Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Haley Schmitz recently returned from Uganda where she spent several weeks this summer on behalf of Campus Crusade for Christ. She shared some of her experiences in a recent worship service and at Faith Station with our youth. Haley spoke of the challenges she and others faced throughout their journey. These were not the kind of things a travel brochure would include in trying to make a destination sound appealing. Among them, dysentery, poisonous snakes, large spiders, outdoor toilets, language barriers, limited food choices, etc. These and other challenges would be more than some would choose to overcome. I asked Haley, "You knew about these challenges before hand, and you still wanted to go?" "Yes," she answered. I then asked her if she would go again, and without hesitation, she once more answered, "Yes." What drove Haley to go in the first place and I believe will lead her to go again someday is the realization that the needs are so great and that she can make a difference.

The apostle Paul faced great challenges as he went to faraway places to share the good news of Christ. In II Corinthians 1:8-9, he writes, "We do not want you to be uniformed about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God..." For Paul, and for Haley, to go and to share the love of Christ in distant and challenging places was made possible and further empowered by the God who went before them and sustained them on their journeys.

You may not be facing the extreme challenges that Haley faced in Uganda or that Paul experienced on his missionary journeys, but in the challenges before you and the needs of others that are ever before us, God can empower you for the task, enabling you to make a difference. Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Yes...you can, too!!

Jim

Thursday, August 6, 2009

It Ain't Over Until...

My son Clayton and I went to a Nationals game a few nights ago and learned a good lesson. We are certainly not die-hard fans of the team, however we follow them on occasion and try to get to a few games every season. We arrived at the park earlier than usual, mainly because it was "T-Shirt Tuesday" and if there is anything a 15 year-old boy needs, it's a new t-shirt! We settled into our seats and began munching on the Hard Times, Frito Chili Pie we had purchased after entering the stadium. (The baseball may not be the greatest, but the food at Nationals Stadium is indeed a hit!) Little did we know that the Chili Pie would be the highlight of the game, at least for the first seven and one-half innings. Marlin pitcher, Jeff Johnson, who came into the game with a 10-2 record, proved why he was the ace of their pitching staff. After Josh Willingham got a hit in the first inning, the next twenty Nationials batters did not reach first base, while the Marlins scored three times, including a home run by the Marlins pitcher! It was not the competitive game we had hoped for. As the seventh inning came to a close, I leaned over to Clayton and said, "If the Nats don't score in the eighth, let's go home." With disgust he nodded his approval. To add insult to injury, the Marlins scored again in the eighth inning to go ahead 4-0, and we almost left the ballpark. Then, the most unlikely scenario unfolded...the pitcher who had been unhittable through seven innings suddenly became hittable. With men on base, Ronnie Belliard, hitting under .200 as a pinch hitter, lined a double to left field and before we knew it, the game was tied. A few moments later, Adam Dunn came to the plate with a man on base. He had looked miserable all night, striking out three times. As he stepped to the plate, the voice of Phil Collins was heard throughout the stadium singing, "I can feel it coming in the air tonight, hold on..." Sure enough, Adam Dunn felt something different and he slammed a two-run homer that put the Nats ahead for good, 6-4. Wins have been difficult for the Nats to come by this season, particularly come from behind wins, but there it was, in big, bold numbers on the scoreboard, punctuated by exploding fireworks in the night sky, "Nationals win, 6-4!"

In the darkest days of World War II, Winston Churchill challenged his countrymen to "never, never, never, never give up!" There are certainly times in this life when circumstances seem stacked against us, and yet, there is hope. As Christians, we are resurrection people...people who face life's greatest challenges, even death, with hope because Jesus Christ has overcome. In the fourteenth chapter of John's gospel, Jesus encourages his disciples as he says, "Don't let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me." There is our message of hope, even when all seems hopeless.

Baseball can be a teacher of life lessons. We have not necessarily looked to the Nationals to teach lessons of hope and victory, but maybe last Tuesday night's game is a signal that things are changing...maybe there is hope for the Nats...maybe the old baseball wisdom is true..."it ain't over until it's over!"

Jim