Blood Donation

In her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott recounts a story told by Jack Kornfield of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. it’s about an eight-year-old boy whose younger sister was dying of leukemia. He was told that without a blood transfusion she would die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatible with hers and, if so, he would be the blood donor. They asked him if they could test his blood. He said, “Sure.” They did and learned it was a good match. They asked if he would donate to his sister a pint of his blood because it could be her only chance of living. He said he would have to think about it overnight. The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to donate the blood. So they took him to the hospital where he was placed on a gurney beside his six-year-old sister. Both of them were hooked up to IV’s. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then eventually transferred to his sister’s IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood dripped into his sister, until the doctor came over to see how he was doing. Then the boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to die?”

For Love

 I once knew a woman . . . she asked her son to shine her shoes

She put a quarter in each one . . . cause she thought that was his due

But he returned the money . . . and when she asked him why that was

He said, “Mom, I’m old enough to know by now . . .

You just do some things  . . . for love”

 

song lyrics “You Give it All Your Heart” by Bill Mallonee

Love Without Coercion

 My wife and I waited 15 years for a child that never came by the natural way. However we were approached one day with a lead of a child not yet born. I remember standing in front of the judge on our day of adoption. He pointed his finger and asked of me, “Is anyone coercing you to adopt this little boy?” After we had assured him that we were doing so out of love for our son, he made this statement. “From today on, he is your son. He may disappoint you, even grieve you but he is your son. Everything you own one day will be his and he will bear your name.” Then he looked to the clerk and gave this command. “So order a change in this child’s birth certificate and may it reflect that these are the parents of this child.”

It was then that I realized that my Heavenly Father loved me so much that, without coercion, He loved me and gave His all to me. On that day, He changed my name and I gladly bear His name and His image.

Gerald Penix

https://bible.org/illustration/love-without-coercion

Albert Outler Quote on Love

“We must stop telling ourselves and others that we MUST love one another, instead we must tell ourselves and others that we CAN love because we ARE loved.”

 --attributed to Albert Outler

4-Year-Old Girl Only Survivor of Plane Crash

From Max Lucado, God’s Story, Your Story (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 86.

On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashed after taking off from the Detroit airport, killing 155 people. The lone survivor was four-year-old Cecelia from Tempe, Arizona. Rescuers found her in such good condition that they wondered if she’d actually been on the flight. Perhaps she was riding in one of the cars into which the airplane crashed. But, no, her name was on the manifest.

While the exact nature of events may never be known, Cecelia’s survival may have been due to her mother’s quick response. Initial reports from the scene indicate that, as the plane was falling, her mother, Paula Cichan, unbuckled her own belt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter, and wrapped her arms and body around the girl. She separated her from the force of the fall . . . and the daughter survived. 15

God did the same for us. He wrapped himself around us and felt the full force of the fall. He took the unrelaxed punishment of the guilty. He died, not like a sinner, but as a sinner—in our place. “By a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s but ours.”16

15. Cited in Bryan Chapell, The Promises of Grace: Living in the Grip of God’s Love (1992; repr., Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 142. Note: This report was disputed by some authorities.

16. Martin Luther, quoted in Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978), 1:148.

Also see: AP article on New York Times

Life Lesson

What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

Some people grin and bear it; others smile and do it.

Some people grin and bear it; others smile and do it.

Annie Lamott on Hate

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."

--Annie Lamott Traveling Mercies; although on page 22 of Bird by Bird she attributes this quote to "my priest friend Tom"

“Let’s Get to Work”: Sermon Outline by Keith Badowski

“Let’s Get to Work”: Sermon Outline by Keith Badowski

Matthew 21:28-32 (NIV)
Matthew 5:41-42 (NIV)

1. So, does my title suggest I’m talking about “works theology”? Doing hard labor on earth to earn our way into heaven?

Once there was a company that put out an instant cake mix. You only had to add water. It didn’t sell. Market research showed that people thought it sounded TOO EASY; it couldn’t be any good. They reformulated the mix so the instructions were to add water and one egg. It sold fine after that.

Some people are tempted to believe that God’s plan of salvation is to easy too.

2. Ephesians 2:8-9 “By grace you have been saved through faith . . ., it is the gift of God, not of works.”

God’s formula is not about to be changed.

Works do not earn salvation. Works show gratitude, devotion, willingness to yield yourself to God who blesses you whether you work or not. (Of course, chances are if the message of Jesus’ free gift has penetrated your heart and you are grateful for his forgiveness of your sins, you’re going to WANT to work—to express your return of the love God first extended to you.)

3. Did it ever occur to you that if you trust Jesus for your salvation/ forgiveness of your sins/ eternal life . . . you ought to maybe trust him to direct the way you live now?

Isn’t it possible that what he asks (not demands) has your own best interests at heart?

4. Serving others, as many can attest, feels good! Nothing gives the same satisfaction.

Albert Schweitzer was quoted as saying, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

5. Jesus wants WILLING workers who chose Him FREELY, VOLUNTARILY do His work in the world. He doesn’t resort to guilt trips or any kind of manipulation to get us up and out of our seats.

Well, sometimes He can light a fire under us to get us moving. . .

6. Once there was a member of a motorcycle gang who a couple days earlier became a believer in Jesus. The only thing he knew to do was to go to church. As he made his way to sit in the 2nd row, the people of the congregation stared at him as he passed. They whispered to each other about his burliness, his leather chaps, his nose ring. As he sat down, the pastor announced, “We need a helper in to work in the nursery this morning. Can I get a volunteer please?” No one came forward, so the pastor asked again, “We really need a helper in the nursery this morning. Please step forward if you can help out.” Meanwhile the biker was praying, “Lord, I don’t know if you want me to help out, but I will take it as a sign from you that I should if he asks a third time.” The pastor made the third request when no one responded to the first two, so the biker raised his hand, stood up and started walking to the front . . . followed by 50 mothers who suddenly rose to their feet.

7. God shouldn’t have to send a burly biker to get us involved and on our feet.

Why not a motive of gratitude? A desire to show the world in action who Jesus is—the one who acts to help others, who sets himself aside for our well-being.

8. Jesus calls us to enact his grace and love by how we respond to the needs of others.

He wants us to pay no mind to whether the recipient DESERVES love and grace. That’s hard to do at 1st.

Jesus always asks his disciples to do tasks that 1st seem hard, unpleasant.

9. Sacrifice time. As if it’s “OUR time.”

Hard effort, physical strain at times.

Outside our comfort zone.

If we see such difficulties ahead we might delay our choice to serve.

“If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice” –Rush

10.
"Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad,
who came to a sign at the fork of the road.
He looked one way and the other way too
The Zoad had to make up his mind what to do.
Well, the Zoad scratched his head,
and his chin, and his pants—
and he said to himself “I’ll be taking a chance.”
If I go to place One, that place may be hot,
so how will I know if I like it or not.
On the other hand, though, I’ll feel such a fool
If I go to Place Two and find it’s too cool,
in that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So Place One may be best and not Place Two.
“Play safe!” cried the Zoad.
“I’ll play safe, I’m no dunce.
I’ll simply start off to both places at once.”
And that’s how the Zoad who would not take a chance
went no place at all with a split in his pants."

--Dr. Seuss

11. Option: remain indecisive when Jesus calls us to serve.

Like the Second son, say “Yes” but do “No”.

Sit quietly and hope he’ll forgot the whole conversation.

Opportunity: be like the First son. He may have said “No” fearing it was too hard or just not for him. But 5 minutes or 2 years later, we can CHANGE OUR MIND.

12. . . . get to work, give the mission to serve our best try.

Realize that God supplies wisdom, power, resources, guidance—to accomplish what it is He asks. God acts through us—He must because what He asks is too HARD to do without Him.

13. Hard Requests:

Someone strikes you, insults, snubs, or criticizes you, FORGIVE THEM. Be vulnerable, risk another stab in the back, love your enemies.

Be GENEROUS, even when the world is take, take, take.

Someone pressures you to work for them, look for EXTRA things you can do for them, go beyond their demands, showing God’s generosity and grace by working HARDER and doing MORE.

14. Be open handed with your resources, not just your leftover pocket change, but your checkbook, your car, your skills, and know-how, your tools, any of your possessions. YOURS? They don’t actually belong to you. They’re on loan from the Creator. Use what you “have” to improve the situation of another person.

15. I know of 3 Christian men who have loaned or given vehicles to needy individuals who are unlikely to ever pay them back. I know 3. I wonder how many Jesus knows. I wonder how many Jesus wants?

16. Jesus has given us a free gift of salvation. Jesus demands no works, no payment. He sets us free because he loves us. He hopes we will seek his directions, his instructions to devote ourselves to working on his behalf.

'Mutual Love for Others' --Mother Teresa

“Some visitors to Calcutta asked me to tell them something that would be useful for them to lead their lives in more profitable way. I answered, ‘Smile at each other. Smile at your wives, at your husbands, at your children, at all. Let mutual love for others grow each day in all of you.’”

--Mother Teresa, Heart of Joy quoted in Holy Humor:Inspirational Wit and Cartoons (p.22) by Cal and Rose Samra

Tired of Speaking Sweetly

Tired of Speaking Sweetly

Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,
Break all our teacup talk of God.

If you had the courage and
Could give the Beloved His choice, some nights,
He would just drag you around the room
By your hair,
Ripping from your grip all those toys in the world
That bring you no joy.

Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly
And wants to rip to shreds
All your erroneous notions of truth

That make you fight within yourself, dear one,
And with others,

Causing the world to weep
On too many fine days.

God wants to manhandle us,
Lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself
And practice His dropkick.

The Beloved sometimes wants
To do us a great favor:

Hold us upside down
And shake all the nonsense out.

But when we hear
He is in such a "playful drunken mood"
Most everyone I know
Quickly packs their bags and hightails it
Out of town.

From The Gift by Sufi poet Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky