Outstretched Hands

Today’s Devotional Tidbit

Outstretched Hands

Isaiah 65:2

I stretched out my hands all day long to stubborn people. They chose to go the wrong direction. They followed their own plans. – Isaiah 65:2 (GWT)

Last Thanksgiving I was at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, TX playing football with about 25 Albanian-Americans.  Now that’s a hyphenation one doesn’t come across too often.  The passes, curse words and insults were flying. About one third of the men on the field owned pizzerias around the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

My friend Steve and his two sons had invited me to play at their family football game, probably because they had never seen me in action. My mission in life was explained to me by God on that wet chilly morning, not audibly, but visibly. I was taught that mission is life. God allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, otherwise known as “Brian’s Box.”

During my time in ministry, I’ve had an uncanny knack of straying/staying away from people with rough edges. Last Thanksgiving, I rubbed shoulders with, got smashed in the mouth by and had a wonderful time with those same rough edged people. Not the best football player in the world or even on my block, God gifted me with an outstanding 30 yard one-handed reception near the goal line that gave me instant credibility with those that didn’t know me. My left arm was extended as far as it could go, my hands outstretched. I think an instant replay would have shown my feet were in the air. The ball hit my hand and I guided it downward and hugged it as I smashed to the ground. Although, I wished my little boy could have seen my great catch, I was a bit relieved he didn’t hear the obscenity filled compliments aimed my way.

My desire to protect my son from filthy language, bad attitudes or bad behaviors, has kept me, at times, from reaching into certain lives (the line between overprotection/common sense is very fine). Those are lives that God wants me to reach. There is a world of people among us that we conveniently brush by as we rush to be the first congregation to visit the well groomed family that just moved to the neighborhood and may be looking for a new church home. We want to reach the truly unchurched, but do our actions match our words? Are we hanging around people that speak and act in ways that might possibly shock us? Does being “salt and light” mean never spending time with people with rough edges? Is that what Jesus did? There may be people just next door that are heading in the wrong direction and following their own plans.  So think about it, where does God want to use you as his outstretched hands? And never forget, we Christians have a lot of rough edges ourselves.  If you don’t believe that, just follow me home sometime. 

This Thanksgiving, I was back at the football field. Before the game, I went to McDonalds with Isa (Steve’s brother) and his son for coffee as we waited for Steve and the others to show up. The game began late and I only played with them for about an hour, but it was still enough time to make some good defensive plays and get hammered to the ground (clipping they said). My bride says the blood might even wash out of my jeans.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving,

Brian Humek

Irving, TX  

The Twilight Zone

Today’s Devotional Tidbit – April 4, 2007
The Twilight Zone
John 1:14

Imagine a world full of fear because space ships are landing in every country. This actually happened in 1962, at least on television. In case you missed it, the show was called the Twilight Zone. Those landing were called Kanamits. They were all 7 feet tall and looked like the guy called Jaws who was a featured villain in two James Bond films. Okay, it was the guy named Jaws, only years earlier. One thing for certain about this Kanamit, he did not belong. He was too large. He communicated telepathically. He was from outer space. Those were three big strikes against him. Wow! a baseball analogy and baseball season is just beginning. After landing, he went to the United Nations and gave them a book. Code breakers eventually deciphered the title, it was called “To Serve Man.” Wow, these guys were nice after all, the title proved it. These Kanamits began performing random acts of kindness, or so that’s what everyone believed. They helped eradicate famine throughout the world. They also brought world peace and did away with disease. Then they began an exchange program between citizens of earth and citizens of their planet.

The Kanamits did a lot of good but they did not belong among the earthlings at first. They weren’t going to be trusted if they just showed up and hung around or tried to conquer. They did good for us earthlings. That gave the Kanamits an amount of social capital to be spent in any way they wanted. They earned so much trust that earthlings even went to the Kanamit planet when they were offered an interplanetary cultural exchange program. Grasping for a Christian equivalent, I think about those who find no need for Christ and especially for Christians. Each day I search out such people. I don’t wait for them to come to me. My daily journeys take me to places where people may be antagonistic to religion but open to discussions about Jesus. I frequent places like bookstores, a college campus, sports bars, a pizza joint, an apartment complex, coffee shops, or recreation centers. Each day, I leave my planet and go to their planet, the planet of “Christianity is Irrelevant to Me!”

I have witnessed many Christians who are doing good and helping other people. I see that certain people who hate religion warm up to those Christians that do good. I’ve seen people that the good is done to, whether it’s being fed, offering help during terrible financial times, or loving someone through a family struggle, embrace Christ after Christians have helped. Doing good for people sometimes gives even the strangest looking beings an entry way into the lives of others. To those who are not Christians in our post-modern society, a Christian could be just as strange looking as a 7 foot Kanamit from outer space. We too have a book that could be titled, “To Serve Man.” After all, that’s what Jesus said he came to do.  But here’s one last thing about that book from the Kanamits. The lead code breaker, after deciphering the title, had difficulty with the rest of the book; the lettering was different. He gave up and set off on his own cultural interplanetary exchange. He was on the stairway into the space ship when his assistant, who had kept working on the contents of the book, came running. She called out, “Dr. Chambers, the book, the book, ‘To Serve Man,’ it’s … a cookbook.” 

As Christians, we need to go to people. We need to do good. Feeding the homeless may be similar to the Kanamits eradicating famine. Helping to create peace in families may be similar to the Kanamits rendering nuclear weapons meaningless. But unlike the Kanamits, let us not devour the people we reach out to in the name of Christ. In addition to meeting a lot of people who have never had a need for Christianity in their life; I also meet a lot of people who have been part of Christianity and have felt chewed on, gnawed at, or devoured and their bones spit back out. All this, done in the name of Jesus. What do you think? Let me know.

The Rest of the Story

Today’s Devotional Tidbit – March 20, 2007 
2 Chronicles 24
The Rest of the Story

A while back, I wrote about restoration. I wrote about how God wants all of our lives restored to his original plan. I specifically spoke of our relationships with friends, co-workers, and family. Did you ever identify any of those broken relationships? Have you prayed that God would restore those relationships? Do you understand that God won’t force those relationships to be restored on their own? You and I have to put in some of the leg work. Are you practicing selective memory, only remembering the wrongs done by the other party? Are you forgetting the rest of the story? Today, I want to tell you about a time when I forgot the rest of the story?
 
The first time our son ever dressed up at Halloween or for a fall festival celebration, we had him dress up as King Joash. I was in preaching school at the time and the story of Joash came up in one of my classes. I remember how the teacher stated King Joash was a good king; he wanted to restore God’s temple to its original beauty. He did so with the help of the high priest. No one questioned our son dressing up as King Joash, at least for a few years. Wondering why someone would question our son dressing up as a good king, I read more about King Joash yesterday. Wow! He wasn’t a good king after all. Read 2nd Chronicles chapter 24, especially the part labeled “The wickedness of Joash.” You’ll see the rest of the story. How did I ever miss it? 
 
I sometimes try to focus on the positive? I guess I did that with King Joash. Maybe we too sometimes try to focus on the positive, our positives, and we totally ignore the wrong we do in the relationships that need restored. Today’s devo is really just a check up. I just wanted to know how your personal restoration projects are progressing. I was wondering if your restoration projects have even begun. If not, do so by laying down a foundation of prayer concerning those broken relationships. Let us never forget the rest of the story, sometimes things are our fault.

Yours in Christ,
Brian Humek

The Lord’s Supper Full of Love

Today’s Devotional Tidbit – February 26, 2007
The Lord’s Supper Full of Love
Luke 22:14-23

Each week I visit an assisted living center and speak with some residents about God. I guess you’d call it a Bible class because I ask questions and I receive answers in return. It’s always a good thing to get some replies. Before communion yesterday, I asked those gathered what they thought about Jesus, and what he had done for them. There were some great responses. Bea said Jesus is always with her, she just knows it. Nadine says she knows Jesus loves her because of so many answered prayers. Okay, we know every prayer is answered, but I think we all know she meant “yes” answers. John said he’s so happy Jesus always brought him through his difficult times under the doctor’s knife. He said he was always ready to go home to heaven if it was his time. John had tears in his eyes as he related this fact. I did too. Harrell said he knew Jesus was protecting him during World War II, especially after one flight when his plane had 175 bullet holes in it. “Not one of those bullets got me,” he said. Wow, that’s protection! I don’t know how that plane kept flying.

Yesterday was a very special time of communion for me, one of the most special I ever had. Usually when I take communion, it’s only a small prayer, maybe some Bible reading, and one person talking in a big room full of people. Yesterday, communion time was like being with family who really love Jesus. I could see that love in the eyes of those talking. I could hear that love in their voices. It was an amazing amount of love. I am so thankful to God for sharing his son, and for those residents at the assisted living center who shared their thoughts about Jesus. It was a memorable time. I hope you can have such a time of communion some time soon.

In Christ y’all,
Brian Humek

Zach’s House

Today’s Devotional Tidbit – January 29, 2007
Zach’s House
Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was a wee little man. If being short is considered a problem, it was the smallest of his problems. He worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and he cheated the people. Even with these problems, he was interested in Jesus and Jesus was interested in him. But the people watching his incident in the sycamore tree and Jesus’ interaction with him were a little upset. They said “…What business does he (Jesus) have getting cozy with this crook?” (Luke 19:7 -The Message). Other Bible versions simply call Zacchaeus a sinner.  What right did Jesus have to eat at Zack’s house? All the people there would be sinners. Jesus answers this objection with the claim, “For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” It’s a good thing Jesus would eat with sinners. There weren’t any other kind of people in Jesus’ day. There were folks who thought they were perfect, but they weren’t. It’s sort of like today. We’ve got people in this world that think Jesus isn’t interested in them because of some extremely judgmental church experience. Some think Jesus wouldn’t want them because of how the media portrays all Christians, you know, as hypocrites. I sit here today and say it’s untrue. There are plenty of Christians who love and accept people no matter their status or lack thereof. Jesus did this and I see this as a growing trend in the Christian world. More and more congregations are modeling themselves after Zack’s house than as a sanctuary for perfect people. You’re right, this idea of loving people no matter what hasn’t always been the case, but I sense a change is coming.

In Christ y’all,
Brian Humek