Listening to the radio today, I have heard lots of Valentine's wishes. It is fun to have a day dedicated to sharing our love with the important people in our lives.
Today it dawned on me that we could also express our love for God on Valentine's Day. He has certainly shared his love with us. It might cheapen the work of Jesus on the cross to describe his Passion as God's Valentine to us. How can you compare the sacrifice of the Son of God to a dozen roses and a box of chocolates?
But if we wanted to give a Valentine to Jesus, how would we do that? Talk about the man who has everything...
We could show a kindness to a stranger or a needy person.
We could stand against injustice.
We could write him a love letter.
We could take an hour to spend with him, listening and opening our hearts to him.
We could commit to start a new habit (and ask him to help us follow through).
We could get naked spiritually before him, risking the shame, but knowing that he loves us just as we are.
We could enjoy him, staring into his eyes, melting in his arms.
Happy Valentine's Day, Jesus.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Prayers for Egypt
I remember when Anwar Sadat was assassinated and Hosni Mubarak took over to lead Egypt. He's still the president of the nation 30 years later. That is about to change.
Who knows what the changes will be? I believe that the outcome of Egypt's upheaval will have significant impact for at least a generation. I believe that there is a spirital battle going on for the future of Egypt.
I'm praying for forces of good to prevail, for freedom to win the day.
Who knows what the changes will be? I believe that the outcome of Egypt's upheaval will have significant impact for at least a generation. I believe that there is a spirital battle going on for the future of Egypt.
I'm praying for forces of good to prevail, for freedom to win the day.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Adoption Thoughts
I saw in the news that a mother in Alaska is in trouble for the way she has treated her adopted son, who was born in Russia. She used cruel means of punishing him, including squirting hot sauce in his mouth and putting him in a cold shower. He's 7.
A video of the punishments was shown on Dr. Phil's show in November, and Russian viewers are incensed over it. Some are even calling for the boy to be returned to his homeland. Here's the article.
I have a couple of thoughts about this situation. First, what about the American children adopted by Russians? I wonder if there are any such children. I wonder if any American children are adopted by families in any foreign countries. My guess is that such adoptions are very rare. It looks like Americans are very interested in taking in orphans from all around the world. I know families who have adopted from Uganda, Ethiopia, Russia, Ecuador, and Paraguay. These are just people that I know personally who have done international adoptions. My guess is that there are thousands of US citizens who adopt from other countries every year.
Secondly, I wonder about the state of Russian orphanages. A friend of mine adopted a boy from Russia and later adopted a boy from Ethiopia. He says that there is a marked difference in the care given in the orphanages in those two countries. In Ethiopia, the children are loved and cared for. In Russia, the children's needs are met, but the children are not loved.
Lacking adequate love in their earliest years, these children grow up with a host of developmental and behavioral problems. Parents who adopt these children become understandably frustrated. Some, obviously, use unhelpful forms of discipline in a desperate effort to get through to these children who never learned to receive love.
Now, looking forward, I wonder if the Russians who are disturbed by the unwise discipline of the Alaskan mother will also look to reform the care given in Russian orphanages. Maybe they will even step up to adopt children themselves.
I also wonder what Americans can do to improve the lot of orphans all around the world. These young lives need love, whether they are in Russia, Africa or North America.
The fatherless and widows have a special place in God's heart. May they have a special place in the hearts of his followers. Beginning with me.
A video of the punishments was shown on Dr. Phil's show in November, and Russian viewers are incensed over it. Some are even calling for the boy to be returned to his homeland. Here's the article.
I have a couple of thoughts about this situation. First, what about the American children adopted by Russians? I wonder if there are any such children. I wonder if any American children are adopted by families in any foreign countries. My guess is that such adoptions are very rare. It looks like Americans are very interested in taking in orphans from all around the world. I know families who have adopted from Uganda, Ethiopia, Russia, Ecuador, and Paraguay. These are just people that I know personally who have done international adoptions. My guess is that there are thousands of US citizens who adopt from other countries every year.
Secondly, I wonder about the state of Russian orphanages. A friend of mine adopted a boy from Russia and later adopted a boy from Ethiopia. He says that there is a marked difference in the care given in the orphanages in those two countries. In Ethiopia, the children are loved and cared for. In Russia, the children's needs are met, but the children are not loved.
Lacking adequate love in their earliest years, these children grow up with a host of developmental and behavioral problems. Parents who adopt these children become understandably frustrated. Some, obviously, use unhelpful forms of discipline in a desperate effort to get through to these children who never learned to receive love.
Now, looking forward, I wonder if the Russians who are disturbed by the unwise discipline of the Alaskan mother will also look to reform the care given in Russian orphanages. Maybe they will even step up to adopt children themselves.
I also wonder what Americans can do to improve the lot of orphans all around the world. These young lives need love, whether they are in Russia, Africa or North America.
The fatherless and widows have a special place in God's heart. May they have a special place in the hearts of his followers. Beginning with me.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Leading a People, Leading a Movement
We turn to the scriptures to learn about leadership, and two of the most successful leaders were Moses and Paul. In the Old Testament, Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. After the resurrection of Jesus, Paul led a small band of missionaries from city to city around the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Both men changed the world because of their life's work, but their roles of leadership were much different. Moses led a group of a million plus through the desert for 40 years, as they toggled between rebellion and repentance repeatedly. Moses dealt with the gripes, complaints and mutinies that all leaders face. He followed his father-in-law's suggestion of delegating responsibilities so that he could focus on listening to God and leading.
Many church leaders today face the same kinds of pressures and challenges, especially in large churches. There is trouble from within and without, just as in the days of the Exodus.
Paul, on the other hand, was a different kind of leader. He did not lead a people but a movement. Although he started as part of the Jewish religious establishment, after Christ appeared to him, he had a new mission. His mission was not to lead a large assembly, but to make disciples. On his missionary journeys he went by land and sea to share Christ with Jews and Gentiles from Palestine to Rome.
Paul never led masses of people across the desert or across the street. He challenged the lost to come to Christ and believers to take Jesus seriously. He knew that, unlike Moses, he could rely on the Spirit of God to lead the new disciples. The Holy Spirit would inspire these believers to change the world. And they did.
Paul was not just leading a group of people, but a movement of God. He cooperated with the Spirit of God, going where Jesus led him to go, sharing the truth of the Kingdom of God. As he traveled about, he revisited cities where he had seen churches start. He encouraged, he challenged, he warned, he rebuked, he rejoiced. He also faced challenges to his leadership, threats from within and without.
Moses' task was preservation, transportation and instruction of a people. A few people came to believe in Yahweh because of the influence of the Jews. But the emphasis was on getting the Jews out of Egypt and into Canaan. Moses led them to the cusp of the new land and Joshua led them to conquer it. Moses was a great leader.
Paul's ministry was to release the power of the Holy Spirit in lives and communities around the Mediterranean world. God would lead the work. It would be decentralized and viral. It would spread just like Jesus described in the parable of the yeast. Paul was a great leader.
As I learn lessons from these great men, I resonate with the model of leading a movement. I want to be part of a movement of God.
Both men changed the world because of their life's work, but their roles of leadership were much different. Moses led a group of a million plus through the desert for 40 years, as they toggled between rebellion and repentance repeatedly. Moses dealt with the gripes, complaints and mutinies that all leaders face. He followed his father-in-law's suggestion of delegating responsibilities so that he could focus on listening to God and leading.
Many church leaders today face the same kinds of pressures and challenges, especially in large churches. There is trouble from within and without, just as in the days of the Exodus.
Paul, on the other hand, was a different kind of leader. He did not lead a people but a movement. Although he started as part of the Jewish religious establishment, after Christ appeared to him, he had a new mission. His mission was not to lead a large assembly, but to make disciples. On his missionary journeys he went by land and sea to share Christ with Jews and Gentiles from Palestine to Rome.
Paul never led masses of people across the desert or across the street. He challenged the lost to come to Christ and believers to take Jesus seriously. He knew that, unlike Moses, he could rely on the Spirit of God to lead the new disciples. The Holy Spirit would inspire these believers to change the world. And they did.
Paul was not just leading a group of people, but a movement of God. He cooperated with the Spirit of God, going where Jesus led him to go, sharing the truth of the Kingdom of God. As he traveled about, he revisited cities where he had seen churches start. He encouraged, he challenged, he warned, he rebuked, he rejoiced. He also faced challenges to his leadership, threats from within and without.
Moses' task was preservation, transportation and instruction of a people. A few people came to believe in Yahweh because of the influence of the Jews. But the emphasis was on getting the Jews out of Egypt and into Canaan. Moses led them to the cusp of the new land and Joshua led them to conquer it. Moses was a great leader.
Paul's ministry was to release the power of the Holy Spirit in lives and communities around the Mediterranean world. God would lead the work. It would be decentralized and viral. It would spread just like Jesus described in the parable of the yeast. Paul was a great leader.
As I learn lessons from these great men, I resonate with the model of leading a movement. I want to be part of a movement of God.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Our Day
We have an interesting tradition. Years ago, my older daughter suggested that we have an annual "Bailey Day." The suggestion came in January, and so I looked for a good way to take time off work and take time with family. Martin Luther King Day seemed like a great time to devote to family. I think that MLK himself would approve.
Every year we take time to do something special: go to a museum, take in a movie, make something together. This year we drove around NW Greensboro, looking for objects to photograph. Our mission was to find objects that looked like the letters of our last name. We can print and frame them, then hang them in the house. It helps that our name is only six letters long, by the way. Well, we had a hard time finding our first letter. We stopped at Harris Teeter for a snack. We brought it to the car, and when Lisa opened the package, I said, "It's a B!" Yes, these Oreo Cakesters came out stuck together, the perfect object for our letter collection. (They are actually pretty good to eat, too.)
We went on to get all six letters, although our "L" is pretty pitiful. You would think that would be the easiest letter of all...
We were looking for something, but didn't expect to find it in a cookie package. If you are looking for something, maybe you'll find it where you least expect it.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Someone Different
I friend told me yesterday that he challenged his middle school Sunday school class as the new year begins:
You won't be the same person at the end of the year. You will change, for the better or for the worse. What kind of changes would you like to see? What steps can you take to make those changes?
Wow. That is powerful and simple. We can either let life happen to us, or we can take the initiative to create those changes that we want.
Every day we are becoming the person we will finally be. Every day we make choices that make us closer to -- or farther from -- the person we want to be. God can help us make the right choices.
You won't be the same person at the end of the year. You will change, for the better or for the worse. What kind of changes would you like to see? What steps can you take to make those changes?
Wow. That is powerful and simple. We can either let life happen to us, or we can take the initiative to create those changes that we want.
Every day we are becoming the person we will finally be. Every day we make choices that make us closer to -- or farther from -- the person we want to be. God can help us make the right choices.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Clooney and Engle
There is bad blood in Sudan. For years, stories of abuse and enslavement have come from southern Sudan. On Sunday a referendum began in southern Sudan, in which the citizens could choose become independent from the rest of the country. The votes still aren't counted. The people in the south of Sudan have been abused by the national leaders. The people in north and south are different from each other. In the north, they are lighter-skinned and Muslim. In the south, they are mostly dark-skinned and animist or Christian. Before the current abusive situation, there was genocide in Sudan, 1983-2005.
George Clooney is trying to change the world in Sudan. He and other celebrities are working to get a commercial surveillance satellite orbiting the earth over south Sudan. If the world can watch better, then the militant groups may behave better. Not a bad idea. Clooney believes it could prevent another genocide.
Closer to home, Charlie Engle was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison, convicted of real estate fraud. Engle is an ultra-marathoner. He ran across the entire Sahara Desert, raising awareness of the need for clean water in that region. He teamed up with H20 Africa to raise money for wells.
Prosecutors say that Engle obtained mortgages and second mortgages under false pretences and used the money to live on while undertaking his Sahara venture. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a likable guy. But before he was sentenced, he said that he had been "foolish enough to think that I could change the world."
Is it foolish to think that? Some of us really want to change the world. Most of us don't have the power of celebrity or the endurance to run ultra-marathons. But even ordinary folks can change the world.
God uses ordinary people -- and sometimes famous people -- to change this world. And when we let his Spirit empower the work, that's when unbelievable things happen.
George Clooney is trying to change the world in Sudan. He and other celebrities are working to get a commercial surveillance satellite orbiting the earth over south Sudan. If the world can watch better, then the militant groups may behave better. Not a bad idea. Clooney believes it could prevent another genocide.
Closer to home, Charlie Engle was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison, convicted of real estate fraud. Engle is an ultra-marathoner. He ran across the entire Sahara Desert, raising awareness of the need for clean water in that region. He teamed up with H20 Africa to raise money for wells.
Prosecutors say that Engle obtained mortgages and second mortgages under false pretences and used the money to live on while undertaking his Sahara venture. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a likable guy. But before he was sentenced, he said that he had been "foolish enough to think that I could change the world."
Is it foolish to think that? Some of us really want to change the world. Most of us don't have the power of celebrity or the endurance to run ultra-marathons. But even ordinary folks can change the world.
God uses ordinary people -- and sometimes famous people -- to change this world. And when we let his Spirit empower the work, that's when unbelievable things happen.
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