Do you have a treasure to share?

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:2-3


Morioka, Japan. Christmas, 1941. Just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, area police have rounded up 30 Catholic and Protestant missionaries from the U.S., Canada, and Belgium. “All are potential Western spies,” say the authorities. The foreign Christians are interned together, uncertain about their fate and cut off from news of developments outside the country.

The winter cold is bitter, and they have no fire to keep them warm. Yet on Christmas day, they piece together a small crèche and sing Christmas carols, celebrating the hope they share. Their songs affirm that God is with them even in the most hopeless of circumstances, just as He had been with Joseph and Mary in similar hardships on the first Christmas.

Now that’s a scene you won’t read about in the history books.

A part of the group was Miss Thomasine Allen, a Baptist missionary who in 1938 had transferred to Kuji, a farming village in the north of Japan. She hoped to start a new work in a place “where nothing was known about Christ” (Romans 15:20). With the help of two Japanese believers, she established a Christian kindergarten, which had become well known and highly respected. Miss “Tommy” answered God’s call and saw Him work miraculously.

She had also suffered hardship, heartaches, and opposition from the local government. This difficult Christmas was just another step in a long and arduous journey.

Her two Japanese co-ministers, Takeshi and Kuni Yahaba, married during the war and continued the work in her absence. They labored and trusted God, even though their baby daughter was gravely ill, and for some time they had no milk or medicine. Takeshi was later drafted into the army and was ordered to serve as a “human torpedo” should the Allies attack the eastern coast of the country.

In 1943, Tommy was allowed to leave Japan in a massive prisoner exchange of 1400 captives. But after the war she returned to Kuji with an abundance of donated food and other supplies and a renewed sense of mission. In 1948, she and her co-workers saw the first adult conversions of Japanese nationals. In 1952, they established a Christian elementary and middle school, and in 1970, Allen Junior College.

During the ‘90s, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX, hosted large numbers of Japanese students from Allen College. Throughout those years, as many as one hundred attended the school annually to study English. While in Japan in 1990 as a university representative, I visited the college in Kuji and also the kindergarten. With a great sense of awe and wonder I stood at the door of a large room and watched 30 Japanese children do morning exercises. They were singing “Jesus loves me” in Japanese and English. Tommy had died in 1976, but her ministry and vision were still alive many years later. I felt privileged to see the beautiful fruit.

One woman with a missionary heart like the apostle Paul’s chose to sow gospel seeds in an untilled Japanese field. Though her work was and still is unknown in the world at large, it has grown from a small plant in an obscure village into a mighty tree with roots that span the Pacific Ocean and the last 5 decades of the Twentieth Century.

As we labor in the Lord’s vineyard in this life, we don’t always understand the many struggles and setbacks that we experience, but the scripture says that our work for Jesus is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58). We will surely understand it all better when we meet Christ in heaven.

Do you have seeds to plant? A treasure to share?

[From my book, "A Harvest of Miracles." www.mikethomas.net]

(Miss Allen’s biography is out of print but may be available in used bookstores on-line: Elizabeth Anne Hemphill, “A Treasure to Share.” Valley Forge: The Judson Press, 1964.)

Merry Christmas! Here comes God!

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. "Nativity [with St Francis and St Lawrence]," 1609. I like this rendition, mostly because Mary looks exhausted, like a woman who has just traveled over rugged terrain and given birth. In some ways, it is brutally realistic, accentuating that it wasn't all halos and clean hay, colorful clothes, and an easy birth. In other ways, it is unrealistic, the not-so-bright angel with the banner and the anachronistic presence of later saints.

The meaning of Christmas has changed for me over time. Fifty years ago, during the month of December, I was completely obsessed with the presents under the tree: how many contained clothes vs. how many had toys in them? But Christmas also meant a rigid code of conduct. I had to be on my best behavior, at least for a few weeks.

Initially, I felt accountable to Santa Claus, that mysterious elf who itemized my naughty deeds all the way from the North Pole. I eventually learned that there is no Santa, but I was still under my parents’ jurisdiction. They used threats of “no presents” and “a bundle of switches” right up to December 24th because for them Christmas did not mean putting up with a loud, hyperactive eight-year-old on the point of a nervous breakdown.

Christmas Eve at Grandma’s was pure misery for me. I hated the way my mom made me dress. I had to take a bath and comb my hair, wear a bright plaid vest and a bow tie, and endure her repeated comments about how handsome I looked. The adults were in no hurry to unwrap anything. Dinner was leisurely and came in courses. Afterwards, the grown-ups would retire to the living room, drink coffee, and talk at length about the “olden days.” For what seemed hours, I would sit by the tree, stare at the presents, and try not to fidget, which got on Grandma’s nerves.

Well, I grew up and became one of those leisurely adults. Nowadays, I don’t want any toys (unless they’re electronic), and I actually prefer clothes. I look forward to family fellowship more than to opening presents. Because I became a Christian in 1977, I mostly think about the ultimate gift: the birth of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, God made flesh.

Christmas means many happy things to many people, but we should always pause to reflect on that first Christmas, which was not altogether joyful. Joseph and Mary were dealing with unreasonable taxation, oppressive Roman rule, prolonged separation from family, rejection by a seemingly heartless world, and extremely humble circumstances. Like us, they were God’s people, swept up in His mission to save humanity, no necessary guarantee of an easy life.

As we travel this season, we should reflect on their hardships, on the arduous 80-mile, 4-5 day trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, made over rugged terrain, on foot or perhaps on the back of a donkey. Mary was nine-months pregnant. Think about that. And what was their source of income? The Bible does not say. We know that they had no medical insurance or hospital waiting for them and that they found no five-star hotel in Bethlehem. (In point of fact, it was only a one-star stable.)

Joseph and Mary were displaced people, living on the edge, but God was with them. We, too, may have financial problems or troubles with the government; we may be separated from loved ones, on the move, suffering physically, or undergoing diverse hardships. But we always have hope, because even though God may call us out of our comfort zone, He will surely comfort us in time.

On that very dark night, God encouraged Joseph and Mary. The humble stable was quickly flooded with excited shepherds. They relayed a heavenly message that confirmed all that the Lord had previously revealed about this Child. That’s the way He often works. Just when we’ve reached the end of our strength, here comes God, bringing hope and good news. When and where you least expect Him, here comes God, once again proving Himself faithful.

We sing, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come!” The Bethlehem story reminds us He has come and that in His time He will always come to bring help in hardship, hope in our darkest hour.

Merry Christmas! Here comes God!

[From my book, "A Harvest of Miracles." www.mikethomas.net]

MIND-BOGGLING MOMENTS IN THE BIBLE: The Birth of Jesus

She gave birth to her first-born Son.

The Nativity may be the most imagined and reproduced image in the history of the world. Only image of the crucified and resurrected Christ could rival it. Of course, this simple scene is an offense to the world and to the ACLU. But the real danger is not the disappearance of Christ in the public square (they have never liked Him anyway). No, the greatest tragedy would be if Christians allowed themselves to be numbed to the mystery and wonder of this humble scene, that it would become only a collection of plaster statuettes beneath a tree.

God sends the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary (Hebrew: "Myriam"). He says to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

A mind-boggling revelation for a young, unknown Jewish girl who lives in an obscure part of the world. Mary gets stuck on the first part of the revelation: “How will this be,” Mary asks the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The "how" part of the revelation is equally mind-boggling: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. For nothing is impossible with God [Greek: "No word of God is without power].” Let this statement wash around in your spirit for a while.

Mary humbly obeys God without fully understanding: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answers. “May it be to me as you have said.” We can all learn a lot here (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child

They travel to Bethlehem. The Bible does not detail the hardships of the journey, especially for a woman in late term, plus the obvious discomfort of giving birth in a stable. While they are there, the time comes for the baby to be born, and she gives birth to her firstborn, a son. She wraps him in cloths and places him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Meanwhile, out in nearby fields, the Armies of Heaven appear suddenly to terrified shepherds. From darkness to "the glory of the Lord," which shines all around them. But the first angel says to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” The angel is joined by "a Heavenly Knighthood" (John Wycliffe, 1330?-1384), warrior angels (probably not the ones with long flowing hair and robes made famous by Christmas cards) praise God and announce peace and Good News.

Diego Velázquez. The Adoration of the Magi. 1619.

Several years later, Joseph and Mary are living in a house in Bethlehem, apparently unable to return to their families in Nazareth. Magi/Wise Men/Kings arrive from the east, following a star. On coming to the house, they see the child with his mother Mary, and they bow down and worship Him. Then they open their treasures and present Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Kings fall down before a Toddler and worship Him. Mind-boggling.  But that's not all: "When God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God's angels worship Him'" (Hebrews 1:6).

Meditating on the mystery and awe of it, keeping it fresh in our spirits, will allow us to celebrate this amazing event that would change the course of history and alter the eternal destinies of millions (billions?).  Oh come, let us adore Him.

STUNNING MOMENTS IN THE BIBLE: The Parting of the Red Sea

Behold His Mighty Hand! (Exodus 14-15).

Adonai Elohim Tzva'ot (Lord God of Hosts.)

(Note how various people react. Some are stunned. Some worshiped. This was a new scale of miracle in their eyes, but an easy feat for God to accomplish.)

When the king of Egypt is told that the people of Israel have fled, he and his officials change their minds about them and say, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" That would be approximately 600,000 free male workers. Yikes! Who's going to build the pyramids?

So off he goes with his army, his 600 best chariots (+ thousands of others?) A world-class superpower is about to attack the unarmed Israelites. There is real reason to fear. Pharaoh and his chariots are bearing down on them like an army of demons. Some Israelites angrily accuse Moses of misleading them.

Pharaoh (Yul Brynner) notes "The God of Moses is a poor general. He leaves them no retreat."

But God's man answers the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Now that's a bold statement, "you will never see them again," easy to say. Faith always contradicts the "reality" of the situation, bu it's not always easy to be still and know that He is God.

Then Moses stretches out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drives the sea back with a strong east wind & turns it into dry land. The waters are divided, & the Israelites go through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and another wall on their left.

De Mille’s version shows a quicker, more dramatic parting, but the Biblical account is still stunning, the sea dividing and the waters piling up like walls on both sides.

God had revealed Himself to Moses as Yahweh [I am..., I am that I am]. Here, He reveals Himself as "I am the Lord of Hosts," the General of the Armies of Heaven. He becomes a warrior who fights for His people.

As usual, God does not fight the world on their terms. He could have destroyed them in any number of ways. Instead, He easily wounds them at their point of greatest confidence and power: He makes the wheels of their chariots come off so that they have difficulty driving. Result: Awesome warriors become the Keystone Cops.

The Egyptian army is in a trap. They can't catch the children of Israel, and they can't go back to the other shore. Their Pharaoh-general has left them no retreat. The water flows back and covers the chariots and horsemen--the entire army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survives. Israel will see their faces no more.

Moses sings, using the first application of God's revealed Name, "Yahweh:" "The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name."Yahweh is my Savior, my Deliverer, my Warrior.

Two thoughts occur to me:

1. If God be for us, who can be against us?
2. God can make a way where there seems to be no way.

Do you believe in coincidences or in ‘God-incidences’?

María Stella Walsh, born-again Christian

In 1968, Ignacio and I were students in the same advanced literature course at Southwest Missouri State. Even though he was very bright, Ignacio often slept in class, which really irritated our professor. When I visited my friend in his dorm room, I could see that Ignacio’s family was well-off. He had no visible means of support, yet he bought dozens of very expensive books weekly. He had them stacked everywhere, leaving almost no floor space. After college, I lost track of Ignacio.

Fifteen years later, I was a professor at the University of Houston and a new Christian. I regularly shared my faith with my classes, a practice that some there found offensive. One lady seemed particularly affected by my testimony. After the semester’s end she cornered me in a hall near my office. Stella fired tough questions at me, like: How can Jesus be the only way to God? Why do the innocent suffer? Isn’t being “born again” just an emotional experience?

She didn’t seem convinced by my responses. But after exhausting her list of questions she just stood there quietly, staring at the floor. By the depressed look on her face, one might have thought that I had defeated her in the debate. I’m not sure why, but I decided to ask, “Stella, would you like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now?”

Much to my surprise, she looked up and said, “That is exactly what I want to do!”

I led her in a prayer, and in a brief moment of time, the same Jesus she had been questioning made Himself very real to her. Her face now radiated something startlingly new. She had been transformed by the power of God.

Stella later invited me to come to her church to witness her baptism. Before the service, we were chatting, and I asked her about her background. She mentioned she had a brother who lived in California but had attended college in Missouri. Without initially seeing any possible connection, I asked, “Oh? And what’s his name?”

“Ignacio.”

I’m sure my eyes got really big. I didn’t even need to ask her maiden name. I looked at her, as if for the first time, and saw the clear family resemblance. Stella was Ignacio’s sister! Coincidence? Or God-incidence? But wait, that’s not all!

In the late ‘80s, I was on a long, boring international flight. I was flipping through the airline’s official magazine for the fifth time when I looked up and saw a man slowly making his way aft. I did a double- take and almost without thinking blurted out, “Ignacio!” He was as amazed as I was. He sat down, and we caught up on twenty years of news. I mentioned Stella and her conversion, but Ignacio didn’t want to discuss that. He was still very interested in books…in any book but the Bible.

After I returned to the U.S., I wrote Ignacio a letter in which I asked an obvious question: “Ignacio, do you believe in coincidences?” I gave him my answer: “I don’t. I believe that God orchestrated this whole series of events to show you that He loves you and is calling you to His eternal kingdom.” Ignacio never wrote back.

I just heard from Stella the other day. She and her husband have traveled the world on mission trips, sharing the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness. I thought about Jesus’ parable of the four soils (Matthew 13:10-23). There, the Lord explains how different people’s hearts receive the identical seed, the Word of God. Both Stella and Ignacio were raised in the same home. They had traveled similar paths in life, even after leaving their family. I am heartened by Stella’s testimony and the fruit the Lord has produced through her. But I am also sad for my friend, Ignacio. For whatever reason, his heart remains hardened toward God.

If you believe that everything in life happens by random chance, then you will dismiss all this as completely accidental. For you, life has no hope, heaven has no God, and the universe is an empty, lonely place. But I believe that the “immortal, invisible” God (I Timothy 1:17, NIV) is always actively working behind the scenes and that He is personally involved in seeking and saving lost humanity. My own conversion and Stella’s salvation were all “God-incidences,” carefully planned by the One who “loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

[From my book, "A Harvest of Miracles." http://www.mikethomas.net/]

STUNNING MOMENTS IN THE BIBLE: The Raising of Lazarus

"The Resurrection of Lazarus" (Early Baroque, 1706).
Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet. Most, not all, were stunned.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. He stayed at their house. They ministered to Him. He loved them.

Lazarus fell ill, but Jesus was at least a day's journey away. With great faith, they might have comforted Lazarus: "Don't worry, dear Brother. We've sent word to the 'healer,' the 'miracle worker,' the Lord who loves us."

The message was a little crytic and telegraphic: "Lord, the one you love is sick," but Jesus would understand it. All faith. No real concern. John tells us "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." No question.

But when Jesus received the word, He stayed where He was for two more days. Wait! Did Jesus not love Lazarus? He did. Did He not understand the gravity of the situation? He did. Did He have a plan? He did.

Back in Bethany, the sisters might have said, "Lazarus, we sent word to the Lord. When He arrives, you'll be okay."

They watched their brother die. Did they feel betrayed? Angry?

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. When Martha heard she went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.

Martha seems to reproach Him: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Mary later came and fell at His feet, speaking the same words, crying. There were mourners weeping, and some in the crowd were asking "He opened the eyes of a blind man, why couldn't He keep His friend Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus was moved by Mary's grief. Jesus wept as He walked to the tomb. It was an atmosphere of death, mourning, and unbelief.

The "grave" was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. The stone would have been sculpted to fit as tightly as possible...because of the stench of rotting flesh. The Egyptians preserved dead bodies very well, but the Jews did not mummify their dead. After four days, all bodies had decayed beyond recognition.

In front of what may have been a rather large crowd, Jesus commands, "Take away the stone." Martha reminds Him that the smell will be bad.

Then, Jesus says three simple words: "Lazarus, come out." Easy words to say...

I see the crowd first staring at Jesus and then all shifting their focus to the grave entrance.

John reports, "The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped and a cloth around his face."

Probably Lazarus' legs were not bound together, and he had been wrapped in linen. He could walk, slowly, and see the bright light of the entrance. He wasn't dead any more.

A stunning moment, wonderfully portrayed by Jouvenet's painting. Many are in awe. Some are praising God. A sick man on a stretcher is applauding--things look good for him. The sisters are looking at the Lord, not at their brother. Not everyone is happy.

Jesus' simple words and their powerful result are encouragement for all Christians. One day, our mortality will be swallowed up in immortality. We shall all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, those of us who remain will rise to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Stunning Moments in the Bible: Pentecost. 4 Visible Acts of God Before 9:30 am

Josef Ignaz Mildorfer (1750s) "Pentecost."

It is the Jewish harvest festival, Shavuoth. Jerusalem is again packed with pilgrims (as it had been during Passover). Many of these have come from distant lands to celebrate the festival in Zion; the journeys may have taken many weeks over rugged terrain, on a mount or on foot.

The disciples have been praying in the Upper Room for a number of weeks, possibly for the amount of time some of the pilgrims had been traveling. God was bringing them all together. Early on the morning of Shavuoth, "suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where the disciples were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

Shavuoth was a meaningful religious festival, but no one was expecting God actually to do anything visible and spectacular. But God does show up...visibly...fire descending, the Holy Spirit filling and transformiing, sending the church out into the street. Do we need any of this today?

My guess is that there were no clouds in the sky or wind, so that everyone in the area rushed to find the source of the unexplainable roaring sound. As the crowd gathers, the disciples pour out of the house speaking in about 15 languages (or at least speakers of those languages can understand them).

Galileans were well known for their heavy accent (Maybe they were Texans?) and not for being multi-lingual. For this reason the crowd is utterly amazed, so they ask: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that...we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” "Amazed and perplexed, they ask one another, 'What does this mean?' Some, however, make fun of them and say, “They have had too much wine.” Always a scoffer on hand to "de-supernaturalize" any work of God. (By the way, have you ever heard a drunk person trying to talk? It sounds more like the "Tower of Babel.")

El Greco (1596-1600) "The Pentecost."

God is not done yet. He has just fulfilled an 800-year-old prophecy right before their eyes: "Then Peter stands up with the Eleven, raises his voice and addresses the crowd: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel'" (2:28).

Peter proclaims Jesus as Savior and Lord in approximately 6 minutes (read it aloud and time yourself). The Lord changes 3,000 hearts in a single day. I calculate that all this happened before 9:30, just before most churches start Sunday School.

While it is true that we often have to be still and wait on God, we should always be expectant and praying for the "outpouring" promised through the Prophet Joel. Did you notice all 4 visible acts of God?

Poem by Al Griggs, Canadian Christian poet

Your dreams are shattered.  You run from the pain.

"Run"

You run through the darkness;
you run through the light;
you run from the battles;
to run is your plight.

You run from commitment;
you run from the tears;
you run never dealing,
as you run through the years.

You run from the hurt;
you run from the pain;
you run seldom resting,
though you run without gain.

You run from the truth;
you run to the lies;
you run seeking answers;
yet you run in disguise.

You run for protection;
you run to perceive;
you run for no reason;
as you run, you're deceived.

You run from your fears;
you run to deny;
you run to distractions;
you run to avoid seeing why.

You run to a substance;
you run to a whim;
you run from your problems,
and run by answers within.

You run to your loved ones;
you run from them again;
you run never seeing,
that to run is in vain.

You run to the future;
you run from the past;
you run missing each moment,
because you run by them too fast.

You run to who hurts you;
you run from those who won't;
you run from what you have,
as you run to what you don't.

You run fast like a river;
you run blown by the wind;
you run from your demons,
but can you run from within?

Yes, you run to escape;
and you run to pursue;
and you run when you should stand,
because you're running from you!


Freedom is often found not by running, but by standing with courage and facing our fears. The truth we seek is often as close as a thorough examination of ourselves. Risk is unavoidable; as many as have avoided it, have found tragedy, as those who choose to.

Copyright © Alan Griggs
November 27, 2009

And I believe that Al would recommend that you run straight into the arms of Jesus!

Learning Spanish in the Land of the Gringos

I answered the call.

People who learn about my passion for Spanish frequently assume that I got it from growing up in a Spanish-speaking country or area. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many Texans, who are surrounded by Spanish, never seem to show much interest in speaking it. In fact, those who have a foreign language “forced” on them in any way often resist learning it.

I grew up in a town in the Ozarks where in the 50’s there were no Spanish-speaking people, except for the high school Spanish teacher and his family, who were from Puerto Rico. When they would speak to each other in Spanish at the grocery store, local folks in that less-than-cosmopolitan area became a little nervous and flustered.

Spanish came into my life at a time when I was not interested in much except baseball and science fiction movies. My 9th grade Spanish instructor was Miss McFann, a Latin teacher who was about five years past retirement. I’m not sure that she had ever studied Spanish, as evidenced by the fact that she regularly mixed up Spanish and Latin verb conjugations.

When Miss McFann handed back the first test, she announced that there had been only one perfect score. “Who is Thomas?” she asked. My classmates all gasped simultaneously and turned around and stared at me. I was well known as an academic dud and unknown for anything else. At the end of each school year, I always proudly turned in my textbooks in near-new condition, convinced I had somehow saved the school money.

But not so with my first-year Spanish book. I devoured it within six weeks. I memorized the verb forms, the vocabulary, even the pictures. There was no one to converse with, so I talked to myself. I did, however, occasionally say insulting things in Spanish to my sisters, who sensed the insult but couldn’t prove a thing. Though I wasn’t sure why, I loved Spanish. I just couldn’t get enough of it.

As the semester progressed, Miss McFann started asking me to straighten her out on conjugations and to clarify grammar points. In early December, I translated the well-known Christmas carol, “The Little Drummer Boy.” That woman made me stand up in front of the whole class and sing my Spanish translation. It was life’s most embarrassing moment, but it also stands out as a defining moment, one that foreshadowed God’s plan for me.

Spanish has been a big part of my life ever since. Over a period of ten years in college, I earned over 140 undergraduate and graduate hours in it. I have taught the language on the university level for more almost 40 years. Now, even after decades since that first middle-school class, I have not even begun to grow weary of it.

In 1975, God brought me to Texas with a great love for Spanish-speaking peoples. In 1977, while a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Houston, I became a Christian. At last I understood the true purpose and meaning for my life’s passion. I later preached the Gospel and taught the Word of God in Spanish-speaking churches in Texas, California, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

Now, in addition to pastoring New Hope Community Church on a part-time basis, I direct the Spanish program at Baylor University. Looking back, I can see how God has brought me to where I am, but, frankly, the Lord has led me down an improbable path that I do not fully understand. Except for God’s grace, I would still be back in Missouri, speaking only bad Ozark English and wondering who I am.

Many people seem to think the call of God is something mystic, mysterious, or painful. They see it as difficult to discover and even harder to follow. These fairly popular ideas are actually falsehoods that hinder some from even beginning to seek their adventure with God.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus called two fishermen, Peter and Andrew: “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed Him” (Matthew 4:19-20, NIV). In a sense, the Lord used their background and training; He just shifted the focus for them, as He did for me. They continued catching fish after this, but they also learned to cast out spiritual nets and haul thousands of souls aboard the great Gospel Ship.

[From my book, "A Harvest of Miracles." www.mikethomas.net]

Stunning Moments in the Bible: "Their Eyes Were Opened" (Luke 24)

Michelangelo Da Caravaggio. "Supper at Emmaus" (1601-1602).

It was Passover Week. Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims. The Romans were understandably nervous about crowd control and possible Zealot assassins taking advantage.

Early on, Jesus of Nazareth had entered the city and had caused several uproars. Later that week, the Sanhedrin arrested Him and brought Him before Pilate, asking for His death. Pilate faced another roaring crowd that repeatedly cried out "Crucify Him!"

Jesus carried the cross down the Via Dolorosa guarded by Roman soldiers. The route was packed with people who were cursing or crying. Jerusalem was traumatized. But once He was dead, things would calm down, or so thought His enemies.

Movies about Jesus' life do a good job portraying the turmoil, the heightened emotions, both anger and sorrow. But movies only last a few hours and cannot communicate the full impact of the passion of the Christ.

Imagine if you had been there all week or all day Good Friday. Imagine being the disciples of the once popular Hero, the One they proclaimed the Son of God, the Savior of the World. He was now about to be executed, apparently unable even to save Himself. And the disciples were hunted men.

Their hopes were dashed. They were depressed and probably had serious PTSD.

A few days thereafter two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were still talking with each other about everything that had happened.

Along comes Jesus Himself, incognito. I know He had to be enjoying this.He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”Their faces were downcast (not looking at the risen Lord).

One replied, "Did You just get off the boat? You must be the only person in this whole region who doesn't know the things that have happened in Jerusalem!""What things?" asked Jesus seeming to be "out of the loop.

"We had hoped...

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. he chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel."

...but now our hopes are dashed."

It's hard for us to experience the exact emotions of their trauma, but we have all felt hopeless at one time or another, maybe even like God has failed us in His promises.

At Emmaus, when he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Christians also know that whenever God shows up, it is stunning.Da Caravaggio's painting helps us appreciate the shocking nature of the moment. They obviously would not have just sat there and said, "Oh, hello, Lord. Welcome back from the dead."

I urge you to spend a little time just meditating on the figures in the painting.

When we think our hopes are dashed, God reveals Himself to us and hope begins.

By the way, He was there the whole time.

"Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus."

Stunning Moments in the Bible: "Joseph is alive!"

"Joseph's Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob."
Diego Velázquez, c. 1630.

Joseph was dead. Jacob believed the "evidence" presented him. Jacob mourned for 20+ years, and Joseph's brothers experienced 20+ years of guilt for their betrayal of their brother. The Bible is full of tragic and dark stories like this. Where was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob?

In Egypt, Joseph was a slave. Though he spurned Potiphar's wife, her false accusation sent him to prison. Joseph was no longer a "spoiled brat." But when he was in trouble and faced temptation, he remembered the God of his fathers and became a man of incredible integrity. Joseph was trained for his calling in slavery and in a dungeon.

As a 17-year-old, he had dreams that were "all about him." In prison, he interprets dreams and gives glory to God. When called before Pharaoh, he clearly states that he can interpret nothing. Only God can do that. In a stunning and quite unexpected promotion, Joseph is made ruler of Egypt, the most powerful nation in the known world at that time.

When his brothers came to buy grain, he accused them of being spies. Immediately, they believed that God was punishing them for what they had done to their brother more than 20 years before. Their guilt was still right on the surface. Now that is bondage.

They return to report the news to Jacob. Imagine, if you can, the emotional impact of this scene:

Genesis 45:25-26. So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them.

When God's plans come to fruition, it is always stunning. The brothers, according to Joseph's later explanation, meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. This story tells us a lot about who God is and how He turns defeat to victory, death to life, and darkness to light.

Thousands of years later, in the darkest hour of human history, God's Son died a horrible death on a cross. After He rose, he commanded Mary and other women to tell His brothers, "I am alive!"

But they received that awesome news much like Jacob: Luke 24:9-11. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

God "stuns" us with hope in the midst of despair, with deliverance when we think all is lost, with joy when we couldn't be more depressed, with life when we thought we were as good as dead.

My first encounter with Jesus was stunning. It was contrary to everything I had been told by the world about the way life is and is not. I spent 29 years without a clue, but I met the Lord of Glory in the twinkling of an eye.

For this reason, I believe that heaven must be a stunning beautiful place where I will be reunited with my loved ones who have gone before and with my Jesus, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The most stunning moment in human history!

Are you in touch with your inner child?

When my older sister and I were 7 and 5 years old respectively, my parents rented a small, wood-frame house.

Our favorite place to play was an enclosed back porch area that had windows all around and nothing on the floor but gray and red linoleum, worn to the cement in places. In that room, and only in that room, we were free to play any game we wanted. There was nothing to break, so we could wrestle, do summersaults, or run in circles. We could drink Kool-Aid and spill it without fear of reprimand.

In winter the room was a little drafty, but I loved it. With my toy soldiers (all of different sizes), I orchestrated improbable battles. There I fiddled with my chemistry set, hoping that I might somehow mix up a concoction that would save the world. I also created traffic jams with my plastic cars, fire trucks, dump trucks, and even railroad cars when I had them.

My sister and I had a small red table with chrome legs, and we dragged it out into the back room and played “house” with it. At other times, we pretended to be “pioneers,” draping a sheet over the table and imagining it was a covered wagon. We then dramatized the trials and tribulations of pioneer families we had seen on TV. In the back room, we played, we laughed, we dreamed, we were free to be children. There, anything was possible.


Many years later, I was surprised to read a novel published in Spain called El cuarto de atrás (“The Back Room”, 1978) by Carmen Martín Gaite. She also grew up with a back room in her house; for her family, it was a storeroom. Just like my sister and me, she there lived out all the dreams of childhood in an environment of freedom and innocence.

At the beginning of the book, this highly acclaimed author finds herself in a dry, cynical state of mind, struggling to write about life during the repressive dictatorship of Francisco Franco. She confesses that she has lost the excitement and wonder of her childhood and is desperately trying to recover them.

Martín Gaite suggests that our minds have a sort of back room, a storeroom of memories and a place where we create without inhibitions. She believes that if she is to write again she must re-access that child’s view of the world, that she must re-open the “back room.” Her problem and ours is that while most of us begin life innocent and vulnerable, over time we are hurt, betrayed, and disillusioned. As adults our hearts are not as tender and trusting as they used to be. We may lose faith and fall into cynicism.

In a sense, the door to the “back room” of childhood is gradually nailed shut. Every hurt is like a nail, every blow of rejection like an additional board blocking the entrance. We don’t feel free to be ourselves around others. Some of us wonder who we are. We seem to have lost something essential, vital, and precious. We seem to have lost ourselves.

Christian psychologists and counselors generally agree that getting in contact with our “inner child” is a key to re-discovering and recovering the authentic self, a doorway to creativity, to faith, and to hope. The good news is that the Lord has purchased the key to that hidden, perhaps long-lost back room. The wounds of life may have shut it off with “beams and nails,” so to speak. But Jesus was wounded on our behalf, nailed to two beams for our deliverance. Isaiah prophesied that “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV).

Twenty-seven years ago, though successful in my career, I found myself bitter, angry, and disillusioned. I was in the process, almost against my will, of becoming someone I didn’t know or even like. But then I met my Lord, and my “back room” was re-opened. I re-discovered the faith, hope, and love of my childhood.

[From my book, "A Harvest of Miracles." www.mikethomas.net]

Praise Book Interview/Overview on YouTube

Watch Video Interview/Overview:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DrMichaelThomas#p/a

Reflections on the Power of the Cross

Sin is powerful in today’s world: it commits murder, hates, envies, gossips, manipulates, and sells drugs. It oppresses the poor, steals, lies, sheds the blood of the innocent, and commits adultery. It curses God and slanders the name of Christ. Sin enslaves billions, corrupts governments, and ruins whole families and churches, all on a global scale. The worldwide activity of sin has been relentless for thousands of years, and we should never underestimate its power.

At the same time we should never underestimate the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. While “powerful” sin was relishing its apparent victory over the Lamb of God, He in “weakness” was actually stripping sin of its power (I Corinthians 1:25). Whereas the rulers of this world crucified Jesus in a public spectacle, the scripture clarifies that He in fact made “a public spectacle out of the powers of this world, triumphing over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

For the Romans, the cross was an effective means of capital punishment; they publicly inflicted prolonged pain on criminals, as a deliberate warning to other would-be lawbreakers. For the Jews, the cross was a distressing reminder that they were a conquered people; it was an unmistakable sign of the lethal power of their Roman oppressors. For Jesus, it was a place of hellish thirst, of unspeakable pain, of brutal mockery, and of separation from the Father. But ultimately it was the place where He proved His immeasurable love for us. Because of His selfless sacrifice, the cruel cross has paradoxically become the decisive symbol of hope and victory.

The cross speaks of our disobedience and His perfect obedience, of our seemingly unpayable debt and His all-sufficient payment. My miserable life was spared while Jesus’ precious life was forfeited. At Calvary, Christ struck a deathblow to death, uprooted the root of sin, canceled the curse, buried the grave, and destroyed destruction. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving behind an empty cross to proclaim forever His definitive defeat of death. The power of the cross extends throughout time and space; it is adequate to save billions of people from trillions of sins across countless centuries; it is eternally powerful to save eternally.

The “old rugged cross” stands tall over all human successes: it towers over the Tower of Babel and the American moon landing, over skyscrapers, skyrockets and all the achievements of humanity. Two beams of wood, made potent by Christ’s death and God’s anointing, the cross outshines the Enlightenment and all human brilliance; it is more powerful than the A-bomb, the H-bomb, and smart bombs. It is the victor over world wars, Star Wars, and all wars. It outlasted antiquity, has survived the modern age, and will outdistance the pessimism of the “postmodern” era.

We brag about the cross because the cross is something worth bragging about; moreover, it is all we have to brag about (Galatians 6:14). The most wondrous feat produced by the power of the cross is the miracle of the New Birth. The cross is able to reform, conform, and transform the human heart. The cross forever alters the will, the mind, and the life of the person who looks to it in faith. The power of the cross, like the Savior who died on it, is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Who has believed God's version of events?

By His stripes, we are healed

Who has believed God’s version of what happened to Jesus? How can we even begin to understand a series of mysterious, seemingly contradictory events?

Before He came, His glory and beauty were beyond description, yet in His incarnation He chose no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him. He was the King of kings, but He traveled incognito. Everyone miscalculated His importance. Many of His own people had a low opinion of Him, and some even plotted His death.

In Heaven, He had been worshipped and adored, but on earth, He was despised and rejected. The Creator of joy became a Man of sorrows, intimately acquainted with grief and human suffering. He had come to take our sicknesses upon Himself and to carry our sorrows.

But we didn’t know any of this. We thought Him repulsive, a condemned criminal. We hid our faces from Him. In fact, when He was beaten and nailed to the cross, we assumed that God was punishing Him for His own sins.

How could we be so prideful and blind? He was pierced, nailed through His hands and feet, for us. He carried our sins and yet we, like Job’s friends, thought God was punishing Him. Yes, God was smiting Him, not for His own iniquities, but for ours. The bill was made out to us, but He stamped it “paid in full.” We were like sheep, wandering off in any direction that pleased us. The Lord struck the Shepherd.

He was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form marred beyond human likeness. He looked worse than a leper. He was mocked. His beard was pulled out. They spat on Him and beat Him.

But the agony of His punishment brought us peace. We, the wounded, are healed because He, the Healer, was wounded. Through the undeserved wounds He received, we receive undeserved healing. The Giver of Life was cut off from the land of the living; for our transgressions he was stricken. The Holy One was numbered with criminals. But the Creator of Life conquered death.

Just as many were startled at His tortured, emaciated state, many will one day see and understand. When He comes again, He will shut the mouths of kings.

Finally, how can we explain the greatest mystery of God’s entire plan and version of events: “Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

[Meditation based on Philippians 2, Isaiah 50-53, & other scripture.]

In the Garden, alone

In the garden, there are no crowds surrounding Him, awestruck by His miracles. Thousands have walked away from Him, offended. He is left with the 11, and they, too, will soon flee. Even His Father will abandon Him.

This is a whole new concept of loneliness, one beyond our understanding. This is the “moment of truth.” Jesus knows what is at stake. He is God, so it should be easy. But He is also “God made flesh” identifying Himself with us. As such, He is inextricably bound to His body, which is mortal.

Luke 22:42, Jesus surrenders to the Father's will. Vs. 43 says that an angel appears in the Garden to strengthen Him. Even so, verse 44 says, "being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”Jesus, the Creator of the body and the nervous system, knew about physical pain. It was His gift to us, to tell us that something is wrong with the machine we inhabit.

But has Jesus ever experienced pain in the previous thirty years? Possibly, though there is no record. Had He ever experienced the type of pain He will soon endure? I think not.

Paradoxes and mysteries of this moment:

The OMNIPOTENT GOD, about to suffer as a lamb without defending Himself.

The ETERNAL GOD trapped (voluntarily) in a time and a place.

The IMMORTAL GOD, made flesh, is about to suffer the torments of death, hell, separation from God, for the first time in eternity.

The OMNISCIENT GOD. We are anxious because we don’t know what is going to happen next. But Jesus knows everything that is about to happen. Maybe it’s better not to know everything about the future.

The HOLY GOD, submitting Himself to the hands of evil men. “They will do whatever they will with me.” The Bible describes some of the savage things they did to Him, but I wonder if they did more than that. Even so, words could never describe the horrors of that night.

I like Mel Gibson’s version of Gethsemane, in which Satan is shown literally trying to tempt the Second Adam, but Jesus prevails and crushes the head of the serpent!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Love for us drove Him to the cross and kept Him there. Seeing us in heaven was "the joy that was set before Him."

"The Sacrifice/Non-Sacrifice of Isaac"

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's intense portrayal (c. 1600) of the biblical scene. Note that the angel restrains Abraham's right arm. Abraham's hand is tightly clenched on the knife, which is dark, contrasting with the light on Isaac's arm. Abraham's other hand has Isaac firmly subjected. Also, observe the terrified look on Isaac's face and the ram to his right.

I have taught and preached this unsettling, problematic story many times. Most listeners (me included) are not always comfortable with it. In the scripture, God repeatedly goes on record: Sacrifice of infants, children, or any human being is an abomination, something God “hates.” Why then would He ask Abraham to do this?

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard also sought to understand this scene. Check out his work, Frygt og Bæven (Fear and Trembling), 1843. Kierkegaard, writing under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio (John the Silent), concludes that he admires the faith of Abraham, but that he cannot possibly understand it. I would agree and add: I couldn’t possibly do what Abraham did.

Let’s review the story: “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’” (Genesis 22:2). Recognize any parallels to John 3:16 or God’s words at Jesus’ baptism?

Abraham’s walk with God had always been a series of faith tests that he had mostly failed. He was in two instances full of fear and tried to lie his way out. In addition, the man named Abram (“Big Daddy”) had not fathered anyone for some 75 years. Sort of like being a “boy named Sue.” God promised him a son through Sarah. Abraham and Sarah become impatient, and Abraham fathers a child with Hagar.

God—who has a different timetable than we do— waits until Abram is 99; He then changes his name to Abraham “Father of Nations.” According to Paul, Abraham saw his body “as good as dead” and Sarah’s womb closed for ever. That’s God. Start a whole nation through the old and weak well past child-bearing years. That’s God, do the impossible, the inconceivable, “call things that are not as though they were.”

Abraham says to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 22:5). He had every expectation that they would BOTH return, father and son, alive, because, Paul tells us, he believed unswervingly that God could and would raise the Child of the Promise back to life.

When Isaac asks “Where is the lamb?” Abraham confidently tells his beloved son that “God will provide the lamb.” In Jesus, God send that Lamb, His Son.Abraham bound Isaac. Jesus was bound. Abraham laid him on wood. Jesus was laid on wood. Some say the original event happened on the current Temple Mount. Others believe it was Mount Calvary.

Abraham did not waver in his task as I would have. He had walked for years with the God of the possible, the God of Life, the God who had provided and would provide, the God who had given a very old man and woman a son, the God who through them and Isaac would begin a great nation, with descendants who once again are living in the Land of Promise.

God did not waver. His Son surrendered Himself to the Father’s will. At the moment in which the Father turned His back on the Son, Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani? (My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken me?). The Logos had left heaven to become the Son. Now, at this moment, the Logos/Son is severed from the Father. Behold the fragmented God! Behold the separation from God that I deserve.

God the Son became sin, the thing He hated the most, in order to save us, those He loved the most. This story should cause us to reflect on our faith and the love of God. Paul tells us in Romans 8, “If God did not withhold from us His own Son but gave Him up for us all, shall He not also freely give us all things?”

Report of the Pastor Search Committee

"Too legalistic!"

Noah: has 120 years of preaching experience, but no converts!

Moses: stutters; former congregation says he loses his temper over trivialities

Abraham: took off to Egypt during hard times. We heard he got into trouble with the authorities.

David: unacceptable moral character; might have been considered for minister of music had he not “fallen.”

Solomon: reputation for wisdom but doesn’t practice what he preaches.

Elijah: inconsistent, known to fold under pressure.

Hosea: home in shambles; married a prostitute.

Jeremiah: too emotional, alarmist; a “real pain in the neck,” say some.

Amos: no theological training; should stick to picking figs, which is what he seems to be good at.

John: okay, he’s a Baptist but lacks tact and dresses like a hippie; would not feel comfortable at a church potluck supper.

Peter: bad temper; was overheard denying Christ; how’s a guy like that going to lead us in church visitation?

Paul: appearance is contemptible; preaches too long.

Timothy: has potential but is too young for the job.

Jesus: often offends religious community with his preaching; too controversial; even offended the search committee with pointed questions.

Judas: practical, cooperative, good with money; cares for the poor. We think he’s our man!

[Note that I wrote this in 1991 while serving on an absolutely wonderful pastor search committee and read it to my church. It was later published as: "Report of the Pastor Search Committee," Ministries Today 9 (May, June, 1991): 17. In the late '90s, I received it as an e-mail forward; someone had copied it. It had been surfing the net for 8-9 years and had undergone some editing along the way. Thus, if it seems familiar, it could be because you have received it as a forward.]

"Predator": A Parable for Men

I have long wanted to write about “Predator.” Like most guys, I have seen it many times and find it intriguing for numerous reasons. Men are drawn to watch “duels of power,” whether they be warfare or football games. This movie has muscles, violence, blood and guts, and profanity, but oddly no “sexual situations.”

"The best"
-

Our heroes are the “ultimate machos.” They are “real men” who know no fear and have never tasted defeat. They are a well armed strike-team, and each will always be the victor in hand-to-hand combat. Most all are well beyond “buff” and “ripped.” So far, we have the standard fare for action-adventure films and Arnold movies. This group is a vivid picture of male "role models” that I see many men try to emulate.Enter an Alien, one apparently on a sort of “hunting vacation.” Initially, he picks them off like doves. He is larger than they are and can scale trees easily. He is almost completely invisible and has deadly weapons. A laser canon of some sort on his shoulder and snap-out steel claws that rip human flesh. The crack team is outgunned and doesn’t know it.

If it bleeds, we can kill it.

I think the alien is initially a little bored by our guys, much like a cat playing with his prey. But once he is wounded by an oozie, and the stakes go up. He becomes more intense and systematic. Each attack is a work of stealth and surprise, virtuosity that any natural killer would appreciate.

Their strength, their weapons, their machismo are no match for him, and he knows it.Arnold accidentally learns that when he is covered with mud, the alien cannot see him. With this “low-tech” counter-“invisibility,” he brashly challenges his opponent to a duel. I think the alien likes it; he’s a hunter. But alas, Arnold falls into the water and his mud-cover washes off. The alien confronts him, raises him off his feet, and studies him.

Let's have a closer look at this runt.

The angry giant strips off his mask and his technology and prepares to beat the crap out of this troublemaker with his bare hands. Arnold has been a challenge, but that’s what makes a hunting vacation rewarding.

Arnold eventually beats the alien. How? Historically “manliness” includes strength and prowess, but we should not forget "cunning," the ability to outsmart even a superior opponent. Odysseus beat his enemies by cunning (although physical enhancements from Athena didn’t hurt a bit).

Athleticism is essential to all sports, but “smarts” wins games.So Arnold builds a trap, like the mud that had covered him, it is a very “low-tech” one. The alien apparently now respects him because he approaches the area cautiously. When the tree trunk falls on him, the “mighty hunter” is mortally wounded and arms a nuclear device, laughing, believing that he and his opponent will soon be dead.

But Arnold runs and survives. Arnold wins. Score a big one for the human race.How is this film a parable for men? I see this story line played out daily in an overwhelming majority of us. We all face a hunter-predator, Satan, whose purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. He is invisible, but he fires flaming arrows at the most tender parts of our hearts and minds. His accuracy is deadly, and he is very successful in his craft. He knows how to take men out, and he does, with ease. Though we think ourselves invincible, we are seriously out-gunned. We are condemned to lose unless we upgrade our weapons and get our heads on straight.

Jesus looked the devil in the eye and sent him running by quoting the Word of God, using the Sword of the Spirit. Satan fired his best shot at the cross, but Jesus dealt him and death a fatal blow. Jesus was and is smarter than his adversary. Christian men need to use the “mind of Christ” that is given us through the Holy Spirit. We must engage in spiritual warfare (like most godly women do). The battlefield is within us, all around us, all around our families, our churches, our schools, our country.

We must learn to stay “one step ahead” of the devil and outsmart him. If you read the scriptures, you’ll find out he’s actually not that smart. We have the weapon and the cunning to beat him at every turn. But will we use them?

"Who am I, my Jesus, that you seek my friendship?"

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock..."

LOPE DE VEGA (1562-1635)Lope de Vega was primarily a dramatist who, according to some reports, composed over 1,800 plays. Early in his life, he was a soldier and womanizer, but following a conversion experience, he became a monk. An intense response to a painting of Christ knocking at a door might have served as the inspiration for this vivid description. (My translation)

Sonnet XVIII

Who am I that You seek my friendship?

What do you gain, my Jesus,

that at my door, covered with dew,

You spend the dark winter nights?

Oh, how hard was my heart,

for I did not open it to you!

What strange madness if the cold frost of my ingratitude

burned the wounds of Your holy feet?

How many times did the angel say to me:

Soul, come to the window now,

you will see how lovingly He persists in knocking!

And how many times, beautiful Lord,

did I respond, "We will open to Him tomorrow,"

only to say the same thing on the following day!

Soneto XVIII

¿Qué tengo yo, que mi amistad procuras?

¿Qué interés se te sigue, Jesús mío,

que a mi puerta, cubierto de rocío,

pasas las noches del invierno oscuras?

¡Oh, cuánto fueron mis entrañas duras,

pues no te abrí! ¡Qué extraño desvarío,

si de mi ingratitud el hielo frío

secó las llagas de tus plantas puras!

¡Cuántas veces el ángel me decía:

«Alma, asómate ahora a la ventana,

verás con cuánto amor llamar porfía»!

¡Y cuántas, hermosura soberana,

«Mañana le abriremos», respondía,

para lo mismo responder mañana!