WOW...what a whirlwind of 'stuff' lately! Valerie, Hispanic Church, possibly....Black Church......possibly....ALL TOGETHER! As Ken said, dare we step over that line? To a place where, yes, the prejudices in us, can spill out at any moment that our 'bucket' gets bumped? And to follow that question, do we dare NOT, and admit that we either can't, won't, or do not have the courage, or the faith in the One who put this Church here, to even try?! If we DO, then we have got to completely trust that He can fix anything! He is, after all, the ultimate 'damage repair'! Man cannot mess up ANYTHING so bad that God cannot fix it. Yes, it would be an immense challenge, even to the point of being somewhat scary. But, we would all be in the same boat! White, Black, Hispanic..we would ALL be waaayyyyy outside what we consider comfortable. But, when i look at the early Church, wow, what they had to contend with! Not just different cultures in the same country, but all those different countries and different languages! Whew! but...Paul summed it up best, i think, even though he was primarily speaking of the unsaved .He said....
"I have become all things to all men so that by all means, I might save some".
.
Well...Valerie! i felt she was 'on a mission from God'. For US! There seem to me to be so many reasons for her being here, for her sufferings, for her troubles, for her strengths, and for her death. As the Church, and a close family, we can become so closed to those who come in and 'stir things up'. And we can become so comfortable in a place we love to be...with people we love to be with. And Valerie was one who could come in and put us all to work! And God bless her for it! Another reason...her brothers and her son. Her original family. They were separated, estranged. And the Lord kept her alive long enough for them to be found and to arrive. It was all so clear...like a script that only God could write! She was here for so short a time, and made such an eternal impact...it is mind-boggling!
On my way home today(Sunday), thinking of her, the old picture and words of 'Footprints' came flooding into my mind. I could not remember every word, but the point came through.....
"........Lord, as I looked back at the footprints, I saw that during the hardest times, during the darkest periods of my life, there were only one set of footprints. Why, during the times I needed you most, were You not walking beside me? " And His reply hit me like a truck....
" My dear child...I would never leave you...during those times of trial and darkness, when you saw only one set of footprints...it was during those times that I carried you".

And HE has carried her alllll the way HOME!!!! mark

A MULTI-ETHNIC COMMUNITY: CAN IT BE?

We are on the verge of something I have dreamed about and prayed about for years: a truly multi-ethnic community of faith. But can we cross the line into multilateral community? Humanly speaking, it is impossible. We stand almost completely white, looking across as a group of almost completely Guatemalans, talking to a congregation that is almost completely black. The music has started; Dare we even begin to dance together?

I know how black and white relationships can be. We can be friendly to each other in public places, and we can give wonderful speeches about dreams we have of a world without prejudice. We are polite and create a positive and easy pseudo-community for a season. But let a trigger occur, and ugliness spills out. Racism is in our hearts, and we didn't even know it. We saw it happen with the riots, and we will see it again.

It reminds me of the scene I witnessed at a Friday Fun Night a few months ago. White and black children were playing basketball together, having what seemed to be a good time. Then somebody crossed a line, broke a rule, committed a foul, and racial slurs started flying. Children took sides, not based on which team they played for, but based on color of skin. All it took was an offense to reveal the heart.

My preacher used to say, "You can tell what a person is carrying in his bucket by bumping it. What is in the bucket is what spills out." Hatred and mistrust came out when buckets were bumped. Until then, everyone got along fine. Are we ready to have our buckets bumped?

Tom was telling me about attitudes of African-Americans toward Hispanics. He said that when blacks get together, many of them talk as if Hispanics are taking "their" jobs away from them. Hispanics move into a neighborhood and are hired to do manual labor jobs and entry-level jobs that have historically been filled by blacks. He said that almost without exception, once Hispanics move into a black neighborhood, eventually it will become entirely Hispanic. Through violence and economics, the Hispanics will win. The scene sounds very familiar to me, except that the ethnic groups are new.

We live at a crossroad in Price Hill. For a season, there are three or four ethnic groups living in our community. While we are all here, before the opportunity is lost, can we give Christ to everyone, and all learn to live in harmony? It will only happen when the empowered upper middle class suburban whites give power to the middle class Apallachian whites, when the middle class whites give power to the lower middle class blacks, and when the empowered lower middle class blacks give power to the lower class Hispanics. It will only happen when we all learn to serve one another in love.

The process is not easy. Humanly speaking, I believe that it is impossible. But Jesus said that with God all things are possible. Even this. Even here. Even now. Amen. As Tom said, sounds like heaven to me.

"LORD, bring Your kingdom to this neighborhood. Take us to a new place. Teach us to love one another and to enter each others' worlds in a bold and radical way. Then use our unity, forged over time and trials, to win the world to Yourself. In the name of Jesus and by the prompting of Your Holy Spirit I boldly ask these things. Amen."
-ker

BETTER IS A FRIEND NEARBY

Valerie has passed on to her eternal state. I trust that her crossing paths with us has improved her standing with the Lord. To be sure, she was closer to Christ than she had been a year before. Whether that mysterious line was crossed or not is only known by God Himself.

So, why was she brought to us? Ellen is writing her perspective, and it is rich and beautiful. As for me, my thoughts are mostly that thanks to her connection with our Christian family, Valerie did not die alone. She had friends and family around her as she died. Seven months ago she was very alone.

One of the phrases I have reflected on much in the last year is the Proverb: "Better is a friend nearby than a brother far away." Valerie had two brothers who were far away, though they lived in the same city. She also had a son who lives in Northern Kentucky, but they had not seen each other in over four years. Because the Lord had brought us together, she was reconciled to her family. And because the Lord had brought us together, she had friends who became her family.

Just in time. Thanks be to God.
-ker

INTEGRITY TO SAY NO

I had a disturbing dream last night about being captured by Chinese Communists, along with Ellen and about 100 others. We were all being marched to a re-education camp, from which we had no real hope of ever leaving alive. I talked with the guard, a businesslike lady, who explained how I needed to learn the benefits of socialism. I parrotted back to her my understanding of how it worked. If she makes $10,000 a year and I make $500,000, then I voluntarily give up my money, and we share our collective income. She said that was good, and to be expected.

As she walked away, I wondered what the last little phrase meant. Yet, I knew. Somehow my impression was that I said what every cowardly prisoner might say when first being interrogated; a feigned agreement with his captors, trying to give the impression of having common ground with them. More interrogation, and probably torture, would come, and she was not taken by my congeniality at all.

As I awoke, I reflected on what this meant. I saw it clearly: there are times when I pretend to agree with someone because it is easier than arguing. I did that recently with my sister and stepmother when my dad was having a procedure done. It is easier not to pray around them than to risk the awkward seriousness of traditional Christian behavior. But I felt that I had sold out in going along with light and temporal topics.

This is a matter of integrity for me. I want to be a man of his word, in season and out of season. Friday was a day out of season, and yet I was called to preach the word. But I failed.

"LORD, thank You for offering forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus. But let me be bold and consistent in my witness. I never want to give an answer that contradicts my life in You, simply because it will cause awkwardness in others. I confess to You my weakness in being a people pleaser. Make me strong, in the name of Jesus. Amen."
-ker

POSTMODERN APOLOGETICS

As a young man, my faith was strengthened most by the book, EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT, a very compelling and convincing presentation of strong evidence especially of the veracity of Scripture and the resurrection. I saw the amazing transmission, internal consistency and preservation of the Bible. And I saw that no theory could explain away the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection, then, became the central tenant of my faith.

Apologetics is the defense of faith. That study in apologetics as a college student allowed me to defend my faith and to evangelize with confidence. I'm not sure that I was used to win anyone's soul through those arguments, but I'm sure that at the very least, others were encouraged as I was to have a more confident faith.

Something has happened over the years, however. People don't read "scientific truth" like they used to. There have been too many statistics manipulated.

As an example that spurs this thought: A few months ago, I heard John Kerry use many memorized statistics in the debates to talk about how many jobs had been lost under the Bush administration. Then, just a couple of days ago I heard in the news that there were over 2 million new jobs created in 2004, which was a 5-year high in jobs created. When I hear conflicting stats like that, I tend to disbelieve everything I hear. I listen to the stat, thinking, "What is the angle that they are trying to justify, and how strongly are they willing to bend the truth in order to make the impression they want?" So I don't believe anything a politician tells me, because I know that he is only saying something for his own promotion.

Postmoderns take this kind of approach to everything. Evidence is not evident to a postmodern.

So, what's left? Here it is: The Story.

Story is a powerful thing. It becomes something we choose to believe because we want to believe it, and we believe that it is something worth believing in, even if we cannot scientifically prove it.

Really, the faith has always been like that. I can't, and never could, prove the virgin birth, the trustworthiness of inspiration, walking on water, healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding thousands, or a resurrection. But when it all came down to it, I chose to believe the story.

The story is that God created all that there is, including me; that He exists and loves, and that He chose to become a man in order to redeem me. He knew for many generations that He would carry out this plan, but He kept it somewhat mysterious until we were ready for the action. Jesus was God, lived a perfect life, taught and modeled holiness, and at the same time knew that we would never reach that standard. So He fulfilled the Great Plan and died a substitutionary death, innocent and yet bearing my sin. There, my guilt was atoned for.

But that was not the end of the story. After three days, Jesus was brought back to life in the single greatest and significant miracle in the history of mankind. That did more than cover guilt in this life; it gave a promise that there is such a thing as life after death. Now I know that if I join Jesus by faith in his death on the cross, I will also be allowed to join Him in His resurrection to life again. I will join with Him for eternity in God's very presence.

That is a great story, and it is worth believing, even if you haven't been convinced by the evidence yet.
-ker

HOW COMMUNITY LOOKS

From the book, THE SILAS DIARY, by Gene Edwards, comes this description of the beginning of the first Gentile fellowship, in Antioch of Pisidia:

"A group of people have become brothers and sisters, their new way of life wonderful and joyful. It is a way of living never before seen on the face of the earth. Yet God ordained that it come into being in this poor and remote region of Asia Minor.

"It is amazing to see how these holy ones take care of one another. If one brother finds a job in the marketplace and the supervisor needs more help, that brother runs to find another brother so he, too, can work that day.

"When several brothers work together, they work harder and better. They share a spirit of joy, often singing, often praising. Though the masters and supervisors don't understand it, they remember these men who work so well together. As they hire workers each morning in the marketplace, they search out these faces first. Some of the merchants have been known to say: 'You, today you work. Go find your friends, the ones you call brothers, the ones you laugh and sing with.'

"The sisters in Pisidia began caring for one another, a phenomenon unknown in the Gentile world. They care for one another in the most unexpected ways. In childbirth, of course, but also working together at the river and in their homes and rooms. Any sister who becomes sick is soon cared for throughout the night and day.

"I have often seen the sisters working together in the fields, caring for one another's children, sharing vegetables and grain with one another, or cleaning rooms together. Sometimes they meet only to sing, to talk, to cry, to care, and to be cared for. If one somehow manages to have more than a day's supply of food, they often come together and prepare one big meal so all can have a good meal that day.

"All of this happened without Paul or Barnabas ever talling them that this is what believers in ecclesia just naturally do together.

"Amazingly, all that I relate to you here emerged spontaneously within only a few weeks after their redemption in Christ. In the brief four months that Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch of Pisidia, this wonderful new way of life had become a natural part of all their lives."
-submitted by ker

PRAYER

"You are our Heavenly Father. I love and know my earthly father, but he does not know me as You do, nor does he have the power You do. You dwell in heaven, far above this earthly sphere. And You love us and care for us all in the same way, but in an infinitely greater magnitude, than our earthly fathers. You are our Father--the true Father of us all--in heaven.

"Your name is holy. Twice in the Scriptures You are addressed as thrice-holy, for You are set apart and completely above any level of perfection we may know here. You are righteous, You are without sin, You are spotless and infinite in power, in love, and in justice. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

"May Your kingdom come. How long, O Lord, how long will You endure the scoffers, the sinners, the injustice, and the sinful crimes against Your people? How long until You establish Your reign in the hearts of mankind? You patiently wait until all come to repentance. We agree with Your will that it would happen now.

"May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, there was a rebellion, and You won the victory and cast out the mocking, proud adversary, along with every one of his rebellious angels. In heaven, there is no sin, and no death. No weeping, for that matter. Lord, do here on earth what you do in heaven.

"Give us our daily food. I don't ask for myself alone, or even for my family alone; nor my community or country, but for all of us. We ask for healthy crops and a vibrant economy. We are not asking for banquets of gluttonous waste, but for bread. And we do not ask for tomorrow's supply. Each day has enough need of its own.

"Forgive us of our sins in the same way that we forgive those who have sinned against us. I know that is bold, and actually self-incriminating most of the time. But I really want to be clean and forgiven in Your sight, and that motivates me to realize that my little slights and hurts from others are nothing compared with You. So I forgive, and I ask forgiveness.

"Do not lead us into temptation. You have promised never to tempt us beyond what we can handle, and You are not in the business of making life hard on people. So again, we agree with Your will that we want to walk in the paths of holiness, of righteousness. We want no evil thing before our eyes, so that we will avoid even the temptation to sin.

"Deliver us from the evil one. He prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. He knows our areas of weakness, he exploits us through the doorway of sensuality, or of pride, or of greed. We want to destroy him, but we find ourselves impossibly overmatched. We need Your deliverance, so that we can take our stand against the devil.

"The kingdom belongs to You. You are Lord, and You reign over the earth. We recognize Your lordship. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess Your kingship. It is all Yours, Lord.

"The power belongs to You. You are omnipotent, and You can do anything. In fact, all that has been done from before creation itself is because of Your will. It is all Yours, Lord.

"The glory belongs to You. You dwell in inapproachable light, perfect and glorious. Our motto is that we should be less and You should be more. All of it, all of us, is for Your glory.

"You exist and will exist forever. You never change. Eternal, immortal, unchanging, Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, over death and time and matter. Everything is swallowed up in You.

"Amen. We see it. We agree with it. We agree with You. We want this to come to be. Do Your will, Your way, in Your time, to Your glory. Submitted according to the witness of the Spirit."

WORSHIP IS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

A personal relationship with Jesus? What exactly does that mean? I can't see Him, or directly hear Him; in fact, our conversations are often very one-sided. Yet that is the term that evangelical Christians have used often to describe our standing with God. I am still reading through Romans, reading through the eyes of "worship," and phrases about relationship with God jumped out at me. Perhaps worship is standing, walking, and living with God in Christ Jesus.

Here's how the NLV words such phrases. Is this worship?
Chapter 2
declared right in God's sight
special relationship with him
all is well
know what he wants
know right from wrong
ways of God
his own people
heart is right with God
true circumcision
change of heart produced by God's Spirit
seeks praise from God, not from people

Chapter 3
seeking God
does good
fear of God
right in God's sight
a different way of being right in his sight
right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins
God's glorious standard
declares us not guilty
made right with God
be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus
right with God through faith
right with himself only by faith

Chapter 4
saved
God accepted
be righteous
declared righteous
declared to be righteous
forgiven
sins are put out of sight
sin is no longer counted against
declared righteous
declared righteous
God accepted him
God had already accepted him
declared him to be righteous
made right with God
new relationship with God
brought glory to God
declared him to be righteous
God declared him to be righteous
declare us to be righteous
make us right with God

Chapter 5
made right in God's sight
we have peace with God
place of highest privilege where we now stand
sharing God's glory
made right in God's sight
save us from God's judgment
restored to friendship with God
new relationship with God
friends of God
forgiveness
accepted by God
righteousness
right in God's sight
life
right in God's sight
right standing with God
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

Chapter 6
become one with Christ Jesus
live new lives
united with him in his death
raised as he was
crucified with Christ
set free from the power of sin
died with Christ
share his new life
lives for the glory of God
live for the glory of God
give yourselves completely to God
new life
do what is right for the glory of God
free by God's grace
free from the law
choose to obey God
obeyed with all your heart
free from sin
slaves to your new master, righteousness
choose to be slaves of righteousness
become holy
free from the power of sin
slaves of God
eternal life
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord

"LORD, I notice some patterns here. What I long for is to have right standing with You, to be even Your friend, to be saved and forgiven and declared righteous. I become Your slave as You set me free from the power of sin through my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and now I have ternal life and live for Your glory. Such blessings You have given in Christ Jesus! Amen."
-ker