... period! And if God, Himself, were to ever become unholy or unrighteous, they would instantly condemn Him. It is God's way of providing for all universal creatures that He is truly worthy of honor and praise. What A God! Blessed, Blessed be His name!

"When"

When tragic heartache leaves us numb
In stark, relentless grief...
And senseless loss denies us from
Any meaningful relief?

When no words can ease our pain -
No explanations arise.
When reason fails us once again
And tears forsake our eyes?

When time refuses to advance
And all of life stands still -
When everything seems ruled by chance
And governed by others' will?

When it seems there is no plan
But only a jumbled mess...
And life sells short the person
Who follows righteousness?

When a heavy heart and a tortured mind
Seems my lot to be...
And faith and hope of any kind
Must yield to reality?

When it seems there is no way
I honestly can voice...
My faith and hope can say
Your will is still my choice?

It's in these tragic times I see
The sun beyond the veil,
And know with rising certainty
That God will not...cannot fail.

Though He is touched by human pain
Beyond what words can say...
He always has - and always will - remain
Our Solid Rock today.

When everyone else is gone
And family and friends depart...
God will not ever leave us alone
With a grieving, broken heart.

His promise is a shining one
That heavy hearts may know...
Until our life's short race is run
He's here wherever we go.

By W.L. Boone

On "The Emerging Church" Movement

Truth does not develop - or emerge - or expand - or multiply - or intensify.
Truth remains always the same!

Neither does it dissipate, or minimize, or weaken, or neutralize, or lessen, or reduce.
It is just what it is and always has been.

It does not get stronger or brighter or greater or higher or more profound or more emphatic.
The power of truth is of itself.

It does not matter what men do with truth, how they treat it, deal with it, define it, judge it, critique it, label it, impoverish it, or emasculate it.
Truth is self-sustaining.

Men can abandon it, deny it, change it, redefine it, contemporize it, degrade it and substitute it...
but it remains changeless and pure.

Truth does not need constant updating, new understanding, greater intepretation and later revelations.
It is the same as Jesus left it to us.

Truth does not need neo-orthodoxy, or higher criticism, or post-modernism, or "Jesus seminarianism" or contemporary theology.
Truth is as changeless as God.

Truth does not need validation or support or underwriting, or assistance or apology or corroboration or explanation.
It stands alone.

Truth cannot be organized or methodized or standardized or departmentalized or relevantized.
It is, and will always be pure and whole.

It does not need to be dramatized or embellished or groomed or cosmetized or aggrandized.
Its beauty is of and in itself.

By W.L. Boone

"Is There a Prayer Meeting Tonight?"

This question came to a Portland, Oregon pastor on Wednesday two afternoons ago, and, Thank The Lord!, that pastor could answer in the affirmative. Few can anymore, for regularly scheduled, mid-week prayer meetings have just about vanished from the American church scene these days.

I promise you that "Mrs. Prayer Meeting" has just about died in most of our churches, for there are very few professed Christians who want them, or attend them. Why would this man be calling to ask a pastor friend of mine if there were a prayer meeting at his church on Wednesday night?

It was because he had just got right with God!! And wanted to be in prayer meeting. He wanted to go to church! He wanted to be in a prayer meeting!

Turn the clock back about thirty years ago in our church when another man prayed through to a definite conversion victory in Jesus. Juan Alphonso Ramos came to repentance after mistreating his wife under the influence of alcohol. At that time, in addition to two Sunday services and a mid-week prayer meeting, we had a men's prayer meeting every Saturday night in the pastor's study. Juan came to them all, and after he attended the first Saturday night men's prayer meeting, he waited until all of the other men had gone, and asked me, "Pastor, doesn't the church have any more services?"

I have used this true illustration all through my ministry, for it reveals just how hungry new Christians are to hear the words of the Lord, and pray, and be around other Christians. Juan was not only daily employed, but was a mid manager of 200 people in a prominent electronics company, and yet, with all of the heavy demands of his excellent job, he wanted more church services, and especially more prayer meetings.

All through my ministry I have told this true story, because of the sadness in my pastor's heart that there are so few older, experienced Christians who demonstrate this hunger. Those who walk close to God still do! If we stay close to Him and His word, that hunger is still there! And whether thiry years past, or a week ago, when people really pray through and find God, they want to know "if there is a prayer meeting tonight?"

A Man or an Angel?

A man who had spent the last 20 years of his life away from God, most of the time fighting the demons of alcoholism, lay in a Washington State jail with six or eight other drunks and drug addicts. In misery and defeat, scant inches from the other hapless souls, he lay on a narrow cot with his face turned to the wall in the silence, for none of his vile companions wanted to talk, and neither did he.

He heard the door of "the tank" open and close, and in all of that dim, foul smelling atmosphere, a very young man came over directly to where this man miserably lay. "I am a heroin addict, and you are an alcoholic" he simply stated, and stood awaiting a response. The first thought to come to his mind was to tell him that he was in jail for unwittingly violating a "no contact order", but in those few moments (as only God can do) this dear man openly admitted that, "Yes, I am an alcoholic"...and said it more to his God than to the young "addict".

In that moment, and just that briefly, he knew that he would never take another drink, and that he was through running from God, and had peace and forgiveness with God. God can, and does, communicate with us in ways that not only defy description, but are more direct and certain and effective than any human voice or logic. I marvel at the grace of God, and rejoice that He is the same today in His delivering power as He ever has been!

Was "this young heroin addict" a man or an angel? We do not know...but we wonder?

Ittai, a Philistine Man of God

In recent years, Ittai (pronounced It-tay-eye) has become one of my favorite biblical personages.

2 Samuel 15:13-31

And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.

And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house.

And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.

And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.

Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.

And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.

And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.

And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:

But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.

The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.

Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.

And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

That he was a Philistine believer at the time of the scripture reading, holds our minds in enough fascination, but to discover that he was also the son of Achish, king of Gath, and that with his immigration as a Jewish proselyte he brought 600 Philistine warriors and their families with him, his conversion is incredible.

His appearance in Jerusalem scant days before David's hasty departure as his son, Absalom prepared to overthrow David's reign and assasinate him in the process, would seem on the surface to be the worst possible timing for Ittai. Actually, as always with God, Ittai's coming was Divinely and perfectly timed, and he would prominently figure into David's "salvation" and Absalom's military debacle.

Unquestionably, David and Ittai would have met, and formed a "Jonathan-like" alliance during the two or three years that David had spent in Gath, running for his life from an apostate Saul, and serving Achish (the king of Gath, and Ittai's father). At this time, Ittai had witnessed the presence and character of David's God in him, and at some point, became a believer, also planning at some time in the future to migrate to Israel when David eventually became king.

When he came, with 600 "Gibborim" (a Phistine word meaning "heros; mighty men") and all of their families, it appeared on the surface to be a most inopportune time, a time of Absalom's deception and mutiny, with David's life and throne on the line.

When David offered a "free pass", a honorable way out, to Ittai, his reply was a personal testimony of his conversion ("As the Lord God 'yahweh' lives"), but also an instant commitment of his life and that of his 600 warriors to the protection and honor of David! "Wherever you go and are, I will be right there by your side". My admiration knows no bounds to this kind of devotion! To God and to David! What a God Who provokes such brave devotion and selfless courage! He continues to dwell in the hearts of godly and devout men today!

By W.L. Boone

A Story of Scars

As I was reading my Bible this morning, bumping the fleshy part of my left hand uneasily kept bringing to memory the reason why it was so tender, and why the red, swollen abrasion needed to avoid being bumped.

It was the latest of over seventy scars counted on my two hands.

Reflecting on them, a heartening sermon arose. Besides this latest one, only three of them could evoke the memory of causes. One came of dressing rabbits as a lad, another from extracting a nipple from a broken baby bottle during a high school initiation, the the third from a doctor's two incisions from going after a half inch long, plywood sliver he never found. (It eventually came out of its own accord after about six months).

Think of this! Four of the largest scars were there from injuries I could not even recall!

Strangely, the ones easiest remembered are the latest - this last one from a naughty piece of concrete rebar that rolled into and tore a hole in my hand.

The truth that you can seldom work without getting injuries is equally true as we labor for the Lord in the work of His heavenly kingdom. The bruises of misunderstanding, and the lacerations of criticisms, are certain to be a part of church work. As much as we try to avoid them, and as much as we want them never to happen, they will occur with just about as much regularity as scratches, cuts, bruises and injuries to our bodies as we work with our hands.

How heartening it is to remember the story of scars. A few of them can be remembered, but most are blissfully forgotten.

By W.L. Boone

President Bush's Beetle

According to an Associated Press article datelined June 10, 2008, a scientist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philladelphia has named a newly-discovered slime mold beetle after President Bush.

The same article noted that a recent discovery of a separate species of the trapdoor spider accorded its name to musician Neil Young.

The featured "honoree", however, was Frank Gallagher, a 37 year, museum mailroom supervisor selected to have a newly-discovered Orinico thicklip catfish named after him ( Rhinodoras gallagheric). This new species of catfish is one of 1.3 million fish kept and catalogued in the museum's aquarium.

Such huge numbers and variations of our world's creatures are mind-boggling to say the least, but what dominates our attention in wordless wonder is that continuing discoveries of new species are still occurring today here in June of 2008!

Entomologists (think: "ant", distinguishing it from etymologist who is one who studies word meanings) would instantly disagree with those persons who claim that space was man's "last frontier", for new species of spiders alone are still being discovered, catalogued and named. New deep seabed creatures likewise are being discovered.

All humankind should humbly bow before, and acknowledge, our benevolent Creator-God Who has graciously lavished us with such fascinating wonder all around us!

By W.L. Boone

The Sidewalk

I want to tell you about a sidewalk. It had 1913 stamped on it...five years short of 100 years here in May of 2008.

I had deliberately protected the 1913 signature logo of some long defunct concrete company, probably contracted by the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to form and pour many blocks of curbs, gutters and sidewalks in that long ago time - 1913. Even when it was necessary to dig up and re-pour the sidewalk around it, I made sure that the oval shaped logo was left because of the message it held in my mind.

Even during the process of excavation and construction of a new church building in the early 1970s, when heavy equipment and concrete trucks rolled over that old sidewalk, it stood and withstood through it all. Lawnmowers and snowplows and vehicles of all descriptions repeatedly ran over it. Besides pedestrians, there were hundreds of bicycles, baby strollers, motor cycles, skate boards and roller skates, wagons and wheelbarrows that it had uncomplainingly supported.

For more than 90 years this old sidewalk that ran down Third Street in front of the Wesleyan Church and parsonage- where we were privileged to pastor for nearly 40 years- had faithfully, dependably, quietly and predictably supported the footfalls of thousands of residents and pedestrians.

The reason for telling you this is that you could depend on that old sidewalk, though my guess is that you could count on one hand those users who had appreciated it. It had done its job - had faithfully performed its intended purpose - through all of those 90 plus years in summers of blistering, 100-degree, August heat as well as in 40 below, harsh, North Idaho winters.

We are wealthy beyond description if we have someone in our lives who has provided for us "a sidewalk"; someone whom we can count on who can show us the way to walk through life; someone who can be a safe guide for us; someone who can point us in the direction of a certain future; someone who can be trusted to be more interested in us than themselves.

By W.L. Boone

Up is Down

When is down, up? When is bad, good? When is loss, gain? When is sad, happy? When is last, first?

When is failure, success? When is suffering, health? When is foolishness, wisdom? When is death, life?

All of the answers are single... and the same: AT THE CROSS.

One of the most perplexing discussions in the Bible is described by Mark, chapter 9:33-37. Jesus' followers were actually arguing between themselves who of the twelve of them was the greatest; the most important; should be accorded the highest position?

"It has to be me," claimed Peter, "for me and Andrew were the first men Jesus selected...and Andrew here, always does what I say."

"Well now, wait just a minute here," declared James. "You, Brother Peter, are just too reckless, forward and opinionated. A leader must be more steady, cool headed, thoughtful and wise than you are."

Young John quietly observed, "I know that you older guys think that way, but who of us does Jesus favor the most and have the most intimate, personal chats with? Me."

"But I'm the one He trusts with the money," says Judas.

It is mind-boggling that such thinking would erupt into an open argument. Merely thinking about it suggests questionable motives. Openly expressing it among themselves reveals a nearly complete ignorance of both the teachings and disposition of their Lord.

Jesus dealt with this ambitious posturing so directly and decisively that it cuts a wide swath for Christian behavior through all church history into our own lives today. He plainly stated that, "If any person desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."

This is NOT normal, human thinking. "Being number 1" is probably the most dominant goal of us humans - from the cradle to the grave. "My" world revolves around "me."

We must make the journey to the cross to change the "me" concept into an "others" one. Jesus clearly stated that to follow Him meant a lifetime of shouldering the cross, and that if we want to live for Him, we must die to self. (SEE Luke 9:23)

Paul made it clear that the only way he could live for Christ was to be crucified with Him. (SEE Galatians 2:20). Carnality will always be in conflict with the cross. One or the other will dominate and reign.

Our minds noticeably soften as we "see" Jesus clearly demonstrate what He meant about heaven's greatest persons "being the servant of all" by sitting a small child on His lap. He said that heaven's greatest would display the characteristics of a small child: humility; the absence of posturing for rank; yeildedness; subservience; teachableness; lowliness of mind - but most of all, a nature in harmony with God's.

Jesus sensed in a little child a nature as His own - a kindred, mutual spirit.

A Titus... Please!

We want no visitors in the early mornings. We want no observers in our disheveled states. To my knowledge, the decorations of slumber...the embellishments of sleep...are not subjects of art or publication.

We are a mess in our weaknesses. We do not want anyone to see us in our frail moments. We do not want anyone to even be around us during our anxious and strained tests when the flesh is strong and the spirit is weak. (I wonder about the person who said that "misery loves company"?) None of us should be judged at our best, but "Please, Lord! spare us from seeing ourselves too much at our worst."

It greatly helps us to read that Paul was human. He stated in 2nd Corinthians 7:5, "...our flesh had no rest...we were troubled on every side...fightings and conflicts were all around us, and dread and fears were within". Every time I read over this part of Paul's ministry experiences I wonder, "How could things get any worse?" All of us knows how bad things can be at times.

We must be reminded that it is not great personalities, and great gifts, and great environments and great opportunities that make us great Christians. It is always great grace that molds and shapes and develops us through suffering and testing and hard places.

But Paul said something else about this terrible testing time. He said, "God comforted us by the coming of Titus".

Years ago I was in a college committee meeting on the campus while my younger brother was a student there. Remembering how college students were always short of cash, and as we were standing around ready to leave, I embraced my brother and pressed a good sized bill into his hand. He looked surprised and, with tears in his eyes while trying to return it said, "Oh, I can't take this, Lester. I've been asking God for some badly needed funds." Then he looked more startled when I replied, "R.G., God just answered your prayer."

God sent Titus. It was Titus. I was Titus. Too often "Titus" is right there, standing by our sides, holding our hands, looking into our eyes, embracing us, steadying us, easing the pain, sharing our sorrow, smiling at us, weeping with us. I have yet to meet a single person who turned down a little appreciation. It is the universal gift of propriety. Appreciation is always appropriate.

There are thousands of Christians who are struggling because they think that they are not counting for much in their families, or in their churches, or in their schools or places of employment. I would urge any of us to become "Titus-type" encouragers, and uplifters and appreciaters. Anyone can do it, and there is not a more neglected job in the church than it is. It can be done anywhere, everywhere, anytime and all the time!

Be a grateful person! Be a gracious person! Graciousness is finding fulfillment in someone else's happiness and enjoyment and well being.

"Dear Lord, Increase the Tituses among us. Amen".

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

Standing Up to Our Eyeballs in Grace!

No blessing from our gracious God is greater than that of "standing" referred to by the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:2, where he states:

"By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand...".

No offer is more generous; no gift is more gracious; no opportunity is more available to humankind than this. Anyone can come into God's presence and instantly be aware that he is being privately received. No possibility known to man on earth is so valuable and rare. WE MAY STAND BEFORE GOD. It is not a dessert or a reward. It is because of the gift of His grace.

The significance of standing before God must not escape us. The more we consider the incongruity of this act, the more amazing it becomes. Angels bow before Him. Seraphim cover their faces and feet when they are in His presence. Cherubim will not look upon Him as they attend His glory. Ceaselessly, day and night, living creatures describe His supremacy, His glory and His ascendancy. Demons and all the minions of Hell cringe before Him, and Satan constantly submits to His sovereignty and authority. The universe and all creatures who fill it bow in humble abeyance before its Creator and Sustainer.

But when a human soul steps into redemption's room of saving grace, he stands!!! GOD'S GRACE STANDS MEN UP!! It makes winners out of history's sorriest losers. It makes saints out of Hell-bound sinners. It lifts the sin-scourged soul from the pits of hoplessness, and elevates him to the highest heights of honor. GOD'S GRACE STANDS MEN UP!!

This proclaims the supporting bouyancy of God's awesome grace. It emanates from His gracious nature.

It is an effusion of the kind of Person He is, and it is as big and vast and generous as He is. It flows unendingly into our emptiness. We have within us this huge emptiness that requires fresh, new infusions of God's grace. We are in constant need of being filled and then refilled.

When we are so very dry and bring to Him our little measuring cups of need, He just lets His grace flow into them, and they run over! All of heaven is programmed for giving. By design and nature the action of grace is benevolent. It flows into every crack and corner of our emptiness with His fullness. What a contrast for contemplation! Our emptiness...His fullness!

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)

How Big is God's Grace?

God's grace is not specific. It is general and comprehensive. It is not available in certain situations, but withheld from others. There are no restrictions or exceptions to its adequacy.

There are no circumstances in any human eventuality that are not covered by His grace. Every promise of God is inclusive and bears on any realm of our need.

God never says that His grace and power are adequate for everything BUT this one, certain kind of eventuality. There just are no categories that are out of or beyond the reach of His grace.

There is hope in any human situation because of His grace. Grace is what brings possibility into hopeless circumstances. Grace is what brings meaning into misery and abjection. Grace is what injects potential into ruin and loss. Grace is what breathes life into the corpse of horrible failure. Grace is the heartbeat and pulse of resurrection. Grace is the green light to regeneration. Grace is the starting gun to trying again!

Grace is the indefatiguable encourager. God's grace insists that we can make it...that we can do it. It never gives up or in. Grace is the drumbeat of perseverance. Grace sees no mountains or valleys...it sees no barriers or chasms. It knows no impossibilities, considers no limitations, and has no restrictions, for grace is born in the character of God.

God's grace missed nothing and identifies with everything. It does not overlook anything. It permeates. It saturates. It touches the tiniest detail and relates to every situational nuance. It even ministers to what we cannot understand about ourselves and our involvements. How great is God's grace!

Whatever aspect or variation of human reason or logic the human mind can conceive of, grace has already been there and asserted provision. Grace is all over the place, like a billion little cheerleaders, jumping and smiling and encouraging! God's grace cannot be excluded if we wanted to or tried to. Grace is effusive and locomotive and pervasive and thermal. It is like the inexorable rising of the sun as it shatters the night and dispels every vestige of darkness.

Everything that comes to us is because of God's great grace. All emanates from this. The start of everything is His grace.

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)