Category: Grace and Forgiveness

Mun-Hee

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His name, we learned, was Mun-Hee, but we called him “Money”. He was 13 or 14, and his mother did laundry, by hand, along the Pukan River, for the guys in my unit, on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea. He was a happy goffer, ran errands, did small jobs and was generally helpful, and, in turn, we were generous.

What we didn’t know, was that he was a “slicky-slicky-boy”, part of a group of thieves, the scourge of companies throughout our Division, who would enter our tents, in the middle of the night, silent as a mouse, looking for anything of value; clothing, weapons, military exchange coupons, etc. The story was that many soldiers had their foot-lockers picked clean by these thieves, while the guys slept on. Continue reading

Touched by Grace

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In the course of our lives we will be touched by the passing of a friend or loved one.  We attend funerals and memorial services of those we love and respect, and are reminded of their quality, there importance in our lives and in the lives of the family.  We struggled to find the right words to say and maybe, because of our own experience, we know that the most important thing is your presence and support. Words are not crucial.

Over the past six weeks, I attended, participated in, or otherwise supported the memorial services for three members of my family and one friend and colleague. Each was a Celebration of Life and at each we heard story after story of the quality of that person, how they impacted so many lives. With each story, the thought may have occurred to some, I may not have known them as much as I such have. Our loss, adding to our grief. Continue reading

Small Minds

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I wonder if we have a problem between our opinion, free will and simple, clear facts?  This is true whether we are thinking secular or religious. Conflicts have brought stress and divisions, have taken away from the building up of our nation and our own spiritual growth.

It seems we just can’t learn. God tells us that religion is man-made, but he says we need to learn from each one, for each is unique and has value. But, what do we do?  Continue reading

God’s Love

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For nearly 35 years I’ve been a member of a number of Bible study groups. Over those years, we have studied most of the New Testament and many of the Old Testament books.  We have been fairly thorough, using multiple commentaries, digging deeply, trying to understand the vision and God’s message contained in each passage. It has been exciting and enlightening and, while we still continue on, there is a building sense of what God is saying to us. Continue reading

Writing Barabbas

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In a matter of hours, the notorious prisoner, Barabbas, is to be crucified. He is angry and frightened. He regrets the kind of life he lived and grieves that he will never be able to make things right. Suddenly, he is a free man, pardoned by Pilate. Within hours, he finds himself on Calvary, where he has an encounter with the crucified Jesus. This brings him face to face with his own violent past, and he begins his search for redemption.

 

That is a passage from my book, A Life for Barabbas. I am excited to share that it will be in bookstores on October 30! Continue reading

A Man’s Reach Should Exceed His Grasp

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Chicago. A week before Christmas, some years ago. It is cold!  Snow on the streets and sidewalks.

Then, I heard the voice of God say to me:  “Help him!”  I looked, there was no one there.  Then I heard the Voice again, saying “Help him!”, and I looked again and that is when I saw, lying in the middle of Clark St., an elderly man, unable to rise. Cars were driving around him.  So I acted, I helped, and the act became a focus point of my thoughts the remainder of that night and the next day. Continue reading

Moments of Beauty

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You are on a solitary hike in the mountains.  It’s an early day in spring, it is warm, the sky is deep blue and wild flowers are everywhere.  In short, it is a perfect day and you alone are there to witness this bit of God’s handiwork.  There should be a crowd, a huge crowd, the largest in the world to see this and feel the beauty of the day. But it is just you, and you sit and soak up the perfect scene, and you thank God. Continue reading

A Note in the Midst of Grief

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My dear friend,

Last week, I was the speaker in chapel at the retirement community where I live, part-time. I spoke on a familiar topic, God’s love for us, and how that love touches us in ways that we don’t always understand.  As you know, God’s love can sometimes seem hard and harsh.

In the middle of my talk, I said that Jesus knew the heart of the Father and Jesus knew that people last forever. I believe that. These bodies won’t last (Lord knows!), but our spirit does. At this point in my talk, completely unplanned, I spoke about the sadness and the goodness of Thanksgiving week, including the death of your husband (I’ll call him Mike), and the loving effect that his life had on all who knew him. His spirit lives! Continue reading

Perfection Not Required

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Recently, I had a casual conversation while on an elevator at a nearby hospital.  The person I was talking to told me she had visited her mother who just had surgery.  I explained that I had visited a friend of a friend, someone I didn’t know very well. Her comment was: “I could never do that!” I asked her why? She said she would be too nervous and she “could not do it right”!

“Could not do it right!”  I knew exactly what she meant.  I had similar thoughts over the years, whether standing in a reception line at a funeral, visiting an unfamiliar person in the hospital, or just trying to carry on a conversation with someone I did not know in an uncomfortable setting.  What to say at that particular time.  I guess I was worried about saying the right thing. Continue reading

God’s Inspiration

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Morning?  Evening? Or maybe, you find time in the middle of the day to spend with God, when you meditate and pray.  Or maybe, you’re like me who finds that time, most of the time, except when my day is so filled that…  But wait, I seem to recall Martin Luther saying when his schedule was so very busy, he doubled his time with God.

Well, I’m no Martin Luther!  Nor did I set out to write a confessional essay, about how undisciplined I am in my time with God. In fact, I wanted to write about daily devotionals and those times when God and my better angels speak. Continue reading

Barabbas, in His Own Words

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It was late when they finally arrested me.  At my trial I was charged with treason against Rome and a murder that was committed during the insurrection.  I was found guilty on both charges and was sentenced to death by crucifixion, a sentence that would be carried out in just a few days!

Now it is Friday.  My Execution Day. Here I sit in prison.  My wrists and ankles are chaffed by these chains.  I’m scared!   I always boasted that I feared nothing! But now, my mouth is dry, my heart is beating wildly and there are times when I can hardly breath.  Over the years I thought many times about this day, the day of my death, and I just dismissed it.  But this is different, and I’m not ready for any of this. Continue reading

Barabbas, Child of God

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It was late when they finally arrested Barabbas.  At his trial he was charged with treason against Rome and murder during the insurrection.  He was found guilty of both charges and was sentenced to death by crucifixion.  The sentence is to be carried out by the end of the week.

Friday.  Execution Day. Barabbas sat in prison. His wrists and ankles chaffed by his chains.  He was scared!   He had always boasted that he feared nothing! But now, he trembled, his mouth was dry and his heart beat wildly.  He had thought many times about this day, the day of his death, and dismissed it.  But this was different, and he was not ready for any of this.  He cursed the guards and the other prisoners. Continue reading