As a Christian Bees Won't Sting and Colds Won't Catch

I have heard just such nonsense preached. I have heard people told they were suffering because their faith was weak. Who has suffered more than Christ? Was his faith weak?

When you become a Christian the Son shines in you, but the sun shines on you and the rain falls upon you just as it does on the worse terrorists that stalk the earth.  You are just as likely to get your face sunburned and your feet wet as they are. You don't escape earthly suffering by being born again anymore than the criminal who professes sudden Christianity receives a get-out-of-jail-free card. But Christians do receive a get-out-of-Hell card.

If you think Christianity is a hedge against the slings and arrows of this world, then you haven't read your Bible. (You miss a lot of truth if you don't read the Bible.)  Read the stories of all the great names of the Bible, then tell me all those who didn't suffer?

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.   James 5:10-11

In 1975, when I became a Christian, we had lost 7 children in 14 years of marriage. In late 1977 when my wife became pregnant for the eigthth time it came as a surprise to me. She had claimed her tubes were tied after the last time. She lied. 

This wasn't the biggest shock. It was when her obstetrician refused to take her case and others we consulted would not either. No one wanted this case with her history. They told her it was impossible, she could nevert have a baby. But someone in the church knew a Christian Doctor and he took the case and the church prayed. 

But we'll discuss those details another time. Just let me say our first child to live beyond a brief few moments was born on March 1, 1978. We have two other children  and I'll discuss those circumstances another time as well. All I want to illustrate here is in the face of an impossibility the improbable happened.

And we all lived happily ever after in the enchanted forest of the Spirit where the bees won't sting and you don't catch colds. 

Not exactly.

By mid-1978 the company employing me decided to close shop and move to Chicago. I was asked to go, but did not want to move so far. In November 1978 I was proffered a new job elsewhere, which I took and it was not to be a happy choice. With it we had to move from where we were and the church that had prayed and helped us so much. And then not two years later, this new employer decided to give my job to someone else for reasons having nothing to do with my own success or failure. This was quickly followed by a series of difficult events.

We had our second child, who was not expected to live, but did so after nearly a month in intensive care. My father-in-law had a seizure, died, was brought back to life, but left only a shell on machines, which it fell to us to turn off. Our home flooded and was totally destroyed inside.

Being Christians did not protect us from the type of loss and sufferings that befall all members of mankind. We are talking about faith, a belief in Christ as Savior and a striving to understand and grown in a relationship with God, not in magic. Such tribulations can bring a person to despair, as had been the case a few years earlier. We came to salvation from the depths of depression and hopelessness and our burdens were lightened. So it was when this series of setbacks hit us. If we had not come to this faith, I am not certain we would have survived what we went through between 1975 and 1981.

In an earlier posts I asked if you could reconcile these two verses:

Matt 11:29-30-- Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Matt 16:24-25 -- Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Comparing the difficult experiences of my life before and after being a Christian have taught me what these verses mean. 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1

Nitewrit the Carney: Having a Fun Day

This past Saturday the church I attend had a Community Day BBQ. Besides a lot of good food, there were games and small rides.

It wasn't a fund raiser. The churches I have attended do not practice fund raising. Those who worship here supply the funds as the Lord leads them.  No, everything in our little carnival was free, no one paid a cent, not to get in, not to eat, not to play a game or take a ride. We offered our neighbors a fun day, food and free Bibles if they wanted one. 

We opened up at 10:00 and ran the fair until 3:00. Most of these pictures were taken early. In got more crowded as the day progressed into the afternoon.

This lady and her daughters were there to man the Moon Bounce.

We had live music playing by different talented musicians all day and in the afternoon the Zoo brought some animals out for demonstrations and petting.

Most of the booths were blowups. That's the Moon Bounce, or possibly by the shape, was called the Castle Bounce here. 

It was wall to wall kids inside by noontime. By the way, the heavy-set man on the left is my Pastor.

The tall fellow on the right wearing the motorcycle hat is my Sunday School teacher.

Here is where I became a Carney, the Moon Shot.

You can't see the balls floating on jets of air toward the back, but the object was for the players to knock those balls over with pitched balls.

Had a little problem. The original targets were about the size of a soccer ball, but none came with the booth. When a man came supposedly with balls for this, they turned out to be balloons. I placed a balloon over the air jets and it shot right out the roof of the booth and disappeared.

I ended up using two of the four pitching balls as the floaters.  Smaller targets, but at least they stayed atop the air jet and didn't disappear into the wind.

Next door to me was a batting cage game. It was run by Modesty, a young woman in our congregation. Ah, she had it easier. A ball would be batted off an air jet tee toward holes to the rear of the booth. But the ball after hitting the back would roll into a groove in the center of the floor, roll down the groove to where the air jet was then drop into a bag along side.

I had to retrieve all the balls thrown in my booth. Back and forth I went all morning. It wore me out and if the ball stuck toward the far back of the target area, when I reached back to get it, the air jets would blow my hat off. Oh, the sacrifices we make!

The device you see between my Moon Shot and Modesty's Batting Game is a strength tester. You know, you strike a board with a big hammer and it sends a stick up the chimney to strike a bell...if you have the strength. Wasn't too hard, several small children were ringing the bell, although the person running it sometimes helped. 

A teenage couple came by and the boy went over to hit the bell. Bang, and the stick rose a few inches. he tried several times and couldn't ring that bell. His girl friend was laughing, but he took it well. 

Of course, as I said, there was no fee to play, no ticket to ride, and everyone got to choose a prise out of a basket win or lose. Just a fun day.

This was another game, skee ball.

Ah, but here is what drew a lot of attention. Hard to believe we church folks can be so sadistic, isn't it?

The dunk tank.  Somebody sits up on a board and people throw balls at a small target. If they hit the target, the sitter gets dunked in the tank. This is our Youth pastor climbing out of a dunking.

Oops, their he goes again into the tank.

When I walked over to the church from my house (about a mile), it was 45 degrees Fahrenheit with a stiff wind blowing. It probably felt as bad climbing up on the board after the dunking with that wind as it did hitting the water, which was just cold tap water. No heated tank.

I tell some more about this later

I had a lot of youngsters and little kids at my booth. Popular with the adults was the Sumo Wrestling. 

See, you climbed into these puffy suits and became Sumo stars. Problem here is you had to lay down to wiggle into the suits.

Once contestants were suited, they became more turtle than wrestler and couldn't get up. People had to lift them to their feet.

You had to help them up anytime they fell over too.

Twice I was almost wiped out by flying Sumo Wrestlers while snapping these photos. (Again that is my Sunday School teacher and my pastor with backs to you.)

As my Sunday School Teacher prepares to take some pictures of his own, the wrestlers get ready to strike a proper pose.

Actually, my Pastor and the fellow in the yellow pants next to him could play Sumo without putting on the suits.

We have a very good Pastor and he has a great sense of humor.

He'd probably make the same remark himself.

Even pets were welcome.

Here on the midway we had the popcorn and cotton candy concession.

I love fresh popcorn, so i made sure I got a bag.

Our Youth Pastor as barker, walking around in a crazy balloon hat with a bullhorn calling people to the events.

Ah, yes back to the Dunk Tank.  That's our Pastor on the board now. Last Sunday they had a ballot in church to elect the five people we'd most like to see in the Dunk Tank and they actually did it. 

All but the number one selection, one of the leaders in our church and something of a character and ex-Marine. They had a sign up, that he said he had to work, then the note, "what kind of an excuse is that for a Marine". My daughter, who was in the Army, but served under a Marine Command on one tour of duty got a kick out of that.

Note the Youth Pastor around the corner of the tank about to take aim at the target.

"Yeeeessss, got 'em!" he yells as the Pastor disappears under water.

I had told the pastor I hoped he'd be able to talk on Sunday to give his sermon.

He was. He spoke on "What God told us About how to Handle a Financial Crisis". 

Here is the Moon Shot again. That is not me inside. That was the fellow they drafted to relieve me.  

I was very grateful. As I said, after over two and half hours, I was worn down.

Now I could go get something to eat.

Just following these folks heading for the barbecue.

I had a good meal here, barbecued chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, a shrimp-pasta salad, baked beans and a cupcake.

Tasted pretty good after that workout in the cold air running the Moon Shot. 

I even ate the shrimp, which is something I don't like.  Nope, not a seafood lover.

And so my day kind of ended, but the party and the train chugged along for a couple more hours after I left.

We had some new faces in church this morning, people who came to our Community Day and decided to visit our service. All but one of our free Bibles was given away and it looked to me as if everyone who came had a great time.

Kindness of Strangers

"Thou shall not steal", but I am going to steal the title my friend used today on his blog anyway. (Retired in Delaware is the name of his site; I have a link to it below) This is on a different topic, however, arising out of a question asked recently.


"Have you ever known anyone possessed by demons?"


I am not sure. I don't think I have ever met a person indwelt by an evil spirit, but can't say with certainty. I have met people possessed by something every now and then, usually one kind of recreational drug or another. I was a bit of a devil once upon a time, but I don't think I was harboring a demon, unless it was the demon of ignorance and the evil spirit of arrogance or perchance the imp of the perverse. Those three are bad enough with out a true sprite of Beelzebub hanging about in the chambers of your heart.


But I believe I have met angels.


Technically, demons are angels, just rebellious one who fell from grace. I do notice an interesting difference between the demons and the angels (and if anyone knows different let me know), but demons don't seem to do well traipsing about in this world in their own entity. The Devil may walk around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but his demons seem to have to put on someone else's skin to gad about. All the references in scripture I've been able to find tell of someone having demons driven from them, or as being indwelt with an evil spirit or possessed by a demon. Remember those demons called Legion? When they were ordered out of their host they started jogging off toward town, right? Naw, they asked to go into a bunch of pigs and then the possessed pigs ran off a cliff. The neighbors of the now depossessed fellow weren't as happy as he was about the situation. Greed trumped consideration for another's well-being and they asked Jesus to take a hike Mark 5:1-20. (Unfortunately, I am not so sure profit is any less forsaken for succor even today. It has been said the most sensitive nerve in our body runs from our brain to our wallet.)


So maybe a demon isn't going to tap you on the shoulder as a man on the street and say boo, but it may be the case with angels, except for the boo part.


Angels have the ability to show up in human form without stealing someone else's bones. Remember those two angels that went to Lot's house in Sodom or the angel the women mistook for the gardener at the empty tomb?


I believe I have met such angels. None of them ever said, "behold, I am an angel from God." I'm downright glad about that. You have an angel pop up by the foot of the bed and call your name, then you are in for it, man. You are going to have a mission you can't run away from (just think Jonah) and everybody you know is going to think you're crazy, or dare I say, possessed. How many times do you think people whispered behind Noah's back and giggled. Or how many people thought Mary should have been stoned.


I probably run enough risk of embarrassment saying I believe I met an angel or few in my life.


Here is why. There have been occasions in my life I planned to do something I shouldn't. (No, I am not going to tell you what.) But I wanted to and it was safe because there was no one around to see me or catch me. And then there was.


Oh, a person didn't appear in a puff of smoke with wings and a halo, but did come along almost as if out of nowhere, perhaps out of a clump of bushes or something, just a-sudden. And he or she always said "hello" and just went on their way, gone as quickly as they had come, and were never anywhere in sight even if I followed them around a corner or into a store or whatever. Who or what they were doesn't matter. They stopped me from doing what I intended, kept me pure so to speak. You can call it coincidence, I believe different. I believe it was an angel.


There have been other occasions when I found myself in need of help. I have been broken down in a car in a lonely, forsaken place. No traffic has been on the road with me forever. There isn't a house anywhere in sight and I don't even remember the last farm I passed. And then there is a crunch of gravel behind me, I turn and a car is there and a person steps out and gives me the help I need. They never accept rewards. They just ride off like the Lone Ranger after I am safe --an angel.


The kindness of strangers, I have often depended on the kindness of strangers. You want to feel like an angel, then show kindness to strangers in need. Remember, "do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it Hebrews 13:2."