Rappin’ With Rick

“I can’t believe it. I just found out that I won’t be able to use my $0.39 refill cup from Taco Bell in Mexico! I guess I’ll just have to drink the water. Not!” That’s from a “Rappin’ With Rick” that I wrote 26 years ago.

I went on to say, “Do pray for us. This is a new adventure for Chatham Christian Church. If this goes well, maybe we’ll head for Jamaica in a year or two. Theo would love to have us.” It did go well, and as I wrote upon our return, “You just had to be there. How can hot sweaty work, mattresses on the floor, dirt and scorpions add up to a great time? They can’t! But smiling faces, laughing children, and a sense that you are doing exactly what God wants you to do does.”

Yes, it was in 1992 that twenty-two of us headed to Chamacuero, Mexico on our first mission trip. And we did make it to Jamaica, several times. We took our teens, took local college students, went as families, and led a number of trips for LCC’s Week of Evangelism. But it’s that first trip that really sticks in your mind.

I’ll never forget Marilyn’s culture shock when we arrived at a dusty little village in the middle of nowhere, where the streets, and the floors in most houses, were dirt. The scorpions in the outhouse didn’t make us feel welcome, but the people surely did. And who can forget the women shaving their legs while sitting on rocks in the middle of the river, and the goats that were crossing at the same time upstream!

Our primary task was to demolish a crumbling building so a new community center could be built. We also held a VBS under the trees in the middle of town, and managed to get a pump working that pumped water to the pecan orchards, and unfortunately flooded back yards in town.

Nikki and Matt were teenagers at the time, and now my two teenage granddaughters are heading to Mexico with their middle-aged mom. I can’t wait to hear all about their trip. I trust they, and the rest of our team, will have memories that will last a lifetime. And the joy of building a home for a family, instead of tearing down a building, will surely exceed what we experienced.

God Bless, Rick

Being “Shipwrecked” last week was a great adventure, and I’m actually going to miss ducking my head while walking through the hallway and carefully making my way across the rickety bridge into the auditorium. I don’t know when we’ve had a better VBS. Transforming our building into an island was well worth the effort, and being shipwrecked with fifty kids every night was a lot of fun.

I didn’t get a first-hand experience in the class, crafts, snacks and games, but I really enjoyed the opening and closing each night. The music was great, the enthusiasm was contagious, and the skits by Mark and Casey were hilarious. There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus loves kids, and so do we.

Every night the kids were introduced to a character that impressed on them the fact that Jesus rescues, and I looked forward to the videos as much as they did. Just to give you an idea of what they learned, let me introduce you to Hope, Beacon, Rae, and Guac.

Hope is a Jaguar, and she is a solitary animal. Like Jaguars, kids can sometimes feel like they are alone, even when they don’t want to be. But in times of loneliness, Jesus rescues, because He’s always there.

Beacon is a Toucan. One third of him is beak, and you’d think his beak would be a burden. But while it is big, God made it light in weight. By the same token, when we feel burdened down with worries, Jesus rescues, and helps carry our burdens.

Rae is a Manta Ray. The word “manta” means blanket, and while Manta Rays can be 30 feet across, they glide effortlessly through the ocean. Like them, we too can go with the flow even when it’s not smooth sailing because Jesus rescues, and will keep us wrapped up in the blanket of His love.

Guac is an Iguana. They can be seven feet long, but half of them is tail. They use their tail for defense, but if they get caught by it, they can detach it. It does cost them something, but giving it up keeps them safe. If we get caught up in trials and sorrows, Jesus can rescue because He gave up something very valuable for us. He gave up His life to save us.

Just a few good lessons from VBS.

God Bless, Rick

A good friend from FitClub and his wife are reading through the Chronological Bible with us this year, and last week he said, “Boy, some of the proverbs are really off the wall.” That got me thinking about which proverbs might be thought of as “off the wall” and which should be put on the wall.

Some of the “off the wall” proverbs might be, “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion”, “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not even bring it back to his mouth”, “The leech has two daughters, ‘Give,’ ‘Give“, “The eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it”, and “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean.” The more you think about them, however, the more sense they all make. And I’m actually looking forward to a messy manger this week as our barn is filled with youthful oxen.

A quick read through Proverbs gives you more than enough to cover your fridge, or even your walls. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down”, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm”, “A man of many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise”, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life”, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”, and “The glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair.” The last one belongs on my bathroom mirror.

My friend also asked if everyone who took a free Bible from me was keeping up with their reading this year. If you are, the Proverbs I’ve shared are simply a reminder of what you read last week. If not, it’s time to catch up.

God Bless, Rick

Last weekend we remembered those who gave their lives protecting us from those who would kill or enslave us. All too often we hear of those who slaughter the innocent; in schools, on the streets, in homes, and in abortion clinics. Tragedy abounds in our world, caused by man and by nature. Why does it happen, and is there anything we can do about it?

I read an article in American Thinker last week that raised those questions. The author not only spoke of the students who were killed at the high school in Santa Fe, but of the death of his father-in-law who was killed by a drug-impaired man who had multiple drug related convictions.

His father-in-law was also his pastor, and had stated in sermons more than once that“if you are hurting, if you are suffering, it is almost always due to one of two things: your sin or the sin of another.” I found those words to be true and very insightful.
Sin opened the door to pain and death in our world, and we’ve been dealing with the consequences of sin since that first sin in the garden. Sin that not only was reproduced in the lives of all men, but the results of sin that can be seen in a natural world that is no longer as God originally intended.

Rather than point the finger at others, or attempt to solve the problems we face thorough quick-fix politically expedient answers, the author said, “On countless moral matters we have ignored the Word of God and gone our own way.” He further noted that, “To stem the tide of evil, we must encourage a culture—in our personal lives, as well as our homes, businesses, schools, and government—that embraces the eternal truths of our Almighty God.” He added that, “We will never completely eliminate, or solve the problems of, evil in this world. We will not make any real progress—something that can be achieved —toward defeating evil in this world unless we recognize truly what is evil and what is to be done about it.”

God’s Word has revealed what evil is, and God’s Son has made it possible for us do something about it. We start by admitting that the suffering in this world is almost always due to our sin or the sin of another, and that God alone has the remedy for sin.

God Bless, Rick

Last Sunday when we were being reminded by the Apostle Paul about the first concerns of the church, we noted that the first thing he urged upon the church was prayer. That, of course, should have surprised no one. The whole point of Christ’s coming to earth was to make it possible for us to once again have a relationship with our heavenly Father, and there is no point in having a relationship with someone if we don’t talk. So prayer is the natural, albeit supernatural, expression of our relationship with God.

Having said that, it is important that we occasionally re-examine the level of communication we maintain with our Creator because it’s easy to get so comfortable with prayer that we settle for something less than it can be. I was reminded of that during my class following Sunday’s sermon.

LouAnn Kunzeman shared something with the class that she and Carolyn Brown enjoy on a weekly basis. They meet with a large group of Christian women from a variety of denominal backgrounds for a time of directed prayer. They have both found it to be a wonderful addition to their prayer life, and LouAnn expressed a desire to have such a prayer group in our church. I invited her to present her ideas to the elders at our next meeting, so you may be hearing about a new opportunity to regularly gather for prayer in the near future.

Another aspect of Paul’s admonition to prayer that we may need to give additional thought to is his call for us to pray for the king and all in authority. In the message I mentioned that we ought to be praying for our president, and the struggles he faces and the personal needs he may have. I also suggested that we should carry his unspoken petitions before the throne of God, and put into prayer the frustrations and doubts he tweets about.

Obviously President Trump is not King David, but while reading in the Psalms last week I came across something David wrote that could have been written by Trump. “My enemies speak evil against me, ‘When will he die, and his name perish?’ And when he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood; his heart gathers wickedness to itself; when he goes outside, he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt.” (Psalm 41:5-7)

The king of Israel’s prayer life was no doubt better than our president’s, so if we would lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity, we must be praying on his behalf.

God Bless, Rick