Bible Prophecy for Kids- A Reason to Trust.

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jun 072015
 

302941__vintage-tea-party_pFaith was 6 years old. It was Sunday morning and she had a plan. She was going to have the tea party to end all tea parties in the back yard! She started gathering her play tea set together. Mom was folding clothes in the back bedroom. Dad walked through the kitchen as she was looking through drawers for something extra fancy. Excitedly, she started to pull a bright, white lace tablecloth from one drawer. That would be just the thing to make her tea party the fanciest ever! “I wouldn’t do that, Faith,” Dad said as he headed out to the garage, “That is Mom’s favorite. It is very special to her. She’ll be very upset when it gets dirty in the back yard.”

Faith heard the door shut. She paused a moment, then pulled the tablecloth out of the drawer and took it with her.

What fun she had! She served Koolaid tea to herself and her dolls. She made nice, round mud cookies, carefully letting them dry before putting two by each teacup. Hours later, she pulled the tablecloth from the table and took it  to the kitchen to put  it back in the drawer.

“Whaaaaa! What are those brown circles all over my favorite tablecloth!” Mom hollered,”and what about those pink drops all over it! Faith! AARGH!”

Dad heard the commotion over the sound of the saw in the garage. Shutting off the saw, he went out the side door and went to the back yard and sat down on the ground behind a very large oak tree. A minute later, he hear hiccuping sobs and running bare feet coming across the yard. Dad pulled her onto his lab and wrapped his arms around her.

“Mom… was crying,” she said between sobs,  “she was…so… sad! How… did you know … it would get…  dirty? Why were you… sitting… back here when I… came… out?

“I know things about little girls,” Dad said, as he pulled her closer. “I know things about Moms, too. Faith, I hoped that you would trust me to know what’s best for you, and what will keep you safe and happy. Can you trust me now?” he asked gently.

“I trust you, Dad,” Faith said as she buried her face in his shoulder. She listened and smiled as he whispered in her ear how much he loved her. She nodded her head as he told her what she needed to do to make things right with Mom.

That evening, Faith slouched in her chair during family worship. She rolled her eyes as Dad read something from the book of Daniel.

“Time of distress.. sleep in the dust…a time, times, and half a time….sacrifice, 1290 days…” Dad read. She rolled her eyes. Dad looked up from the Bible with a questioning look.

“Dad, that stuff is so weird. Can’t you just read a story? It doesn’t make any sense to me,” she complained.

“Faith, come sit in my lap for a minute.” As she settled in, Dad continued,”Do you remember what I said to you this afternoon about trusting me?” Faith nodded. “God knows things about little girls, and about Moms and Dads, too. He knows what will happen in the future, much more that your Dad does. Even if you don’t understand yet what all those confusing words mean, what you need to know is….God is saying that He loves you, He knows what will happen next, and we can trust Him.”

“Let’s trust Him, Dad,” Faith said as she settled in for a long hug.

-shared as a children’s story in Ukiah yesterday.

The Walking Word

 bob-maclafferty  1 Response »
May 302015
 

The WordThe Word. The word? Which word? In Christian circles, the term “Word” is short for The Word of God, The Holy Bible, The Big Book. You know, as in “preach it from the Word!” In the class I teach at church, last week I was talking to kids about The Word. We were reading a famous verse that goes like this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  -John 1:1 NIV.

Yeah, I know. It sounds weird. One of those jumbles of confusing phrases that make you want to skip ahead to the real story? Now hang on, this is NOT going to be a pithy theological journey.

The kids learned that the Word was another name for Jesus. Okay. So we’ve got the Word, the Bible and the Word, Jesus. Now that’s confusing… or is it? I explain the Word, the Bible, to kids as a book that shares who God is, how much He loves me, and what He wants for me and from me.  The Word, Jesus? His time on earth was spent showing us who God is, how much he loves me, and what He wants for me and from me. Hmmm, coincidence? I don’t think so. What God expresses in text, he expressed live, in Jesus’ life!

I was talking to a coworker recently about this. You know, we each are the walking word! The word of something. It’s up to us to decide what word. We can be so expressive, not with the technical meaning of the sentences we spew, but with our specific word choices, the tone of those words, and all the body language that goes along with it. A seemingly innocuous sentence, delivered along with certain words, tone, body language, ends up being heard as, “You incredible bumbling idiot, you total dumbas…tronomical fool. Why can’t you do this right like me?”

Other great choices include not speaking at all, or saying something that, together with the tone and body, is heard as “Hey, here’s a cool way I found to do that. It makes the job easier for me.”

One communication results in pushback, alienation, resentment, defensiveness. The other causes openness, cooperation, support, team.

So what word are you today? What message will you share today, in the workplace, in church, at home? Whether you choose to look at this from a faith perspective or not, you will be a walking word today. Me? I pray that I will be the right word.

 

Secret Heroes and Memorial Day

 bob-maclafferty  1 Response »
May 252015
 

Heidi Heming, 27 yrs-old, left, of Chattanooga, Tenn. is comforted by volunteer Marina Clifford, 12 yrs-old, while visiting a loved one's gravesite at Section 60 on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, Monday, May 27, 2013. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are buried in Section 60. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)Here I sit, Memorial Day morning, in my safe house, on my safe street, in my safe valley. It is so easy to forget that every day, someone is risking, someone is wounded, someone is dying, for that comfortable safety I feel right now. When someone pokes fun at a young woman in uniform in the airport, leaving family and friends behind, does that make her risk less? When a fellow customer impatiently pushes past a limping middle-aged veteran, does that make his wound any less permanent? When a government leader callously minimizes a passed veterans service with careless public rhetoric, does that make his death any less of a sacrifice?

At this very minute, in every hospital in America, and at Ukiah Valley Medical Center, skilled laboratorians practice their trade using experience and technology to support you and your loved ones today. Helping to diagnose infections, strokes, heart attacks. Providing safe blood for trauma victims. Giving answers to tough questions every hour of every day. If you don’t know of their presence, does that make their duties less critical? If you don’t understand what they do, does that make their knowledge less important? If you don’t know why they serve, does that make their service more trivial?

At this second, my Jesus stands in heaven, wrist-ripping scars still evident, the single living veteran who gave His life in a war on crime, a war against evil, a war to bring down the sin walls of separation between us and the Father. If you don’t believe in Him this morning, does that make His sacrifice less valuable? If you don’t acknowledge His role in your life and future, does that make His love for you any less intense? If you refuse to admit that there is such a Person, does that mean that He didn’t die just for you?

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  -John 15:13 NIV.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  -Romans 5:8 NIV.

On this Memorial Day,

To members of our Armed Services here and abroad, even if we don’t acknowledge you, to laboratorians serving you right now, even if we don’t know of you, to Jesus, dying for me and for you, even if you don’t believe in Him, I say thank you, thank you, and Thank You!

Identity Crisis

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
May 022015
 

identityI finally reached the dusty counter of the country store. I reached back for my wallet… It was gone! All my cash was gone. Worse, I realized that my  identity, my I.D. card, was gone as well! Still worse, I didn’t know the name that was on it. I didn’t know my name! The last large town, I remembered showing my I.D. and having someone tell me, “Sorry, that name is already in use. You’ll have to pick another name!”

A new name? But I’ve always had this name! It made no sense to me, but I had dutifully gotten a new I.D. card with a new name, Freddie. I’d only had the new name for a week when I realized I had lost it. I couldn’t remember my new name! My brother  walked over just then  and said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure that when you called Mom about your name change, she wrote it on the calendar!”

And then I woke up! What a dream. The rest of the story, including a cattle drive, a handful of Chinese toddlers and a bag of bread…. well we’ll just leave it at that.

I actually did call my Mom early yesterday morning, more as a joke than anything, I think. Just checking the calendar.

So, if I was in doubt about my identity, who better to call than Mom! Mom and Dad gave me a name before I was born. They guarded my first steps. The guided my words and actions as I grew. They built things into me that became who I am. Regardless of my foibles as a child or adult, they always remind me where I belong and that I have a place in their hearts. That is a powerful and grounding thing.

Not all of us are blessed with receiving powerful and grounding identity from their parents. There is still one better source for identity. One best source for connection and belonging.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!     -1 John 3:1 NIV.

Look higher! There is one foolproof method for determining who you are. One reliable Source for clarifying your  identity. One Person who is sure of who you are, who wants you and always has.

I am called a child of God. And that is who I am!

 

The Truth will Set You Free

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Feb 282015
 

The truth will set you freeJess fumed and sputtered to herself,”Here it is, our fifth anniversary and he’s already forgetting! “The truth will set you free,” what kind of sarcastic text response is that? I’ll bet he comes home with a pitiful box of Great Value chocolates… and not even dark chocolate! If I find a Walmart receipt for after 6:00pm, I’ll… well I’ll… well I don’ t know what I’ll do, but he’ll become reacquainted with the couch tonight, that’s for sure!”

Over the next hour, she heard rustling and banging from the back deck, but she refused to even go to that side of the house. Suddenly she heard a tentative knock on the back door. She ignored it, thinking of the unwanted chocolates. A minute passed. Another gentle knock. Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate and got up, stomping her way through the house. She opened the back door with an exaggerated sigh….

and her mouth dropped open as she stared at her allegedly forgetful husband, dressed in a tuxedo, standing by a table complete with a linen tablecloth. The deck was lit with torches, soft music playing from somewhere. China, silver, and crystal shone in the light of two tall candles gracing the table. She saw pasta, steamed vegetables, a small salad, crusty bread in a basket, and a chocolate cheesecake waiting on a side table. And yes, it was DARK chocolate!
“May I escort you to your usual table, ma’am?” he said with a smile.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV.

How often do we spend energy worrying up ideas in our heads about what might be, when the truth is actually far better, or at least not near as bad as we imagine? Can you think of an example in the last few weeks?

Maybe you make assumptions about a teenager and their homework. Maybe you imagine someone at work snubbing you. Maybe missing a church meeting notification has you assuming you are being excluded.

Later you find out that the teen stopped to help a struggling, elderly neighbor cover some bushes before the night’s frost. Your friend at work was fighting a fever and was about to go home sick. You wrote your email address down for the church secretary as .com instead of .net. The truth will set you free. Free from worrying about fairness, free from anger, free from misguided angry thoughts and responses.

I choose to leave the assumptions for others. Will you? Let’s focus on what really is, instead of what might be. If you do, as Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.”

A Good Place to Turn Around

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Feb 212015
 
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Have you ever messed up and thought, “How am I ever going to get out of this mess? How do I get this turned around?  I know I have. I’m not going to be talking about my mess today, but someone else’s mess.

A friend comes to you and says, “I’ve really blew it. I borrowed your mower without asking and just backed over it with my truck.” You’re thinking, “That was a BRAND NEW MOWER! I just gassed it up. I just started it once. It’s not even dirty yet!”

I hear second hand that an employee has been very critical of me behind my back. I call her into my office and ask for an explanation. She breaks down crying and said that a decision I made had upset her and she had just started to be openly critical about everything.

Coming in from working in the yard, you surprise your son taking cash from your wallet on the dresser. He desperately tries to cover up.

Made a mess of my whole life
Burned every bridge I crossed
Am I too far gone? Which way is home?
How did I get so lost?

I’m looking for a good place to turn around
And get off this road that I’m headed down
I’ve gotta find some peace of mind
Lord, send a sign somehow
I just need a good place to turn around. –Point of Grace

What environment do I create for people around me who have made mistakes? An environment of criticism, judgement, punishment, and separation? Or do I recognize the wrong deed, accept the apology, lavish forgiveness, and cultivate a renewed relationship?

Do I create a good place for others to turn around? I know Jesus does. Each time, every time. I count on it. Can others count on me for a safe place to turn around? Can I forgive and forget the past and allow others to start over? Making messes, burning bridges, lost… all of us, sooner or later, just need a good place to turn around.

 

Is it Mission Critical?

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
Feb 142015
 

mission-critical-chain Do you use this as a criterion for deciding whether to speak out or to act? “Is it Mission Critical?” I woke up early this morning to talk to one of my young lab professionals. Emotions were high as we discussed a disagreement about how to properly perform a challenging laboratory procedure. Were we making good choices that balanced quality and value to the physician? Were the results we produced able to give the physician useful diagnostic support?

Yes, it was a mission critical issue. How we chose to proceed would indeed affect how we provided care to the patient. It was worth a little disagreement and discussion to ensure that we all worked together to do our best for each patient we serve. I expressed my thanks to her for pushing for excellence.

“Aargh! I hate how he leaves his dirty coffee cup by the sink until the end of the shift!” Is that mission critical? No. Probably not. Is it a housekeeping item that has to do with how we exist in the same work space with kindness? Sure. But mission critical? No.

Maybe we need to apply this to all parts of our lives. My beautiful and everloving wife inserts an “R” into the laundry process. She does not wash the clothes, but she does “warsh” them! That is not my favorite word! She’s been saying that for all of our awesome 30+ years of married life and then some. Is it mission critical? Heck no!

The young teen just down the pew from grandma Thelma is wearing a skirt that is showing a lot more above the knee than grandma expected. Is it mission critical? Not if the mission is to model acceptance and love.

No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! 1 John 4:12 The Message

A woman sees a friend, another young mother sitting in her car after church. Struggling as a new single parent, she is showing new signs if drug use. Is this mission critical? YES! She wraps her arms around her and wipes her tears, willing to risk a little pushback, not letting go without finding a way to help.

The young man playing a guitar  and vocal solo for church- the music genre is not my favorite. He is pouring his talent into the song. The words are pointed Godward. Is my music taste issue mission critical? NO!! After church, I thank him for gifting his talent to God and allowing us to listen in.

May I apply a Mission Critical filter to my words and actions today. May I let go the things that are not, and hold tightly to the things that are.

Second Coming Caboose

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Feb 072015
 

cabooseWhat do you know about cabooses? For some reason, I woke up early this morning, thinking about cabooses, punctuation, and Jesus’ Second Coming. I know that sounds strange. Hang on and see where this train takes me.

While growing up, I’d strain to see the caboose while waiting at a rail crossing, seeing it as a sign that the end of the train was coming. These were a manned safety feature of most trains until the 1980’s. They can still be seen on legacy trains like our own Skunk Train that crosses Mendocino County, even though they are more common in model trains.

Functional or not, we always watched for the caboose as a dramatic end to the train’s thundering, whistling magic. We might not focus on any number of interesting and colorful boxcars lumbering by, but “There’s the caboose!”

Writing experts among us might screech and complain about its misuse and abuse, but the exclamation point is the way we make a dramatic end to a statement that excites us. A period with vertical flair, An end with blast off potential! “I love you, oh, so much!” I say to my girls. BAM! A statement I want them to focus on. “This is important!” the exclamation point says. “Look here!”

My Bible tells me that Jesus is coming to pick up His friends one day soon. I am at peace, knowing that He’s coming for me. Yes, imperfect, messed up, failing me. Obviously not because of my perfection (there ain’t any),but because I belong to Him, period. I mean exclamation! With earthshaking sound and mind blowing graphics, He’ll come to mark the end of our time living apart!

 “Look, I am coming soon! Revelation 22:12 NIV.

Now that deserves an exclamation point! While I am blessed with peace and strength and joy in the middle of  the struggle and pain and loss we experience on this ailing planet, I know He plans much more for me, and soon!

Whether I think of it as a caboose or an exclamation point, it will be a dramatic end to this part of the journey and the victorious start of the next!

Is God Real to Me?

 bob-maclafferty, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jan 232015
 

I need to rant about God for a few moments. I see popular blogs bashing churches. I see blogs bashing the bashers. Why people are walking out of churches. Why churches think some people should leave….  Why churches think their God only lives within their walls of stained glass and soaring ceilings. Everyone has their opinion of what is real and true.

What is real to me? Is God real to me? Do I even know what that means? What do I really know? Here it is….

Deep in the woods, standing before a roaring waterfall, I grew hoarse raging at God for what was happening in my life. And what do I hear? Him telling me to let it all out. Him trading my anger for peace. That was real.

I struggle through my work week, fighting resentment, defensiveness, selfishness, and impatience. I ignore Him in my actions and words. I fail to reflect Him to my coworkers. And yet, when I come crawling back, exhausted and disillusioned, I feel Him clearly whispering to start again and refreshing forgiveness washes over me. Real.

I walk alone through my beloved redwoods at dawn. Shocked into silence as I crane my neck to see the tops of the trees crowding around me. I can’t seem to choke out a word as I am humbled by the evidence of my Creator God everywhere I turn. That… is so real.

I slide into the pew at church. I feel a strong hand grip my shoulder. Turning, I see white hair and a big smile. My good friend looks me straight in the eye and asks me how I am.  He listens to my doubt and discouragement without wavering or letting go. That…. is God real.

I see a nurse who never, whether in the back of a kindergarten class at church, or zipping down the hall in the hospital, never…ever passes me without a hug. God…in that hug… is real.

I wrestle with indecision, pushing God for answers, the problem too confusing for me to unravel. I finally drop off to sleep. I come sharply awake at 2am and cannot go back to sleep. Rising, I prowl the house, scavenge coffee, end up in my office, writing as my listening turns into thoughts and words and clarity. Wisdom beyond me. An answer full of balance, strength and grace. That is real.

I know what I feel and hear from God in my life. That is real. I match that with what I read in the Bible and it fits.

I know that while I was yet a sinner, Jesus gave His life for mine. I know that He takes me each and every day where I am, and pulls me closer and closer to Him. When I speak harsh words at home, when I criticism creep into my voice with my girls, when my words to coworkers come out sharp and unkind, when I harbor dark thought about those who have wronged me, when I am disgusted with my procrastination and waste, when I ignore hurting people in my path, He takes my sinful, messed up self, just like that, with no qualifications or limits, no reservations or conditions,no prerequisites or boundaries, and sometimes whispers, sometimes pounds a message into my heart. I am loved. I am accepted. I am treasured. I am wanted.  That is real.

I celebrate by letting Him work on me, believing that His work will make me look more like Him. Real.

Is God real to me as I read through a dusty lesson at church, struggling over a teaching full of polysyllabic words and churchisms? Not so much. But His love is real through the touch and acceptance of those around me. Is God real to me as I see church members pulled apart by worship and music style arguments? No, but He is real to me as I lead children singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know…” Is God real to me as I see all the pride, vanity, deceit, selfishness, apathy, and blindness in church? Yes, since all those things find their way into my life and I know I have plenty of like company there. And I know that what’s real is a God who loves to have us bring to Him all our broken puzzle pieces so He can heal and complete and reset us.

Am I one of those walking out of church? Yes! Thank God, Yes! I walk out every week, still messed-up me, but reveling in His creation and hoping to serve. And I walk right back in the next week, to worship, sing, pray, and to touch other sinful, failing people just like me. Very real.

My Light, His Light

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Dec 132014
 

flashlightI love flashlights! I have lots of them. I have large 3 Dcell ones, tiny pocket-sized ones, solar-powered ones, hand-cranked generator ones,LED head-mounted ones, even one that generates a charge by shaking it! My latest is a very powerful compact model that can change brightness just by rotating my hand and remembers the mode it was in the last time it was used!

All the girls in my family have flashlights. Standard sized ones by the bed, Tiny pink ones in their purses. I love the technology. I love the light!

I love to be able to control what I see and when. With my flashlight, I can focus my attention on what is important to me. I can see what is at my feet. I can look at the path I want to take. I can exclude anything I choose.

My daughter, Kayla, and I spent lots of time one-on-one on our farm as she was growing up. Clearing fence rows, saddling up our horses to meet the sunrise on horseback.  In the evening, the barnyard lights would give us light to work by as we put away tools and tack for the day. Sometimes the moon would be full, bathing the pastures with light outside of the reach of the barn lights.

Some nights, with no moon, the night seemed pitch black. Needing to check a distant gate or fence, we would step away from the bright lights, turn our flashlights off, and walk hand in hand through wooded paths, edging through pastures, making our way across the farm. At first, we could see nothing, our eyes blinded by the artificial light of the barnyard. Moving further and further away, we started noticing our galaxy and others, uncounted millions of stars, bathing our world with light.

As our eyes adjusted, we could make out dark shapes of grazing horses. Soon we could differentiate heads and tails, then colors and smaller features. The further in time and distance we got from the barnyard, the more we could see. Still hand in hand, we confidently crossed the rest of the farm, seeing everything we needed with just the light God provided for us.

When we use our own, seemingly powerful, light sources, we choose what we see, we decide upon what to focus. When we use the light provided by the Creator God, the lights he made just for us on the fourth day of Creation, our horizons expand. We see as HE wants us to see. We see other paths, other beings, other directions.

When we walk in our own light, we selfishly go through our days, ignoring what God has in store for us. We miss the people right next to us, just outside the circle of our light. We ignore those needing a hand to hold, blinded to them. We make our own life directions, unaware of loftier goals, bigger obstacles, more heavenly missions, all seemingly unlit to our eyes blinded by our own light.

In your home, in your workplace, in your church today, turn off your light, grab the hand of someone next to you, and let your world and your direction be lit by the only One Who really knows the best path for you.

 shared at UVMC October 29,2014

 

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