A Prayer for Michael and the Lost Boys of Sudan

I took my daughter's car to the dealer this morning to get it looked at. Then engine wasn't running quite right and it needed an oil change. I didn't have to work today so I just waited on the repairs in the dealer's customer waiting area. At one point it was just me and a young black man waiting on our vehicles. I remember noticing he was wearing a name tag that said "Michael". I was getting a little bored and I made some lame remark about "I hate waiting like this more than almost anything." He smiled and replied back to me in an accent that sounded foreign and I deduced that he might be here from Africa.

I always like talking to people from other countries an inquired with him "Where are you from?" He replied that he was from Sudan and I suspected immediately he was a refugee from the war there in which Muslims from northern Sudan have been attacking the Christians in southern Sudan. On talking to me a little more he described himself as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan." (See also the Red Cross article on the Lost Boys of Sudan.)

I didn't know what that meant but I learned that when he was about four years old, his parents sent him away to Kenya where they hoped he'd be safe from the fighting in his own country. I think he said his mother was too sick at the time to travel with him. I didn't learn any details about his father other than he had learned later that his father had been killed in the war. He told me he spent 8 years as a refugee in Kenya before coming to the United States. His last contact with his mother was by telephone from Kenya two years ago.

I felt a little uneasy because I knew my life had been so easy compared to his. Whatever problems I have seemed small in comparison to his.

He told me he is now living in the US under a refugee visa which allows him to work here on a green card. He told me after working here five years, he hopes to apply for US citizenship. He's going to school at a local university to become a nurse.

The customer service representative from the car dealer arrived about that time and he had to go pay for his repairs and I never saw him after that.

God, I want to lift up Michael in prayer tonight. I pray for all the refugees of Sudan and especially for the "Lost Boys of Sudan". Bless them and show them Your provision for their needs. I pray that he will reunited with his mother soon or at least be able to contact her to know how she is and where she is. I pray for an end to the bloodshed in Sudan. I pray that we here never forget the bloodshed and suffering in that part of the world that seems so remote to us. I know that somebody's mothers and fathers and children are fighting just to survive while I am so comfortable. Forgive me when I am too complacent about the needs of my brothers and sisters. Amen.

(March 11, 2008) see the followup at Lost Boy of Sudan to Graduate

Copyright © 2006 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved

Will Your Blog Be a Legacy to Future Generations?

We all have trials and tribulations in life. Like most of you I suspect, I have often wondered why God allows the bad things to happen to us. As I have matured in my faith I have tried to replace “God, why did you let this happen to me?” with something more like “God, what are you trying to teach me?” and when I’m feeling particularly strong “God, help me serve Your purposes in this rough time even if I don’t understand what that is right now.”

Back in October I was channel surfing and landed upon the History Channel and a show called 'Skeletons on the Sahara'. (Based on the book of the same name.) The show told the story of James Riley, the captain of the merchant ship Commerce which was ship wrecked off the western coast of Africa in 1815.

“In 1815, a Connecticut merchant ship runs aground off the west coast of Africa. Captured by Arab nomads, Captain James Riley and his crew are sold into brutal slavery and marched across the Sahara Desert, where skin boils, lips blacken and men shrivel to less than 90 pounds. Along the way the Americans will encounter everything that could possibly test them, but Riley and his men will also discover ancient cities, secret oases and a culture largely unknown to the modern world.”

I came into the documentary in the middle of the show but I saw a compelling story of how he and his desperate crew surrendered to Muslim desert dwellers who made them slaves. Captain Riley persuades his new slavemaster that he could make a healthy profit if he would only transport them safely to the nearest major city. There a wealthy American or English businessman or diplomat would buy their freedom back. Depending on your point of view this was either a huge gamble or a leap of faith. He had no way to know if this was really true but he staked his life on it. His master told him if it was not true, the slavemaster would slit his throat. When they arrived at their destination, the slavemaster required him to write a note in his own handwriting that he could give to the wealthy Englishman or American he found in the town. The note was full of prayerful references to God and the compassion of the reader.

The story has a happy ending. The Muslim slavemaster finds an English businessman who does indeed purchase the freedom of the Americans, by now only sunburned skeletons of men. Captain Riley made it home to his family.

I’m sure Captain Riley wondered “Why did God let this happen to me?” and his ordeal was certainly worse than anything that you or I are likely to face. What purpose might the suffering of James Riley and his crewman served? Could God have had a greater purpose that they knew nothing about?

You may have never heard of Captain Riley or his ordeal before, but let me give you the name of one person who did. You see Captain Riley wrote a book about his ordeal that was published in 1817. (Click here to see an historic reproduction.) According to one of the historians interviewed in the television documentary, Abraham Lincoln read the book and listed it as one of the most influential books in his life. The harsh description of how theses white men were treated as slaves in the Sahara is credited by some leading Abraham Lincoln to vigorously oppose the slavery of blacks in America.... and Abraham Lincoln was eventually elected President of the Unites States and served during the American Civil War.

Very few of us who try to honor God when things are not going well will eventually influence future Presidents. But.. you just never know. I offer this story also as encouragement to my fellow writers and bloggers. It is unlikely that Captain Riley would have influenced Abraham Lincoln if he had not taken the time to record his ordeal in his book. I hope and pray that the record of my Christian walk that I leave behind will have some positive effect long after my time on this earth is done. You have a story to tell too.

Copyright © 2006 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved

The Joy of the Refining Fire

You know how when singing those old hymns with a lot of verses, the verses near the end but not the last verse are often skipped? We sang "How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord" on Sunday morning and included the fith verse. For some reason the last phrase about the dross and the gold in verse five jumped out at me.

Verse 5

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

It had been a while since I thought about the ancient process of separating the dross (impurities) from the valuable metal. Here are some references to “dross” from the NIV:

Psalm 119:119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love
your statutes.

Proverbs 25:4Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the
silversmith;

Isaiah 1:22Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with
water.

Isaiah 1:25I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.

Ezekiel 22:18"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them
are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the
dross of silver.

Ezekiel 22:19Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have all
become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

I was also lead to this portion of the Bible which assures us that we as Christians will suffer trials but through them we’ll be stronger or “refined.”

1 Peter 1:6-8 (New International Version)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Tornado 16 Days Later #2

 

Tornado 16 days later

 

Tornado update

Sixteen days ago, I blogged about the Tornado which hit Goodlettsville, Tennessee less than 10 minutes from my house. (I believe the funnel cloud must actually gone over my house without setting down.) In a subsequent post, I mentioned several buildings which were damaged. The picture below is of the damage which still remains even after there have been 16 days to clear debris. This picture is of damage along the Old Brick Church Pike.

More on Middle Tennessee Tornado

On my way to church in Goodlettsville, I passed some devastation along New Brick Church Pike. Bakers Chapel CME church was damaged and the Red Cross was handing out water and other supplies in the parking lot. Behind the church many, many trees were down. Many homes were damaged.

The grocery store where I often stop to get milk on the way home was severly damaged. The building between the Goodlettsville public library and the Bell South building was flattened.

Nashville Electric Service bucket trucks were everwhere. The police were blocking off access to side streets to all but the people who lived there.

At church this morning, a man I had seen often but didn't know very well got up to talk about his ordeal with the tornado. His house was lifted away from him in about 5 seconds. He and a neighbor went looking for another neighbor, a young mother with two small children. She had sought safety in the basement (not many houses in Middle Tennessee have basements) right before her house was demolished. She had crouched low with her two children under her. The two men dug through the rubble to find them. The two children were unhurt but the mother had punctured lungs and spinal injuries. He said he had heard that she may be parallized from the chest down for the rest of her life.

The newpaper said Friday was the worst loss of life due to tornado activity in Middle Tennessee since 1974.

God, I lift up to You in prayer all those who have lost their homes and possessions. I especially lift up those who were injured or who lost loved ones. Heal the pain and loss. Provide for all their needs, both spoken and unspoken. Lord, I pray for your healing hand on that young mother who was severly injured protecting her children. Amen.

Tornado Damage in Middle Tennessee

We had severe weather in Middle Tennessee today. The 10 o'clock TV news said 11 people were killed by tornadoes. Click here for news, pictures, and video.

I watched the color-coded weather radar on the Internet as it showed a huge "red" area heading right for my house. I called home from work to find my family was seeking safety in the closet.

The twisters played no favorites as they demolished everything from mobile homes, to a boat factory, a Toyota dealer, and 4000+ square foot homes in affluent Nashville suburbs. The Nashville TV news showed a member of the Oak Ridge Boys talking about the damage to his house and neighborhood. A twister damaged the house of a cameraman for one of the local TV stations. He filmed the inside of his house and showed how a car that had been in his front driveway was now dropped behind his house. Another lady pointed out how far her car had been lifted and thrown. It looked like 100 yards.

Thank God, the TV also showed interviews with a few of the 35 pre-school age children that were at Metro Baptist Church in Goodlettsville, TN when it was hit. None of them got a scratch in the preschool section of the church at the same time the sanctuary was destroyed. I learned my own church had opened its doors to become a Red Cross shelter.

God, I praise you and thank You that my loved ones and my home were spared today. I also want to thank You for sparing so many from harm, including those 35 pre-schoolers. I ask that You comfort those who have lost loved ones and so many possessions. I pray for Your provision for their many needs at this time. Life can be fleeting so I pray also that many in my community will take time to access their relationship with You. I pray the Holy Spirit will work in this situation to draw many closer to You. Amen.

Copyright © 2006 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved

Furnace of Affliction

"It is the will of heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever. It may be the will of heaven that America shall suffer calamities still more wasting and distresses yet more dreadful. If this is to be the case, it will have this good effect, at least: it will inspire us with many virtues which we have not, and correct many errors, follies and vices, which threat to disturb, dishonor and destroy us... The furnace of affliction produces refinements in states, as well as individuals."

John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776, the day after Continental Congress approval of the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams spent a lifetime in service to the US.

• Member of the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence
  
• Urged Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence
• Nominate George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
• US minister to France, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain to end the Revolutionary War
• Negotiated first major recognition of American independence by the Dutch
  
• First US Minister to Great Britain
• Main author of the Constitution of Massachusetts
• First Vice President of the United States under President George Washington
  
• Second President of the United States
  

1 Corinthians 3:13 (Amplified Bible)

13The work of each [one] will become [plainly, openly] known (shown for what it is); for the day [of Christ] will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done.

Tony Dungy on Pain & Loss

I got the following text in an email today from a good friend. It really has some inspiring words from Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy not too long after losing his son.

Dungy Makes Super Bowl Stop to Speak at Athletes in Action Breakfast

DETROIT, Mich. – They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York Jets running back Curtis Martin.

And it was Martin who received the Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award Saturday morning, but the hundreds who gathered in fourth-floor ballroom at the Marriott Renaissance in Detroit, Mich., on the morning before Super Bowl XL were clearly touched by the featured speaker.

That speaker was Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy.

Two hours into the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who was welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd, shared an anecdote about Martin, then told the crowd he was going to speak for about 15 minutes.

“It’s great to be here,” Dungy told the crowd, then adding with a laugh, “I just wish I wasn’t here in this capacity so many times of being just that close to being in the game and just being an invited speaker.

“My goal is to have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our guys here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of Christian guys. It’d be wonderful to have them here so you could see their hearts and what they’re all about.

“It hasn’t quite happened yet, but we’re still hoping one day it will.”

He told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his three sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.

And although this was a breakfast – and although at many such events speakers speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested listeners – for most of the 15 minutes the room was silent except for Dungy’s voice.

He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness and who is focused on sports “to where it’s almost a problem.” He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital condition which causes him not to feel pain.

“He feels things, but he doesn’t get the sensation of pain,” Dungy said.

The lessons learned from Jordan, Tony Dungy said, are many.

“That sounds like it’s good at the beginning, but I promise you it’s not,” Dungy said. “We’ve learned a lot about pain in the last five years we’ve had Jordan. We’ve learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what’s good and what’s harmful.”

Jordan, Dungy said, loves cookies.

“Cookies are good,” Dungy said, “but in Jordan’s mind, if they’re good out on the plate, they’re even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife’s not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it. He doesn’t know that’s bad for him.”

Jordan, Dungy said, “has no fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him.”

The lesson learned, Dungy said, is simple.

“You get the question all the time, ‘Why does the Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to happen?’’’ Dungy said. “We’ve learned that a lot of times because of that pain, that little temporary pain, you learn what’s harmful. You learn to fear the right things.“

Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we’re not quite right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent right to the spot.“

Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us as kids back to the Father.”

Finally, he spoke of James.

James Dungy, Tony Dungy’s oldest son, died three days before Christmas. As he did while delivering James’ eulogy in December, Dungy on Saturday spoke of him eloquently and steadily, speaking of lessons learned and of the positives taken from experience.

“It was tough, and it was very, very painful, but as painful as it was, there were some good things that came out of it,” Dungy said.

Dungy spoke at the funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time he saw him, on Thanksgiving of last year.

“I met a guy the next day after the funeral,” Dungy said. “He said, ‘I was there. I heard you talking. I took off work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the movies. We’re going to spend some time and go to dinner.’ That was a real, real blessing to me.”

Dungy said he has gotten many letters since James’ death relaying similar messages.

“People heard what I said and said, ‘Hey, you brought me a little closer to my son,’ or, ‘You brought me a little closer to my daughter,’’’ Dungy said. “That is a tremendous blessing.”

Dungy also said some of James’ organs were donated through donors programs.“

We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had received his corneas, and now they can see,’’ Dungy said. “That’s been a tremendous blessing.”

Dungy also said he received a letter from a girl from the family’s church in Tampa. She had known James for many years, Dungy said. She went to the funeral because she knew James.

“When I saw what happened at funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was handled, that was the first time I realized there had to be a God,” Dungy said the girl wrote. “I accepted Christ into my life and my life’s been different since that day.”

Added Dungy, “That was an awesome blessing, so all of those things kind of made me realize what God’s love is all about.”

Dungy also said he was asked often how he was able to return to the Colts so quickly after James’ death. James died on December 22, and Dungy returned to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple.

“People asked me, ‘How did you recover so quickly?”’’ Dungy said. “I’m not totally recovered. I don’t know that I ever will be. It’s still very, very painful, but I was able to come back because of something one of my good Christian friends said to me after the funeral.

“He said, ‘You know James accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he’s in heaven, right?’ I said, ‘Right, I know that.’ He said, ‘So, with all you know about heaven, if you had the power to bring him back now, would you?’ When I thought about it, I said, ‘No, I wouldn’t. I would not want him back with what I know about heaven.’

“That’s what helped me through the grieving process. Because of Christ’s spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at peace with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something that’s very, very painful.

“That’s my prayer today, that everyone in this room would know the same thing.”

Prayer in U.S. House of Representatives the Day After the Bombing of Pearl Harbor

It was Sunday, August 28, 2005. I had driven home to visit my mother for her birthday. Right before I left I remembered that when my father (a minister) died back in 1980, the contents of his church office were moved into the garage of my mother's house. I had taken an interest in doing some writing about my own Christian faith and remembered from many years before that there were many boxes of his "preacher books" plus a couple of file cabinets where he kept manilla folders with his notes from almost 30 years of his sermons. I thought to myself, "There must be some great stuff in there that might provide good material for my writing!"

My mother used the garage for storage and not for parking cars so when I opened it, I found boxes of my brother's household goods that were nevershipped to Alabama when he moved, boxes of my sister's stuff from whenshe moved to a new house, and even a mattress my mother told me belongedto my niece's boyfriend. How did that get in there? After moving some old furniture, I found my father's file cabinets where they have beensitting for 25 years. I think I'm the only one who has ever even looked inside them and maybe only three times in that 25 years.

I found several drawer of manilla folders, each with notes for a particular sermon, as I expected. I removed one draw full of sermons to take home with me to look for ideas for my own writing. In the back of one of the drawers, I found something I never knew about. It was a brown, thin, hardcover book. When I read the title, I knew I had to rescue this little book from obscurity. To me, it was a genuine historical gem.

Prayers

Offerred by the Chaplain

Rev. James Shera Montgomery, D.D.

At the Opening of the Daily Sessions of the

House of Representatives of the United States

During the Seventy-Seventh and

Seventy-Eigth Congresses

1941-1944

Based on the date of publication, I guessed that this book must have belonged to my grandfather, also a preacher. I have since traded emails with my Uncle who said my grandfather actually met Rev. Montgomery on trip to Washington, DC and received the book from him directly. My uncle also said my grandfather had commented on "what a great guy he was." My
father inherited the contents of my grandfather's church office when my grandfather passed away.

Here's a scan of the front cover of the book.

The inside title page:

Here is the House Resolution authorizing the printing of this book of
prayers.

Apparently the chaplain got to dedicate this book of his prayers, which he did - dedicating it to his father.

I discovered that this historical gem containing a glimpseinto the spiritual life of my nation's past was originally offered forsale for $0.35 a copy.

Here's the first page of prayers.

I knew enough about history to know that these were the years of World War II. Captured in the pages of this book were the opening prayers offerred to our Congressman during the greatest struggle of war in my nation's history. I quickly searched to see if it included the prayer
offerred immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was there!

Imagine if you will that you were this chaplain. Your nation had just been bombed and the Pacific fleet decimated. Before you was the Houseof Representatives of the United States of America. A declaration of war was likely. What would you say? What would your prayer be like? Here in the public record, is what the man who really had to do it said, beginning at the bottom of page 60 and continuing to page 61 below. See the opening prayer for Monday, December 8, 1941.

I think the words of this chaplain still offer us some wisdom for today. Remember our nation's leaders in your prayers tonight and remember our brave service men and women fighting today's war on terrorists.

In Scorn of the Consequences

Christ came, not so much to preach the Gospel, as that there might be a Gospel to preach.

R. W. Dale

When you face the perils of weariness, carelessness, and confusion, don't pray for an easier life. Pray instead to be a stronger man or woman of God.

Luis Palau

The Gospels do not explain the Resurrection -- the Resurrection explains the Gospels.

John S. Whale

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you. O, Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask. Teach me to pray. Pray yourself in me.

François Fenelon

Faith is not belief in spite of evidence, but life in scorn of consequences -- a courageous trust in the great purpose of all things, and pressing forward to finish the work which is in sight, whatever the price may be.

Kirsopp Lake

A Spirit of Anticipation

I found myself wondering whether I have the kind of spirit of “anticipation” that God would want me to have.

It all started when I was preparing to teach Sunday School and read in the Gospel of Luke about Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

Luke 2:22-40 (New International Version)
22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[a]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[b]

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss[c] your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

See how Simeon was “righteous and devout” to the point of God choosing to reveal that the arrival of the Messiah was to be within his lifetime? Think of the anticipation he must have felt knowing that Christ was coming soon. Imagine the difference this would have made in his life. Also note how he was attentive to the subtle promptings of the Holy Spirit and was present in the Temple on the exact day that Mary and Joseph were to present the baby Jesus. God chose to use Simeon to announce that Jesus would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles” as well.

As for the prophetess Anna, I cannot imagine myself never leaving the temple but always being in an attitude of prayer. And, I am sorry to say, I have not taken up the spiritual discipline of fasting either. I do not believe anyone could spend decades in constant worship without anticipating that God was about to work in a mighty way right there in the community where she was.

I must now ask myself some difficult questions.

• How well am I worshiping God?
• Do I live in anticipation that God will work in some mighty way right here where I am?
• Am I listening attentively to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?
• Will I be willing to speak boldly for God if asked to?
• Do I have the perseverance to wait expectantly for decades for an answer to prayer?

God, I pray that You will mold me into the kind of man You need me to be. If it be Your will, give me the faith and perseverance of Simeon and Anna. They both never stopped believing You would keep Your promises. They both waited with anticipation for You to work in Your own time.

Quote of the Month - Pledge of Allegiance

With hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and severe thunder-storms tearing up the country from one end to another and mudslides, earthquakes, and bird flu around the world, the quote of the month is:

Jay Leno: "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"