The Restaurant

What if I owned a restaurant that had the greatest food in the world? In this restaurant I have perfect vegetarian dishes, melt in your mouth meat dishes, barbeque that puts Memphis to shame, side dishes that could be a meal by themselves, perfect bread that will not make you fat, and deserts that are so good they make you want to cry. 

I hire a waitress that is great. She has a happy personality, when she walks into the room  faces light up. She is smart; never has to write your order down because she remembers them. Her biggest advantage is she loves my food, wants to tell people about it, and to help them experience it. This is a perfect match except… 

After I hire her she starts to have hygiene problems. She stops washing her clothes, she stops washing her body, and she just smells bad. The worse thing is, she picks up a bad habit. When she is not taking orders she sits down at one of the tables, takes off her shoes, bites her toenails, then spits them across the restaurant. 

Guess what happens? People do not want my food any more. My food has not changed, it is still the same perfect food that it always was but people have no appetite for it because of the person presenting the food. 

This is what happens when we as Christians do not follow Christ's example of loving those who are different. When we don’t love those "SINNERS", or we don’t love people who do not believe as we do, when we don't love the down and out or when we don't love the fallen. We become like the waitress, we push them from the food they need.  We may still love the food and want others to experience it but because of us they do not have the stomach for it.  
 
Look at Jesus' example; Every time He was around the sick, the hurting, the unloved, the unreligious, the unbelievers, the untouchable and those considered the lowest of His time. He was comfortable with them and they were comfortable with Him. Why... because He loved them. He loved them as His Father does. 

How often when someone feels like a failure in life do they run to a Christian for help?  How often when they need to know how to find forgiveness from God do they run to a Christian for help? Not too often because they are afraid of judgment or a reprimand from us. They can't depend on us to show the love Jesus showed when He came in contact with people in their situation. 

My prayer is that those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus or who put on that title of Christian show His example in how we treat those around us.

Standing Naked in the Mirror

My first visit to Romania had a profound effect on me. Our group came from Germany, the United States, Great Britain and South Africa. It was culture shock for all of us.


We saw beggars and street people and we saw poverty in a way I never dreamed of growing up in South Carolina.

This is where I learned about non-people. These are people who have no identification papers which means they cannot go to school, they cannot hold a real job, and they have no nationality. Without these papers they are a non-person.


Our orientation lecture warned us against giving money or anything to the beggars. We were warned they would surround us or try to pickpocket us or steal from us. The warning scared us to the point of us against them.


One lady with a terribly soft heart looking at these poor children could not follow the guidance to the letter so she gave them chewing gum. We watched the children walk way chewing this gum like… well… children. At that point, we saw them not as the enemy trying to steal from us or take advantage of us but as CHILDREN. We suddenly remembered why we came to Romania. I owe Sylvia Davenport more than anyone will ever know. That one act of kindness,  changed the Mission trip. 


At the end of that Mission trip and each Mission trip since I have done the standing naked in the mirror speech.

I was allowed to speak at a Youth Camp that I had attended for years. I also had the honor of being the final speaker one hour before we headed home. Over the years I watched some really great speakers try to make that one last point. The kids never really get their minds around one last sermon.  I decided to end the camp with "Standing Naked in the Mirror", this is how it goes.


I think about the street children of Bucharest, Romania. Street children are born without papers. This means they are children without an education, without a country, and in many ways without hope. So here is what I want you to do…


Close your eyes... imagine you are standing naked in a mirror.


Take away all your possessions; your computer, your cell phone, your iPods, your TVs, and your clothes. Now take away your education… take away your citizenship… take away your future plans… take away your parents and all of their possessions, education, and security. Take everything away your have earned or acquired…


Tell me what do you see standing in the mirror…


Can I tell you how many times I have heard in a low sad voice, “nothing”. This is such a sad answer.  Almost always it is one of the most popular of the kids but who knows how many are saying the same thing in their head. It is sad that these people see this as who they are. They are what they own or where they are from, or what they know, or what they hope their future will be.


This is the the good news! That person standing in the mirror with all that stripped away is the person God sent His Son to die for. Jesus did not come for our clothes or our possessions or our education or our nationality or our future plans, He came for that NAKED person standing in that mirror. He loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for us so He could spend eternity with us. That is what all of us are worth to GOD, to Yahweh, to the Creator of the Universe.


He did all of this for that NAKED person standing in that mirror.

Killer

When we came to Germany I talked about my dogs and how much I missed them. I told one our church members; she smiled and said that her dog had deliver puppies.

A few days later she came up to me and said “I have a present for you.”
Her husband went to her car and put something in a small box. She handed me the box and said “Be careful with this because it is really fragile.”
I carefully opened the box and there was a small mouse in it.
I said “A raaa…”
My wife said, “A Chihuahua puppy”
I said “A WHAT?”
The Lady smiled and said, “It is a registered Chihuahua puppy.” “I know how much you miss your dogs so I am giving you this puppy.”
I said, “Thank you..?”

Okay let me explain I raised English Mastiffs. My male was 200 lbs with a 34” neck. I cleaned up droppings larger than this dog will be when he is full grown. He was a man’s dog, this is a… rat.

I knew this is really expensive gift so what could I do? I took it home and made him a bed in a shoe box and named him Paco.

After a while I decide to start leash training him. He behaved like every dog he flipped, flopped, fought, and did the alligator roll. After we had been working for a week or so I decide to take him out for a walk on the street. I went early in the morning before anyone in our town was up so they did not see me with this rat on a string.

As we are walking I heard someone say, “Señor”.

I replied, “Yes” to no one

Paco: Down here!
Me: Down where?
Paco: It’s me!
Me: Paco?
Paco: Si. But Señor my name is not Paco it is “Killer”
Me: Keeller?
Paco/Killer: No Killer… growlllll
Me: Oh Killer!
Killer: Si.
Me: Paco, ugh… Killer, you are talking?
Killer: Si… you were pulling too hard on my leash and it hurts.
Me: You are speaking English with a Spanish accent where did you learn to do this?
Killer: I don’t know I just can.
Me: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Killer: Nein
Me: If you don’t speak German how did you know to say Nein?
Killer: You don’t speak German and you knew nein.
Me: True
Killer: Oh and please stop calling me a rat it is very insulting.
Me: I know rats are bigger…
Killer: Stop!
Me: Sorry…

Now my brain starts to work…

This is great we can make a fortune! Leno, Letterman, Oh Oh, TACO BELL! Yes! I will be rich! But then I remembered the WB cartoon with the guy and the singing frog. Every time he wanted him to sing for an audience he would just make the guy look like an idiot. So I said Paco… Killer can anyone else hear you talk?
Killer: I think so.
Me: So if I were to put you on TV would you talk?
Killer: I like to watch TV but I don’t know if that is what I want to do with my life.
Me: What do you want to do with your life? I don’t know but it has to be something really special.
Me: Special?

Okay… I decided not to push but to help him along because he is really special and after a while he is bound to see how special.

One of Killer’s favorite things to do is to sit on the dash of the car and pretend he is one of those toy dogs bobbing his head up and down…

One day as we are going down the Autobahn at 180 KPH, Killer is sitting on the dash and Killer yells, “THAT’S IT!”

I said, “What?”

He said, “I will tell you later”

The next day he said, “I know what I want to do with my life.”

Me: Cool, what?
Killer: I want to chase cars on the Autobahn.
Me: YOU WANT TO WHAT?!!!
Killer: Chase cars on the Autobahn, you know extreme car chasing.
Me: Killer are you crazy they go over 120 miles an hour on the Autobahn.
Killer: Si that is extreme car chasing. It is in my nature, part of my heritage.
Me: Okay what do you do when you catch one?
Killer: I will let it go because I am a sportsman; I don’t need the car so I will catch and release.

I talked to Killer about all the things he could do that would change the world maybe even help find other talking dogs.
He would not listen; I want to do this… It is my passion, it is in my heart. It is all I can think about. Something that would make me this happy could not be bad. I have a love for this… love can not be wrong.

So I tried to go slow with Killer and not push really hard but one day he snuck out of the house and made it to the Autobahn. He lived up to his dream and caught a tractor trailer.

So I do not have a dog again. I found that I loved this dog. He could have done so much if he had only listened.

How many people have you known like Killer?
People with potential but never saw it.
People with talent but never used it.
People who were behind their personal timetable so they settled.
People who were lonely and take what is here, now.
People who were either afraid or impatient or had their dreams hijacked and settled.
People who settled for the wrong person, for the wrong relationship, the wrong career, the wrong passion, or for the wrong god.

Killer achieved his goal but it cost him everything. He could not see past the tires that called his name.

Imagine the things he could have done if could have only seen from a different perspective. If he could have found what he was really meant to do.

If only he had not settled for…

Still Small Voice

Adolescent was hard… My whole life and my self-worth revolved around… well… girls. During a particularly hard period, I was having problems with my girlfriend. She was making me crazy and I probably was not enriching her life either. One Sunday evening I took a very hard blow to my ego. At this time I am five foot six inches tall and weighed 100 lbs (wet) so ego blows were devastating. I had all I could take and decided to commit suicide. I had the shotgun in the car but really wanted one last shot (no puns intended). I drove to church to talk to my youth leader, I told him everything. His name was Jimmy Watson and he was a good man who did his best with a bunch of 1970s sex, drugs and rock and roll Youth. Jimmy did all the correct things by the book, God loves you, Jesus loves you, it’s a sin, Bible verse, platitude, Bible verse, platitude, Bible verse… All the things they teach you in Bible College. Then he made a statement… “God must have something really special planned for you or the devil would not be trying so hard to kill you.” My heart heard this message as it was straight from God.

It is funny from that Sunday evening over 35 years ago those words come back to me in the strangest times. Standing a field in Romania where we are digging a garden for a girl’s home, speaking at a Youth Conference in Switzerland, standing on the top of Skellig Island in Ireland, looking at my friends on Facebook and seeing the Youth I have worked with over the years (many of whom are now grown with families), watching my kids grow up, watching my daughter as an adult, watching my son get married and now watching my grandson…

As I write this I can see how one might think those words so long ago could have played to my ego but the truth is… God did have something very special for my life.

As we talk to those who are hurting please be careful and don’t just give them platitudes and verses, listen for that still small voice, from God.

I’m glad Jimmy did because it has been an amazing life.

Why?

Why did God bless me so?

Why did He give me the family He gave me?

Why did He give me the Spouse that helps me to be a better person?

Why did He allow me to be born in a country that has food, clean water, religious freedom, and the freedom to allow me to succeed?

Why did God give me good health and a strong body?

Why did God give me a pretty good mind and a curiosity to search out answers?

Why did He give me a love for His word and Him; to want to know more but not settling for the Church answer?

Why did I get these blessings?

Why was the little girl born to the parents with AIDs?

Why was she born in a village that did not have clean water?

Why will she be left to fend for herself when they die?

Why will she not be able to get an education?

Why is it that there is no one to teach her the love of Jesus?

Why would she believe if they did being born into the life she was born into?

Why do I not believe deeper being born into the life I was born into?

The Cost

Just bow your head and accept the free gift of eternal life from Jesus. How many times have you heard that statement or heard it alluded to that way? I was listening to a religious show one day and the speaker talked about the cost of forgiveness and I thought to myself, "What... I just bow my head and pray for forgiveness." That’s it simple, costs me nothing. I just don’t understand why others can’t do that, it is simple, and… it’s painless.


That is when I thought about… LUNCH.

I thought about a two piece meal from KFC. It is very simple and easy. I walk up to the counter, tell the guy I want a two piece meal, hand him four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away, satisfied.

But in reality… he did actually have to tell the guy in back who slide it down the little silver slide, then he brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality… the guy I gave the order to, let the cook know what I wanted, he dropped two pieces of chicken in the oil, cooked them to perfection, put them in a box, set the box on the little silver slide, it goes to the guy I ordered from, he took it from the little silver slide, brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality… in the back of the restaurant a guy took the chicken out of a box, washed the chicken, rolled it in a secret formula coating, then the cook takes two pieces of chicken, puts them in the oil, cooks them to perfection, puts them in a box, sets the box on the little silver slide, it goes to the guy I ordered from, he took it from the little silver slide, brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality…  there was actually a guy who, unloaded boxes of chicken from a truck, put them into a cooler, then a guy goes to the back, opens the box, takes the pieces of chicken out of the box, washes the chicken, rolls them in a secret formula coating, then the cook takes two pieces of chicken, puts them in the oil, cooks them to perfection, puts them in a box, sets the box on the little silver slide, it goes to the guy I ordered from, he took it from the little silver slide, brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality… there was a truck driver who went to a distribution point, picked up the chicken, drove the boxes of chicken from the distribution point to the store, a guy unloaded boxes of chicken from a truck, put them into the cooler, then a guy goes to the back, opens the box, takes the pieces of chicken out of the box, washes the chicken, rolls them in a secret formula coating, then the cook takes two pieces of chicken, puts them in the oil, cooks them to perfection, puts them in a box, sets the box on the little silver slide, it goes to the guy I ordered from, he took it from the little silver slide, brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality… there was a chicken farm, that raised the chickens, loaded them onto a truck, sent them to a processing plant, who sent them to the distribution point, where a truck driver picked up the boxes of chicken, drove the boxes of chicken from the distribution point to the store, a guy unloaded boxes of chicken from a truck, put them into the cooler, then a guy goes to the back, opens the box, takes the pieces of chicken out o the box, washes the chicken, rolls them in a secret formula coating, then the cook takes two pieces of chicken, puts them in the oil, cooks them to perfection, puts them in a box, sets the box on the little silver slide, it goes to the guy I ordered from, he took it from the little silver slide, brought it over to me, I gave the guy four dollars, he hands me my food. The cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

But in reality... there was a chicken that DIED… so I could give the guy four dollars, he hands me my chicken cooked to perfection, the cost is not that expensive and I walk away satisfied.

The cost is not too expensive for me but for the chicken... DEATH.

This is the part we forget. This is what Jesus did. This is the cost for Jesus.

On Easter we celebrated His resurrection from the dead and it should be celebrated but… We should not forget what lead up to that.

He knew what was to happen, yet He still did it for you and me so we could quickly say, God I am sorry I messed up, please forgive me… Amen

Microwave forgiveness, painless, easy… That is what we like…

I’ll have the two piece meal.

Learning About Grace from Beau

This is Beau. Beau has taught me more about grace that I ever learned at church.


I am a dog person. When we moved to Germany we decided that due to our schedules we should not get a dog. I held strong for twelve straight years. My daughter moved back to Germany to finish school and her twenty first birthday was coming up. We really wanted to get her something special. Ideas, ideas, no real ideas what should we get her so we asked her what she would like. She said she wanted a dog.


A crack formed in my resolve but only a crack… I said, “You can look but you know we can’t have a dog.”


Have you asked the Landlord? No, so ask him… He said, "YES" Crack…


We looked at different dogs. We looked at bloodhounds and akitas and Chihuahuas and assorted squeaky dogs. No from me on the Chihuahuas, no from her on the Akita, no on squeaky dogs and we can’t get a dog on the bloodhound. CRACK…


CRASH...


As you can see by the picture I lost my resolve and the bloodhound won.


His name is “Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside”. Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside was a character from “Auntie Mame” Beau for short and Rufus when he is a dufus.


We got Beau after major paperwork and red tape to import a dog into Germany. He came into our normal smelling home and things would never be the same.


The first battle was paper training this puppy. I suspected the dog was part camel… That is the only explanation of how much water came out of him when he peed on the carpet.


The second problem was he would eat anything. This is where Beau has been a living lesson on “Grace”.


Beau has more toys than most children. Three fourths are chewy toys. Beau is not satisfied with chewing on his toys. He likes chewing, no… eating everything. He has a special place in his heart for cell phones. My wife’s pretty pink “contract” cell phone really tasted good. You can't just replace a contract phone you have to buy a new one… While we are buying a new one maybe we should upgrade to a blackberry. We did and it stayed safely in my wife’s purse except Beau loves to sniff through purses and being a bloodhound can naturally track down something good to eat, the Blackberry. We caught him before he did too much damage but now he has a taste for Blackberries. He found my daughters Blackberry on the dining room table and ate it. At this point many people would have said, "Enough! He is outta here!" I am not sure why I didn’t say that... (Yes I am… I love this stupid dog but don’t tell anybody.) We now secure things that he might eat. He still loves digging through purses. My wife was on the Mission’s committee at our church and had three hundred Euro from a fund raiser in her purse to be turned in the following Sunday. That is about five hundred dollars. He got into her purse and ate stamps and the envelope that had the Mission money in it. I am ready to spend the next week digging through dog poop looking for undigested Euro.



At this point most normal people would have sent him to doggy heaven. I did not because well you saw the above admission, I love this stupid dog. Luckily the money fell out of the purse and under a table so he was saved.



A few nights later the family was watching a movie from our bed, my wife and daughter fell asleep during the movie so they just laid their glasses on the night stand beside the bed. An hour later my wife woke up to Beau crunching his bone but it has a strange sound. She turned the light on to see both pairs of glasses in pieces and him chewing on them.



When is enough, enough? As I am asking myself that question I wonder how much do I allow this dog to mess up? How much will I allow this dog to cost me?



Then it occurs to me, “Wonder if God ever asks that question about me?” How much will I allow him to mess up? How much will I allow him to cost me? Why have I not taken him out?



Then the answer comes…



He has allowed me to mess up for over 51 years so far. He has allowed me to cost Him, His Son’s life. Why has He not taken me out…? This is the crazy part... It is because He loves a Dufus like “ME”!



I have heard this all my life in church but I learned this real lesson from Beau. The reality of GRACE is not to give me what I deserve which is death but to give me grace because He loves me. He loves me so much that Jesus died for me... That is the reality of John 3:16 as demonstrated in a way that even a dufus like me could get it. Demonstrated by a dog in a real life parable.



Beau thanks for the lesson and… “PUT DOWN THAT IPHONE!!!”