Clara Ward, I'm coming to your house today to do an extreme make over.

“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark,” says George Iles and in today’s scripture reading we heard the story of a woman plagued by a health condition who had gone from doctor to doctor hoping she would regain her health. Instead, as the years went by, she became poorer spending money for cures that did not work. She heard that Jesus would be coming through her town and pushed into the crowd that had thronged around him. She pressed in to get closer, thinking that if she could just touch some part of him, she would be able to make a connection with whatever power he had to heal. She got close enough to reach through grabbing a piece of Jesus’s robe as he was passing by. Jesus, feeling healing power leaving him, began to look around and asking the disciples “who touched me”? With so many people, it was impossible to tell. The woman realizing he was searching for her knelt before him, fearfully telling him she was the one who had touched him. Jesus totally surprised her. He told her that because she had the faith to hold her hand out when the future seemed dark and hopeless, she was healed. He blessed her, and sent her on her way.

In Erie lives a woman who held her hand out in faith, hoping her letter to the producers of Extreme Home Makeover would be chosen. Her name is Clara Ward. She has lived a life dedicated to helping kids at the former Youth Development Center for Abused and Neglected Children. Her goal has been to "Make...a better place for them so that their lives can be fulfilled” she said. “I don't want these kids to be on the streets, I don't want these kids going hungry, I don't want these kids to have to look for someplace to go." So Clara opened her heart and her crumbling home to these youth, feeding, clothing, teaching and caring for them in spite of being wheelchair bound by a chronic illness.

That selflessness in the face of her own serious health issues impressed the Extreme Makeover Home Edition folks so much so that now her home and her life is currently being transformed. The Extreme Home Makeover people are in Erie now building her a new wheelchair accessible home on the lot where her former home stood on East 21st. street so she can continue to live in her neighborhood and care for the local children.

We hope for good things like Clara did and cannot be sure of getting them. Being unsure, sometimes we begin to worry when we feel we can’t control the future. Worry is not always a bad thing, it can cause us to be cautious and wise instead of reckless as we go about our lives. Clara wisely put her faith into action and wrote that letter asking for help. If we ever discover we no longer worry we may discover that we have become either bitter without hope, or better. Clara did not let the situation of her crumbling home make her bitter, she continued the volunteer work as best she could and prayed for a solution to her housing problem. God’s answer to her prayer is happening this week as a team of builders construct her new home in one hundred and six hours.

When we remember difficult times in the past or the hopes that have come to fruition in our lives, we gain the assurance that God will continue to work things out in his perfect way and is able to do it. We remember that God doesn’t indulge us with every wish our heart desires, but will give us all that he has promised. There are over 1,000 promises that can be found in God’s Word. We can rely on these promises when we need comfort and assurance. If you include any of God’s promises in your prayers then you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are praying in God’s will! If God says it, then it is already true! If it is already true, then it will happen! Are you getting excited? Consider just five of these promises and like the woman who reached out and touched Jesus hem, reach out and claim these promises when you pray:

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4:19)

“ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Is 41:10

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them.(Romans 8:28)

and finally,

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -- Romans 8:38-39

TD Jakes is a famous pastor and author of many books about practical applied Christianity. In the Dallas, Texas paper recently it was reported that one of his adult sons was arrested. Pastor Jakes picture and his son's mug shot were plastered on the front page of the paper complete with a detailed account of the arrest. What was important is that the reporter recorded verbatim what Rev. Jakes wrote. It became a Kingdom moment, a teaching moment for all of us who have ever had a child, if we are a parent, or a friend, who has done something terrible wrong. I thought that you would find it interesting and insightful and a good response. Here it is:

06:17 PM CST on Saturday, February 14, 2009

By SAM HODGES / The Dallas Morning News samhodges@dallasnews.com

Bishop T.D. Jakes of Dallas says he is offering “help, support and restorative grace” to his son, Jermaine.

“It is in moments like these that I am so grateful that we do not preach that we are the solution, but we look to Christ for resolution,” Jakes, pastor of Dallas’ megachurch The Potter’s House, said in a written statement provided to The Dallas Morning News late Friday night.

“So then, as a very human family with real issues, like many other people, we will draw from the same well of grace to which we have led others to drink and be refreshed,” the statement said.

His father's comments were what struck me as being so right on and such a witness for something that gained such public exposure in a newspaper, evidence of God taking something bad and paradoxically turning the boys father's response into a declaration for all to read of the Kingdom of God. If you know and love a wayward adult, you may be asking yourself why do they have to do what they do? I ask the same thing in the situations in my life. Maybe we have been asking the wrong question and like Moses need to be asking instead in the wilderness spaces, " Show me your glory". May God reveal His glory this week, may there be a burning bush, may the goodness of the Lord pass before you and may God proclaim His name to you in the midst of the rebellious people you love and try to lead. May we all feel and extend the grace of God to each other in moments like these.

Obama, prayer for a president

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama said in his July speech to abortion advocates worried about the increase of pro-life legislation at the state level.I wonder if Obama has given a lot of thought about the choice the unborn have? Do they get to choose? Do they get to decide if they are born or butchered? Is his stance merely a political positioning aimed at fence sitting cenrality?

In a recent Time magazine article:"Obama dodged the question of when a human being deserves rights."Whether you're looking at it from a theological or a scientific one, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,"he said. He affirmed his moral dimensions on the issue: his willingness to limit late-term abortions, provided there is an exception if a woman's health is at risk; and he talked about finding the resources to help women who choose to keep their baby, and about trying to reduce the need for abortions in the first place. It reflected the careful effort Obama has made to reach out to the ambivalent middle, who don't like abortion but also don't want doctors and patients being prosecuted for performing or having them."

Obama will have to grapple with this issue if it comes home to roost personally with one of his own daughters. I cannot imagine this father telling his girls, unless their lives are endangered, to abort as a form or ridding themselves of an unwanted pregnancy. My prayer for this new president as her takes office is that he thinks seriously of taking leadership to promote to he public other options besides killing the unborn. My hope is that he will choose life. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Marched on behalf of those who did not have a voice. Will this president stand up and give a voice to innocent children?

he first family is now looking for a place to worship in Washington,D.C. Obama state that "Now, I didn't grow up in a particularly religious household. But my experience in Chicago showed me how faith and values could be an anchor in my life," he said. "And in time, I came to see my faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community -- that while I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work." I pray that Obama will see this issue as part of the Lord's work.

Sojourn Visual Arts Community

In a collaborative effort among artistic members of a spiritual community called Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY.liturgical art was created based on the ten elements of their worship services. The images are sensitive and thought provoking. In their site narrative they stated that they "want to equip the artists within our local church with the knowledge, skills, materials, and opportunities needed to create artworks that will express their faith, serve the church, and transform culture." Their images were thought provoking,tastefully and skillfully done illustrations of expressions of faith.

After seeing those images I began to reflect that it has been said a picture is worth a thousand words. What words does the art or lack of speak in your church? Are the images welcoming? What do they say about God?, Christ?, the people who worship in this place? Are the people who worship in your church being challenged by visual imagery or lulled senseless by saccarhine sweetness from children's illustrations? Everything has a time and a season, there is a time and place for Veggie Tales but there is also a time for the powerful images of something such as Schindler's List.One should not exist to the exclusivity of the other.

Being created in God's image we have been endowed with the same urge to create.Visual art happens to be my thing, but there is also dance, music, drama, literature and I even believe cooking/ cuisine belongs in there and the art of hospitality. Looking at and appreciating different types of visual art, like theatre and music is a little like tasting different kinds of foods and developing familiarity and enjoyment. God did not create only one kind of plant or animal, he created a variety. God likes variety!He created us to create and express our creativity uniquely. Our choice is to express this for his glory or our own. Our choice is to cultivate creativity and encourage the unique gifts of others or stifle their expression by creating physical or psychological barriers.

Was blind but now I see....glasses and nets

British inventor Josh Silver, a former professor of physics at Oxford University, has come up with a new product design, water-lensed glasses.

Silver has developed glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful they become. Inside the device's plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens until those who were once, for all purposes blind, can now see. In the developing world trained optometrists are desperately in demand. The poor would not be able to afford their services even if they could get to their office. Just a thought, in Britain there is one optometrist for every 4,500 people, in sub-Saharan Africa the ratio is 1:1,000,000.

Sub-Saharan African does just over 2% of world trade yet has 10% of the worlds population, with 60% of those living with AIDS. "In southern and East Africa, as well as in parts of central Africa, serious AIDS epidemics will most probably continue for some time to come.It is important to continue working on the socioeconomic and sociocultural conditions that create the climate where poverty,illiteracy and vulnerability occurs so that HIV declines can be initiated or maintained.

Will literacy help? For every ten boys in secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa, there are less than eight girls. Will being able to see to work, to read, to craft, to build help? With the income most bring in,the average African would need to work 10 months to buy a copy of Windows XP, let alone be able to afford a computer. Many places lack the infrastructure to support information technology.

In particular, this part of the world has the ideal rainfall, temperature, and mosquito type that make it the global epicenter of malaria. This has been perhaps the greatest factor in slowing Africa’s economic development. It is important to remember also,the legacy of the Arab and
European slave trade; the tensions created by the artificial geopolitical boundaries created by the results of Western colonialism; the issues between indigenous religions, Christianity, and Islam; current dictatorial governments; and major humanitarian crises, such as Rwanda and Darfur, that create seemingly insurmountable problems as many Africans try to rise up and out of crushing poverty.

There are any kinds of blindness. Would that all could be addressed with a simple pair of water lensed glasses.Would that the solution to aiding Africa be as simple as a pair of glasses or a malaria net. It's a start.

And The Beat Goes On...Maynard G. Krebs to the Millenial Generation

For my generation, the inner turmoil of the neuro-hormonal passage into adulthood was coupled with the outer turmoil of social and political upheaval that sprung from the fertile fields prepared by the previous group called the Beats, or Beatniks. The most famous beatnik in history was a fictitious character, a stereotypic beatnik. Maynard G. Krebs, of the television sitcom Dobie Gillis, was a beatnik character played by a Catholic schoolteacher, turned actor named, Bob Denver. Younger people will remember Bob as the character Gilligan of the television sitcom, Gilligan’s Island. I enjoyed the Maynard character of Dobie Gillis because he didn’t go with the flow, liked Jazz, not popular music. Musicians the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk were praised on a regular basis on the show by Maynard and led to their popularity. Whenever anyone mentioned work, Maynard would say “WORK?” trying to avoid it as much as possible because he was living a life of simple pleasure and exploration of creativity and sensuality. He appeared to be in a perpetual state of what psychologist James Marcia would term identity diffusion yet his free spirit appealed to me at the time when I was being pressured to conform within my family and pulled to rebel from without. He was bucking the system and was the comedic foil for the straight-laced Dobie Gillis.

Beatniks arose among the Silent generation, but their voices were not silent. I heard them, growing up as a small child in New York City, the birthplace of the Beat culture, my friends heard them too, and for Halloween we played the culture out in costume, just as children played out my adolescence on October 31, in costume, for Trick or Treat in my neighborhood. The Maynard beatnik character was the inspiration for Bob Dylan when he was writing his material, especially the song, When Dogs Run Free. The Maynard character, in the later years, of the show became the prototype figure for the first hippies of my generation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_G._Krebs).

Some, such as Michael Lewis,PhD., believe that the nature of personality assumes a set of characteristics that endure, are stable and remain consistent across place, tasks, and people’s interactions, but with little consistency. This has led him to the conclusion that looking at behavior in context may be the best way to understand the changing nature of personality growth and development and the narratives that we construct around ourselves, others and goals. Lewis believes that behavior and psychological adjustment are the result of transitory situational influences and that the past does not relate to the present as far as children’s behavior in predicting how they will behave later in life. My past behavior and that of my friends, as manifested in adolescence and emerging adulthood seems to bear Lewis’s idea out. We were raised to be like Dobie Gillis but slowly transformed into something akin to Maynard Krebs when puberty began, much to our parents chagrin.

From the standpoint of my generational experience, many in my cohort, self-included, have since made shifts again in thinking and behavior, as we have made our impact on the former Dobie Gillis world. It seems to us that the only thing that is permanent is change. I hope at this stage in my cohort’s lifespan that the change we experience and help effect is more of a synergy of the stable nurturing we received from our predominately World War II generation parents combined with generation X, and the eclectic electronic musical generation Y and Z? Notice I did not mention the preceding generations, My generation still doesn’t trust anyone over thirty and we have trouble sometimes believing that we have past that milestone.

Our storm and stress, turmoil period appears to have settled down, we are nested into occupations and raising families. Now entering traditional “retirement” we will continue, as a group, to redefine and challenge stereotypes related to age and gender roles. Maynard G. Krebs never had a chance to grow up, but then did Dobie Gillis, before the show ended it’s run in 1962? It is my hope that my generation will in the end be recognized for “growing up”, for demonstrating maturity. The heroic narrative we constructed for our generation of pursuing peacemaking, was rocked by our inability to establish long-term marital bonds and our propensity to pursue gratification at others expense. Will we be able as a cohort to realize that we need not throw out the “baby with the bath water” and challenge everything society holds dear? Can we remember echoes from past generations, the values of the faith of our fathers,integrity, honesty and commitment before we pass? I hope so.

Instead of a Show

J.R.R. Tolkien turns the
phrase “there and back again” implying traveling in a circle… Folk in the first century after Christ’s resurrection had just as much difficulty as we do today being influenced by popular culture and attitudes and acting accordingly in an every man for himself manner. Peter address this in his first epistle: 1 Peter 1:23-25 (Amplified Bible)


You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God.


For all mankind is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off,


But the Word of the Lord endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.

In the next century Tertullian wrote a lengthy piece in defense of Christianity, a portion of which is edited here:

Tertullian's Apology, Chapter XXXIX (39) (end of 2nd century beginning of 3rd century)

"The people of Megara feast as though they were going to die on the morrow; they build as though they were never to die!" We are a body knit together as such by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together as an assembly and congregation, offering up prayer to God as with united force. We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final consummation. We assemble to read our sacred writings. For with a great gravity is the work of judging carried on among us, as befits those who feel assured that they are in the sight of God; and you have the most notable example of judgment to come when any one has sinned so grievously as to require his severance from us in prayer, in the congregation and in all sacred intercourse. The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor not by purchase, but by established character. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety's deposit fund. For they are not taken thence and spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God's Church, they become the nurslings of their confession. But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for themselves are animated by mutual hatred; The Salii cannot have their feast without going into debt; you must get the accountants to tell you what the sacrificial banquets cost; the choicest cook is appointed for the Attic mysteries; the smoke from the banquet of Serapis will call out the firemen. Yet about the modest supper-room of the Christians alone a great ado is made. Our feast explains itself by its name The Greeks call it agape. Whatever it costs, with the good things of the feast we benefit the needy. If the object of our feast be good, in the light of that consider its further regulations. As it is an act of religious service, it permits no vileness or immodesty. The participants, before reclining, taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger; as much is drunk as befits the chaste. They say it is enough, as those who remember that even during the night they have to worship God; they talk as those who know that the Lord is one of their auditors. After manual ablution, and the bringing in of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a hymn to God, either one from the holy Scriptures or one of his own composing,-a proof of the measure of our drinking. As the feast commenced with prayer, so with prayer it is closed. We go from it, not like troops of mischief-doers, nor bands of vagabonds, nor to break out into licentious acts, but to have as much care of our modesty and chastity as if we had been at a school of virtue rather than a banquet. Give the congregation of the Christians its due, and hold it unlawful, if it is like assemblies of the illicit sort: by all means let it be condemned, if any complaint can be validly laid against it, such as lies against secret factions. But who has ever suffered harm from our assemblies? We are in our congregations just what we are when separated from each other; we are as a community what we are individuals; we injure nobody, we trouble nobody. When the upright, when the virtuous meet together, when the pious, when the pure assemble in congregation, you ought not to call that a faction, but a curia-[i.e., the court of God.]
As the church, the body of Christ, has developed through the centuries there have been ups and downs. Currently it seems this may not be one of the finest hours for the church, with news of denominational schisms, acrimonious doctrinal discourses, moral leadership lapses and dwindling membership rolls. In the midst of this thought, I received an email. Aunt Margaret died in a nursing home in Idaho. As she was dying, there was no immediate family left alive or near to comfort her. The church secretary receiving word that Aunt Margaret was failing and unable to reach the pastor went to the nursing home and spent three hours with her singing hymns, praying and reading scripture until my aunt passed peacefully to heaven. The secretary could have decided to stay in the office and finish her paper work and go home to her family and have been justified by the values of popular culture. Instead she spent her time making sure Aunt Margaret did not die alone. Tertullian would have written of this: See how she agape loved my aunt, that Christian. Peter, the bondservant of Jesus Christ would have been pleased. (2 Peter 1:5-7) Peter wrote: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. There and back again in love, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen.