Singing in the Car

 

[1]

1 Chronicles 16:9 King James Version

⁹ Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

 

“Daddy! Are we there yet?” “Mommeeeeee! Esther’s got her foot on my side!” “Stop it! Ricky!” “Ow! Daddy, Julia bit me!”

The aggravated voices of the three kids in the backseat would rise to a crescendo. On rare occasion I had to stop the car and belabor the kids—but I quickly found out that that didn’t work; besides I didn’t want the prospect of a car trip to be a prelude to torture.

It’s amazing how long it takes me to remember my childhood. Then I did. I belted out:[2]

“I've got a home in Glory Land that outshines the sun
I've got a home in Glory Land that outshines the sun
I've got a home in Glory Land that outshines the sun
Way beyond the Blue 

“Do Lord, oh, do Lord, do remember me
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, do remember me
Way beyond the Blue 

“I took Jesus as My Savior, you take Him too
I took Jesus as My Savior, you take Him too
I took Jesus as My Savior, you take Him too
While He's still calling you 

“Oh, do Lord, oh, do Lord, do remember me
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me
Do Lord, oh, do Lord, do remember me
A way beyond the Blue!”

 

Very shortly there were five voices singing at the top of their lungs. Once we finished one song, someone would start another. Most of the songs were praise songs: “Amazing Grace,” “Oh When the Saints,” and so on. We sang a few secular songs, too: “I Know an Old Woman, Who Swallowed a Fly,” “The Ants Go Marching One by One”, etc. All the irritation and complaining were forgotten.

Thank You, Lord, for songs!

 

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[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=kids+in+car+singing+images

[2] Vernie O. Fossett, Musixmatch, Do Lord lyrics © New Spring Publishing Inc.

 

Though Darkness Hide Me

 

[1]

Psalm 139:11-12

Good News Translation

¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me
    or the light around me to turn into night,
¹² but even darkness is not dark for you,
    and the night is as bright as the day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

 

My brother, Elwood, was working with a group developing an infra-red camera that worked at ambient temperatures. He brought a prototype of their camera home with him one day and asked me if I would like to accompany him on some test runs. The night was very dark. We drove up Ortega Highway above Lake Elsinore and pulled into the parking lot of Lookout Restaurant. There were a number of cars parked there, undoubtedly belonging to the customers in the restaurant. The parking lot was unlit except for the area near the restaurant front door.

We pointed the camera down the steep slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains towards the town, to see what a city looks like in infra-red light. When another car drove by on the highway, we watched sparks shooting out from under the car. These sparks were totally invisible to the naked eye.

Over in the dark of the far corner of the parking lot, we could barely make out the shape of a car, its windows showing a dim reflection of the restaurant lights. When we turned this camera in that direction, the whole scene changed. A couple had spread a blanket out on the pavement next to their car. They were reclining on it romantically. They trusted the darkness to hide them, probably relishing the possibility of an adrenalin rush if some car were to turn its lights on them and discover their boldness. They never knew that their tryst was being filmed by a camera they didn’t see.

Far more perceptive than Elwood’s camera, God sees all things and knows all things, even the secrets of our hearts. He sees in light or darkness, even through walls and concrete. When we cry for help, He is always ready to rush to our rescue.

Thank You, Lord, that darkness and light are all the same to You. Thank You for being ready to help us in our time of need.

 

 

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[1] https://hw.life/infrared/21st-century-infrared-healing

The Gethsemane Battle

 

[1]

1 John 4:9

Good News Translation

⁹ And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.

 

After many years, last night I again read the chapter in The Desire of Ages entitled “Gethsemane”. In eloquent and deeply emotional prose, Ellen White describes how Christ wrestled with God. He knew that He had come to earth for exactly one purpose—to save the world and its inhabitants from sin. I have seen many definitions of sin: some glorify it, some condemn it, some try to lay out boundaries for it. But in the end, sin is only one thing—rebellion against God. Sin declares puny man’s attempt to deny his Creator and become independent from the only Source of Life.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Christ’s divine nature headed steadfastly forward to the only possible act of redemption for rebellious man. Christ’s human nature, however, sensed the presence of every sin in the world. It felt the eternal separation from God, the terror and despair of inevitable annihilation, the horror of the wrath of God. It buckled and crumbled under this huge weight. His human nature pled with God to find another way of salvation. “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me!” a cry wrenched from His very heart. Then in total submission to the divine within Him, He gave way to divinity: “Never the less, not My will but Thine be done!” Three times he sought reprieve but then acquiesced to His great love for sinners.

To His human view, (that was all that He could see at this point in the struggle), all mankind had turned their backs on Him. Even His chosen disciples had fallen asleep when He asked them to pray for Him. His chosen race, His favored people were bent on His destruction. Why? He had taught them, healed them, encouraged them, blessed their children, even fed them and raised their dead. He had expressed His love to them in every action. Was this why they turned away?

Of course not! When sin comes in touch with purity, divinity, perfection, it has but one response—rebellion. This rebellion was the only thing Christ sensed. Fortunately for us, His vast, unending love drove Him on to yield to the divine will and rescue His creatures in spite of their absolute rejection of Him.

When it became completely obvious that Christ was going through literal hell for us, the mightiest angel in Heaven materialized at His side, driving away all the demons that were clustered around Him and crushing out His very life. The angel strengthened Him for this, the greatest battle of the universe.

Thank You, Jesus, for fighting the battle for me, the battle that I had no hope of winning without You. I love You.

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[1] https://www.deseret.com/2019/6/12/20675446/taylor-halverson-why-did-jesus-suffer-in-an-olive-garden-called-gethsemane#olive-trees-in-the-gethsemane-garden-at-the-foot-of-the-mount-of-olives-in-jerusalem

 

Priceless Gift

[1]

 2 Corinthians 9:15

Good News Translation

¹⁵ Let us thank God for His priceless gift!

 

When we lived in Tanzania, our boss’s boss made friends with those in high places in the national park administration. He let me know that we could go into the world-famous Serengeti National Park without paying. I had no paperwork proving this and never tried to use it when we entered the park at one of the standard entry points. But it was a priceless bit of knowledge.

There was no entry point near us, but the Ikizu villagers used to drive south across country and ford the Grumeti River and poach in the park. They were careful not to leave any tracks so that vengeful rangers could follow them and bring them to justice. The Grumeti sported hippos and crocodiles in many spots. It also had shallow spots where one could simply drive across in less than a hand’s breadth of water. These fords were not marked.

We had no car, but we could often talk some of our fellow missionaries into taking us on a spin out into the park on a Sabbath afternoon. I developed a sense of the veldt so that I could always guide us much the way I imagined the poachers used and find one of these fords easily. There were always many animals all over these vast Serengeti plains. We saw wildebeest, zebra, topi, and Thompson’s gazelle (tommy) every time we went. We often found ostrich and giraffe. Occasionally we would be favored with a small herd of elephant or one of the great African cats.

It was a cathartic to the stress that built up in our very confined missionary work. Some of our daughter’s first words were “g’af” and “tommy”. Once or twice, we encountered a ranger also out on the great plains. We would stop and exchange greetings. Since I had some knowledge of Swahili, I usually did most off the talking, and we always parted as friends.

On one occasion the ranger must have reported our presence in the park. One day two Land Rovers stopped in front of our house. I was out in the yard, and 8 or 10 uniformed men jumped out of the vehicles and surrounded me, their rifles pointing directly at my chest. I was totally astonished and wondered if this would be my last day on earth. The leading officer stepped up to me and demanded that I pay the entry fee for the previous time I had been in the park without paying.

The entry fee was only about ten shillings (about $1.50), and I was of a mind to pay up and call it quits. But I was very young and adventurous and started talking with the officer, using my best but somewhat broken Swahili. I mentioned my upper boss’s arrangement with national park’s headquarters in the capital, Dar es Salaam. I had no documentation, so my arguments were really worthless, and I was aware of that. We must have stood there in my front yard for well over a quarter of an hour; in those days in Africa people expected to talk about a proposal at length and to become friends in the process. The whole time we were talking those rifles were still aimed at my chest. Those holding them could follow the whole conversation because they all spoke Swahili much better than I.

In the end we came to a truce, and they all climbed back into their Land Rovers and left me. I was still in possession of my ten shillings, but much more importantly, I had the priceless right to go and come through the back entry of Serengeti with a free conscience.

In our part in the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the devil is always attempting to rob us of the priceless gift of God’s grace and eternal life. We have Christ’s eternal promise that no one can ever take it away from us by any force.

Thank You, Lord, for your priceless gift!

[1]  https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/soldiers-surrounded-soldier.html

God Will Provide

[i]

Genesis 22:8 

American Standard Version (ASV)

⁸ And Abraham said, God will ^[a]provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son: so they went both of them together.

After I taught in Tanzania for five years, the mission offered to send me back to graduate school to earn my doctorate. Actually they sponsored me for the standard nine months, and then I was on my own to finance the rest of the degree. I spent those nine months back at the University of Iowa passing my PhD comprehensive examinations and reacquainting myself with people in the department.

One of my fellow graduate students had just finished his dissertation and was looking for a teaching position. He sent out applications to over 1,000 colleges and universities. Eventually he heard back from two of these institutions and was finally accepted at an obscure women’s college. His experience alerted me to the new reality. When I did my Masters degree six years earlier, there were job openings for mathematicians all across the country. But by this time there were more new mathematicians than there were jobs available.

When I approached my math department and asked whether I could obtain a teaching assistantship, they were very hesitant about even considering my application. As I chatted with them, they helped me understand that the university felt some responsibility for actually placing their graduates. They could see that in the present job climate that could be very difficult.

Sending up a quiet prayer, I explained that I was at the university on a leave of absence and that there was a position available for me when I completed my studies. That was what the committee needed to hear. They enthusiastically agreed to support me for the next three years with a teaching assistantship that was sufficient to cover our family expenses and my tuition.

Thank you, Lord, for providing sufficient for our needs throughout our life.

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[i] http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/university-of-iowa-changes-leadership-strategy-20171112